Good government is important to us all ... especially for the future of our own kids and grandkids

Recently, a classmate from my school days in Williams Lake said to me:

“Facebook is supposed to be a pleasant social networking site to share your daily life, keep track of old friends and family. It is not a political forum to share all of your beliefs with the world. I'm sure you have a nice life besides politics but no one would ever know that”

I thought about that for a while, and then responded by saying,

I appreciate your comments.  There is a lot that makes up my social life ... music I love ... family ... daily things like the paint job currently underway ... getting out on my bike … and ... politics which is bred into me cause it goes back 3 or 4 generations. Politics is a big part of what I talk about ... but it is important to me and that's why I talk about it. Until a year ago I had become part of the 50% that had pretty much given up --- BUT when we end up with those kind of numbers that keep growing, eventually we will end up with anarchy or a government we are surprised to have and that dictates everything we can or cannot do. I hope you can humour me in my passion ... good government is important to us all ... especially for the future of our own kids and grandkids :)

I have been thinking about this brief conversation since then, and I know why.  When it comes to having a social conscience, a lot of what this government is doing is wrong, and I believe it is important that people know about it.

And it’s not just me thinking and saying that what they are doing is wrong; the following are just a few of the voices that are trying to get that news out to each of us.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read on …

1)    Wally Oppals “Missing Women’s Task Force”

This government can find the millions needed for a retractable ceiling for a sports facility, but as this story in the Kamloops Daily News says (Violence needs concerted action), the legal funding for the Missing Women’s Task Force was refused:

"The B.C. inquiry currently underway, unfortunately, has lost credibility in the eyes of those who were seeking a forum for justice. Commissioner Wally Oppal requested but was refused legal funding that would have enabled wider participation by groups that should be front and centre. Half have dropped out or are boycotting the inquiry."

2)   Community Living BC

Last week the Community Living Action Group sent out a news story headlined, “CLBC waitlist figures unreliable says stakeholder group”.  Part of that story included the fact that over 2,000 people with developmental disabilities are waiting for services across British Columbia:

“We have very little confidence in the waitlist numbers. They misrepresent the scope, scale and severity of the community living crisis affecting vulnerable adults and their families.  Restoring faith in the community living support system should begin with an acknowledgement of the scope of the problem.” (BC-CLAG partner Faith Bodnar)

The Community Living Action Group is calling on the government to:

… stop cuts to services and supports (including group home closures)

… to provide $70 million to stem the province's growing community living crisis

… to create an independent advocate for adults with developmental disabilities

… outline the rights and support entitlements of adults with developmental disabilities

3)   The cost of poverty in BC

While I may not agree with everything they have to say, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, recently released a report entitled, The Cost of Poverty in BC.  Here are a few comments from this report …

… the estimated cost of a poverty reduction plan in BC would be $3 to $4 billion per year

… the costs of inaction are so large that they far exceed the costs of poverty reduction.  The estimated direct cost to government is $2.2 billion (1.2 billion just in health care costs)  

… the overall cost to society is $8 to $9 billion annually, due in part to lost productivity and earnings by the un-employed, under-employment, and low wages.

4)   BC’s Representative for Children and Youth

In January of this year BC’s Representative for Children and Youth, , released a 76-page report entitled, Fragile Lives, Fragmented Systems: Strengthening Supports for Vulnerable Infants”.  This report called on government to do more to fight child poverty … and one of the biggest reasons was due to 21 children dying before their second birthday, in part due to poverty. 

In a CTV News story they quoted the report as saying that, "British Columbia does not have a provincial plan to reduce poverty."  They also included the following quote from Turpel-Langford; "What we're doing isn't working.  If you're looking at some of the cases of these infants, you're talking about third-generation families on subsistence, with ongoing shocks, not only just living in deep poverty. What are we going to do to change that?"

Maybe I do discuss politics a bit more than some would wish … but those are just four reasons why I do … and there are many more.

As many of you are aware, I consider myself to be a small “c” conservative with a social conscience.  Government does indeed have a responsibility to be fiscally responsible with the finances we as taxpayers intrust to them -- one of the reasons why is so that government can indeed help those in need.

The BC Conservative Party has become my home, and John Cummins has, at least to me, been a voice that represents those values I believe in. 

I for one also hope that point #11 of the BC Conservative Party Contract with British Columbians is always fresh in their mind.  This is a point covered under the heading of “Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities”

1. British Columbians have equal rights, responsibilities and privileges under the law
2. families are the most important building blocks of our communities, and our society, and must be supported
3. support a strong social safety net which protects those who untruly need support, while encouraging individuals to be self-sufficient
4. in communities and in society, we are all stronger when we care for each other. The new BC Conservative party will support initiatives that follow this approach

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops; with the thoughts of one conservative on this round ball we call planet earth.