PETER SHARP: "This begins Day #1 as the BC Conservative candidate for Kamloops South Thompson"

Last night BC Conservatives, in Kamloops South Thompson, elected Peter Sharp to represent them in this Mays Provincial General Election.

Those of you in other areas of the province, or who may have been unable to attend last night meeting, missed a great meeting, and hearing the words of Peter. 

He has given me permission to print them for you and they follow.  First though, I thought I would share with you what he had to say online this morning:



Step one in seeking the nomination -- filling out the BC
Conservative Party nomination forms (42 pages!)

"This begins Day #1 as the BC Conservative candidate for Kamloops South Thompson. And it begins with news from a new Ipsos Reid poll that shows 24% of voters are now less likely to vote for the BC Liberals following release of the new budget. BONUS!"

Now, here is Peter's speech from last night.

Good evening fellow Conservatives, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, and fellow nominee candidate Maria Dobi ...

 

My name is Peter Sharp and tonight I hope to become your candidate, for the BC Conservative Party, in our Kamloops South Thompson Riding.  Then with your support, encouragement, and assistance -- to become your MLA following the May General Election. 

 

About a month ago, BC Liberal MLA Terry Lake was quoted as saying:  “What we do see, as we get closer to election, is that people are understanding what the BC Conservatives are all about….”

 

My hope is that the Voters of our great province do indeed come to understand what we, as BC Conservatives are all about and what we believe in ... and what we hope to bring to the political stage in British Columbia.

 

Terry Lake tossed a generalized statement out -- one, which implied there is something to fear from the BC Conservatives.   He knows that his implied statement is completely without truth ... and the backroom manipulators of the BC Liberal Party know that as well.

 

In fact ... because WE BELIEVE IN BC ... and the people of BC ... I am proud to say that our beliefs, principles and policies differ greatly from the BC Liberal Party.

 

WE - as BC Conservatives - believe in clearly defined public policies and programs that are affordable, effective, and accountable to each one of you here tonight.  And I too believe that each and every British Columbian is entitled to full knowledge of all services government provides ... AND what they cost.

 

After all ... how else can we know if we are getting good value?

 

WE -- as BC Conservatives --  believe that our provincial government must operate with the highest standards of integrity and transparency.  And we as BC Conservatives also believe that governments at all levels -- including at the municipal level -- are responsible to serve and respect all individuals and their families. 

 

Peter Sharp speaking with members of
the media at the announcement he would
seek the Kamloops South nomination

As an elected councillor with the City of Kamloops, I have firsthand experience in knowing why our elected representatives should first and foremost represent your interests.

 

As a retired RCMP officer with 30 years of experience, I too believe in the BC Conservative Party's policy of law and order that focuses on the rights of victims ... and the protection of the public.

 

We as BC Conservatives have our feet planted in reality.  We need to have smaller government ... we need to encourage new enterprise.  Leadership at all levels (from teachers in the classroom -- to elected officials in Victoria) MUST encourage our youth ... parents ...  employees in the workplace ... and business leaders to dream big dreams.  We need to once again strive towards excellence and prosperity. 

 

These are not just motherhood statements ... these are statements that I too -- WITH YOU -- believe in.

 

If I have the opportunity to be your elected representative for the BC Conservative Party…. I will hold my party accountable to create an environment where good government and prosperity can be achieved.

What do you think? Would it be a good idea to increase the number of Sheriffs to have them take over some of the responsibility of traffic enforcement?

Did anyone else miss the following media release from last Thursday? I personally have to think that if we were to increase the number of BC Sheriffs, and tasked them with this duty, they actual could "... engage in traffic enforcement activities in order to modify behaviour and enhance safety ..."

I’m sure I’ll get flack on this; however I think that putting an RCMP, or city police, officer in a car with radar is a waste of resources.

Here’s the full media release from the Canadian Police Association:

Public safety, not "revenue-generating" should be focus of traffic enforcement

A proposal from the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union (BCGEU) to expand the BC Sheriffs' mandate to include traffic enforcement as a "revenue-generating" tool shows an unfortunate lack of understanding of the basic role of law enforcement, said British Columbia Police Association (BCPA) President Tom Stamatakis today.

