Barbara Yaffe: Energy sector, not high-tech, will drive BC economy – Vancouver Sun
‘You’ve spent too much time hugging trees instead of chopping them down’
VANCOUVER — Everyone loves the tech sector. Environmentally clean. High-paying jobs. Hopes for the next big breakthrough.
But construction industry representatives at a Vancouver conference last week were told that high-tech will offer only moderate prospects for growth in B.C., while energy resources remain this province’s ticket to the big time.
That message will not be appreciated by Mayor Gregor Robertson, who regularly rails against transport through the city of what he considers dirty energy resources, like coal and bitumen, and asserts high-tech is the way to go.
Alas, Mark Betteridge, a B.C. Technology Industry Association board member, warns further growth in the coveted sector is proving difficult.
