Things look tough in some Canadian jurisdictions, but Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett said this province is on a better track than most others, thanks to a diverse economy.
He was in Toronto delivering that message last week, where he and the B.C. contingent got to ring the bell at the Toronto Stock Exchange, and this week he is in Prince George at the Premier's Natural Resources Forum, which opens tonight.
"I'm trying to attract business people and their resources to British Columbia," he said. "We have great infrastructure - ports, rail lines, highways, airports, power grid - we have a robust environmental permitting system, an educated workforce, political stability compared to a lot of places where resource industries are located, and a very advantageous tax structure within the Canadian context. We stress to potential investors that they have to be foster a positive relationship with First Nations that might be affected by their plans, there has to be a strict adherence to environmental safeguards, but those things are a business strength. It builds an enduring business case for you, if you're a mining company. It becomes a selling feature for your products and services to have that transparency throughout the process."
Lower global oil prices do cause a drag-down on the national economy and certainly have a profound effect on the provincial budgets of Alberta and Saskatchewan primarily. It also has a pull-down on natural gas prices to a degree. He said, though, that the spectrum of B.C. commodities in other sectors, and oil being a small player in our provincial portfolio, means this province is still in a strong position.
Many parts of those natural resource industries are actually helped by the low oil prices because fuel costs are lower for energy and transportation.
"It's not all bad. There are winners in this," he said. "We have a great tourism industry, a significant high-tech industry, we have a significant forest industry as you well know in Prince George, a large and widespread agriculture industry, the oil and gas industry is certainly there with some significant opportunities there for the future, so we do have a diverse economy and overall I think we are going to have an excellent year ahead in B.C. We are going to balance the budget this year. It's important for B.C. to retain that brand of excellence in fiscal management."
Bennett said he will be in Prince George for several days this week, as part of the discussions at the Natural Resources Forum and the many meetings that surround the event.
