Premier John Horgan gave his post-Budget 2019 speech to Victoria's Chamber of Commerce this afternoon talking about everything from trying to contain BC Hydro costs for consumers, and addressing climate change.
He also says to succeed and prosper we need to ensure we meet the challenges of competition globally, and the significant trade challenges posed by a U.S. government that implements tariffs without consultation, cooperation or conversation.
" But I also understand and recognize that if you combine British Columbia, Washington, Orehgon and California from the panhandloe to the Baja Peninsula you have the 5th largest economy in the world."
Horgan says as southern Vancouver Islanders we are more connected to the Olympic Peninsula that to the Niagara escarpment:
" That's not to diminish our place in Canada, far from it. But it's also imperative for us to succeed by looking in our bio-region for opportunities to succeed together. We need to cooperate on orcas, we need to cooperate on chinook salmon, we need to cooperate on climate change."
Horgan says all of those things are not social issues, they are economic issues.