Bill 22 is not in Good Faith

I have never particularly appreciated the tactics of the BCTF and I think that independant MLA Bob Simpson has a very good understanding of what is going on from all sides in his note on Politicizing Education

http://www.bobsimpsonmla.ca/politicizing-education/

However, I find myself in the unexpected position of needing to support the BCTF at least somewhat. While I believe they need to let go of their demand for any wage increase, I do not see how Bill 22 is in anyway treating them with respect. The full bill can be read at:

http://www.leg.bc.ca/39th4th/1st_read/gov22-1.htm

Section 5 of the bill says that “the parties must continue or commence to bargain collectively in good faith”. The bill is not structured to encourage this however. Apart from the wage demands that I agree must be relinquished, section 13 of the bill on the “restricted scope of bargaining” basically lists off all the other issues that the teachers have and moves them off the table. Then section 7 on “Offences” prescribes fines that would see teachers paying something like 2 times what they earn in fines ($475/day) if they didn’t fill out report cards (breaking section 3.1.c “every employee must continue or resume his or her full duties”). Finally, section 24 defies any court ruling in the last 10 years and any that may be made in the future (is that even legal?) by redefining the teacher’s collective agreement since 2002.

Honestly, does this really set up an environment in which bargaining can be done in good faith?

The result of this bill will undoubtedly be continued animosity during the “cooling off” period, followed by a legislated contract at the end of August. If that is the goal, then why not just legislate it now and stop the pretence of bargaining.

While the BC Conservatives may not see eye to eye on everything with the BCTF, we will bargain with them in better faith than this. As John Cummins pointed out, the Bill should have dealt simply with ending the strike and not throwing all these issues into the mix.

Envision Occupy Economics

I received an email ad for a conference in Kelowna next week on "Envisioning Occupy Economics".  This is being supported by the Green Party.

They note that governments need to regulate the production of food and energy so that we will have enough to meet demand. Among suggestions being presented is one that says that since it takes 15 times more water to produce meat than it does plant food, we should reduce our meat production and increase our grains, etc.

While I agree that there are some good ideas within this group, the idea that GOVERNMENT SHOULD CONTROL PRODUCTION is NOT one of them. Governments and production quotas have been tried and failed over and over again.  Look at where that got Russia last century. 

Environmental ideas need to be brought forward into a free market where they can succeed in their proper time. Good ideas will catch on and bad ones will drop off. Government meddling in what is produced will be disastrous to our freedoms, our economic health and ultimately to the environment as well.

Look at the GM Volt for example. An electric car is a good environmental idea. It isn't perfect however and it needs time to be tried and adjusted and improved. Production was being encouraged by the US government but now GM has stopped it because they have too many. What would happen if production was not just encouraged but controlled by government? The negative impacts on the car industry would be significant.

We must take care of the environment rather than using it to intimidate people into giving up their freedoms.

Honesty first and foremost

“We [British Columbians] live in the most corrupt province in this country,“ said Mr. Tsakumis today

http://bit.ly/yBQaqU

If his article is true, then his statement is likely true as well. This must stop!  I posted about transparency 2 days ago but I had hoped that the next election would be primarily about policy. However, if it needs to be about corruption as well, then so be it. We have a generation that is giving up on our democracy. The Occupy movement should have woken us up to that if we were still sleeping. It is time to bring honesty back into politics.

Governing should not be about money or power. It is a service to give back to the people we live with and love.  Should I be given the privilege to serve the Shuswap in this way, I will strive along the BC Conservative party to bring back trust in our MLAs and our democracy.

Transparent Government

We have lost the trust of a large number of our citizens. They do not believe that any party or politician is honest or altruistic. I believe that this is partially due to dishonesty but it is also due to a closed door policy that is much harder to address.

In a world of instant access to information there is very little time to check the facts before a story hits the media. So to protect themselves from responding to every rumour, I believe the norm has become to cover up everything until the last possible moment. Then, hopefully, the facts will be a little clearer.

This is understandable on one hand, but counterproductive in the long run. For example, wouldn't it be much better to make a statement like,

We don't know the facts about the RoboCalls but we are 100% committed to
finding out and taking the strongest possible action against anyone involved
whether they are associated with our party or not.

Then, keep all the rhetoric down to a minimum while publishing the facts as they are known.  In the end, do what we said we would do and eventually the public will have enough trust to allow time for the facts to be clarified.

It is a slow process to change a culture and this cannot happen overnight. People still want to get all the news and make their decisions based on their friend's Face Book posts. However, if we are committed to transparent government and we take obvious steps toward making it happen, I believe that people will start to allow time for reflection before arriving at the conclusion that every story is just more proof of corruption.

Everyone has a voice

I love the fact that everyone has a voice in a democracy, right from the grass roots party member, to the voter and finally all the people through their representative (MLA in BC).

That is why the report I read from the Times Colonist

http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=e5dd4c9d-c97c-4af1-9910-3208f7ebbb4b

about the member for Kamloops - South Thompson, Kevin Krueger is so disturbing to me. He was heckling and shouting down two other members as they tried to respond to the budget. It was so bad they had to stop talking several times each and Mr. Krueger continued until the last moment before he would have been ejected from the chamber.

If we try to block out the voice of any of our people, whether or not we agree, we cease to be a democracy and degenerate into schoolyard bullies. We need to listen to each other and work together. I hope that the member will reform his behaviour in the future and join the rest of us in a democratic society.

Balanced Budgets

In retrospect, tying MLAs salaries to a balanced budget may have been a bad idea. The result is not a balanced budget but just creative accounting. We have entered a parallel universe where a budget surplus can add billions to the debt.

How about making the tough decisions so we can shore up support for the most at risk segments of our society by cutting out the nice-to-haves.  I'm not saying it would have been easy but it would have been encouraging to have seen at least some effort made.

Step 1. Freeze MLA salaries so they can lead by example.

Step 2.  Reduce waste and look for efficiencies. The private sector has to do this, why does government think it is unnecessary?

Step 3. Encourage business instead of driving it away. That will expand our tax base and reduce the number of people who need assistance. Strategic tax cuts WILL increase revenue and decrease spending.

Step 4. Get serious with the backups in the courts, medical waits,  education shortfalls. People need to be safe, healthy and trained if we want them to participate in building our economy.

Choice: Isn't that what democracy is all about?

I had a great time yesterday in Salmon Arm meeting people and talking about governmental choices. There is a growing excitement with the BC Conservative Party and I met many people who have been waiting for this to be viable option.  Now it is and we are moving forward.

But I met another group of people; those who are disillusioned with government in general and I understand why.  We have made elections into a time when we vote AGAINST what we don't believe in but we never get a chance to vote FOR what we do believe in.

The BC Conservative Party is giving people who want to avoid the disaster of the nineties an option to vote FOR something rather than just going with the status quo and wishing we could have a different system. The disillusioned voters are sceptical, but I am looking forward to showing them that there is hope for better government.

The Shuswap is a wonderful place with great people. Thank you to all those I met yesterday for the time you took to tell me what you want from a responsible government. The BC Conservative Party is dedicated to engaging the people of BC and making this province all that it should be.

I am dedicated to the service of everyone living in the Shuswap.