“Once again the BC Liberal government seems more than willing to download provincial responsibilities, on to the taxpayers of smaller communities in rural BC.”

A week ago CHBC TV in the Okanagan ran a story (Passionate pleas to save Marshall Lake) on a group of people in Greenwood, that are desperately trying to save one of the few lakes in their area

Marshall Lake Stewardship Group working to save lake

The story indicated that:

The province wants to decommission the structure over concerns about the dam’s structural safety, the possible consequences to Greenwood should it fail and the liability of the government.  Removing the dam would reduce the lake to about one-third of its current size which would markedly affect its recreation and water storage values.

It also quoted Christopher Stevenson, of the Marshall Lake Stewardship Group, who stated, “It is a move that will permanently destroy much of the value of Marshall Lake, a highly valued recreation site.

“Don’t take out our dam. Let the lake be the way it is. Take care of the dam. Upgrade and maintain it as a provincial asset and let us have our lake,” said Stevenson.

In several conversations I have had with Christopher he has let me know more about the possible decommissioning of the dam on Marshall Lake, and what it means to the people in this region.

Just so you know - there is an economic component to this -- we have few lakes here. Marshall Lake is part of a recreation / wilderness complex that is well used, and has great potential for tourism and local use.  We don't have the lakes that the Okanagan and Kootenay’s do; which is why we need every one we have. 

Marshall Lake is used year round by recreationalist and outdoors people. This is not just environmental; we’re trying to build our tourism here as well. Meantime the government is looking at legal aspects, and trying to find loopholes.

The private owners are being unfairly hit as they will lose their lakefront – it will ruin their property for at least two years, and permanently in many ways, which will result in a loss of value.  It will also ruin the BC Forest Recreation campsite. 

There has also been no environmental assessment, and no inundation (flood) study.

They should be ashamed to be picking on rural BC again.  There are so many things to base a case against them on … environment, economic, private property rights, rural BC.

I love hearing good news!

I love hearing good news!

Each day the BC Conservative Party, through the efforts of 100's of individuals, gets closer and closer to preparing to provide British Columbians with a true option they can support -- and vote for.

Last night I was delighted to receive notice that the Richmond Delta area is now complete with all Constituency Associations officially recognized by the party -- and Elections BC.

Congratulations to Christopher, and everyone who worked hard to accomplish this milestone!

Here in the Kamloops, Thompson Fraser Nicola region we now have both the Kamloops South Thompson, and Kamloops North Thompson Constituency Associations recognized by the party, and Elections BC.  

That's two down, with just Fraser Nicola to go.

BC Conservatives stand for common sense government -- and you can find out more by Clicking Here

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops ... loving the sunshine, and wishing I was cruising the highway on my new Goldwing.

Why is there no word on re-payment of these fees? It seems to me that should have been something that was addressed

Today Mike de Jong, Minister of Health, issued a statement regarding the Medical Services Commission audit of the Cambie Surgeries Corporation and the Specialist Referral Clinic.

Here is the statement he made just a short time ago:

“Today the Medical Services Commission released an audit of Cambie Surgeries Corporation and the Specialist Referral Clinic (Vancouver) Inc. which indicated a practice of billing patients for publicly insured medical services.

“I understand that the commission has indicated that should the practice of billing patients for publicly insured medical services not cease, a court-ordered injunction will be sought.

“The Medical Services Commission has a legislative mandate to independently enforce the provisions of the Medicare Protection Act, which ensures matters are delivered in a manner consistent with the Canada Health Act.

“The Medicare Protection Act is designed to preserve a publicly managed and fiscally sustainable health-care system for British Columbia, in which access to medical care is based on need and not an individual’s ability to pay.

“Today’s announcement by the Medical Services Commission is consistent with its responsibilities under the Medicare Protection Act.”

This statement, as well as news released earlier today however, still doesn't say anything about the fee's they illegally charged, being returned to patients.

What type of ‘democratic socialist party’ is the BC NDP? We’re not hearing the answer to that question from leader Adrian Dix. Should we wonder why?

News stories a week ago, including this excerpt from Global News BC (British Columbians think BC NDP best able to manage economy) said that:

… for the first time, British Columbians think BC NDP leader Adrian Dix is the best person to handle the provincial economy.

The Angus Reid poll, released today, shows that the public also thinks that Dix is the best person to handle health care, education and crime issues.

Dix says the BC Liberals have a very poor record on economic growth. He says the government has failed to address a large skill shortage in the economy …

Other than hard core NDP members and supporters, do those considering voting NDP in the next general election have any idea what they stand for?

Here is the preamble to the Constitution of the BC NDP Party:

The New Democratic Party believes that social, economic and political progress in Canada can only be assured by the application of democratic socialist principles to government and the administration of public affairs.

