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CentreBC leader promises manufacturing funding boost
CentreBC leader Elenore Sturko says a party government would raise B.C.’s Manufacturing Jobs Fund to $60 million and increase job-training funding if elected on Oct. 24.
A CentreBC government would double the funding available to manufacturing companies in B.C., party leader and Surrey South candidate Elenore Sturko said during a campaign stop in Bridgeview, in North Surrey, on Friday morning, Oct. 9.
Sturko said that if CentreBC forms government after the Oct. 24 provincial election, it plans to increase B.C.’s Manufacturing Jobs Fund to $60 million. New funding streams would support companies that build prefabricated homes; make mass timber and finished wood products; process and store B.C. food in the province; and upgrade plants to keep up with demand for B.C. products.
Sturko told Peace Arch News the manufacturing investment is part of the party’s broader platform, due to be released Saturday, Oct. 10, when a new campaign headquarters opens in South Surrey. She described the funding as part of a suite of investments in value-added projects intended to diversify the economy. Sturko is a former MLA for Surrey South and Surrey-Cloverdale.
She cited B.C.’s wood industry, saying she wants lumber used to make finished products instead of “shipping logs out of the province,” with an emphasis on prefabrication to meet housing needs. CentreBC also wants to focus on food security and agricultural sustainability by keeping food manufacturing and storage in the province. The products would be sold in B.C., elsewhere in Canada and ultimately around the world, she said.
Sturko said the party has also committed to increasing job-training funding to $60 million. New manufacturing developments will require trained, skilled professionals to make needed products, and B.C. residents should be first in line for those jobs, she said.
She said CentreBC’s platform is based on costed programmes with known revenue sources rather than guesses. Every grant project and the results it produces would have a public scorecard. British Columbians deserve credible plans that can be measured and achieved, she said, adding that election promises must be made honestly.
Sturko’s and CentreBC’s new campaign headquarters will be at 3566 King George Blvd.