This is merely a campaign they hope will give them brownie points with those who fail to scratch the surface and ask ... ‘why is this being done?’

On Friday, the BC government invited all of us to ... give input on the wide range of training and job opportunities driven by CleanBC.

Melanie Mark, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Training stated, “We want to hear from people, educators, businesses, First Nations and industry on what we can do to make sure there are pathways for people throughout our province to ensure they have the skills and training they need to build a sustainable economy.”

Further, Environment Minister, George Heyman also provided his thoughts saying:

“Together we can build a thriving, innovative economy that puts B.C. on the path to a cleaner, better future with new and rewarding job opportunities”.

“As industry and businesses become more efficient, using cleaner energy, there will be changes to existing work as well as a need for new skills, which we must support through new education and training”.

“We want to hear from people who have ideas about the kind of careers and skilled jobs they hope to see in our future as we transition to a low-carbon economy”.

The government initiated the CleanBC initiative nearly a year ago (December 2018), and provided nearly a billion dollars in funding for it over three years. 

Now I don’t want to point out the obvious, however it would seem to me that providing a BILLION DOLLARS in taxpayer money, no small potatoes by the way, should have been allocated based on a well-thought out plan of action. 

Right? 

After all this government has taken actions through legislation, taxes, fees, rules, and regulations to send us down the road to a cleaner future with new opportunities for everyone. Whether it is to produce clean energy, renovate buildings or design new technologies, a cleaner future will help create good jobs, and support generations to come.

AND YET ... they seem to still need input from us on, starting with brainstorming what’s a ‘green’ job. 

Seriously?  You’ve committed a billion dollars to a program and you don’t know yet what the green jobs coming up are going to be?

As of November 1^st, they were still asking us to advise them on opportunities that could be available to you, your family and community.

The reality is, I’m sure, that this government is merely doing a campaign, they hope will give them brownie points with those who fail to scratch the surface and ask, ‘why is this being done?’

Horgan, Heyman, and Mark want us to tell them how we see our ... children, grandchildren, or yourself working in these new areas? What’s your vision for these opportunities?

AND ... how do we help make sure that, as industries change and grow, that there can and will be opportunity for everyone?

Is this not information that would have been researched and gone into the pre-planning stages for the CleanBC initiative? Why, is the BC government spending any of that one-billion-dollar budget asking questions they should already know the answers to?  These are actual questions being posed:

What kind of training would you like to see for you, your family or your friends?

OBVIOUS ANSWER ... the kind that will provide the skills needed

What kind of support would be needed to making training accessible to your community?
OBVIOUS ANSWER ... bursaries ... low tuition costs ... interest free, or low-interest, loans ... childcare for those with young families...

John Horgan’s NDP government is also asking us for input on how they can create more job opportunities for sectors such as:

... renovating homes and buildings to be more energy efficient – that’s already being done, and it will continue as long as government doesn’t get in the way

... working on zero-emission vehicles – that’s already being done, and will continue as long as government doesn’t get in the way

... developing renewable energy solutions and clean technology – again, this is already being done and it too will continue as long as government doesn’t get in the way

... designing communities and transportation to reduce carbon pollution, and so much more – and once more, this is already being done.

Friday’s media release was little more than a hoped for free Public Relations campaign that they hoped the those in the media would provide for them.

Thank goodness, it seems to have failed!