The new year is a time of optimism and fresh starts. We absorb the lessons from the year past and look hopefully to the future.
That is true even following a year of tribulations.
We are persevering.
Our most important goal for the new year, as it was for the year just past and the year before that, is ensuring we keep British Columbians safe and healthy.
We continue to cope with COVID-19 and its variants. A little over a year ago, we embarked on the most ambitious vaccination program in British Columbia’s history. Today, more than 88% of eligible people aged five and older have received their first dose, a historic achievement.
We are now busily vaccinating children, even as adults receive booster shots to address the Omicron variant.
Under the leadership of provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbians have been kept informed about how to best protect themselves and how to manage risks. Her message to “be kind, be calm, be safe” will resonate for generations to come.
To protect businesses large and small, the provincial government is providing supports to assist those sectors most adversely affected by necessary public health orders.
The global pandemic was just one of several overlapping emergencies the province faced last year. Severe droughts, devastating floods, mudslides and a deadly heat dome tested us as never before. Our province felt the full brunt of the effects of global climate change.
At the same time, we have had to cope with a poisoned drug supply. These multiple and overlapping crises have tested our infrastructure and strained our resources.
We mourn those we have lost. We also praise first responders, health-care professionals and other front-line workers who have been pushed to the limit.
From tragedy grows hope. British Columbians have shown themselves to be a resilient, compassionate people. When residents lost their homes and possessions to wildfires, people opened their hearts and their wallets.
Volunteers assisted in evacuating livestock from waist-deep waters, while others appeared in the middle of the night to help with sandbagging to protect the Barrowtown pump station.
British Columbians can tackle any problem, overcome any crisis, by working together.
Despite the terrible damage done to the Coquihalla and other highways, crews working with engineers managed to get Highway 5, an essential route in the supply chain, open to commercial traffic before Christmas, a tremendous achievement.
We have taken steps throughout these overlapping crises to ensure the economy continues to function.
More people are working in the province today than before the start of the pandemic.
We have launched programs to provide training and education for youth with an emphasis on the most in-demand jobs, making sure certain business will be able to call on skilled and educated workers in the years to come.
A child-care agreement with the federal government ensures working parents have a trusted, affordable and reliable place for their children as they pursue their own economic ambitions.
As well, the introduction of the province’s first program of paid sick leave will help keep businesses open by supporting sick workers to stay home.
The multiple health and climate crises we have confronted have not distracted the provincial government from an ambitious agenda. We have been hard at work to build a strong, post-pandemic recovery that works for everyone.
We will continue to promote equality as a guiding principle of our government. Every British Columbian has the right to live without discrimination.
We will continue to pursue reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, building government-to-government relationships based on respect, partnership, co-operation and recognition of rights.
By establishing equality for all, we can break cycles of systemic discrimination to create a more inclusive society for ourselves and our children.
We will soon unveil a long-range plan to build on the economic fundamentals the province enjoys. We have a superb workforce; we are strengthening our infrastructure; we are blessed with a bounty of natural resources available for careful stewardship to the benefit of local communities.
This initiative is being led by Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Ravi Kahlon, who has been leading engagement with people, businesses, not-for-profits and Indigenous Peoples. These consultations and conversations will be ongoing.
B.C. is positioned geographically and economically to serve growing markets in Asia and around the world. We are developing clean energy resources under the CleanBC Roadmap to 2030, reducing harmful emissions while generating a stronger economy. Global demand for low-carbon goods and services will only continue to grow, and B.C. will be there, ready to lead the way. •
John Horgan is premier of British Columbia.
