Editor: Being old enough to remember the pre-cusor to the NDP, I am somewhat at odds with the current statements coming from the party leaders regarding the cornerstone of the party — jobs.
When the party was organized, the name finalized, the mandate was jobs, jobs, jobs — particularly (for) unionized workers — and social commitments to the aged and the less fortunate members of society.
Current leadership comments appear to be in contradiction of these principles. It is apparent that B.C. needs work, hopefully in the energy sector with projects that require thousands of tax paying workers and production taxes for the provincial coffers.
Having lived in three provinces under NDP leadership they performed well beyond expectation until the day it became apparent that they drained the provincial treasury and were unable to support their programs and usually lost their mandate in the earliest provincial election, Alberta being an prime example.
The withdrawal of Petronas and the reason given does not stand up in the light. The project was expected to take five to seven years of steady unionized work before production, the price of LNG is in constant flux.
Who knows with certainly the price in seven years?
I put the cancellation (to) being uncertainty under NDP leadership. Further comments coming from the party leaders regarding provincial pipelines shows a basic ignorance of the need of these to feed the province’s hunger for industry.
Hopefully common sense will prevail with the people demanding the NDP hold to its original principles, work for the proletariat. Or the NDP comes to its senses and fades off into the night and makes room for a progressive political party, even to the point of creating a B.C.-exclusive group.
Terry Brenan,
Aldergrove
