November 1, 2005
Kamloops Daily News



"The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades" Timbuk3

Happy days are here, according to a report from the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of B.C.  The report,
called "B.C. Checkup - - Live, Work, Invest in B.C.," paints
a rosy picture.

Kamloops Chartered Accountant, Ron Tenisci, thinks we have
outgrown the "boom-bust patterns" that once plagued our
resource-based economy.  Kamloops is "one of the better
places to be in the province," enthuses Tenisci.

However, if you read between the buoyant lines of the
report, some sober realities emerge.

The report says that fewer people are on welfare, which
suggests that poor people are better off.  However, the
reason that fewer people are on welfare is because the B.C.
government closed 36 welfare offices and cut 459 social
service positions.  It's not surprising that welfare numbers
drop when the government makes it harder to receive welfare.

It's useful to know where the welfare dropouts went.  No one
knows.  No tracking was done as people slipped through the
cracks.  Undoubtedly, some of them found jobs.  But others
just disappeared from welfare rolls and reappeared on the
street and at food banks.  Many welfare recipients fell
though the safety net and hit the cold, hard ground.

The report shows that disposable income in B.C. is close to
the national average.   But averages are deceiving.  Income
distribution in B.C. has widened.  The rich are getting
richer and the poor are getting poorer.  In the last decade,
the bottom group of British Columbians made one-third less
while the top made 14 per cent more, according to the
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

"As a place to live, BC enjoyed good air quality, . . ."
says the report, showing lower average ground-level ozone
than Alberta and Ontario.  Again, averages hide the harmful
air pollution in many B.C. locations.

According to one B.C. government study, valleys tend to trap
ozone.  As a result, Kamloops suffers from unusually high
ozone readings along with Kelowna, Williams Lake, and Prince
George.

Meanwhile, Vancouver enjoys some of the best air quality in
the province because most of the air pollution blows inland
through the Fraser valley towards Hope.

"As a place to work, B.C. led the pack in job creation,"
says the Accountant's report.  Job creation has been good
but that's because B.C.'s economy had nowhere to go but up. 
Our Gross Domestic Product dropped in 2001, and in 2002 it
was a languid 1.8 per cent compared to Canada's robust 3.4
per cent.

"As a place to invest, B.C. continued to improve . . . ,"
says the report.  It's true that we have competitive tax
rates and low debt but what the report adds is more
revealing, "one area in which the province did not fare as
well was patents, where BC continued to lag other
jurisdictions."

B.C.'s poor performance in patent growth is a symptom of
where we are not doing a good job - - technology, invention,
and science.  B.C.'s economy is fueled largely by a boom in
real estate, financial services, and by natural resources. 
I see no change in the fundamentals that result in boom and
bust cycles.  The pine beetle threatens the forestry
industry and demand for our minerals relies on the vagaries
of global markets.

Kamloops depends on resource extraction in its pulp mill and
the copper mine at Logan Lake.   These factories result in
well-paying union jobs but we could be doing more to
diversify.

Kamloops has many reasons to be optimistic but much of that
is unrealized potential.  Our natural strengths include our
location at the intersection of B.C.'s major highways and
railroads.

Every cross-county rail container that is unloaded from
ships in Vancouver comes through Kamloops.  This would be a
logical place for an inland port where goods can be
re-distributed by rail or highway.  This is especially true
as fuel prices rise.  Savings by rail transport can be
considerable.

These savings could result in public good beyond the
benefits of economic activity.  Reduced truck traffic on
major highways throughout the province would reduce highway
maintenance costs, accident costs, and environmental impact. 
Sea port congestion would be reduced.

An integrated economic plan for Kamloops would build on our
natural strengths.  Well-paying high technology jobs could
include truck and rail maintenance, and tracking the
movement of goods.

Kamloops has a lot of unrealized potential but unrealistic
optimism   creates complacency.

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