BC's Trade and Investment Offices
Summary
The province of British Columbia operates a network of International Trade and Investment Representative offices. These offices are staffed by Trade and Investment Representatives (TIRs), whose role is to facilitate connections and serve as a bridge between BC businesses and foreign markets, as well as to attract investment into BC. There are 23 foreign locations around the world.
Problem
It is not clear how much the Province of BC spends annually to maintain this global network of offices. We do know, however, that the Province of BC spent at least $27 million from 2019 to 2023 operating these trade offices in Asia alone. Based on the average expenses in 2022, the estimated total cost to run all of these offices is $7,800,000 annually.
There is also no publicly available financial statement or annual report for Trade & Invest BC. This lack of disclosure limits transparency and prevents British Columbians from understanding how their tax dollars are being spent.
Nearly all employees working for Trade & Invest BC offices abroad are foreign workers. Unlike public servants who work in our province, the BC government does not collect income tax from these foreign workers.
Solution(s)
1: Reduce the number of trade offices by 30% and develop a quantitative metric to determine the effectiveness of the remaining trade offices
Savings = $2.1 million per year
Example: Families who have a combined taxable income of $200,000 do not qualify.
or
2: Shut down all the offices
Savings = $7 million per year