With the provincial election coming up the battle is brewing for who will have the better posture and while there are several parties all vying for seats it is well known that the battle will be between two parties the B.C. Liberals and the B.C. NDP. Both have proven track records but in opposite directions.
The B.C. Liberal party after years of being a non-existent party in B.C. since the 1950s made a rousing comeback in 1991 and obliterated its main rival the NDP virtually wiping it out. The Liberals have made B.C. a top performer and a place to invest and live in and we have enjoyed economic prosperity for the past 25 yrs. However that comes at a cost politicians get complacent and start doing things and putting legislation into law without adequately informing the public. HST and the speed trap camera vans come to mind both were put in with little or no input from the public and the government basically thumbed their noses at the public and did it anyway. While we have enjoyed economic prosperity for many years many in the province are dissatisfied with the way the Liberals handle things.
On the other side of the debate is the B.C. NDP party with a proven track record as well. All three times it has held power in B.C. the province has suffered heavily in the resource and technology sectors and have led to economic depression in B.C. especially in the North all three times and has a history of listening to those that can hurt B.C. the most environmentalists and First Nations beetle kill comes to mind both those groups heavily influenced NDP inaction on the beetle kill. For many in the north the B.C. NDP is a word that many still dislike hearing as while less than 400,000 people live in the North almost 70 per cent of B.C.s economic power comes from the north in the form of mining, forestry, oil and gas and surprisingly technology. Many in the business sector worry about what will happen if the NDP get back into power and if they will repeat history.
Both parties have strong candidates in the North, but the reality is the population base is in the south and they will ultimately decide who gets in we in the North generate the money but people in the South dictate how B.C. spends it no matter who we vote in up here.
Dean Soiland
Prince George
