After asking the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy yesterday about the inconsistency between British Columbia’s CleanBC plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the fact that the Deputy Minister of  Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources recently went to Japan to tout the idea of even more LNG development in B.C., I posed a supplemental question to the Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology. In that question I asked what his ministry was doing to encourage a strategic approach to transitioning away from the reliance on fossil fuel development in northern British Columbia.

Below I reproduce the video and text of our exchange. The BC Liberals were once more quite boisterous in their heckling.

Video of Exchange

Question

A. Weaver: People in northern British Columbia will experience the impacts of climate change faster and more profoundly than those of us on southern Vancouver Island. This region has long been affected by the boom-and-bust cycles of fossil fuel development, where barely viable multinational entities are kept afloat through never-ending and ever-increasing corporate welfare. A just transition for rural communities away from their dependence on fossil fuel extraction and uncertainty in commodity cycles would create stable, long-lasting local prosperity. As Forbes magazine just noted this past summer, transitioning to a low-carbon economy represents the single biggest business opportunity in human history.

My question is to the minister….

Interjections.

A. Weaver: I understand there’s heckling from the Luddites opposite, who still are struggling with the issue of the science of climate change, but please give me my chance to actually ask the question of government.

The question is to the Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology. What is his ministry doing to encourage a strategic approach to transitioning away from the reliance on fossil fuel development in northern B.C.?

Answer

Hon. B. Ralston: Our government is committed to encouraging innovation in the British Columbia economy and building a sustainable economy that benefits everyone. The tech sector is a strong and vital component of our diverse economy, employing over 120,000 people in British Columbia. But it’s important that that growth be distributed regionally, and indeed, it is being distributed regionally. There are several programs in place that are doing just that.

Innovation Central Society — the member for Prince George–Valemount will be familiar with this — is Innovate B.C.’s central technology accelerator for northern British Columbia. Through the Innovation Central Society, direct funding of $100,000 has been provided to support 14 local companies helping the region’s technology sector grow and thrive.

There are other companies. I’ll give another example, of a company in Smithers. Jet Controls is a building control dashboard that uses HVAC data and Environment Canada weather data to predict when outdoor climate will change and precondition a building’s geothermal system to be ready for whatever cooling or heating demand is placed on the system.

It’s important that the range of technology options be distributed throughout the province, and that’s just what we’re doing.