GreenJobsBC: New Campaign for Green Jobs Plan Gains Major Endorsements Ahead of B.C. Election

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - March 20, 2013) - GreenJobsBC has launched a campaign calling on the leaders of B.C.'s political parties to adopt a bold Green Jobs Plan that could employ tens of thousands of British Columbians, while taking significant action on climate change.

The call is being endorsed by more than 60 organizations and a growing number of leaders from BC's business, labour and environmental sectors, including Julia Levy, co-founder and former CEO of QLT, a biotechnology company, and David Podmore, Chairman and CEO of Concert Properties.

"I'm a scientist and an entrepreneur, so I see both the threat and the opportunity that climate change poses for British Columbia," said Julia Levy. "Political leadership and a bold Green Jobs Plan are critical if B.C. is to take on the challenge of climate change while greening our economy."

"We built our company by making long-term investments in British Columbia," said David Podmore, Chairman and CEO of Concert Properties. "Fighting and adapting to climate change, and safeguarding our industries and communities, require a similarly bold and long-term investment strategy. A Green Jobs Plan for B.C. is a good place to start."

GreenJobsBC campaign co-chairs, BCGEU president Darryl Walker and Lisa Matthaus of Organizing for Change, a coalition of environmental groups, said they would brief the leaders of B.C.'s political parties, and that all parties will be invited to endorse the campaign.

"It's not jobs versus the environment," said the two in a joint statement. "Long-term jobs depend on a healthy environment. With the right policies, many of the traditional sectors that built this province have the potential to create thousands of green jobs that will make our communities thrive."

The campaign focuses on policy opportunities in the forestry, energy, transportation and construction and retrofitting sectors. Residential housing retrofits alone could employ 14,000 to 30,000 people per year.

Organizations and individuals are invited to sign on to the campaign: www.greenjobsbc.org

Media Backgrounder: http://greenjobsbc.org/resources/