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A culture of entitlement

The culture of entitlement is found not only in Ottawa, it is alive and well in Victoria.

Sadly for all B.C. citizens the “centre right vote” may be out of options when it comes to deciding which party to vote for. Christie Clark is not much different than Adrian Dix. If there was more time before the election, the Conservative, Alliance, Reform and Social Credit vote on the right could arrange to vote strategically. For example, depending on which riding was the strongest; the “right” vote in the four respective parties could vote Conservative. A riding where the “Liberal left” is strongest, those folks could vote for the Liberal candidate. If the centre right and left vote fail to play ball, they and the province will be finished.

If the NDP should win, B.C. will continue to be a basket case for the next 50 years. Adding to the NDP mismanagement is the $60 billion long-term debt. Neither Clark or Dix will be able to overcome the problem. Both of their parties are responsible for the debt: $28 billion from the NDP; $20 billion from the Liberals; and $12 billion accumulated debt since 1871. The Interior and North vote is not responsible for the disaster we find ourselves in; we would be better off if we joined Alberta. Alberta is debt free. They do not have a GST or an HST.

Clark is an Ontario carpet bagger, she has other baggage to worry about. She was a Jean Chretien Girl Friday, unfortunately many of his bad habits rubbed off on Clark. She was Gordon Campbell’s deputy premier when the B.C. Rail-CN Rail disaster started. The Lieutenant Governor should call a commission of enquiry, with forensic and subpoena power. The people must be able to get to the bottom of this scandal. If Clark is guilty, she is finished as premier. If the Liberals act swiftly, there will still be plenty of time to elect another leader. Bad as the NDP have been over the years, they will raise the railway disaster during the election. That issue alone could sink the Liberals.

There are too many other rotten apples in both parties. Liberal MLA Ida Chong comes to mind. She lives 15 minutes from the legislature building. In one calendar year she billed the taxpayer $6,000 for meals. For much of that time the House was not in session. The NDP would not criticize her behavior. Why? Because many of the NDP MLAs claim the same entitlements. When questioned about the over spending she replied, “I am within the rules”.

The rotten apples are also found in Ottawa. When the Duke and Duchess of downtown Toronto, (a.k.a.) NDP MPs Jack Layton and wife Olivia Chow, were questioned about “over spending” on their expense accounts, a stern-faced Chow replied, “we are within the rules”. Being man and wife; both are members of Parliament; on several occasions they will travel together, for example back and forth from Ottawa to their Toronto ridings. Apparently the “red flag” went up over their spending on expense accounts.

Only in Canada, in these precarious times could such an attitude, known and described as the “culture of entitlement”, be considered as part of the ‘natural way’ of conducting the nation’s business.

Ernie Slump

 

Penticton