There were a number of interesting stories on the political front this week in BC --- including 2 polls … one showing the BC Conservative Party at 10% popular support – and a second at 18%. One of the big things driving that increase has been John Cummins who next week will be elected leader of the Party.
Speaking of next week, John Cummins will be in Kamloops May 26th. He will speak at a public meeting beginning at 7pm at the Hotel 540 (formerly Stockman’s / Executive Inn) downtown on Victoria and 6th.
Now … here are some of the stories that made the news this week …
… Cummins is not afraid to push the hot buttons, and he will get media attention when he does.
You can bet Clark and the Liberals are worried about it. And though Dix's NDP will disagree with Cummins on almost every issue, they secretly love what he's doing. It's the main reason Clark may opt to go to the voters. She will say she needs a mandate as an unelected premier. But the real reason will be Cummins. There are 9.1 million B.C. CareCards in circulation, but only 4.5 million people live in B.C. That's one reason why the province's health care costs are so high.
… BC Conservatives say they'll offer voters a legitimate choice as true provincial Conservatives, claiming the BC Liberals are a coalition of federal Liberals and Conservatives … one misphrasing in the response to a question and all of a sudden you have a firestorm. But I think the public, certainly in Richmond and Delta I represented for over 17-and-a-half-years, know that I'm open to all and respectful to all. For the most part, the people that I deal with understand that."
… price tag for Site C has jumped from $6.6 billion to $7.9 billion, for the third dam on the Peace River and likely the last big hydro dam to be built in the province. BC Hydro updated a 30-year-old design for Site C to increase its output by 20 per cent to supply 450,000 homes a year. The 80-year-old Ruskin dam is slated for an major reconstruction to improve earthquake safety and increase output by 10 per cent to supply 33,000 homes.
… but the scary part, for her BC Liberals, is the third number on the charts. A new Mustel Group poll released on Thursday found the BC Conservatives have nearly 18 per cent of decided voters, while pollsters at Ipsos Reid on Tuesday put the Conservatives at 10 per cent. Mr. Cummins was encouraged by the results. “We are on an upward trend,” he said.
The whole concept of carbon offsets is questionable to begin with, some experts call it the worst kind of "voodoo economics" possible. When cash the strapped public sector is forced by government to give up $25 million every year (money that should be going to schools, hospitals, seniors' facilities and other public programs) in order to buy these "offsets" I think it's entirely appropriate to question where that money is going.
… MLAs are going to stand up, speak out and give their opinion on the direction that the government is going to take. We need to get that sort of consensus. That to me is healthy democracy ... working to make the province a better place. That to me is the first priority, the first principal of this party."
… Lekstrom said in an interview that he heard the request for a freeze during yesterday's meeting with the FACC. "I was very upfront with them in the meeting as well, it's not realistic, as much as people would like to see that," he said.
… called on Premier Christy Clark to take a strong stand against fisheries that permit aboriginals to harvest salmon, while boats owned by non-natives remain tied up. “She should make a clear statement, that all Canadians must be treated equally, although I don’t see a lot of hope for that,” Mr. Cummins acknowledged. “She is connected to the federal Liberals, and they started all this in the first place.”
Ultimately, the name of the party is not as important as what the party does, or does not do. A party that does not respect the voters will have trouble being re-elected. A mere name change is not enough to bring lasting electoral success. It is what lies behind the brand that matters.
Have a great weekend … I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops.
No comments:
Post a Comment