Stayed tuned Mel .. we'll continue to roll things out in the weeks and months ahead

The Armchair Mayor, Mel Rothenburger

Well know newspaper man, and former Kamloops Mayor Mel Rothenburger, penned his latest Armchair Mayor column on the weekend.  It was entitled, "Sorting out facts from BS not easy".

It was a good editorial, although I did mention to Mel that I did not agree with his opinion John Cummins was not taking a stand on issues. 

I told him that John has indeed been very clear on a number of issues, of great importance to the people of BC.  He will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead leading to next May's general election.

Armchair Mayor Mel responded by stating to that he had:"

"... listened to Mr. Cummins' AGM speech, all 39 minutes-plus of it, and pretty much all he did was rehash old news stories about the Liberals and be very clear that the B.C. Conservatives would do things differently.  How? Good question.  Ajax? He's "not ready to weigh in on that."  Kamloops? As next spring's provincial election draws ever nearer, still no Conservative candidates for our two ridings, no one wanting the nomination, and no policies on local issues."

Normally I would have said we hadn’t heard the same speech; however I have it good authority that we both did (me in person -- and Mel via the internet). 

Regardless, I was there and heard it live .. and it was powerful and it was moving.

John Cummins pointed out some serious concerns we as BC Conservatives have with how the Liberals are governing -- and we are not the only ones having those concerns ... not by a long shot.

Big spending -- big government -- big deficits and BIGGER debts!  They all top most lists.

Government crown corporations and agencies with out of control management ... and need we mention Community Living BC again ... there's rising fees that we have no say in (I challenge you to look at the amount Medical Services Plan rates have increased over the past decade).

The stench of the BC Rail sale has never cleared, and no amount of Febreze is going to help ... Christy Clark is desperately tryng to straddle both sides of the Enbridge pipeline proposal, while at the same time 'playing politics' with the Alberta government in a phony game of hardball.

We have been putting together clear policies, as our platform continues to be developed, that very much differentiate us from the Liberals ad the NDP.

We are committed to ensuring our young people have jobs to go to --- rather than having to leave the province for other regions of Canada. The BC Liberals -- just like the NDP before them -- have created a climate where more people are leaving our province than are moving here from other areas of the country.

That is a disgrace and something this government should be ashamed of.

We will enact legislation to end donations by big business and unions to political parties ... and end the Carbon Tax which unfairly hits people outside the lower mainland and larger urban centers. 

Our party has also committed to creating a Legislative Budget Office (LBO) to examine the province’s annual Budget upon introduction ... and then issue a declaration as to whether the fiscal plan’s economic and budgetary assumptions are fair and accurate.

John Cummins recently made a statement which British Columbian's need to hear  It's one which has not been spoken by the Liberals, OR the front-running NDP. He said:

“We do not believe it is necessary for British Columbia’s next provincial government to enact deep or drastic spending cuts. Nor do we believe that tax increases are required or desirable. Rather – and in contrast to those two old-line parties, the BC Liberals and the NDP – we understand that the government has to spend its scarce resources wisely and prudently.”

"It is true that we are proposing a new and different approach. And that means that the election scheduled for next May will be a battle between ‘change’ and the ‘status quo’ – with the BC Conservatives firmly on the side of ‘change.’

Our platform is being developed and is growing.  It is also being released in stages in preparation for next years election – unlike the Liberals OR the NDP who are both being fairy quiet on policy and platform at the moment.

By the way – one candidate has already been approved to seek the BC Conservative Party nomination for Fraser Nicola; their name will be announced December 1st.  The first nominee candidate for Kamloops South will be announced on Monday --- and I have also now received the paperwork for a  second person who wishes to seek the nomination.  In short order you’ll also be hearing about Kamloops North.

Mel as sat on both sides of the political table, and I am sure he is well aware of the disappointment people have had with promises made by politicians, and political parties, in the past.

We are going to put together a program for people that they can see will be reasonable and fair, that has checks and balances in place, along with measurable benchmarks to be met.

Stayed tuned Mel --- BC Conservatives will continue to roll things out in the weeks and months ahead. As we do, you will indeed see we are serious about the commitment we have made to bringing common sense back to government --- and to a government which is accountable to the people that elect it.

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