"The simple fact is that Police Officers engage in traffic enforcement activities in order to modify behaviour and enhance safety; not to raise money for the government, and any suggestion otherwise by the BCGEU is misguided and frankly insulting to BC taxpayers," said Mr. Stamatakis.

The request for the outsourcing of police duties to inadequately trained employees of the provincial Sheriff's department comes as police officers in BC are already being diverted from their own regular policing duties towards the transfer of prisoners, and ensuring an adequate presence in the province's courtrooms, two key duties that the Sheriffs are currently mandated to perform.

The issue of downloading services from one level of government, to the next, is obviously having a serious affect on municipalities

Last week in Penticton, mayors from 86 communities across British Columbia met to discuss issues they have been facing, and of concern, as more and more areas previously looked after (and funded) by Federal and Provincial governments, get downloaded on to them.  

In a story from the Okanagan’s CHBC TV News, Dianne Watts, Mayor of Surrey said:

“B.C.’s municipalities need a new deal with the provincial and federal governments to provide the services our constituents expect.  Municipalities provide the vast majority of the service in areas such as infrastructure while being given only 8 cents out of every tax dollar to do it.”

While Penticton Mayor Dan Ashton said:

“We all realize there is only one taxpayer and those taxpayers are challenged these days and that challenge is one that we as mayors and council have to address.  The analogy of people being able to support more services through taxation is not one that any mayor in this province wants to accept.”

A news release from the Mayors, following their meeting in Penticton, also brought up a number of additional areas of concerns, where local governments are:

• now providing land as a precondition for the Province to build social housing projects
• now responsible for ensuring residential tenancies are properly maintained by landlords
• paying more for policing as new federal laws require more work to gather more evidence to support charges being approved
• managing flood hazard areas and related liability
• dealing with the aftermath of psychiatric hospitals closures by the Province which has placed many vulnerable people on the street
• paying local fire departments to respond to medical calls, displacing the need for added resources by the provincially funded ambulance service

We will not have “justice”, unless there is a review, and overhaul, of the legal system

Today we have a guest writer of Conservative Thoughts … an opinion piece courtesy of Bob Tarplett.  It was written following an article that appeared in the Globe and Mail on Tuesday January 4, 2012.  The story concerned the Stanley Cup Riot, and the inordinately slow process to get the rioters to court.  Here's what Bob had to say:

BC definitely needs a very major overhaul of its court system -- one that is causing a massive backlog – and that is a very major problem for real justice to occur in this province.  Charter limitations enable important trials to be scrapped, when they should be prioritized to enable justice to be fully implemented. 

We need to find ways to speed up the legal system to do away with time wasters such as short 4 hour court days (starting at 10am, 2 hour lunch, and finishing at 4pm), multiple appearances, condensing pretrial procedures such as jury selection, preliminary hearing, setting court date, request for legal or medical reports, and bail. Why do we need to waste further court time, just to sentence a convicted person, when one would expect that judges should have sufficient knowledge and experience in law and sentencing to be able to select the appropriate sentence --directly after the jury has been discharged -- not 1 to 2 months later!

Justice has been delayed and denied under the BC Liberals

James Alexander Hart
Member of Parliament (1993-2000)

My work schedule means that I am going to have a few guest opinion pieces in the next week or two -- which you will likely / hopefully find a refreshing change of pace.  This first is coming your way today, and is from Vernon resident, and former Reform MP Jim Hart, and it is on the topic of the justice system.

BC will lose 2500 criminal charges soon … and delays getting drug dealers and criminals in front of a judge... means that justice has been delayed and denied under the BC Liberals.

Our Charter of Rights guarantee that those charged with a criminal offense, have the right to face their accusers in a reasonable amount of time. Our economy, largely due to the global recession and Liberal mismanagement, has resulted in an increase in criminal cases. 

The BC Conservatives, under John Cummins, have stated that our policy is for the RCMP/Police to be able to lay charges.  This will speed up the process at the front end, but we still will have a bottle neck in the courts.

Looking back at the year – Conservative Thoughts from 2011

I began this blog in late November of 2010 – so Conservative Thoughts has been online line for nearly 14^th months.  In that time I have written and posted just under three hundred and fifty (347) stories and opinion pieces.  My hope is during that time there have been many, or even just a few, that have made you stop and think about where our political process has been … where it is now … and where it can and should be in the future.

