RESOURCE LEGACY FUND (2007)

British Columbians are blessed with a rich natural resource base which is the foundation of its economic success. However, recent decades have demonstrated the need to both capitalize on, and to diversify from, our dependence upon those resources.

Currently, revenues generated from our resources flow (for the most part) directly into current expenditures. A strong case can be made – as others such as Alaska and Norway have done – for establishing a “Legacy Fund” with revenues from our resources to benefit future generations.

Such a fund should NOT be used as a “rainy day” fund; rather it should be established as a pool of capital to invest in the future. It should also be profit-based, not a royalty. It should offset the probability of declining future resource revenues by its appreciation and income, and be a vehicle for economic diversification.

A possible approach could be to establish a task force to investigate and review such funds as Alaska’s and Norway’s, to make recommendations for British Columbia.

THE CHAMBER RECOMMENDS:

That the provincial government;

1. examine Legacy Fund models in other jurisdictions and, utilizing best practices, establish a Resource Legacy Fund in BC; and

2. upon implementation of a Legacy Fund ensure that the fund does not constitute a new tax