Much of B.C.'s future economic prosperity will follow a path of increased international trade with the Asia-Pacific region, according to Teresa Wat, the rookie MLA for Richmond Centre.
Wat, who was recently named minister of Minister of International Trade and Minister Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism, said her collection of portfolios puts her in a prime position to help guide B.C. down that route, growing business connections with countries such as China, India, and South Korea.
While recognizing the already strong trade ties with the U.S. and European Union member countries, Wat, who before being elected in the May 14 provincial vote was president and CEO of a multicultural radio station and news director of Channel M Television, said it is time to enhance trade ties in the Asia-Pacific region.
At the leading edge of the coming trade efforts is the B.C. government's push to export liquified natural gas (LNG), with China as the main customer.
"China really needs that LNG for its 1.3 billion people," Wat told the News following Wednesday's Throne Speech in the B.C.Legislature. "We're also looking at Japan and South Korea. We see opportunities there, so that's why the premier has decided to form this (international trade) ministry and have me focus on the Asia-Pacific strategy."
Wat added there is also the potential for some synergies thanks to her other responsibility as minister of multiculturalism.
"We see the multicultural community as actually our competitive advantage," she said, "because we have all these immigrants coming here from all over the world, especially from Asia. Our province has connections to all these countries, and if we can leverage those connections we can strengthen our trade relationships, attract new investment, and create more jobs in British Columbia."
To help take advantage of "this pool of immigrant talent," Wat said plans are underway to launch a trade mission to some Asia-Pacific countries before the end of the year.
Wat added the new ministry of Natural Gas Development, headed by minister Rich Coleman, would be a big part of those trade mission efforts.
No concrete details have been arranged as yet on who else would be included in the trade mission, or what countries are being considered for a visit.
Not completely sold on the BC Liberal government's trade strategy is Iglika Ivanova, and economist and public interest researcher at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
She is concerned the province will not get enough bang for its buck pinning much of its hopes on exporting LNG.
"We've wanted to be a gateway to Asia-Pacific for a long time now," she said. "And that's good. But we're thinking of exporting raw resources instead of thinking about how we can develop value-added industries."
Ivanova added that exporting commodities does, at the outset, require creating jobs to develop the needed infrastructure. But once that is completed, the number of workers needed to keep the operation running drops drastically.
"There's a lot of jobs in construction in the beginning, but they are short-term and temporary," Ivanova said.
She pointed to the proposed, $4 billion Kitimat LNG plant which will require an estimated 3,500 construction workers, but create a mere 125 long-term positions.
"It looks attractive because of the short-term benefits because we need jobs now, but I am worried this government is being short-sighted," she said.
B.C. also does not have the tax and royalty structures in place to fully benefit from the export of LNG, Ivanova said, adding B.C. would do well to examine what other countries, such as Norway, have done to maximize benefits.
"As it currently stands, natural gas production in B.C. is at an all-time high, but our royalty revenues are near an all-time low only $144 million in last fiscal year, compared to well over a billion dollars in the mid 2000s," she said. "It seems clear the current royalty system is not maximizing the benefits our province gets from the use of our fossil fuels."
To address that, Ivanova suggested a full review of the entire B.C. royalty system, "not just for natural gas, but also for water, forests and minerals, to ensure that we get a fair return from our publicly owned resources."
