William Shakespeare put in the mouth of England's King Richard III the words "the winter of our discontent."
We are surely suffering a winter of discontent, our economy off balance, oil and natural gas prices slumping, coal and copper and gold struggling.
B.C.'s leave-it-in-the-ground negativists have seized on this with glee, and thus predict an end for pipelines through BC, and no development of B.C. LNG.
We take a more balanced and long-range view at Resource Works, a non-profit society that aims to raise people's understanding of the benefits of responsible resource production.
We note that Richard III's winter of discontent was followed in turn by a "glorious summer."
So, let us be encouraged by some positive signs, such as the third annual Market Expansion Forum, hosted by Initiatives Prince George at the Ramada Hotel on January 20.
The forum provided major companies investing in Northern B.C. the opportunity to outline their project's procurement processes, schedules and opportunities so that people in Prince George and the surrounding region are fully informed.
It could not have been a more timely gathering. A new Hays survey shows more than half of Canada's mining and resource companies expect to grow their businesses in 2015.
And a Canadian Chamber of Commerce report sees the U.S. boosting Canadian and global fortunes "like a huge locomotive dragging the global economy forward."
That said, we are not so encouraged by the strident, polarized, all-or-nothing, black-or-white discussions that so often dominate B.C.'s debate on resource development.
Resource Works invited members of the public to eight Community Conversations events in the Lower Mainland last fall. (A project, incidentally, that we hope to move into other areas of B.C. this year.) What we heard from participants were urgent pleas for balance, for facts, and for respectful "middle ground" in the debate.
Mark Gordienko, president of the International Longshoremen and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada, summed it up in a newspaper column (that you'll find at http://bit.ly/1Ivz6DH):
"British Columbians support responsible resource development. They believe a balance can be struck between protecting the environment and growing our economy. They're willing to listen to a variety of viewpoints, and want more information about how we can safely advance this industry. . . .
Can Citizen readers contribute to that balanced debate? Most certainly: Call a politician or community leader (or email them, or message them) and ask them to support responsible resource development--and to support balance in the debate. Ask a friend of three to do likewise. And write a short letter to the editor.
After all, BC's economy and employment are heavily dependent on natural resources.
And so are we all.
Stewart Muir
Vancouver
