It's true. We have a very dynamic economy in British Columbia today, but you know, as I go around the province, people talk still about the fact that it wasn't that many years ago that we couldn't say that. But I think what does surprise people is when you actually remind them that it was only five years ago that we had a very different economy in the province, and there has been a very huge change in a very short period of time. And I can tell you: that change would not have happened had it not been for vision and commitment; and that was a vision that our Premier set out for this province prior to 2001, and the commitment was to make sure that we attain that vision as to what this province could once again be in terms of getting the economy back on track.

I think as everybody in this room knows, that was not an easy task, and it took a lot of hard work, not just by those of us in government but by those in the business community and by British Columbians generally in every single corner of the province.

Now our challenge is to make sure that this new economy and this vision can in fact be part of the future of British Columbia, and once again, it is the Premier that is bringing that vision and commitment to making sure that we put the strategies in place that will ensure that this economy remains strong and robust for the decades ahead.

You know, increasingly, people and businesses are choosing British Columbia as their first destination to visit, to work, to live and to invest, and as I go around the province, it doesn't matter what region I go into, I can feel the confidence that is building in this province. It's in the air, and it's a very different climate than it was five years ago.

We have seen investment spending in British Columbia take off, rising $4 billion since 2003 to a projected $17.8 billion this year. Corporate profits have soared to over $20 billion from $12.5 billion only two years ago. Manufacturing shipments have climbed 33 percent between 2003 and 2005. We see export earnings have risen by 16 per cent in 2004 and 2005.

We have an increasingly diversified economy. B.C. is becoming less dependent on the U.S. market, both as a customer for its goods and also as a source for its tourists. Since 2001 full-time jobs have risen 12 per cent, while part-time jobs have actually declined in British Columbia by 3 percent, which is a dramatic reversal from the years prior. In fact, one thing that I find; people are fascinated by the tremendous growth that we've seen in China, and yet in British Columbia in these last five years we have seen the rate of job creation actually double than what we've seen in the country of China.

You know, in the Ministry of Economic Development we track what we call major projects, and these are the large construction projects that are either under way or being planned in the province, and our latest inventory tally has reached over $100 billion for the first time. That's an increase of 23 per cent in just one year. It's another example of how incredibly successful our economy has been.

B.C. is booming, and we're experiencing unprecedented economic growth, and since coming to office in 2001, in just five years, our government has reduced the regulations in B.C. by 40 per cent, which is part of that success. And I can tell you today that that job of streamlining regulations and putting in place a regulatory regime that makes sense in this province is a process that has only just begun.

You know, this year, for the first time, when over 90 per cent of all of the public sector contracts were set to expire, all of them - 100 per cent of them - were negotiated before they expired, ensuring labour stability through 2010.

You know, something I do every year is I set a little booth up on 41st Avenue in my constituency during what's known as Kerrisdale Days, which I think some of you are vaguely familiar with. And there is a lady I have encountered there almost every single year that I've done that, and she sort of sums up for me some of the change that we've gone through in this province. When this lady first came up to me, it was about four years ago, when I was Health minister, and we were going through some of the difficult changes that were necessary in the health care system.

But this woman came up. She said: "I'm not very happy with you," and I was a little taken aback. As it turns out she's a member of the Hospital Employees Union, and she works in Richmond, and she told me she wasn't very happy about some of the changes that we were making, and so I listened politely and promised that we would try to be sensitive as we went through some of these changes.

The next year she was back again, and she had another litany of things to complain about, and I listened politely. And she came every single year.
Well, this year — it was the end of May — I saw her coming down the street, and she walked up to me, and she said: "Do you remember me?"
I said: "Yes, you're a member of the Hospital Employees Union, and you work at Richmond," and she said "That's right."

Then she said: "And you know something else? I have nothing to complain about this year."

