Tom Fletcher’s recent B.C. Views column (Penticton Western News, May 31, Yes, Clark won the election) wherein he deconstructs the results of our provincial election — a sort of sifting through the ashes as it were — is worthwhile.
However, towards the end of his analysis he makes a claim that is very questionable. Mr. Fletcher states that “Interior regions struggling with high unemployment and depopulation” of the province voted for Liberal policy that promised “an industrial jobs agenda.” Wait a minute here, what plank of the governing Liberal Party’s platform could even be considered to foster economic growth and the creation of real wealth? This grouping of NeoLiberal ideologues have over the last approximate 15 years done nothing but ride along on the multi-million dollars of property transfer taxes from the greater Vancouver real estate bubble, while claiming to be the champions and stewards of the economic prosperity of our province and the well-being of our citizenry. There has been no vision, no economic development strategy at all. Anybody with any knowledge of world events and the economics of energy supply would know that Little Miss Muffet’s LNG “Godsend” was a lost cause. The only thing of merit put forward from this government pertaining to real physical economy, albeit in the usual reactionary way and just a few weeks prior to the election, was to eliminate provincial taxation on electricity bills for our flailing forestry industry.
The silly “identity politics” and Fabian policies of the NDP, a party that purports to represent working people of B.C. and the flawed anti-growth Green Party agenda spells a return to neo-feudalism.
Our province needs to live up to “The Gateway to the Orient” what heretofore has been nothing more than a platitude. British Columbia must join in China’s Belt Road Initiative and take the leading role in further expanding this New Silk Road into the world land bridge by leading the campaign for building the Bering Strait Tunnel and thus establishing the necessary conditions for global peace through global development.
Our MLA Dan Ashton, who over the years I have sent information packages regarding this new paradigm has had a glorious opportunity to bring this policy forward as chair of the Pacific Northwest Economic Development Council, importantly including representatives from Alaska and the Yukon but seems to be incapable of understanding the glorious opportunities that await our province and nation.
I guess we will have to see how our local political representatives react to these political machinations.
Brian Gray
Penticton