Dear Editor:
Re: Prepare for political flashbacks, In The House, The Record, Jan. 30
The B.C. Liberals and the friends of the B.C. Liberals want to remind people of things that occurred in the 1990s.
However, the B.C. Liberals have a record to answer for themselves over the past 12 years. And it appears that they have a fear of accountability that has dogged them since they were first elected in 2001. While the B.C. Liberals and their friends, "Concerned Citizens of B.C." would love people to remember the "memo to file" incident, they would also love you to forget that Premier Gordon Campbell, in 2003, was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, by being over twice the legal limit in the state of Hawaii.
When Dix was confronted with the "memo to file" he resigned as chief of staff.
When Gordon Campbell came back to the mainland, was he held accountable for being convicted of drunk driving? No. At least not to the standards that he himself demanded of people when he was leader of the opposition prior to 2001.
Of course, who could ever forget the millions and millions of taxpayer dollars it cost the government, when they ripped up the collective agreements with the Health Employees Union, after that union challenged the government's actions in court and won. And also the costs associated with fighting the BCTF in court over the issue of class size and composition in regards to collective bargaining - a fight the B.C. Liberals lost. People may also remember who the Minister of Education was at the time the government tried to take away the rights of teachers to bargain class sizes and composition. Her name was Christy Clark. I could also mention how Campbell campaigned in 2001 about not selling B.C. Rail, nor ripping up existing collective agreements with teachers and HEU workers.
And Gordon Campbell's swan song to the people of B.C.: the HST. After saying time and again during the 2009 campaign that the B.C. Liberals would not bring in the HST, less than three days after the polls closed they were in consultations with Ottawa about it.
And then the reign of Christy Clark began. You see and hear her extolling the B.C. Jobs Plan: a $15-million taxpayer funded propaganda project. When it comes to actual jobs in B.C., well, that's a different story. From the use of temporary foreign workers to mine coal in Tumbler Ridge, to shipping shipbuilding jobs off shore to Holland to build the next SeaBus, it's painfully clear what Christy's "B.C. Jobs Plan" is all about.
And with Clark, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Can you believe that the Legislature hasn't sat in close to a calendar year? Ever ask yourself why? I believe I know the answer: fear. Fear of being held accountable in the legislature for all the bumbles, stumbles and fumbles that have beset the B.C. Liberals since the 2009 election.
And in May 2013, I believe that the people of B.C. will finally stand up and give the B.C. Liberals what they truly deserve at the polls.
Dave Lundy, by email