But you know, as much as we've seen this phenomenal change in the province and as much as we're seeing just some great results in the economy of British Columbia, we cannot rest on our laurels, and there is no time for complacency. I think what's even more important today is that we've put the kind of strategies in place to make sure that that kind of success is going to continue. We plan to keep outperforming other jurisdictions with a concerted effort to use strategies for success that business people have been using for decades. And one of those is to have a clear vision, with specific goals in place to get us to where we need to go.

The second strategy for success is to actually consult with the experts. Let's not pretend that we have all the answers within government, but let's reach out and pull in the people that can give us that expertise. We are in the process of doing that.

The third strategy is really to build on partnerships and alliances, and by that, I'm referring to the new economic agreement that we've signed with Alberta, which is called the Trade Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement, which I'll talk about a little bit later on.

And the final strategy for success is to celebrate our accomplishments, and I can tell you that at the end of this decade we will be hosting the world, and the eyes of the world will be on us, and we will have a lot to celebrate when that day comes.

But first let me take you back to the vision. You know, you've probably heard the Premier on many occasions set out the five great goals for the golden decade, and I know there are some people who, when they hear that they think that maybe that's something that was in an election campaign. Well it was, but it's also part and parcel of what's driving this government today — we are actually going to deliver on those five great goals. It wasn't just election rhetoric. It's actually the mandate that the Premier is driving as we move forward.

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You might be familiar with them. One is to have the most educated and literate jurisdiction on the continent; to lead the way in North America in terms of healthy living and physical fitness; to build the best system of support for persons with disabilities and special needs; to lead the world in sustainable environmental management.
The fifth point, which is the one that really consumes so much of the work that I do with my colleagues in the Ministry of Economic Development, is to ensure that we create more jobs per capita than anywhere else in Canada.

So one of the best strategies for remaining competitive is to reach out and seek the expertise that we need. Recognizing that our future lies with strengthening our ties with the Asia-Pacific region, the Premier put in place the Asia-Pacific Trade Council, which is a panel of experts from a variety of fields and backgrounds, to advise us on how best to take advantage of our proximity to the Asia-Pacific region. Arthur Hara, who is here today at the head table, is the chair of that council, and I can tell you the council has given us tremendous, sage advice on how we move forward and take advantage of that opportunity.

If you haven't had a chance to read it, go to our website and read the first of a series of reports that's going to come out from the trade council. That is by the market advisory group for China, and that was chaired by Gordon Chu, who is also here today. It is a great piece of work and some great advice that we are acting on.

At the same time, the Competition Council - which the Premier appointed just over a year ago - has worked closely with the Asia-Pacific Trade Council. They came to one of the same conclusions — that the Asia-Pacific is key to B.C.'s competitive future.
I also want to acknowledge the presence of the two co-chairs of the Competition Council, Dan Miller and David Thompson, who put a tremendous amount of effort and work - along with those that served on the council - to coming forward with some great pieces of advice for government — which, again, we are acting on.

The first Asia-Pacific Trade Council report contains some very well-though-out suggestions for strengthening our ties with that region, and in fact, we've already, in the short few months that we've had that report, been able to act on some of those recommendations. For example, both the trade council and the Competition Council came forward with recommendations that we actually put a B.C. presence on the ground in the Asia-Pacific region. Officials in my ministry have sought out individuals with experience in Asian markets who can represent our province on a full-time basis and ensure that we market our unique strengths overseas.

By the end of this year we will have four representatives in place in four different areas, and these full-time representatives will focus on promoting British Columbia as a globally competitive location.

In addition, both Councils recommended that the Provincial Nominee Program be expanded to bring in more skilled workers and more investor immigrants from outside of Canada, and we are doing exactly that. We're working closely with the federal government, and I've got to give kudos the federal government for how responsive they've been in trying to shape and give flexibility to some of their programs, whether it's skilled worker programs for temporary work visas or whether it's expanding and promoting our provincial nominee program around the world. They have become partners, and we plan to build on that going forward.

We recognize that we're going to have to import much of the talent that's going to keep our economy going into the future, and improvements to programs like the Provincial Nominee Program and enhancing our presence in the Asia-Pacific will enhance our ability to fill those needs into the future.

