Pick through the many promises and proposals listed in the "campaign commitments" section of B.C. Liberal leadership candidate Mike de Jong's website, and the careful reader will notice one of particular note for Northern B.C.
In the name of economic growth and diversification, a de Jong government will "share revenue and benefits with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities on new resource development projects."
The idea has not gained a lot of traction with the media, de Jong said in an interview, but maintained it's an important one.
"I think we have to redraw the social contract between Victoria and Northern communities," said the MLA for Abbotsford West.
If it sounds like the Fair Share program in the B.C. Peace, where municipalities and regional districts in that region receive a share of the royalties the province collects from oil and gas, it's because it's modeled on that approach.
"It's a dramatically expanded version of that," de Jong said.
He believes the approach would create the buy-in needed to allow such projects as Taseko Mine's proposed Prosperity gold and copper near Williams Lake to win over opponents, notably the area's aboriginal communities.
"From the provincial point of view, I would rather the province receiving 50 per cent of something than 100 per cent of nothing," he said.
"When a project doesn't proceed because of the absence of local support, you end up with 100 per cent of nothing."
An MLA since 1994, de Jong can include Minister of Forests on his resume. He held the position from 2001 to 2005, something he's quick to point out. He also takes credit for getting the ball rolling on making inroads into China for B.C.'s forest products while in the portfolio.
He now has his sights set on making the same progress with India.
During a visit to Prince George in early January, de Jong said he would aim to double wood exports to the country in the next two years, now at a modest $40 million a year.
But he stopped short of saying he would fund marketing and build-with-wood training programs in India as has been done in China because dealing with the $1.7-billion provincial deficit takes priority.
Beyond that, de Jong's profile in and around Prince George has been relatively low - his two other visits were for the debate and a low-key meeting with the local media and supporters. And he's failed to win endorsements from any of the local Liberal MLAs, including the current Minister of Forests, Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Pat Bell.
He is taking the setback in stride and maintained the 13,000 members he's signed up are from across the entire province, not just in the Lower Mainland.
Asked to describe where he stands on the political spectrum, de Jong called himself a "pragmatist."
"I'm not hung up on ideology," he said. "I want to get things done, I want to make sure we've got a balanced budget, that we're not spending more money than we have, and I'm a free enterpriser."
