News and event information for Williams Lake, BC - as it happens.

By LeRae Haynes

Adrian Dix began his speech last night by saying that it was a little bit intimidating to speak in front of people like Richard Vollo and David Zirnhelt. “Charlie Wyse was an astounding MLA in the Legislature and it’s our job collectively to see that he goes back there and represents the people in this region,” he said.   

(Photo: Opposition Health Critic Adrian Dix spoke at the Fox’s Den Restaurant last night, addressing several issues facing British Columbians under the current government.  Photo by John Visentin)

“I want to talk a little bit about the Hospital Employees Union and what they’ve been through in the last decade under the current government. It symbolizes, I think, to me, why it’s all of our job to return dignity and honour to politics in British Columbia. 

“I was talking to a group of workers in 100 Mile today and agreed that it’s pretty discouraging that in 2001 the Premier of the province formally committed that he would not tear up HU (Hospital Union) contracts. You recall from Friday to a Sunday, on Sunday at 4 in the morning, they passed a contract that took away the rights of the largest lay-off of female workers in the history of British Columbia. 

“We responded to that because it was terrible for our health care system and it fundamentally increased inequality in our society.   

“Before the election, the Liberal government said very clearly that the economy was bad, and that they were the only ones who could be trusted to run the economy. That was their sole message, and the message on which they got re-elected. 

“I think we have to engage these issues of the economy---we’ve gone too long without responding to this nonsense. What’s unique about what’s happened since the Liberals came to office is this: there was a significant period of economic growth between 2003 and 2008, that ended with the stock market problems in the United States in 2008. 

“In the history of our province, times of economic growth have been times when everybody was lifted up: when the rich got richer and everybody else was lifted up. When the Liberal party was in office in this decade, when there were good times, there was an increase in inequality such that we had the highest child poverty in the country. 

“Real incomes of middle income people went down, not up. It’s an enormous dispersal of wealth so that we have enormous differences between urban communities and rural communities---between those who own a home and those who rent. 

“There are good years and bad years, and what we need is a government that speaks up for people in the bad years. What we need is a government that does not increase inequality, that invests in our people and in our society---that’s what we need in British Columbia. 

“Our future is at stake. The truth of it is, it is terrible for the future economic growth of our province that we have one in five children growing up in poverty. Unless you believe in the magic of inherited wealth, that we can simply depend on the children of wealthy people to be the artists and police officers and firefighters and the entrepreneurs of the future—that we can write off whole portions of people. If you believe that, then that’s OK. But we cannot afford, as a province, to write off a generation of people, especially when a generation of baby boomers are becoming seniors. 

“This government’s economic record is lousy, and going into the election, they did nothing to deal with the most serious economic crisis we have ever seen. Then the election happened. They got 46%----we got 43%. They said in the election campaign, ‘We will not introduce an HST because it’s bad for the economy.’ They also said there wouldn’t be cuts to health care and education. They cut things they said they would never cut, and even things they introduced right before the election. 

“They increased taxes for middle income people and cut services. They lied about the economy, they lied about service cuts and they lied about the size of the deficit. And they won by 1.5%. 

“Our task is to explain to people why they need to be involved in the electoral process, to put forward ideas about change that are understandable, reasonable and then win an election and do it: that is our task. Our task is to re-inspire people in the democratic process. 

“There is no government in the western world that is increasing the consumption tax and cutting services in a time of recession---that is nonsense. 

“I want to talk with you about seniors and health care. My generation benefitted from the growth of community colleges, universities, public school education and public health care. The generation before us created those things. 

“That generation is seniors today. This government is now cutting taxes for themselves, increasing tuition for the upcoming generation and cutting services for seniors in British Columbia.”

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