Liberal leader, B.C. Premier Christy Clark campaigned through the Similkameen on Wednesday, May 1, stopping briefly at Sandersons Fruit Stand in Keremeos.
While there, Clark took a few minutes from her busy campaign schedule to speak to the Review about some Similkameen issues.
Review:
Has there been any change in the Liberals stance on the proposed national park reserve in the South Okanagan - Similkameen since the release of a First Nations feasibility study in January?
Clark:
No. No, you know, I think there is a way we can protect the environment and protect the values that the First Nations are interested in, and the people who live here - obviously, it’s such a beautiful, pristine part of the province - we want to protect all of those values. But I think we can do that at the same time, without making it a park - and protecting the economic values as well - there’s no reason why those things can’t work together.
So, I appreciate that they’ve done the work, and we should continue to have a conversation about how we can protect the environmental values, but I’m confident we can (do that) without making it a park.
Review:
Small communities like Keremeos take a beating during economic downturns like now. What does your government plan to do address that? I understand your bus passed through downtown Keremeos - you could see the vacant storefronts - and we’re losing government agencies, such as when Work Zone shut down here last year. What would your government do to help us out?
Clark:
There are a couple of things we could do. One of them is infrastructure spending.
Obviously, we need to build - this is an important corridor to get all over the country, to get into the U.S., so we need to keep investing in infrastructure. The correctional centre in Oliver might be a little out of the way, but that infrastructure spending matters, it puts people to work, and it moves jobs into communities as well.
I would note on that, the NDP would put a freeze on all capital projects, so I assume the correctional centre would be one of the things they would chop.
So that’s one thing we can do, but the bigger thing we can do is invest in growing the economy.
So that means increasing our trade, and in agriculture there is a huge opportunity to expand our trade into China and India, because those middle classes are growing, and people are looking for a good, safe food supply, and our B.C. brand tops the world. So, on all the trade missions I’ve done, agri-food has been a real, central part of it.
Selling our berries, selling our fruit, selling our beef, pork, all of those commodities are in very high demand. And when we create more demand, we raise the price here for agricultural producers.
It’s growing our economy and making sure we have a customer base for the things that we make, raising the prices for farmers.
Review:
Your platform talks of changes to the meat inspection system. Does that mean that small producers will be able to set up local abbatoirs again?
Clark:
We’re trying to get there, in a way that will make sure that we’re keeping it absolutely safe.
Obviously, we do not want to compromise food safety, that’s our number one concern, but yes, we’re trying to get there by changing the rules a little bit.
So redefining the distance you have to be from a large abbatoir in order to be eligible as a community to have one, and allowing communities to have access to a mobile abbatoir - we’ve already put the order in for a mobile abbatoir. I could show you the reciept - to move all around the province, to communities that need it, because if they don’t have it, what a terrible imposition it is to small producers who want to get their animals processed.
People in B.C. want to eat locally produced beef, and the regulations we’ve put in the way of that aren’t doing anybody any good, so I’m really committed to simplify down those regulations.
It’s a challenge - to make sure we are doing it in a way that meets the federal and international guidelines, because we don’t want to jeopardize our market.
We’ve made some real strides in making it easier for ranchers, but we have more to do.
Review:
You’ve added another two million dollars to the “Buy Local” campaign. What will that entail - more advertising to buy local - how will that be invested?
Clark:
Well, what we’re doing at the moment is we’re working with sales departments of the big grocery stores in particular so that we can really, prominently sell local. We’re doing the same with wine in B.C. liquor stores - really giving special (attention) to what’s local in stores.
Because I think part of it is, you’re busy, you come home from work, you’ve got to get home and cook dinner, and you only have a half hour to shop. You just go in and ... grab the apples, you know?
But if there’s a big promotion - people know they should buy local, I think - they know where they’re going to find the local stuff, and they know that it is local, that’s what they’ll go to. I really believe it.
So, that’s part of what we’re trying to do, and we’re doing it with the big grocery stores across the province.
We do it cooperatively, to sell our B.C. products.