I consider myself to be a small ‘c’ conservative, and as I have always be clear about, I am a member of the BC Conservative Party.  What I write and think comes from that background, but the thoughts, ideas, and questions I post are my own.

So, back to those 347 opinion pieces I have written and posted … I wondered which ones struck the biggest note with those who read them. 

Today I will post the most read ones from 11 to 20 … and then tomorrow will be the ones counting down from ten to #1.  Following each of the headings, which have links to the full story, I will include a brief paragraph or two on what the story was about.

Let’s begin …

As we all know it is, there are going to be bad apples in every group and organization that sheds a black cloud over all who do great work. 

Unfortunately that holds true within the RCMP as well.

Here however is "some" of the good things the men and woman of the RCMP are doing in our province --- and that we rarely hear about.

"BC RCMP 2011 Year in Review" --- click HERE for the full story.

The prohibition of cannabis … “is it worth it – or can we do better by trying something else?”

BC's #1 cash crop -- BC Bud

“There's nothing conservative about banning pot” … so says Doctor Evan Wood in a November 29^th story in the Province newspaper.  I am going to pull several of his comments from the story … however I would recommend that you do read the full story.  Please note, Dr. Wood is a professor of medicine at the University of BC, and a member of Stop the Violence BC.

Imagine an extremely expensive government policy proven to be completely ineffective at achieving its stated objectives. Consider also that whenever this policy is subjected to any kind of impact assessment, the government's own data clearly show that the policy has been ineffective, expensive and fuelled the growth of organized crime. Finally, imagine this remark-able set of circumstances persisting for decades - at great cost to taxpayers and community safety - and yet elected officials say and do nothing to address the status quo.

Does this sound like something most conservative-minded voters would support? Sadly, you don't have to imagine. This policy is marijuana prohibition and it is an unfortunate legacy for conservatives that we have consistently elected right-ward leaning politicians who have been among the strongest defenders of our failed anti-marijuana laws.

The laws of supply and demand, which free-market conservatives hold dear, explain the ongoing warfare between drug cartels, including those operating in the Lower Mainland.  Marijuana prohibition is their biggest cash cow and they have repeatedly shown their willingness to resort to extreme violence to gain or maintain market share.

While a commitment to stronger families is a conservative value often cited to support marijuana prohibition, the policy clearly can-not be credited with helping young families.

Ironically, based on traditional conservative values of family, government accountability and fiscal restraint, B.C. Conservative Party Leader John Cummins should be the first to join the Fraser Institute in supporting a taxation and regulation strategy. The conservative think tank's 2004 report concluded that if we treat marijuana "like any other commodity we can tax it, regulate it, and use the resources the industry generates rather than continue a war against consumption and production that has long since been lost."

That's conservative thinking that British Columbians from across the political spectrum should support.

Click HERE to read the full story:

There is no doubt that Dr. Wood has put together compelling information that says we are fighting a battle that can’t be won … and that we are far better to control production and distribution of marijuana – and tax it for the benefit of all British Columbians (as we do with alcohol and tobacco.

But what do others have to say?

The report does bring up things that cannot be ignored --- basically dismissing the party they came from as irrelevant however, is a BIG mistake

Today in the Victoria Times Colonist, reporter Jack Knox had an article entitled … B.C. Tories tap into worries about costs, gaffes of RCMP.  Early on in the story he makes the following comment:

An hour after word leaked out that Ottawa and the province were - finally! - close to a deal on a new RCMP contract Monday, the B.C. Conservatives issued a report calling the Mounties "inept and outdated."

Not that what the Conservatives say carries much weight, as they haven't elected an MLA since the 1970s. But in calling for B.C. to look at forming its own police force, they did drag up criticisms that, fair or not, neither the politicians nor the RCMP can afford to ignore.

There are many things to consider in this report, prepared for the BC Conservative Party by former Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Brian Peckford, and they do bear consideration. 

That aside … my attention was caught by the very beginning of the story. 

Just a FEW of the ones that deserve special thanks for the work they do

69 police officers from across the province received recognition last night at BC’s 31st annual Police Honours Night. Of those officers, 22 received awards for valorous service (exemplary service in the face of extreme hazard and personal risk) ... 43 for meritorious service (involves actions above the call of duty that enhance the image of policing in BC) ... as well as outstanding service recognition for a retired RCMP deputy commissioner and three retired chief constables.

