The following is an article written by Carole
Rooney, which appeared in todays (November 6, 2013) edition of the 100 Mile Free Press.
British
Columbia Conservative leadership candidate Dan Brooks recently visited 100 Mile
House to meet with potential party supporters. Brooks
is based in Vanderhoof, where he runs a hunting and fishing lodge.
"I've
been in tourism pretty much all of my life. In my background, I did an awful
lot of land and resource management planning."
While
his party did not put forward a Cariboo-Chilcotin candidate in the last
provincial election, Brooks said he is actively seeking new members in order to
begin "building the party" and find a candidate in the constituency.
"Even
though we didn't elect anybody, the [B.C.] Conservative Party played a very,
very crucial role in this last election, and we took the entire political
spectrum to the right, toward free enterprise and personal freedoms. The
[B.C.] Liberals tacked to counter us. In previous elections, we weren't a
force, and so they could ignore us, but in this election, we were a significant
force, and so they had to tack that way."
In
this manner, his party did a "great service" for the province and its
democracy, he said, so despite having no members sitting in the legislature,
those election efforts were not made in vain.
"This
province will be better by our presence alone. Imagine how much better it will
be when we are in government," he added, chuckling.
Brooks
explained he realizes people feel discouraged about the lack of strength in his
party, but without his right-wing party views, they will only have an "NDP
and NDP-like" perspective in the legislature.
"We
need a party that represents the ideals of [B.C.] Conservatives across the
province. That's what we are trying to build."
Most
small rural communities in B.C. are either "outright suffering or
stagnant," Brooks said, with little economic growth and dwindling
population.
"Across
rural B.C. in the last 15 years, we have lost 58,000 people. That's an awful
lot of people."
Last
year, 10,000 residents left the province, he noted, while others have gone to
larger urban centres.
"As
a potential leader of the [B.C.] Conservative party, that is a worrying trend
that I propose to change. So, we have got to put the focus on rebuilding the rural
resource economy."
Brooks
explained agriculture, forestry and tourism issues in the South
Cariboo are likely much the same as in Vanderhoof, as they all
require dedicated land.
"So,
you have to find ways to utilize land to maximize your revenue base off of that
land base. And, there are some deterrents that currently exist."
He
noted the first example of this that came to his mind.
"Aboriginal
land claims ... have become an economic deterrent, and have made economic
growth in our rural resource areas extremely difficult. I agree entirely with the idea of
consultation and accommodation, but you can't perpetuate this indefinitely. At
some point in time, someone is going to have to stand up and say, 'we are going
to force this issue'."
Brooks
added the "biggest problem" on First Nations reserves is abject
poverty, and the way to eliminate that is to provide jobs.
"How
do you get jobs? You build a rural resource economy. So, by building economic
growth in your rural communities, that benefits First Nations."
The
current MLAs have become "rubber stamp machines" who follow the party
lines, he said, while the B.C. Conservatives will empower constituents by
empowering their MLA to represent them as they see fit.
Brooks
noted he plans to visit the South Cariboo again
before the party leadership elections take place April 11-12.
"I'm
going to be down here in 100 Mile the first week of December. This time I'll be
holding an event ... we'll have a meet-and-greet."
