B.C. Conservative Party leadership candidate Dan Brooks is hoping to provide voters with a credible alternative to the Liberals and NDP in the next provincial election.
Brooks was in Prince George on Saturday to attend the founding meeting of the Prince George-Valemount riding association - a meeting which drew less than 10 people.
Brooks, a Vanderhoof-area business owner currently living in Kamloops, said his vision for the Conservative Party is to provide a voice for rural B.C.
"One of the main platforms I have is rebooting rural B.C.," he said. "In the North, in the Interior... their communities are in long-term decline. I believe it has been neglected for a very long time."
With the exception of the energy-sector-driven growth in northeastern B.C., communities throughout the region have been seeing declining populations, he said.
Brooks said he believes the provincial government needs to streamline the approval process for resource projects by providing more concrete guidelines and expectations ahead of applications.
Brooks said he's concerned about the ability of "minority special interest groups" including First Nations, to delay natural resource projects like Taseko's proposed New Prosperity copper and gold mine near Williams Lake.
The provincial government should put pressure on the federal government to settle First Nations land claims in B.C. to provide greater certainty for developers, he added.
"I'm not saying we give the province of B.C. to First Nations..." he said. "[But] I think a lot of people are frustrated by the lack of progress. There is no end game."
The government also needs to do a better job of promoting the importance of resource sector to urban B.C. residents, he said.
"We've got to get a message from northern B.C. to Vancouver that all these resource projects benefit Vancouver," Brooks said.
The Conservatives also would look to balance the budget and reduce the provincial debt, which has risen to $62 billion under the Liberal government, he said.
"Do we really need to give $430 million [in tax breaks] to the film industry? Do we really need these research grants of $200 million [per year]?" he said. "We need to bring in some tax fairness."
Brooks is running against Vancouver business owner Rick Peterson in the party's leadership race, slated to end April 11. Former leader John Cummins stepped down following the 2013 election after the Conservatives failed to get an MLA elected and only drew 4.76 per cent of the popular vote - fourth behind the Liberals, NDP and Green parties.
Brooks ran for the Conservatives in Nechako Lakes in 2013. He came in third behind Liberal incumbent John Rustad and NDP candidate Sussanne Skidmore-Hewlett.
