Re: NDP promises ferry fare freeze, April 18.
The provincial election is underway. Sadly, little is said on the debt.
We know where the Liberals stand. Their budget is there for all to see. And they have a record. Part of that record is that they have increased the total debt of the province from $35 billion to $65 billion over the past 14 years. And their latest budget shows that they intend to keep increasing the total debt over the next three years, from $66.7 billion to $77.7 billion.
What about the NDP? Well, they intend to keep on doing the same as the Liberals. Isn’t it hilarious that the NDP keep preaching they are different and then they take the last Liberal budget and swallow it hook, line and sinker? In their platform, they make it clear that they will continue the capital program of the Liberals at over $8 billion a year for the next three years. And, like the Liberals, they separate the capital account from the current or operating account. But, of course, they do not tell you that a lot of that capital is borrowed.
The Greens’ core principles they say are participatory democracy, sustainability, social justice, respect for diversity, ecological wisdom, and non-violence. Not a peep on fiscal responsibility.
Given that the Conservatives lack a leader, and are so low in the polls that forming a government or official opposition is remote, I do not consider their policies for this commentary although they do mention the words fiscal responsibility on their website, although there is little meat put on that bone that I can see.
So, pray tell, what is one supposed to do on election day if you believe in balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility?
Brian Peckford, Nanaimo
Re: Energy policy is on the ballot, Letters, May 2.
The provincial election is almost here. The decision is whether to stay the course with a hard-working premier that has helped the B.C. economy become one of the best in Canada or to return British Columbia to being the laughingstock of Canada the way it was in the past under the NDP.
Christy Clark has shown foresight to the future of industry that can thrive in this province. She has shown willingness to help business as well as protect the workers. Her government has worked hard to get new business off the ground and protect the environment without excluding every project. She has spent hours on job sites and has never been an elitist.
On the other hand, there is the NDP that is represented by a loud bully that interrupts and tries to belittle opponents by laughing at them when they are speaking and just acting rude. This guy is not premier material and never will be.
The NDP is a protest party that over the years has happened to be in the right place a couple of times like the federal party were in Quebec under Jack Layton. That got corrected in the next election. The NDP happened to be there in Alberta at the right time when the Conservatives were in trouble. That will be corrected in the next election. The NDP has never been able to govern.
Times are good in B.C. right now and the present government is going the right direction. Returning to the mess of the distant past is not the answer. When someone comes to you offering things for free be aware. Bernie Sanders in the U.S.A. sounds good and so might Horgan until you are choked out trying to fund the constant demands of special interest.
J.E.R. Green, Nanaimo
Re: Energy policy is on the ballot, Letters, May 2.
I was somewhat disappointed in Green Party leader Andrew Weaver when I saw a different side of him than he has been showing. The verbal attack that he made on NDP leader John Horgan to try and humiliate him and goad him into anger, was not the most humane thing that an honourable man would do. It’s one thing to question a person’s track record or broken promises, but quite another to try and make him look like a fool in front of such a large audience.
I have always thought that the platform of the NDP and the Green Party had so many similarities that with a little bit of understanding and consideration, they could form a coalition and become the perfect government this country needs. A government that works for all people instead of just the rich, is what all politics should be about. If these two parties could only quit firing slings and arrows at each other and get their heads together, they could form a government which would be the first real democratic government this world has ever seen.
The working poor have always paid more than their fair share of taxes while the rich have never ever paid their fair share. What’s the matter with a true democracy with social equality for all? We’ve never had a fair government; socialism is as close to fairness as we’ve ever come.
John A. Martin, Nanaimo
As May 9 approaches, the popular ‘spin’ by some parties, would have us believe that electoral reform is not a priority issue for B.C. voters. Meanwhile anger, dissent and hatred continues to skyrocket worldwide. We see ever more clearly that no government really acts in the best interests of its regular citizens. Corruption, i.e. global ‘big corporations’ truly now running our world, in cahoots with governments at all levels is rampant everywhere.
One independent news source has been compiling the B.C. Liberal government ‘deals’ that have sold us all down the rivers (pun intended) over the past 15 years. The list has approximately 120 specific items so far.
People clamour for fundamental change. Yes, but how? The longest journey must begin with one first step forward. Nothing will change until the present corrupt, disempowering system of electing our so-called representatives changes. Let’s ask candidates and parties how strongly and definitely they support dumping our present foolishness (first past the post), then vote for them.
Jordan Ellis, Nanaimo