The principles of democratic socialism can be defined briefly as follows:

-          the production and distribution of goods and services shall be directed to meeting the social and individual needs of people and not for profit

-          the modification and control of the operations of monopolistic productive and distributive organizations through economic and social planning, towards these ends

-          and where necessary, the extension of the principle of social ownership.

The New Democratic Party holds firm to the belief that the dignity, freedom and equality of the individual is a basic right that must be maintained and extended.

The New Democratic Party is proud to be associated with the democratic socialist parties of the world and to share in the struggle for peace, international co-operation and the abolition of poverty.

Furthermore, Section 16.01 (page 15) states that:
Each member of the Party, including candidates for, and holders of, public office has covenanted that; “I accept and will abide by the Constitution, principles and policies of the New Democratic Party.”  Breach of this covenant is a violation of the Constitution.

So if I read this correctly, the NDP believes that economic progress can only be assured by the application of democratic socialist principles … that they believe in the modification and control of business … and that it is acceptable for them to take over private business (ie: social ownership).

So what exactly does it mean to be a Democratic Socialist Party?  Wikipedia has a definition that should be of concern.  They say:

Is it wrong to expect that taxes the government imposes on us, should be fairly and evenly applied? The carbon tax is not – period – and it should go!

This morning I posted a link to a Letter to the Editor that had been sent in to Kamloops This Week by John Sternig of Heffley Creek, which is just a few minutes north of Kamloops.  Part of the comments of his letter stated that:

The BC Liberal government also claims the carbon tax is rebated to British Columbians.

Page 66 of the B.C. Budget confirms this claim is true — WITH THE CAVEAT that 59 per cent of the rebate is paid to profitable industries and corporations.

In other words, major polluters in B.C. receive most of the carbon tax collected.

Some of these are the very oil and gas businesses that aren’t taxed a dime for venting megatonnes of greenhouse gasses from their pipelines ...

I didn’t make any comment to the letter, just posted it as something I thought others might be interested in reading.  Well retiring Kamloops South Thompson BC Liberal MLA Kevin Krueger saw the post, and the comments of the letter obviously didn’t sit well with him.

His response was:

Ummm, Conservatives are supposed to understand that income taxes are regressive to job creation; if you leave their earnings as much as possible in the pockets and bank accounts of people and businesses who earned the money, those people and businesses spend it in ways that demonstrate what goods and services the public wants. Then, job creators respond by hiring people to provide them, those new workers pay taxes, and so on, and so on, and so on. Small businesses, (of which we now have over 400,000 in B.C.), employ well over 1 million British Columbians. Big businesses pay dividends on their shares to millions of British Columbians, and their pension plans.

The carbon tax is one of the few taxes that is voluntary; you only pay on what you choose to use. If you make energy-efficient decisions, you pay less. If you want to drive a Hummer to show off, you pay more. Taxpayers don't get to choose their income tax rates. When the BC Liberals cut income taxes to the lowest in Canada in 2001, job numbers began rapidly rising. In spite of the worldwide economic shock of 9/11, they resumed rising, and BC went over 2 million jobs for the first time in history. Now, in the face of a continuing worldwide recession, we have the highest # of jobs ever, (over 2,400,000 and rising). We are beating our own record.

Well the fact that Kevin chose to say the tax was ‘voluntary’ definitely got my dander up, which was why I then responded by saying:

The carbon tax is in NO WAY voluntary to the people that MUST drive their vehicles for work --- it is also NOT voluntary to heat our homes., This of us that live in the interior, and especially in the North, VOLUNTEER a lot more than the majority of British Columbian’s that live in the milder climates of the coast where less is needed for heating, and where there is readily available public transit. AGAIN this is a tax that is unfairly applied across the province to families that see their pockets picked more and more by this government.

Unbelievably my MLA, who I questionably say was elected to represent the interest of constituents in Kamloops South, made one of the most ridiculous agreements I have every heard:

We can choose what kind of vehicles we drive, for fuel efficiency. And yeah, yeah, lots of us need 4x4 trucks, which burn more - but we live in places where people can make $120,000/yr (average) working for mines - salaries most city people can't even dream of - or other well-paying resource industries - and anybody doing so can afford the carbon tax on their diesel fuel. We can choose to live in homes that are well-insulated, and well-maintained. If we are low income British Columbians, we have very generous public support of all kinds, including tax credits, and most pay little or no income tax to BC at all. You are talking through your hat, Sue. And Al, you should know better than to play the city people vs rural people card; getting anywhere in a car in Vancouver or Victoria takes far longer than in Kamloops, let alone small town BC.