By Christian Codrington, CHRP

Despite opinion polls, the leader of the province’s official opposition Adrian Dix isn’t counting his chickens before the official election in May 2013.

Addressing a room of senior HR leaders as part of BC HRMA’s Government Relations Forum on June 22, Mr. Dix was quick to admit that the post-CCF NDP has only won three of 21 elections in BC.

Moreover, with 48 per cent of registered voters not participating in the last provincial election, Dix believes there is a confidence issue amongst voters: can the provincial political system truly address community problems?  As Dix pointed out, with developments such as NAFTA and other trade agreements, the reduction in Canada Health Transfer payments and dwindling corporate returns, there are fewer resources at the provincial level to address more complex problems.

Politicians and the public must engage differently. “How do we disagree in politics without being disagreeable?” Dix feels that we must get “away from the passion play of today’s political landscape”.

Government must establish a clear mandate prior to the election to address skills, training, advanced education and apprenticeship issues. Importantly, they must be properly funded in order to address what Dix calls, “the disconnect between the labour force we have and the labour force we need.”

It is either too difficult for people to change career paths or many simply cannot envision ever going the post- secondary education route”. Today’s markets require more flexibility for its labour force to meet the changing requirements of business and government must work with businesses to address these gaps.

Dix fielded a number of questions from the full house in attendance. Senior level HR professionals are parents too and the status of the current teacher’s labour dispute was one of the first questions posed.  The leader of the provincial opposition ensured his answer respected a resolution between the parties at the bargaining table, in spite of what Dix feels is the limited scope of the parties to deal with the full range of issues.

When asked about any potential changes to employment legislation if the NDP were to win the upcoming election, Dix prefaced his answer by stating that the provincial opposition will be more specific closer to May; however, issues such as the two hour minimum call-in and improved enforcement of the entire ESA, especially in agriculture should be explored.

“Labour issues shouldn’t be a distraction” according to Dix and we cannot fix today’s problems by simply restoring initiatives or supports from the past. Dix feels that the government must work differently with the private sector to apply today’s thinking and resources on today’s problems. “We cannot simply reinstate what was in place when we were last in power.”

Whichever party takes power in Victoria next year, the environment will be challenging.  Resolutions will require doing more with less and the involvement of multiple constituents at a time when public skepticism appears to have translated into disengagement and voter apathy.

The Government Relations Forum of BC HRMA has had a very successful first year; we are looking forward to connecting with other key players in BC’s political arena to raise the profile and questions of the HR profession.

Christian Codrington, CHRP, is the senior manager of operations at BC HRMA. He has had the good fortune to contribute to the success of a number of organizations over his career in human resources including Human Resources Development Canada, Children’s and Women’s Health Centre of BC, Best Buy Canada and Starbucks Coffee Canada. Christian earned his business undergraduate degree from Simon Fraser University, specializing in organizational behavior.