To the editor:
Before going to the polls on May 9, please consider the following:
One in five children live in poverty, a number that has remained unchanged in 20 years (Firstcall BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition June 22, 2015).
The minimum wage of $10.85 puts BC sixth lowest in Canada (Retail Council of Canada, October 1, 2016). With the high cost of living in BC cities, it’s no wonder our child poverty rate is so deplorable.
The BC Liberals 12 year battle with the BCTF over class sizes and teacher support, has caused an entire generation of our children to be disadvantaged. Costing BC taxpayers millions, both in legal fees and in lost opportunities. Money they are now having to put back into the system, so we pay twice.
BC’s Fish and Wildlife are in peril. To name a few situations, the steelhead fishery in the Thompson River has collapsed, the 2016 Sockeye salmon run was the lowest ever, mountain caribou are close to collapse, moose populations are down. Logging practices and a lack of government oversight are contributing to the pressures on fish and wildlife. A lack of vision and funding by the Liberal government is directly responsible for this situation. What happened to “Super Natural BC”?
Fracking, an environmental disaster in the making; pollution of water used, drain on the aquifers and a huge carbon footprint. Fracking requires enormous amounts of water and power. Site C is being built to meet the power needs of this industry. British Columbians will be paying, in so many ways, for this dam for many decades to come.
The Mount Polley tailings pond collapse was the biggest mining spill in Canadian history. BC Taxpayers are on the hook for $40 million in cleanup costs, there have been zero sanctions and zero fines against Imperial Metals. (The Tyee March 31, 2017). Mining companies donated $4.7M to BC Liberals over 10 years (CBC analysis finds, April 10, 2017). Integrity B.C. states that the mining sector was the third-largest contributor to the BC Liberals between 2005 and 2015, after property developers and the forestry industry (CBC online news updated April 10, 2017).
The Christy Clark government is far more interested in Business and Industry than in you and me. Do they really deserve another four years in office?
Pam Canty
Bridge Lake
