Rugged mountains, long inlets, glaciers, abundant lakes and streams, spectacular scenery and abundant natural resources. Does this sound like British Columbia?
A government pension reserve worth $1 trillion derived from the oil industry and free post-secondary education. Maybe not.
Norway and British Columbia are very similar with respect to geography, climate (both temperate with coastal influence) and population (each around five million). However, when it comes to the economy and the money derived by the government from its natural resources, there is no comparison. The government of Norway wisely took control of their oil resources, developed them slowly, formed a government/public owned oil company, and placed heavy taxes on oil revenues (up to 78 per cent of profits).
Norway has a per capita GDP twice that of British Columbia, an unemployment rate of 4.4 per cent compared to six per cent and an average disposable income of about $35,000 compared to about $26,000, despite higher taxes. Isn't it about time the citizens of British Columbia got a fair share of money generated by our natural resources before they are drastically depleted? Our beautiful and precious landscapes are being modified and polluted while we gain very little from them in comparison to Norway.
While the citizens of Norway benefit from their government's wise decisions, our money is being wasted on decisions like the battle with our teachers. It is time to elect a government that makes wiser decisions about how to generate revenue from our precious resources rather then wasting our money on childish causes.
Stephen DeLong
Rossland
