Our government believes that all British Columbians should have a place to call home, whether it’s through home ownership or renting.

This week, the door opened for British Columbia’s natural gas industry to go global when the federal government provided approval for Pacific NorthWest LNG. The proposal represents up to $36 billion in new investments, thousands of jobs and an unprecedented economic boon for British Columbia’s future.

VICTORIA - Our government remains committed to addressing the affordability and liveability challenges faced by British Columbian families.

As the B.C. consultations for the National Housing Strategy get underway in Vancouver and in Victoria, we are encouraging your government to work with the Province of B.C. on strengthening and growing the middle class by partnering with us to address critical housing issues.

Presently in British Columbia, there are no hydraulic fracturing activities occurring anywhere near hydroelectric dams, contrary to the impression left by a recent report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

British Columbia is developing project development agreements with proponents, working with First Nations to strengthen environmental stewardship, and partnering with trades associations to increase skills training – proactive measures to put us in the best possible position to have a competitive new liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry in the province.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is on the verge of Exercise Coastal Response (https://news.gov.bc.ca/stories/exercise-coastal-response-2016), a culmination of the dedicated work of hundreds of Emergency Management BC employees and public safety partners across the province. This is the province’s first full-scale earthquake and tsunami response exercise, and the labour and planning involved in preparing for it over the past 10 months has been extraordinary.

We know the area of land and coastline that now makes up British Columbia has experienced many major earthquakes and tsunamis in the past, and history has taught us that it is only a matter of time until the next “Big One” strikes. This is not speculation – a major earthquake is coming to the west coast. We as individuals, families, communities and as a province must do everything possible to better prepare for this eventuality. We are all in this together.

The BC Government has a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and partnerships in place to support response and recovery efforts during disasters.