A media release from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General provided details of how these officers were selected, saying that they … were selected by a committee comprised of representatives from the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s Police Services Division.

We often hear a lot of the negative things in and around policing ... these are just a FEW of the ones that deserve special thanks for the work they do. 

One of the things I hope you will note is the types of situations these men and women were in ... as well as the number of off-duty officers who were recognized.

Awards of Valour

For "Valourous Service"

Const. Gerald Lau (New Westminster Police Service) While off duty, came to the aid of a fellow police officer who was struggling with an aggressive suspect who had a hold of the officer’s firearms holster.

Sgt. Michael Drummond (Vancouver Police Dept) Safely apprehended a deranged, suicidal male armed with an ice pick.

Const. David Marchand (Vancouver Police Dept) – Placed himself at personal risk while performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on a suicidal woman who had overdosed on animal tranquilizers.

A few words about the RCMP … You Guys Rock! Keep up the Good Work!

Yesterday, a post was made on Facebook saying … “If you need one more reason to support the idea of a BC Police force here it is.”  Regrettably it led to a link, regarding the story of a police officer, who IF the facts are true, has disrespected all members of the force due to an illegal and unethical action.

Tarring ALL members of city police forces, and the RCMP however would be wrong, and yet that attitude is beginning to permeate in the minds of the public.  This I believe is due to an excessive focus by the media on these bad apples … and little or no focus on the good they do. 

BUT … that is what the news does isn’t it??  We hear mainly of the negative … of the tragedies … of criminal actions … but very little of the wonderful things that people do every day.

I came across a page, in the RCMP website for the BC region, that features letters from people that have had wonderful experiences … been the recipients of extraordinary help … and that have seen exceptional examples of bravery. 

The motto of the RCMP is "Maintiens le droit" (“Defending the law”) … and that seems fitting given the words and thoughts they had.  Read some of these excerpts … and then I encourage you to read more by going to the website yourself.

… I know it must be hard for the RCMP members to turn off the seriousness when they are dealing with the worst of the community on a daily basis, but what a difference it makes to the little ones when they do. Now the police don't seem so unapproachable to them.

… reassuring to know given the recent attempted home invasion in the area a few weeks ago that the Nanaimo RCMP do take into consideration and respond to non-emergency calls with care.

… unfortunate experience was turned positive with Cpl. Dean's compassion and understanding

The actions being prepared by the BC Conservative Party, are what the BC government should be doing.

Brian Peckford (L) & John Cummins (R)

A news story in the Vancouver Sun, "Feds threaten to withdraw B.C. RCMP services as contract talks break down", mentioned a comment from BC Solicitor General Shirley Bond that indicated if … the province can't get Ottawa back to the table it may look at a "Plan B" scenario of reconstituting the former provincial police force.

I hope you noted the wording of that comment … BC Solicitor general Shirley Bond, and the government of Christy Clark, “MAY look at plan B scenario”. 

So where do BC Conservatives stand on this?  BC Conservative Party leader John Cummins stated the following in a media release which went out earlier today:

"Let's have a real debate over a BC Provincial Police Force. We should not lock into another 20 year contract without understanding the potential costs and benefits that a BC Provincial Police force would bring to British Columbians."

John Cummins, "Justice a high priority for BC Conservatives"

September 24, 2011 (Nanaimo) At the annual general meeting for the BC Conservatives today, John Cummins made two policy announcements; both addressing justice gaps in the province. "As Conservatives we believe in the law - that it should be applied evenly, fairly and without discrimination," said Mr. Cummins. "Today I am announcing two important changes a new BC Conservative government would make to uphold the law in BC." British Columbia is one of only a small number of provinces where the police cannot lay charges. This means that when the police arrest a criminal, they recommend charges to the crown prosecutors who then decided if the case merits charges. A consequence of this is that prosecutors, who are overworked, pick and choose the cases with the highest chance of conviction that fit into their heavily booked schedules.  As a result many criminals go free, or lesser charges are dropped. This is one of the reasons BC has what is described as a catch and release justice system.