Business Case for Defeating Gordon Campbell Government

To the Editor:
There is a business case to be made for not re-electing the Gordon Campbell government in BC. To some, the very idea that a business group would make such a case is unbelievable until they see an analysis of the Gordon Campbell Liberal record for the last eight years.

Let’s begin by setting the record straight. The NDP left office in 2001 with a $1.6 billion surplus. The politically independent Auditor General verified this. Gordon Campbell’s first act as Premier was a $ 2.2 billion give-away in a 25% tax break to the richest 5% of the BC population, wiping out the NDP surplus. In order to pay for these tax cuts, the Liberals then proceeded with massive cuts to health care, education and services to the most vulnerable. The Liberals also began the disastrous process of selling off BC’s valuable revenue producing assets like BC Rail and BC Hydro.

As the elected trustee of B.C.’s resources, Gordon Campbell has under- funded health care and post- secondary institutions and refused to raise the minimum wage for the working poor. Raising the minimum wage would put more money in the hands of business customers thereby helping, not harming, the small business sector -the largest creator of jobs in the province. Ironically, Gordon Campbell stated that small business is
vital to our economy but then he allowed the destruction of more than ninety businesses
along the Cambie Street corridor as a result of the Canada Line [RAV] construction.

One of the most critical components of any business is trust. The Gordon Campbell record of broken promises includes the BC Rail fiasco, ripping up contracts, selling the water rights of hundreds of BC Rivers, massive over-spending on the Vancouver Convention center and gutting BC Hydro.This is not trustworthy behaviour for a premier.

As business owners we say Gordon Campbell is a liability that BC taxpayers can’t afford.

If Gordon Campbell were the CEO of a private company, he would have been fired for not upholding his fiduciary responsibilities to those who hired him.

On May 12th the voters will make a critical decision: Does Gordon Campbell get fired or re-hired? Most of us believe Gordon Campbell should be fired.

Dave Myles
President
Community Business and Professional Association of Canada
Phone –604.524.0110 or 604.612.4688
7106 18th Ave.Burnaby B.C. V3N 1H1