Government's highest priority must be protecting the public good

As I write this report, I am clearing off my desk at the Legislature before the Thanksgiving long weekend.I am looking forward to spending next week back in my communities where I will have the opportunity to talk with you and hear what is on your mind.

I know that I will meet with parents who care about their children, with seniors and the family members who love them, and with volunteers who are working to make their community a better place to live.I will meet with people who have clearly established priorities; they put children, seniors and their community first.

The last two months in the Legislature have made it absolutely clear to me that our government does not share our priorities.This is a government that is willing to put children at risk, reduce services to seniors and gut community programs with no regard to the impacts.

This government wants us to believe that we all must suffer because economic times are tough, but you don’t have to dig very far to find that some sectors are doing better than others in British Columbia.

Who are the winners and who are the losers in these examples?

The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) will transfer a $1.9 billion tax burden away from corporations onto individual tax payers.For instance, a senior couple on a fixed-income will spend more than $1000 a year extra just on HST.

When former Finance Minister Carole Taylor eliminated the Corporate Capital Tax on financial institutions she eliminated $100 million a year in tax revenue that previously funded healthcare and education.

Health Minister Kevin Falcon has just announced that the cost to seniors for residential care is going up as much 29% starting January 2010.Seniors with yearly incomes as low as $22,000 will pay a further $2000 a year for residential care.That’s a whopping $53.7 million that is being taken out of the pockets of vulnerable seniors.

Here is a shocking fact: post-secondary students will contribute more to general revenue through taxes by 2011 than corporations will contribute through corporate income tax.Think about that one for a minute.

In my communities, we believe that we all need to work together to build our communities.We believe that our tax dollars should be spent building a healthcare system that works for us when we need it.We believe that our tax dollars should provide high-quality education for all our children.And we believe that our seniors deserve quality affordable care.

Each day, in my work as your MLA, I remember the message that you sent the government on Election Day.In Columbia River – Revelstoke we believe that every sector has to make a contribution.And wewant a government that places the highest priority on protecting the public good.

What does $2.4 million buy you? 

For British Columbian taxpayers, it buys you thousands of tickets to Olympic events, many of those tickets in the highest price seats. 

Publicly owned corporations like BC Hydro and ICBC have spent $1.5 million on Olympic tickets.  And the government’s own Olympic Ticketing Strategy spent $900,000 to buy tickets so that government MLA’s and cabinet ministers can attend prime events in the best seats.

It is more than ironic that BC Liberals are wasting tax payers’ money to attend sporting events at a time that sports programs across the province are being cut and promised grants to non-profit groups are being cancelled.

My office has heard of dozens of examples, in this constituency alone, where opportunities for sport and fitness have evaporated because of this government’s supposed belt tightening.  Whether it is the loss of gaming grant funding for local sports associations or the cuts to sports travel subsidies, each of these cuts makes it more difficult for people in this area to be active in sport.

Clearly the belt tightening does not apply to BC Liberal MLAs.  Unlike the federal government that has stated that no MPs will be attending Olympic events at taxpayers’ expense, the BC Liberals feel no shame about attending the gold medal hockey game in a luxury box while you are footing the bill.

People tell me that they expect government to do what is right for the majority of people instead of focussing the benefits on a select few. 

In tough economic times like these, we do need to look at finding cost savings.  When it comes to making choices about what programs should be cut first, I think the majority would say that a program that buys Olympic tickets for government MLAs would likely be at the top of the list.