Burnaby-Lougheed MLA Harry Bloy is happy with his new post as minister of multiculturalism, something that he said is part of B.C.'s job plan and a better fit for him than the Social Development Ministry.
Bloy's new job includes hosting business and investment delegations from around the world and then referring them to the right governmental departments.
"When we are in China and India, - and we want companies to invest here, - we have a group of people who are welcoming to them," Bloy said.
MLA According to Bloy, there have been a lot of Chinese companies investing in B.C. over the past couple of years, especially in the mining industry.
Bloy recently left the Social Development Ministry, which has been fraught with problems. He said multiculturalism was better for him since he was known as the government liaison to the Korean community for the past eight years and has travelled to China, encouraging companies to invest in B.C.
According to Bloy, the Liberals' job plan relies on foreign dollars coming to the province and creating jobs for British Columbians, and Premier Christy Clark has been travelling through-out Asia, finding investment opportunities. The NDP, on the other hand, don't have a jobs plan, in Bloy's view.
"If you look back to (NDP leader) Adrian Dix, he was chief of staff with the NDP in the '90s," Bloy said. "He made B.C. a have-not province."
According to Bloy, B.C. has the lowest business taxes in all of Canada and the lowest personal income tax, which will go up if the NDP is in charge. Bloy prefers to see lower taxes attracting investment from foreign companies while creating jobs for British Columbians and more sources of tax revenue for the government.
"If you have 10 people working under the NDP, and 100 working under the Liberals, we collect that much more taxes," he said. "The more taxes go up, the more it costs jobs."
Bloy's comments come on the heels of Multiculturalism Week celebrations, which ran Nov. 13 to 19.
Bloy recently became Multiculturalism Minister after departing from his post at the Social Development Ministry, where he over-saw Community Living B.C., a government agency that provides services for people with disabilities.
Bloy, the only Liberal MLA who supported Clark during her Liberal leader-ship bid, took the Social Development portfolio soon after Clark was voted in.
He faced a lot of public scrutiny because Community Living B.C. has been clawing back services while juggling a budget that hasn't kept up with rising demand.
"There was lots of trouble and concerns within the ministry," Bloy said. "It just got to the point where we needed a change, and I agreed with it."
On March 14, Bloy was appointed Multiculturalism Minister, but he disagreed with the idea some pundits held that the move was a demotion.
"I don't consider it a demotion at all. Most of those people you never talk to. That's a theory they have," he said, add-ing his colleagues in Victoria are happy with his post.
Provincial affairs columnist Keith Baldrey wrote that, "Bloy was simply dealt a very bad hand by his own people. CLBC has been a time bomb waiting to explode, and unfortunately for Bloy, the pin was pulled when he was given the job."
In response, Bloy said he worked very hard at the Ministry of Social Development.
"I was pleased with the work that I did," he said. "It is a hard ministry. You always get challenges in life, you have to work with them."
