[ADD UNDER “RURAL BC” HEADING]

ACTION: New initiatives to advance resource development and major projects

The overall prosperity of our province depends on the land and the people of our regions
where much of our wealth is created. A major theme emerging from people joining this
campaign is the need to advance resource development and important projects across
our province—particularly in the North—in a way that is reliable and sustainable.

This means taking a new look at how government approaches the natural resource
sector, including how we set the priorities for economic development in our major
regions, like the North. This also means redoubling our efforts as a province to advance
major resource-based projects of significant regional and provincial benefit.

Therefore, as Premier, I will:

 Create a new Premier’s Council on Resource Development to make
recommendations to government on how to reduce barriers to and improve
opportunities for resource development across the province, particularly with respect
to major resource projects of regional significance that have strong local and First
Nations support;
 Establish a new Northern Development Agency, a unique regionally based agency of
the province that will provide leadership across government in advocating for the
economic development priorities of Northern B.C. in areas such as: infrastructure
investment, natural resource development, promoting trade and investment in the
region, regional skills development, advocacy for major private sector projects of
significance to the region, and government services priorities in the region; and
 Create a new Major Projects Secretariat within government to support the
advancement of specific major resource-based projects for prospective advancement
in regions across the province by bringing together inter-ministry teams of ministry
experts to work with proponents of projects of regional significant that have strong
local and First Nations support to help move these projects forward.

Government has the opportunity to align itself in ways to take true advantage of the
opportunities in our regions for the benefit of the province as well as the country. In
particular, with this success of this focus on the North, the province can expand this
approach to other key regions of the province in the future to provide them with this
additional focus and impetus for economic success.

ACTION: Enhancing key agricultural supports for our farming and ranching sector

A competitive and sustainable agricultural sector is integral to the future of our province.
Not only does it provide our families and communities with food through local farms and
ranches, but it is also a major employer across the province.

Enhancements to farming and ranching should be based on a policy framework that will
put a long-term emphasis on innovative and competitive marketing and production safety
net programs for the livestock and crop sectors, competitive and sustainable supply
management programs, and a strong commitment to the Agricultural Land Reserve to
maintain the necessary land base for farmers and ranchers.
Therefore, as Premier, I will
 Support the broader agricultural sector towards meeting the objectives of the British
Columbia Agriculture Plan by providing annual funding towards:
o Multi-year investment in agricultural branding and marketing to increase
awareness of BC products;
o Ensuring the School Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program continues
beyond 2011 as committed by government and reaches every school in the
province;
o Enhanced income support and business expansion programs in partnership
with the federal government through the Growing Forward program, including
the Agristability program;
o Expanding farming extension services to provide frontline industry specialists
to support day-to-day knowledge transfer and operations within the sector;
o Ongoing provincial support for 4-H programs for youth and community
agricultural fairs; and
o Enhancing the performance, capacity and responsiveness of the Agricultural
Land Commission by bringing funding back to 2001 levels.
 Support the cattle ranching industry towards meeting the objectives of the Report of
the Ranching Task Force by providing annual funding towards:
o Establishing a permanent predator control program to protect stock and
rangelands; and
o A “range development fund” to partner with tenure holders and non-
governmental agencies to provide essential infrastructure enhancements on
range lands.
 Committing to ensure that the province fully participates in emergency support
programs for farmers through the cost-shared federal-provincial AgriRecovery
program, including an internal review of the “triggering” policies for access to these
funds to ensure that B.C.’s programs remain competitive with those of other
provinces.

These commitments represent an additional investment of approximately $15 million a

year, with cost-shared emergency programs being funded through contingencies when
needed. These investments represent a strong first step in providing the much-needed
support to these sectors as government works to meet the objectives of the Agriculture
Plan and the Ranching Task Force.