For British Columbia's economy in the years to come, opening up new international markets and expanding existing ones will be crucial.
Increased trade overseas, especially with Asia, will lead to more jobs here. Attracting new investment means B.C. businesses, small and large, will be able to compete and thrive on the global stage.
We can combine our expertise in clean technology, our location as the Asia Pacific Gateway and our valuable reserves of natural gas to provide countries such as China, Japan, India and Korea with low-emission energy and create good jobs in B.C. in the process.
That is why, in Canada Starts Here: The B.C. Jobs Plan, we set an aggressive target of doubling our international presence by March of next year. Our government currently has nine international trade and investment representatives under contract in offices around the world, with six spread across Asia. On Monday, Premier Christy Clark announced that British Columbia will station a new trade and investment representative in Hong Kong, and a new office will be open in that financial centre and in Mumbai and Chandigarh, India, by mid-November.
It is the trade and investment offices that provide those on-the-ground connections. International representatives have lived and studied in the markets, and have sizable networks from years of working in influential circles. They know how things get done and they can open doors for B.C. businesses.
Earlier this month, for example, Susan Haird became British Columbia's new trade and investment representative in Europe. For eight years, she was the deputy chief executive of the United Kingdom's Department for Trade and Investment, and in a publicservice career spanning more than 25 years has held trade posts related to Eastern Europe and Latin America, the auto industry and nuclear energy, including a stint on the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Trade and investment experts such as Haird represent this province in countries and regions that have been identified as strategic priorities, with the pieces in place to match British Columbia's advantages. Hong Kong is a natural next step because it is home to a large number of Canadians - one in 13 households there includes a Canadian citizen - and it has branching business and personal ties with B.C. It also happens to be a financial powerhouse, a place where many mainland businesses base their banking activities such as initial public offerings and overseas investments.
British Columbia's new representative in Hong Kong will be able to tap into both the extensive financial sector and our existing offices in China - in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou - to attract investment and connect B.C. businesses with new opportunities. That will also be the case in Mumbai, India, another financial centre in a country with a fast-growing economy and extensive links to this province.
As British Columbia looks to diversify and expand markets for its goods and services and increase investment in our people and businesses, it is those local connections that will provide a foundation for long-term growth and the jobs that come with it.
Pat Bell is B.C.'s minister of jobs, tourism and skills training, and minister responsible for labour.