So these are just a sampling of some of the recommendations that have come forward from these two Council reports. There are about 120 recommendations in total, and government is working today on all of them. In fact, we expect further reports from the Asia-Pacific advisory council. There's reports coming down on Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and we're looking forward to that sage advice continuing.

We're asking experts, also, in terms of what it means to meet the skills shortage that we may face in the future. Some of you have heard the stats. Over the next decade we anticipate that there will be a million job openings in British Columbia, and in that same period of time we will graduate from our school system in British Columbia 650,000. We need to expand programs like the PNP program. We need to expand our ability to bring in skilled immigrants and temporary workers to make sure that we can continue to see our economy driving on all cylinders.

We also need to make sure that people who are already here get the training and skills they need in our fast-growing economy. Last February Carole Taylor announced in the budget that there was an additional $90 million being allocated over three years for a tax credit program. It was going to be designed in consultation with industry to expand industry training opportunities in the province, and we're looking forward to implementing that at the earliest opportunity and fulfilling what was also one of the key recommendations of the Competition Council.

We've taken that approach in collaboration and partnership with industry training itself. The Industry Training Authority is acting on another key recommendation of the Competition Council, and that's to expand Industry Training Organizations in British Columbia. These are sector-specific industry bodies where industry sector itself, supported by the Industry Training Authority, takes a lead responsibility for the training opportunities and occupational standards that they need in their sector to meet future skill demands.

We have added $13 million to the training budget in each of the next three years, so now the budget for skills training in B.C. is over $90 million a year, the largest budget ever to be put in place in this province. As of August 31 there were 29,213 registered apprentices and trainees in B.C., and that is more than double the number that were in place in 2004. Our target is to have 35,000 apprentices in place by '07-08.

There are also nearly 9,000 employer-sponsors currently offering placements to apprentices in British Columbia. That's up 32 percent in the last two years. And the business community is stepping up to the plate to do their share when it comes to industry training, but, to all of you in this room, we need to be doing more. Government needs to be doing more and the private sector needs to be doing more to make sure that we meet those skills shortages and challenges of the future.

Through programs in our secondary school system we're encouraging more young people to get a head start on a trades training. Right now, today, we've got about 4,200 youth in our public school system involved in industry training. That's up nearly 400 percent in just two years, and we plan to continue that kind of growth.

So it's no surprise that training and skills development was at the top of the agenda of the Competition Council when it submitted its report to government this past June, because developing our human resources and growing a skilled labour force was one of the important focuses of that report.

We are committed to working through the recommendations of the Competition Council, whether it's in education, immigration, trade and investment promotion, treaty agreements with first nations, research and development of new forest products, tourism and more. Right now we've got the 13 affected ministries working on a measured, focused plan for implementation of both Competition Council recommendations and Asia-Pacific Trade Council recommendations.

That brings us to the next strategy, and that's one of building alliances. You know, I was in Alberta earlier this week, where I was talking about some of the progress that we've already made on our Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement — or, for those who like acronyms, TILMA — which was signed just four months ago. Our two provinces have taken a leadership role in removing powerful barriers to trade, investment and labour mobility. We're sending a clear message to investors around the world that our region is serious about building an even more highly competitive and attractive place for people to invest, to carry on business, to work and to live.

I probably don't need to explain all the details of TILMA to this audience, because the Vancouver Board of Trade has been a valued supporter of this agreement, which creates an economic powerhouse out of the two most western provinces. With this deal we are now the second-largest economic region in Canada, next only to Ontario.

Signing an agreement like this isn't an end of a process; it's actually the beginning of a process. TILMA is slated to go into effect next April 1, but we've already made some significant progress. In fact, we’re acting as if the agreement was in place, and there is a commitment to improve the links between us and work together to reduce any remaining barriers to trade, investment and labour mobility that may exist. Both governments are mandated and committed to making sure that all of these changes are fully implemented by April of 2009.

