Dear Editor:
I'm beginning to understand why the B.C. Jobs Plan needs $15 million worth of advertising to prop it up.
The plan offers nothing but vague promises of increases in funding towards unspecified trades and has absolutely nothing available to it that could be used to demonstrate that job creation targets are hit using the budget allocation made available by the government. Even with all the promotion, it's becoming clear that the jobs plan is a missed opportunity to refine the B.C. economy.
The B.C. Jobs Plan does not have additional funding incentives for the creative industries, particularly the film and media industries that provide high-wage, high-skill jobs throughout the province.
It's estimated that for every dollar the government invests in the creative arts, it receives over a dollar in tax revenues back. That's a huge return on investment, not counting the untaxed revenues that are created. Not a dime left for the industry though, B.C. doesn't have any money left to make more money.
The B.C. Jobs Plan also has very little to say on the issue of shipbuilding, even as the federal government pours $6 billion into the industry for us. Two major industries with thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity, and the B.C. Liberals' grand plan for the economy doesn't highlight either industry.
Trevor Ritchie, Burnaby
