MODERN, COMPETITIVE & COMMUNITY-MINDED
The Okanagan has grown into one of BC and Canada’s most spectacular and dynamic regions. My government would support a modern agenda for the Okanagan that drives:
- Strategic, climate-friendly growth
- Resilient, diversified, and prosperous economies throughout the region
- Better inter-community movement for residents and visitors
Below are my FIVE pillars. They are not meant to be exhaustive – but they are built in response to what I’ve been hearing on the ground as I talk to people in the region.
A TRANSPORTATION VISION THAT MOVES YOU
When the Okanagan can move goods and people, BC and Canada can move goods and people more safely and efficiently. The 2020 Regional Transportation Plan and the hard work done by the partner municipalities proves there’s alignment around a clear direction – but now the region needs a provincial partner that’s willing to act. The Okanagan transportation infrastructure connecting Washington State through to the TransCanada Highway in the interior of BC is not keeping pace with the population and economic growth of the region. The province of British Columbia can do more to support one of Canada’s fastest growing regions, including establishing a long term vision that commits to a multi-lane highway spanning the entire region. Transportation infrastructure for the region must be climate resilient – to handle fires and floods – consider Indigenous community needs, and be multi-modal. It’s also time to enhance the approaches for the WR Bennett Bridge.
GROWING TOURISM & THE AGRI-TOURISM OPPORTUNITY
The Okanagan is one of Canada’s gems. When international visitors are ready to fly again en masse, my government will put the Okanagan at the top of their list with supportive investments in global marketing. And let’s embrace the region’s agri-tourism opportunity. That particular sector enhances food security, drives a healthy visitor economy, and encourages sustainable farming practices. But current ALR rules constrain it from embracing new, emerging farming practices that also support healthy diets, communities, and jobs. My government would support agri-tourism as a viable vision for the future by creating more flexible rules and modernizing our approach to unlock new ways of farming and delighting visitors and locals alike.
AN ALL-OF-GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO THE POISONED DRUG CRISIS
BC has been in a declared state of emergency for 6 years now. As a civil society, we now need an all-of-government approach to the tragic overdose deaths communities and families continue to face. There’s no other way to say it: It’s time to invest in the mental health supports and interventions that not only save lives when people have reached the brink, but also prevent people from falling through the cracks in the first place. Getting more mental health supports into schools, for example (because we know statistically many mental health issues present early in life), is one way we get serious about a more preventative approach. The business community wants to be a part of a solution that saves lives as it creates safe spaces for customers and employees. Deploying street clinicians to “meet people where they are” is the modern, compassionate approach that would also help lower property damage and crime.
AMPLIFYING SMALL BUSINESS & THE OKANAGAN’S “CLUSTERS” (& A PROVINCIAL PARTNER IN SOLVING THE LABOUR SHORTAGE)
The Okanagan is a highly diversified region, but its small businesses and clusters need a provincial government that understands that the right tax incentives and regulatory environment are essential to their future success. A Val Litwin BC Liberal government will work closely with the tech, digital media, and aerospace sectors to ensure the right “hosting conditions” are in place to create centres of excellence and drive high-paying jobs for the next generation. Indignenous and non-Indigenous small businesses will feel again what it’s like to have a government on their side that shares their vision of scale-up growth.
The ongoing labour shortage is choking out business opportunity – and region-wide prosperity. As the former CEO of the Whistler Chamber I flew to Ottawa countless times to push the federal government for immigration solutions that work for businesses (when Canadians weren’t available). My government will be a PARTNER to small business as it works to crack the code on talent and teams.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS A PROVINCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
If young families and middle-class British Columbians can’t afford to stay here, BC has no future. My government will step into one of its most essential responsibilities: Providing dignified housing for its population. And it doesn’t need to be with a heavy hand. In my 4-point plan to fix housing supply, top of the list is resourcing local governments such that they can work through their permitting backlogs all so the private sector can get building more homes – of all types – for everyone.