The owners of more than 300,000 independent small and midsize businesses together with all other members of society that makes up the BC economy depend on the new BC government to successfully address the strategic issues facing the economy.

Decades of old problems in the allocation mechanism and in the investment and liquidity flow are a particular problem for developable small and midsize businesses starving for investment and liquidity.

Further, social satisfaction in the community and the tax base depends on investment in economic production in businesses that can distribute wealth via employment in the local economy.

Previous BC governments failed in their accountability to monitor, identify and address problems in the allocation mechanism that hampered investment and the liquidity flow in BC’s economy and that subsequently hampered economic production and quality of life.

In good democratic order, the voters reacted and gave the BC Liberals an explicit mandate to reorganize the government’s policies and institutions and to solve the issues that hamper investment in economic production and jobs.

The Community Charter Act is one action the government is taking to meet that mandate.

The question for the government and legislative assembly is: Will the Community Charter Act contribute to solving the issues that today hamper investment and distribution of real income in local communities across BC such as in Prince Rupert or Kelowna?

Conversely, could the Act worsen the allocation problems; hampering investment in economic production, eroding social satisfaction, and consequently hindering the government’s effort to solve the interrelated economic, social and ecological problems?

Could the outcome be similar to the previous government’s attempt to solve problems in the healthcare system by decentralizing the delivery of healthcare to politically appointed regional Healthcare Boards?

Will it be any more effective than the choice to support local economies through Forest Renewal BC?

Both decisions had some basic merit and good intention. The problem was the issues facing the forest sector and the healthcare system were never prudently identified or understood. The result is that the intervention failed to address the real issues and ‘cure the disease’, instead allocating transfers in the wrong direction, ‘leaving the patient in worse shape’.

The Community Charter Act certainly has the potential to stimulate the more lateral working economy that BC needs. However, it is unclear if vital allocation and liquidity issues are recognized or taken into consideration.

How will the Act contribute to solving allocation and liquidity problems that hamper the development of sustainable economic production in local economies and communities, such as Prince George or elsewhere in BC?

The alternative is that economic production is abandoned in the local communities, forcing businesses and people to move. This will erode the tax base while further increasing the need for subsidies and tax transfers.

There is a strong mutual motive for government and the community to solve the allocation issues.

Recognizing, the Community Charter Act is based on economic conditions in the early and mid nineties; the question is, will the Act address economic and market conditions that have continued to change rapidly - even excluding the occurrences of the past few months.

OISD, therefore, suggests that the government and the legislative assembly, and ultimately the community, needs a more thorough analysis that identifies the issues that must be solved and those that the Act intends to solve. Further, to examine how the Act will contribute to solving the problems in the allocation mechanism and how it will stimulate investment in economic production in BC, through private investment from investors at home and abroad.

OISD would like the opportunity to contribute to the analysis of the issues and to inject an additional perspective into the search for solutions.

Referring to the Government’s eleven guiding principles in the Council’s development of the Act, the following provides some considerations that support the need for a more thorough analysis of Local Government’s future task in the economy and consequently of the Community Charter Act.

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