Dean Birks

Top Office Producer 2011

Top MLS® Producer - Prince George 2011

Hi All

Premier Christy Clark heads off on another Trade Mission this coming week to Korea, Japan and the Philippines on what will be another major step forward in our Jobs Plan agenda. Korea continues to see strong growth in lumber, minerals and energy exports while Japan continues to be a major importer of BC products. Our cultural ties to the Philippines are significant and we see this as a major market opportunity as well.

Also this week on the Jobs Plan front was the monthly employment statistics. BC gained almost 20,000 new jobs which represents about 1/3 of all the jobs generated in Canada and well ahead of of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The real job growth took place in the key sectors identified in the BC’s Jobs Plan including Forestry, Mining, Energy, Manufacturing and Transportation. Is this a coincidence? I think not, the Jobs Plan is working and I expect more good news to come.

One more week in session before a break week in which I will be traveling in the Prince George and Mackenzie area ridings.

Have a great week!

Pat

 1.  British Columbia gained 19,700 jobs in April and the unemployment rate fell to 6.2%. Of this 16,700 positions were full time and 3,000 were part time.

 1.  2,318,800 people were working in British Columbia during April, up from 2,299,100 positions in March and an increase of 48,700 jobs compared with April 2011.  Of this 66,200 were full time positions offsetting a loss of 8,300 part time positions.

 1.  The unemployment rate for youth (15 to 24 years of age) was recorded at 10.5 per cent, down by 3.6 percentage points from March. In April 2011, the youth unemployment rate was recorded at 14.5 per cent.

 1.  Forestry, fishing, mining and gas extraction: 48,000 jobs, up by 6,400, Manufacturing:  186,600 jobs, up by 10,200 and Transportation and warehousing: 128,600 jobs, up by 4,500
 2.  Seven provinces added jobs in April. QC led the way with 23,300 new jobs, followed by BC (+19,700), AB (+10,700), SK (+6,800), NB (+4,500) NL (+3,900) and PEI (+1,000).
 3.  Congratulations to Derek Orr, Chief of the McLeod Lake Indian Band on his appointment to the Aboriginal Business and Investment Council. The Council was formed earlier this year to advise Government, Industry and First Nations on better ways of doing business together. Derek has a strong history of business success, leading McLeod Lake on a number of very successful business ventures in Forestry, Mining and Construction.
 4.  Earlier this week we announced the formalization of the first provincial partnership with the national, non-profit organization ParticipACTION to further promote healthy living and physical activity in British Columbia. >From 1971, the ParticipACTION name has been the brand behind which millions of Canadians have rallied to promote activity, fitness and healthy living. The partnership will build on British Columbia’s reputation for leading Canada in making the country the healthiest on Earth. The Province is supporting the announcement with the investment of $6 million in the partnership with ParticipACTION.
 5.  A new, powerful job-search tool is now available to make it easier for British Columbians to find jobs, making the WorkBC website an even more valuable resource for those searching for work in our province. B.C. is a leader in using new job-search capabilities that provide job seekers with a single portal to access job postings that are available within the provincial public service, posted directly to WorkBC by employers, and those externally imported from other job boards like Workopolis, Monster and company sites. The site can be accessed at www.workbc.ca<http://www.workbc.ca>. As of this morning there was just less than 8,000 jobs available across BC including 207 jobs in Prince George!
 6.  Investor response to B.C.’s credit strength has prompted the Province to launch a $1.25-billion US-dollar global bond issue as part of its annual borrowing program. The move follows Finance Minister Kevin Falcon’s annual investor tour, which saw investors buy more than $275 million in B.C. bonds after hearing about B.C.’s fiscal and economic position. B.C.’s US-dollar global five-year bond was well over-subscribed amid strong demand from European, US and Asian investors, with an order book of more than US$2 billion. The Province expects it could save up to $3 million compared to its domestic cost of borrowing. The strong reception affirmed the high value accorded the Province’s credit strength and reputation in the capital markets. B.C. bond yields are currently about 30 basis points below the Province of Ontario in the US-dollar market, showing the market considers B.C. bonds to be a secure long-term investment.
 7.  The Red Chris Development Corporation has been issued a Mines Act permit for its Red Chris copper and gold mine which is located 80 km south of Dease Lake in northern British Columbia. Red Chris Development Corporation, a subsidiary of Imperial Metals Corporation, projects the capital cost of this development to be around $444 million and it will provide 250 full time jobs.  The site is estimated to have a mine life of 28 years with a reserve of 276 million tonnes of copper and gold. The mine will be serviced by the new Northwest Transmission Line, which will begin construction in the summer 2012 and be completed in 2014. Once the mine is fully operational, material from the mine will be produced daily and transported to the Port of Stewart where it will be shipped to overseas markets.