Read this report from The Globe and Mail which further undermines the BC Liberals’ claims of economic superiority compared with the NDP of the 1990s.
Premier Christy Clark and the Liberals have often claimed bragging
rights over the NDP on economic issues, saying the province is much
better off today than under the “NDP’s reckless policies” of the 1990s.
But a critical assessment of B.C.’s performance over the past decade
shows that, in comparisons with other provinces, B.C. in 2010 actually
ranked lower than it did 10 years earlier on key economic measures.
The
report was released this week by the B.C. Progress Board, a government
advisory agency that provides the most comprehensive review available on
how the province performs relative to other provinces.
The board
states that British Columbians had above-average growth, a 24-per-cent
increase in income and strong employment growth over the past decade.
British Columbians in 2010 were significantly better off than they were
in 2000, the report stated.
But so were many other Canadians.
B.C.
dropped in rankings among provinces on the economy, personal income and
jobs, but maintained its number one standing on environmental quality
and health outcomes. The province’s ranking on social conditions, as
ninth, remained unchanged, the report stated. (Dec. 22, 2011)