That is NOT fiscal restraint … or financial accountability

BC Finance Minister Kevin Falcon

A story yesterday in the Vancouver Sun (Monday February 6, 2012) said that “Kevin Falcon reaffirms promise of balanced budget by 2013”

In it, Falcon stated that, "We are focused on controlling our spending and protecting our revenues to ensure we can continue to deliver the priority programs taxpayers want."

Well here’s what I think after seeing another story in the news … this one on the new prison, to be built in an industrial park on Osoyoos First Nations land, that was of such urgent importance it demanded the personal appearance of Christy Clark

It seems the somewhat obvious wasteful spending of Christy Clark's photo op, doesn't come under the controlled spending Kevin Falcon was referring to.

Wardens, Deputy Wardens, and heavy equipment on
hand for Premier Clark's announcement in Osoyoos

You’ll note from the photo that appeared with the story (it was much larger in a story released earlier in the day) that not only did BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark decide she had to personally be there to make the announcement … she also required a large contingent of BC Wardens and Deputy Wardens to be on hand.  PLUS … she also hauled in expensive heavy duty equipment that won't be needed, or put to work, for goodness knows how many months from now.

So much for controlling spending Kevin!

I another item from the press, the Abbotsford News ran an editorial entitled, “Looming global energy issues behind carbon tax”.  Here’s just a small portion of that editorial:

Motorists will be paying 6.67 cents per litre of carbon tax on gasoline this summer. And as a story in this issue of The News details, farmers are complaining that the tax is spiking their costs, and affecting their competitiveness with American and other markets.

The Liberal government committed that the initiative would be “revenue neutral,” with the money generated returned to taxpayers and businesses by way of tax deductions.  Now almost four years old, B.C.’s carbon tax is still the centre of much debate.

This tax was never revenue neutral, and it never will be. It negatively impacts many industries, including the agriculture industry which is already hard hit by low priced, often government subsidized products coming in from other countries.

The Carbon Tax also takes valuable, and much needed, resources from the education system and from health care.  And to what purpose?  Well in some cases it goes to pay multinational corporations for questionable green projects they claim to be undertaking.

The carbon tax was wrong to begin with … wrong to continue with ... and the only ones benefiting are big business, and Christy Clark, when she hands out our tax dollars at photo ops that promote her BC Liberals.

At least one party, the BC Conservatives, have been correct in identify the futility of the tax in reducing our carbon footprint, and have called for its abolishment.

Here is what BC Conservative Party leader John Cummins has publicly stated:

“It’s no coincidence that BC has the highest taxes given we are the only jurisdiction in North American to have a carbon tax. We will scrap the tax and save families money every time they fill up the gas tank or go shopping.

We need to lift the Carbon Tax from the backs of BC taxpayers and free our economy to perform as it should. Instead of last place, with the highest tax burden, we should be first, with the lowest.”
 

Kevin Falcon, and Christy Clark, have both “talked” about fiscal restraint, and making the best use of taxpayer supplied financial resources.  Time and time however they have shown by example that they have no real concept, or refuse to accept, what that means --- or even worse perhaps, they manipulate any occasion to meet their personal need to glorify the BC Liberal Party.

That is NOT fiscal restraint … or financial accountability ... at least not the kind of restraint or accountability that I understand.  How about you?

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative.