A recent B.C. Liberal Party election ad in the P.G. Citizen read "Putting British Columbians First."
That's great. I like to be first.
We all like to be first. But first for what?
First for being ignored when we oppose big money donations to political parties - 86 per cent of BCers are opposed to that. However, Premier Clark reversed her stand on Kinder Morgan's Texas pipeline and oil tanker project, thanks to $718,000 in donations to the B.C. Liberals. (Sold us out pretty cheaply, Clark.)
First for going ahead with the Site C mega project? A recent UBC report states the project is "uneconomic and should be suspended."
It will no longer benefit the province financially. So who will pay the estimated $1 billion annual loss for exporting the power from Site C? Me? I don't want to be first to have my taxes raised.
First for bulldozing prime agricultural land near the Port of Vancouver so more coal and fracked gas can be shipped abroad? Putting our food production last? Municipalities and farmers there don't want to be first for that. Sure, we could rely on imported food, but how long would it take to empty our grocery stores if the unthinkable happened and we had no local food supply? Several days? Who wants to be first for that?
First for sending our children to schools where funding is 10 per cent lower now than in 2001?
Who wants to be first to send their kids to crowded classrooms? Good thing the Supreme Court has our backs. But, what about the kids who struggled during the past 15 years? They certainly weren't first. Who had their backs?
First for privatizing B.C.'s health care for those who can afford it? Great! But wait, I can't afford it. And we don't have enough doctors as it is. If a privatized system take those doctors away, that will increase wait time in the provincial system, not decrease it. And those doctors won't stay in the north. Not enough wealthy B.C.ers here.
First for saying the provincial debt is being reduced, when it has risen by $10.5 billion since 2013?
First for BC Hydro and ICBC increases?
No thanks, Premier Clark. I don't want to be first anymore.
Maryanne Reavie
Prince George
