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Job creation ideas for Prime Minister Harper and Premier Clark

Below are some simple job creation strategies that I feel Premier Christy Clark and Prime Minister Stephen Harper can adopt to get people working again.

Environment – Sponsor an Eco-Fair where the government would offer substantial prizes for the development of new eco-friendly goods and services.

Government employees – Encourage full-time government employees to work half-time in order to double the number of job opportunities available. 

Immigration – Actively recruit investor immigrants from abroad, and streamline the process of becoming a Canadian citizen for immigrants who create permanent full-time, high-paying jobs in Canada.

Industry – Counter the high Canadian dollar with tax incentives and support for new and existing industries, such as the movie industry in Vancouver.

Interest rates – Rates should be kept low to stimulate spending, economic growth and small business loans.

Small business – Abolish taxes on small business during the first five years of their operations.

Labour – Unions can purchase shares in the companies of the workers they represent. The goal of this would be to try to get union representation and decision-making power on the board of directors of these companies, in an effort to better secure worker interests within the company and management.

Multiculturalism – Tap into our multilingual and multicultural citizenry to establish new markets for B.C.'s goods and services abroad. 

Post-secondary education – Ensure that colleges and universities offer degree programs in small business development and social entrepreneurship. Everything from business plan development to financing options to bring the ideas to life.

Poverty - Introduce a guaranteed annual income. This could lift people out of poverty and encourage spending on local goods and services which may stimulate demand and lead to the creation of new jobs.

Seniors - Encourage early retirement to free up jobs for the younger generation, many of whom have families to support.

Tourism – To draw tourists and jobs to B.C., market the province to the world and create affordable travel packages for familes and various target groups.

Training – Provide employers with tax incentives to hire and train new workers, especially youth who face high levels of unemployment.

Transportation – Expand light rail south of the Fraser into Surrey, Delta, Langley and White Rock. This would facilitate economic development in regional town centres in parts of the province which are growing rapidly.

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