It appears as if Eric Foster is following the lead of his Liberal Party handlers by trying to take the focus off of the current government’s record and instead discredit those who try to discuss the issues.
In the Dec. 14 edition of The Morning Star Eric first accuses me of cherry picking employment statistics and then proceeds to spin some select statistics.
For the record, Eric had previously stated B.C. was No. 1 in job creation and I pointed out the fact that according to Statistics Canada we were actually 5th or 6th in job creation over the year. Since our exchange has taken place, the most recent statistics continue to bear out the dismal employment numbers under the Liberal government.
There are a number of statistics I could focus on to discredit this government’s record but I think we could more effectively utilize our efforts by discussing and dealing with the issues that remain outstanding. One recent example is their taxpayer-financed $15 million pre-election advertising campaign. Being as we are dealing with a budget deficit, this will be paid for with borrowed money.
Are there any better uses for the $15 million? How about utilizing that money for our financially strapped public education or health care? How about developing a Poverty Reduction Plan and directing those dollars to its implementation? Perhaps we could increase group home spaces for Community Living BC or home care services for our seniors? What about strengthening our environmental assessment process?
There is a great deal of need in so many areas and now is the time to deal with them.
Mark Olsen, NDP candidate
Vernon Monashee
