Mr. Bell, you certainly are one of the best MLAs that ever represented us! Thank you!

diplomat I agree. very hard working and cares big time about people. When I look at what the poor people of Haiti are going through our small problems about weather, economy, Olympic's( personally I like them) taxes etc seem very petty. Lets count our blessngs that we live in a Province and Country like we do

Absolutely, this is a catastrophic event and I'm proud to have made a donation, albeit not as big as I would have liked. But every itty bitty dollar counts and amounts.

And yes this makes our problems here at home seem minor, and we should count our blessings.

I agree we need to help those people, but this announcement is just politics IMO.

I would go further and say that a billion dollars would not be out of order... but from the federal and not the provincial government. The provincial government is running a $3 billion deficit right now and any expenditure has to be paid for in taxes. However a federal expenditure although also contributing to an already apparent deficit is ultimately monetized through the Canadian dollar and thereby far more appropriate in this situation.

If BC has hard assets and skills that we can contribute then this is good, but financial donations for foreign aid should be done by the federal government for very good reasons. It has no place at a provincial level... what’s next have the city tax the homeowners so the mayor can get political capital making a contribution as well anytime there is a foreign crisis that pulls at the heart strings of voters?

IMO, in a case like this a billion dollars would be money well spent by the federal government from a PR perspective that enables Canadian values on a foreign situation, and contributes to national security in ways military expenditures on their own could never match from a utility perspective of actual hearts and minds converted to a good perception of Canada's role in the world. It’s hard to convert an Islamic bomber that we in Canada are the bad guys when an aid contribution as large as that is heard around the world... even if it is made to a non-Islamic country. Furthermore, this is as good a chance as any for the Canadian forces to implement training and further enable their ability to work with other nations in moments of national crisis.

From my perspective I saw on TV a women holding her lifeless husband in her arms and the look of fear and uncertainty and loss on her face said it all... to think that her plight could be multiplied hundreds of thousands of time over from this disaster is enough to convince me Canada as a government and individuals everywhere should do all they can to help... I just don't know about it being something provincial or municipal governments have a mandate to be spending money they don't have on.

I pray those people that did survive are able to recover in time, and that help does arrive soon, and wish I could help more....

This is so great that we help people out this way when we can afford it. My concern is where are we getting the money from? We are in dept federally to the tune of 500 billion dollars and provincially god knows but it is probably going to be close to 7 billion. (That is just my guess) How can we afford this when we are already so in debt. We keep getting told by all levels of government that our debt load is to high and Canadians have to work at getting rid of their debt yet..... I am not trying to diminish the plight of these people but on the other hand why and how can we do this? Where is the money coming from? How are we paying for the great costs to be in Afghanistan if we are so in debt? I am confused and bewildered! Are we helping others just to look good on the world stage??

Well said IMO. My thoughts exactly. Guess governments are like the bank, they can create money out of thin air. :}

Maybe a few few less trips to Timmy's or Starbucks?
I agree with Eagleone. This should be done federally. Either way it should be done. Maybe come up with a program to allow the unemployed to go down and help rebuild. Can't be much fun sitting around waiting for the economy to turn here. I think it would be very rewarding and humbling to see how the rest of the world lives.

Maybe a few few less trips to Timmy's or Starbucks?
I agree with Eagleone. This should be done federally. Either way it should be done. Maybe come up with a program to allow the unemployed to go down and help rebuild. Can't be much fun sitting around waiting for the economy to turn here. I think it would be very rewarding and humbling to see how the rest of the world lives.