Premier Christy Clark touched on several topics in an hour-long interview with CKNW’s Bill Good, in which she also took questions from callers.
Firstly, she continued to paint herself as a defender of the environment when it comes to Enbridge pipeline proposal – a day after environmental groups staged a large anti-pipeline demonstration on the lawn of the BC Legislature.
“Bill, mark my words. As I said to (Alberta Premier) Alison Redford, no matter how much money they put on the table, even if they come up with a fantastic money deal for British Columbia, if they haven’t met the conditions on the environment, the project will not go ahead.”
She’s asked then that if the conditions are met, does that mean she is going to take a risk on oil spills.
“I think we take the risk every day. I mean, there’s bitumen moving in and out of the Burrard Inlet every week right now, they are all these ships up and down the coast in international waters that we don’t control. So that risk is there every single day and we manage it.”
When it comes to training for skilled workers, the premier appears to not want to get ahead of herself.
Clark dodges the question when asked why mining companies are recruiting skilled Chinese workers instead of Canadian ones.
“We need to make sure that that mine, that that exploration, is done so that mine can get open. Because once it is open, there are going to be thousands and thousands of hours, employment hours, of highly paid, highly skilled jobs.”
She says northeast B.C. doesn’t have a mine yet, so why train for jobs that don’t exist yet?
“We hope these temporary workers, and the exploration results are good. And it means that they come back and they open up a mine. And if they do, we’re going to start training people for jobs because they will exist.”
Clark adds the province does plan to invest $ 75 million to encourage students to consider the skilled trades.
Next, Clark ruled out a snap election in January.
Bill Good: “May 14th, absolute, no changing your mind?”
Clark: “Well, I mean, that’s where we’re at, that’s what we’re all planning for here. That’s where the fixed election date says we’re going to go. … I don’t have any plan to have it go sooner and I don’t know where that rumour would have come from.”
She also flatly rejected a call from Metro Vancouver mayors that the province come up with financial help for the Translink’s funding woes.
“Then need to come up with their own solutions. Translink is an organization of local government, and frankly they can’t keep looking to provincial taxpayers, people in Dawson Creek and Kamloops, to try and resolve the funding issues.”
Last week, the mayors ruled out any property tax increases in considering Translink’s new base plan, and told the province to help by Feb. 28 or the transit authority will hit the wall financially.
Finally, Clark defended herself against women who don’t appear to like her.
The premier has been notoriously polling low among women.
A recent Ipsos Reid survey suggests more than half of women prefer the NDP, while less than a quarter would choose the BC Liberals.
Clark responded to some listener feedback, in which women called her autocratic, cutesy and defensive.
“I think what we heard there was a representative sample of lots of people who have political opinions in general. I mean, to say that that is women – what I heard was, I heard someone who supported what the NDP did in the 1990s. Fair enough, we differ on that. I heard someone who said that they didn’t like BC Liberal policy. Fair enough. That’s not about me being a woman.”
Clark adds the economy is a woman’s issue, and when election time comes, women would do well to look to the Liberals to help them and their partners keep their jobs, and their kids getting a good education.
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