The Chilliwack
Progress Thursday
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Sports
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Teachers
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New track returns sport to its roots.
Teachers send message as campaign begins.
Chris Sas and the Sasafras lay down the funk.
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Party leaders from both the BC Liberals and the NDP were in Chilliwack Wednesday. Above: Christy Clark displays campaign buttons from the two local Liberal candidates before touring Langley Concrete in Chilliwack. Right: Adrian Dix (centre) laughs with Rolf Arnold, UFV director of trades and technology, and Chilliwack NDP candidate Patti MacAhonic during a tour of the automotive classroom at UFV. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Leaders trade shots in Chilliwack campaign stop BC Alina Konevski The Progress
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The leaders of the two most popular parties in the province stopped by Chilliwack on Wednesday to back their local candidates, expand on their election platforms, and throw stones at each other. Liberal leader Christy Clark toured Langley Concrete in Chilliwack that morning. “Langley Concrete is helping drive economic growth in Chilliwack – that means growth for the whole province,” she said. The B.C. Liberals platform is meant to accelerate the existing B.C. Jobs Plan. Included within is a 40 per cent tax reduction to small businesses.
While Clark wanted to give business owners tax breaks, NDP leader Adrian Dix focused on supplying them with enough skilled labour during his same day tour of the University of the Fraser Valley’s Trades and Technology centre. The visit came just after announcing that an NDP government would invest $40 million in skills training and $100 million into student grants annually. “If we fail to act, the growing skills shortage facing BC will hamstring our economy and hurt the private sector’s ability to increase productivity and create jobs,” said Dix. “And the inequality that plagues B.C. – already the worst in Canada – will only get worse... I’ve met with hundreds of business
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people in the past two years and the consistent message I hear is that they cannot find the skilled workers they need to take advantage of opportunities to grow,” he continued. Dix called B.C.’s skills shortage a “major impediment.” Both parties have focussed their campaigns on chipping away at each other’s platforms. The NDP has argued that the Liberal budget cuts funding to post-secondary education, even though the vast majority of new jobs require a certificate or degree. The Liberals, meanwhile, maintain that the NDP’s “reckless spending” will drive the province’s economy into the ground. Dix also lambasted the Liberals
for spending on partisan ads. “A debt-free B.C., and tes voliquified When questioned by a reporter on natural gas, go hand in hand.1LNG 20 3 Wednesday whether the Liberals’ is a trillion dollars in new economic latest $100,000 television ad, growth over 30 years,” Clark said. and others like it, are par“It’s a once in a lifetime opportisan, Clark gave a terse tunity, but we need to seize “no they weren’t” reply. it.” The NDP argue When questioned s e votesbya vot that in the three The Progress on how 2013will 2013 years that Clark has Liberal government been in power, the ensure that the develprovincial debt load opments that go along has increased and the province with large scale LNG export don’t experienced the second worse job damage the environment at home, growth in Canada. Clark spoke about cleaning votesup votesAsia’s air. The B.C. Liberals have founded 13 2013 “This is a spectacular20place. their campaign on the promise that B.C. will be “debt-free” within Just look around at the beauty of 15 years. The only way to achieve this environment here,” said Clark this, according to them, is that by referring to Chilliwack. exporting liquified natural gas. Continued: LEADERS/ p16
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