Campbell Pumps Up Local Liberals

By 250 News

front, Shirley Bond and Premier Gordon Campbell, back l-r  Bruce Ernst, Pat Bell, John Rustad

Prince George, B.C.- The first  full day of  election campaigning  brought Premier Gordon Campbell to Prince George today to officially kick off the election campaigns for the local incumbents, Shirley Bond, Pat Bell and John Rustad, and to boost the Cariboo North Campaign of Bruce Ernst.

To a crowd of about 500 local Liberals, Campbell pressed for everyone to work hard to ensure the work the party has done over the past 8 years is not lost by having the NDP elected.

The Mustel group released a poll yesterday indicating the Liberals have a huge lead over the New Democrats among decided voters. “There is always a risk of complacency“ says Gordon Campbell, “I think this is the most important election in a generation This is an election where we can lose all that we‘ve worked so hard to get. We can lose it all in one day if you don’t go out and vote.”

(click here for brief video of Campbell's comments on complacency)

There have been rumblings that one or both of the Prince George ridings could be in jeopardy and Campbell made sure he praised both Shirley Bond and Pat Bell for their efforts for the North, and reminded everyone about the significant projects that have come this way, like the Cancer Clinic, the Simon Fraser Bridge, the Charles Jago Sports Centre and the expansion of the Prince George airport.

Campbell has also released his party’s platform“Our plan will ensure that we continue to live within our means, invest taxpayers’ money where it’s needed most, and also invest $14 billion over the next three years in new hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure that will create up to 88,000 new jobs,” Premier Campbell added. “It’s a solid business plan that will reduce costs on our economy, create new opportunities for growth in clean energy, forestry, mining, agriculture and small business.”

Some of the items within the platform directly impact forestry:

• Propose a new, national Extended Employment Insurance Program in co-operation with the federal government to extend benefits for workers who exhaust their Employment Insurance benefits.
• Expand the Community Development Trust for new transitional and pension-bridging support for older workers, including new tuition assistance to help forest workers, miners and other workers upgrade and new job opportunities.
• Pursue new uses and markets for B.C. wood by pushing for a new, national wood-first policy to create new demand for renewable, carbon-neutral Canadian wood products across Canada; create a new Wood Innovation & Design Centre in Prince George; create a new Value for Wood Secretariat to expand and expedite investments in value-added growth; and increase B.C.’s marketing budget in China by 50 per cent.

Other items include:

• Aggressively pursue a strategy to crack down on gang crime which includes more police, more prosecutors, and tougher federal laws. Introduce new legislation that requires those arrested with outstanding warrants from other provinces to be immediately returned to those jurisdictions and deny them access to income assistance and other services requiring residency until they can prove their warrants have been dealt with.
• Introduce a common transit U-Pass program for all post-secondary students in B.C. by September 2010
• Significantly reduce taxes for small business including lowering small business income tax to the lowest rate in Canada by April 1, 2012, and raising the small business income tax threshold to $500,000 on January 1, 2010 – an increase of 150 per cent since 2001.
• Double the Training Tax Credit for employers effective July 1, 2009 – providing up to $4,000 annually for businesses to take on trades apprentices.
• Launch a review of the BC Assessment process to lower the unfair burden of property taxes on small business.
• Work with the federal government to pursue new income benefits for seniors, including changes to allow the first $20,000 of seniors’ pension income to be completely tax exempt, increase RRSP contribution limits, and ease rules on mandatory RRIF withdrawals.
• Launch a new BC Family Residence Program this summer to provide families who must accompany a loved-one for medical care – particularly rural and Northern families – with new travel and accommodation support.

The one thought he would like to leave with all voters is this,  “Who is the best able to guide us through these challenging economic times so we can come out the other side stronger? If they will look at the platforms, answer that question, go to the polls, mark the ballot, we will get the best government for British Columbia.”

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