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It's only been a few months since we signed the agreement, but we are now working hard on implementing it, and in fact, we have already made some real progress. We've already made progress on common securities regulations, shared access for the oil and gas sector, streamlined business registration and reporting requirements, opening up access to business procurement.

You know, some of the most enthusiastic early support so far has come from the professions in the area of credential recognition. Because under the agreement, no extra steps will be needed for a person to work in one province if they are already credentialed to work in the other province. I am most encouraged by the attitude that I see from some of these credentialing bodies, and it's really a "let's roll up the sleeves and get this job done" approach.

It now looks like the B.C.-Alberta approach to limiting trade barriers is spreading. We had meetings at the start of September in Halifax of the ministers responsible for the Agreement on Internal Trade, and TILMA was actually a bigger focus of the discussions around that meeting than the AIT was actually talked about. Already, Saskatchewan is looking to meet and explore what the implications would be for Saskatchewan to sign onto this agreement, and at least three other jurisdictions are actively kicking the tires as to whether or not they should sign on as well.

We're hoping that we can achieve a much more open economy in Canada through this route in a way that we have not been able to achieve through the marginal, incremental approach that has been tried in the attempts to broaden the scope of the Agreement on Internal Trade.

So let's just recap. We have in B.C. an economy that is outperforming other jurisdictions, and we want to keep it that way. We have a vision and a clear set of goals for our province to take us into the next decade and beyond. We join with our neighbour in Alberta to create an economic powerhouse, one that we anticipate is going to grow even larger in the months and years ahead, and we're consulting with experts on how to get there, and we are firmly establishing B.C. as Canada's Pacific gateway.

So after a decade of progress from 2001 to 2010, we will have lots to celebrate when 2010 comes around. And I have often said that the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games are not just a sporting event. They are actually going to be a celebration of who we are in British Columbia and a celebration of our place in the world.

The 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games have actually received a lot of media attention in the last couple of weeks. As much as I may be tempted to do it, I'm not going to walk you through the ins and outs of some of the various accounting theories that have been used to calculate various costs that might be involved. I can tell you, by all accounts, when you focus in on the actual delivery of the games, we are on budget and on schedule.

And I just want to say this: in all of the discussions that have surfaced in the last few weeks, nobody has identified any additional new costs relating to the Olympics that weren't public information prior. What it really comes down to is this debate as to what should be included or not included in a basket.

You know, when I go around the province, people ask me the question in these terms; ”What will the staging of the Olympic Games really cost?” And I give you a very clear answer to that in terms of the taxes that will be spent by your provincial government in the staging of the Olympic Games - the direct costs of living up to our obligations for the IOC and others. It's going to be $600 million, and we are well within budget to make sure that we can actually deliver on that.

So the question comes up: “What are Olympic-related costs?” Well, you can come up with whatever definition you want, and everything actually is on public record that you can include into your little basket - whatever you want to fit your definition. I can tell you one thing that's for sure: whatever definition you want to use or come up with as to what is or is not an Olympic-related cost, the benefits of us hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will far exceed the cost, no matter what definition you use.

There are both immediate and long-lasting benefits to hosting the games. InterVista Consulting has recently come up with an estimate of up to $10 billion in economic benefits that can be realized. The international exposure that we received from our efforts in Torino, Italy, with our B.C.-Canada Place was estimated at the equivalent of $30 million worth of media coverage. In fact, games benefits are recognized within the financial communities, and they were actually factors noted by some of the bond rating agencies when they upgraded British Columbia's credit rating.

So 2010 is going to be a big celebration of British Columbia as the best place on earth to visit, to invest, to live and to raise a family.

In conclusion, let me say: ultimately outperforming other jurisdictions is not about gross domestic product or the building of facilities or the building of roads. It's about people, it's about jobs, and it's about keeping our outstanding quality of life. Here in British Columbia we look forward with confidence and with clear, purposeful vision to the future growth and prosperity for all of us to share.

Thank you very much.

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