Initial thoughts on throne speech

Lack of action on minimum wage, forestry issues irks MLA

By CAROLYN GRANT

Kimberley Daily Bulletin: February 18, 2009

It is not unusual for an Opposition member to oppose the government’s Throne Speech but Columbia River – Revelstoke MLA Norm Macdonald says the one delivered Monday was particularly thin on substance.

“There were no specific programs, a lot of re-announcements, it’s void of anything substantial,” Macdonald said, of the speech, delivered to the Legislature on Monday.

“I would characterize it as something that in no way addresses the concerns people in this area are talking about.”

Macdonald says that while the speech put health care and education as top priorities, talk is cheap.

“What’s clear to me is that health care and education have never been Gordon Campbell’s priorities and they never will be,” he said.  “We had a period where commodity prices were high and so were federal transfer payments.  In those good times they did not make the investments in health care and education that they could have.  In our area we had two hospitals downgraded and Kimberley hospital closed.  And we were left to live with the consequences.  We also had eight years of school closures.  To put forward that the Liberal government’s focus will be education and health care lacks credibility.”

Another issue is the minimum wage.

Anti-poverty groups and the NDP have been lobbying for a raise in the minimum wage to $10 an hour.

While the BC Chamber of Commerce applauds the fact that the minimum wage was not raised, Macdonald is not so complimentary.

“In 2001, Campbell promised he wouldn’t reduce the minimum wage, and then he introduced the training wage.  The minimum wage hasn’t changed in that length of time but costs have gone up.  People are living in poverty while the rich get richer.  We have the highest child poverty rate.  That’s unacceptable.

“Our salaries go up.  The Premier gave himself a $60,000 raise but you sure wouldn’t want to give someone struggling to make a go of it a raise to $10 an hour.  It’s just two different worlds.”

Macdonald said that he would wait for the budget to come down (which it did on Tuesday, see tomorrow’s Bulletin) to make more specific comments but he was hearing rumours of cuts in Ministries.  Incidentally, he says all the rumoured cuts come in Ministries vital to rural areas such as Forests, Environment and Agriculture and Lands.

He is particularly concerned that the Throne Speech did not direct any support to forestry workers.

“With all the wealth resource communities have poured into the Lower mainland over the years, there is nothing there now that the industry is in crisis,” Macdonald said.  “And on top of that they have the nerve to try to take credit for federal programs in which there is not one single provincial dollar.”