Although the general election is still more than a year away, politicians and their supporters of all stripes are not resting on their laurels.
This past weekend, the northern members of the BC Liberal party took advantage of an opportunity to bend Premier Christy Clark's ear about party policies at the BC Liberals Northern Regional Conference.
More than four dozen party members and supporters gathered in the ballroom at the Ramada Hotel early Saturday morning to hammer out a direction for the current government's platform in advance of next May's election.
In addition to northern B.C. residents, the event was attended by party executive director Chad Pederson, MLAs and cabinet ministers Shirley Bond, Pat Bell, George Abbott and John Rustad along with party policy chair Ted Dixon.
"Today's a really special day for us," said Bond. "We're here because we care about what you have to say. We believe northern B.C. is the heart of the province and that what's really important is understanding priorities."
The assembled group commented and expanded on a list of 10 ideas generated by the leaders of local and a regional riding associations. Conversations touched on skills training, worker recruitment, natural resources and agriculture.
The day-long conference coincided with the launch of the party's Ideas Lab, an online cache where the public can submit ideas on party directives.
"You're not just posting an idea that's going to stay static, you're posting an idea that's going to be alive, that people can talk about and maybe want to change, and might maybe improve from your perspective. And after the process has been underway for a while, BC Liberal party members will be able to vote for which idea they like the best," Clark explained.
"We need to be fearless, we need to be bold, we need to define who we are and we need to make sure the policies that we are presenting reflect that... We can't win an election on what we don't stand for."
