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Thank you very much. Welcome everyone to the great city of Kamloops. It’s wonderful to be here.

One of my commitments after the last election was that our caucus would get out of Victoria and get around the province. Staying in touch with British Columbians means staying on the road, visiting communities in every corner of B.C, listening to average British Columbians where they live and where they work.

That’s just what we’ve done. And that’s why the NDP caucus is here is Kamloops today.

New Democrats have stayed in touch. We’ve held the Campbell government accountable for its arrogance and neglect.

And we’ve listened closely to British Columbians, putting forward positive solutions that will help make life better for average families.

I am very proud of the work we’ve done over the last three and a half years. We’ve stood with forest workers facing mill closures and unprecedented job losses.

We’ve stood with seniors, betrayed by broken promise after broken promise. With parents struggling to balance work and home and with families struggling to balance the check book as costs go up and wages stay stagnant.

We’ve stood with BC’s lowest paid workers who haven’t had a raise in seven years. With patients in overcrowded emergency rooms, and with students in overcrowded classrooms.

We’ve stood with communities fighting to control their future and with First Nations who are fighting to shape a better future.

Friends, New Democrats have stood up for a brighter tomorrow and for the simple idea that in a province as blessed as ours there is no reason why every family and every community can’t share in that future.

Because in British Columbia, everyone matters. And we are bringing that message to every neighbourhood and to every community. And in just a few short months, British Columbians will send a strong message of their own.

It’s time to end government arrogance and neglect. It’s time for a government that has the right priorities. It’s time for a government that puts average British Columbians first.

After eight years of Gordon Campbell, it’s time for a change!

As the people of Kamloops know, I have come here many, many times over the last three years.

Kamloops is a great community. It’s a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family. The hardworking, entrepreneurial and community spirit that built this city remains as strong as ever.

But like many cities and towns in British Columbia, Kamloops is being sold short by the government in Victoria.

The news last week shows just how out of touch the Campbell government is. On Wednesday, new unemployment figures showed a 51 per cent increase in unemployment in the Thompson-Okanagan. Fifty one percent.

British Columbia lost more than 10,000 jobs. But the Finance Minister says don’t worry, be happy.

And then on Friday we learned that British Columbians are on the hook for an additional two billion dollars in Olympic spending. Two billion dollars. But the Premier still says the Games are on budget.

And then to top it off, later that same day, the government announced its plan to spend $365 million on a brand new retractable roof for BC Place. $365 million dollars for a new roof. The government says it will be paid for by developing real estate. Isn’t that that just what they said about the Olympic Village?

How’s that for out of touch. The roof won’t even be ready for the 2010 Games.

Enough is enough. Olympic costs are spiralling out of control. The people of Kamloops, like all British Columbians, are worried about being left with a legacy of debt and unpaid bills.

It’s time for Gordon Campbell to come clean. It’s time for an honest accounting of Olympic costs.

And it’s time for a government that puts working families ahead of big budget pet-projects.

Just take a look at what’s happening in interior communities. It tells you a lot about the Campbell government’s priorities.

For three years, BC’s forest industry has been in its worst ever decline. 15,000 forest workers have lost their jobs. Mill after mill has gone down. Many communities are struggling to survive.

You might think that the Premier of Canada`s biggest forest producer would treat this crisis as his top priority. You might think that he would put the resources of government in motion to help communities cope.

You might think that.  But you would be wrong.

As the months go by, and as the job losses mount, communities have waited in vain for Gordon Campbell to listen and to act. His finance minister said we are all just spectators to the economic collapse in the forest industry. His transportation minister mocked the plight of forest communities.

And after seven years of failed policies that have done so much damage to Interior BC, Gordon Campbell still doesn’t have a plan to help forest workers and their families.

But he does have a plan to spend almost $400 million on a new roof for BC Place. He does have a plan to increase the gas tax next year and every year after that. He does have a plan to give his own officials big pay raises.

He does have a plan to make you pay for $400 million in convention centre cost overruns. He does have a plan to spend tens of millions of your dollars on government advertising. And he does have a plan give away our public resources.

Yes, Gordon Campbell is making lots of plans. They just don’t have anything to do with what’s really going on in this province.

And that’s why in four months British Columbians are going to say enough is enough. It’s time to end the nonsense.  It’s time to get serious about what really matters to British Columbians.

It’s time to fix our public health care system and reduce waitlists. It’s time to build new long-term care beds for seniors and clear backlogged emergency rooms.

It’s time to build affordable housing. It’s time to get tough on government waste. And it’s long past time to support resource communities.

One year ago I spoke to the Western Silviculture Association -- the people who work hard to keep our forests healthy and renewed.

In that speech I laid out substantive steps the government needed to take to help forest communities cope with the immediate economic crisis and to secure our forest industry for the long term.

I called on the Campbell government to join in effort to stabilize forest communities, to develop a plan to diversify the industry, to bring our forests back to health, and to reform our tenure system to encourage a new secondary manufacturing industry.

But the Campbell government did nothing. They sat on their hands while the situation got worse – now to the point that most agree it’s the worst downturn in BC history.

I expect that in the coming days and weeks, Gordon Campbell will announce measures that he says will help. Before the last election he said the same things.

But Mr. Campbell, you had your chance to show that you care about Interior BC communities. You had your chance and you blew it. You put your own pet projects first and broke your promises to these communities.

And now British Columbians will judge your record and make their choice.

Gordon Campbell’s failed forest policies have costs jobs and opportunity. New Democrats will bring forward a plan to restore BC’s forest industry.

We will reform BC’s tenure system so that communities – not just big companies -- have control over the land base. We will ensure that we get more value out of the land base, providing small businesses with access to timber instead of shipping our logs out of province.

We will work to develop new 21st century products though emerging new industries, like biomass. We will establish a permanent commission on forestry to guide change and we will establish a community protection commissioner to work with government, industry and communities to keep jobs and opportunities in forest communities.

We will stand up for BC workers in Ottawa, demanding our fair share of dollars for retraining.  And we will champion the need for EI extensions for workers and EI work share programs for industry.

But above all, we will never forget that BC public resources belong to British Columbians. Public resources should be there for the public good.

The wealth created in our forests, on our farms and our ranches and from our rivers and streams built this province. Whether you live in Kitsilano or Kamloops, every British Columbian depends on the wealth produced in the Interior.

Gordon Campbell forgot that. New Democrats never will.

We will work with the BC’s farming and ranching community to grow the industry, market local food, and ensure young people have a future in agriculture.

We will ensure that the power generated on our rivers and streams benefits the public and not just private shareholders.

We will restrict the export of raw logs and fight for every forest job in every community.

And we will make sure rural BC sees the benefits of the wealth that you produce -- not for over blown and over priced pet projects in downtown Vancouver -- but for the common sense things that matter in your lives.

Health care for your loved ones. Good schools and a good education for your kids. Family supporting jobs in BC’s resource industries.

These are the things that matter. They are the fundamentals for strong families and strong communities. And they are my priorities. 

Friends, New Democrats offer British Columbians a clear choice and a positive vision for BC’s future. British Columbians deserve better than they’re getting from the Campbell government.

Eight years of arrogance.  Of pet projects and failed schemes. Eight years of one-sided government.  Of constantly changing priorities. 

Eight years of unaccountable government and closed door deals. Eight years of neglect and broken promises must come to an end. It’s time for British Columbians to come first in Victoria.

Friends, it’s time for a change. And together we will bring that change to BC

Thank you very much