We were among the first to support in principle the Forest Practices Code while registering our concerns regarding the cumbersome bureaucracy and inefficiencies the initial version entailed. We have supported various proposals to resolve long-standing land use issues in this province and participated actively in such initiatives and the Lower Mainland Regional Public Advisory Committee which consulted on the Lower Mainland Regional Land Use Plan which is part of the Protected Areas Strategy. The Chamber supports the Agreement. From the business perspective, it is impossible to overstate the importance of providing fair compensation in a situation such as this where privately held rights are to be appropriated. Business craves, above all else, certainty.
Business needs clear and certain rules under which to plan and operate.
In any jurisdiction where the rules are subject to change and where rights can be abrogated without fair compensation, business and investment will ascribe risk and, with higher risk, a need for commensurately higher returns. Prudent businesses and investors will always make a careful and objective assessment of the risks and potential rewards in locating or investing in any particular jurisdiction and they have a whole world of choices from which to select. Approval of the Agreement represents an opportunity for the Provincial government to send a clear and important signal to the world-wide business and investment community that they will be treated fairly in British Columbia. We can tell you from a real-world perspective that, despite a very few high profile exceptions, not only is new capital investment generally extremely wary of the climate for business in British Columbia, but existing business and capital is leaving. It is time to stop the bleeding and to heal the wound.