And it begins....

The only question is when will the liberals announce that the leader is stepping down.

The only way out is a full change and a rebranding.

Frank

A Liberal with morals and a conscience? Will wonders ever cease?

Very well put together statement. He is right they need to look at the level of taxation, as our population decreases it is just going to get worse.

Think about the problems the school board is having, only a much larger scale. They need to create some sort of advantages for having children; I love my kids, but, one thing they aren't is cheap. Unless we get people having more kids again, our municipal, provincial and national incomes are going to plummet.

Lekstrom should run for premier. He remembers the people he is working for.

Our taxes need to look after the important things we all need from gov't such as healthcare, education and infrastructure. It's time to cut funding for all the special interest groups in this province.

When Blair was the Mayor of Dawson Creek I really admired what he stood for and did. Then when he became a liberal MLA I lost a lot of respect for him. That respect is back, as I believe he does truly get it that the electorate is the most important reason for being a politician, not self serving goals.

"as our population decreases it is just going to get worse."

Where does this come from? The population of Canada is increasing, as is the population of BC.

Where the population is increasing is shifting in all of Canada. It is continuing to move form rural to urban and from east to west. That, however, will likely change over time.

The other change over time that will continue is how much the population increase is as a result of births and how much as a result of immigration.

Why bring more people into the world than we are currently doing? Share the wealth we have with people who are located in parts of the world that are overcrowded or are dictatorial regimes with limited freedoms.
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I solute Lekstrom! Staying true to one's principles is an admirable quality in a person these days. Getting rarer and rarer.

Of course, that is not to say that those MLA's who are staying the course so far are not staying to their principles. They may honestly feel that this is the best thing for the people and they have been elected to make decisions around that.

That being said, their communications strategy around that position has obviously been way out of whack. I do not know whether they underestimated the opposition to the HST, or whether they really are as arrogant as they appear to be.

maybe we should have more say over the huge wage increases they gave themselves
also maybe they should not have wasted all that money on the olympics
mind you the rich people in whistler have a nice super highway

Let's not forget Paul Nettleton, he stood up for what he believed in too, so there has been more than one honest BC Liberal.
metalman.

Gus,

Baby boomers are 1) not paying taxes 2) Using up huge amounts of healthcare dollars 3) Eventually going to die causing a drop off in the population. Maybe the numbers haven't changed yet, but they will.

Also people aren't having as many kids as they used to, that is why they are closing schools, we aren't the only district with problems. How are we supposed to replace the baby boomers unless we have more people?

well if the population is going down why would we need to pay more taxes if less people are useing services.
your argument confuses me
like if i had 3 people living in my house and one left...i would pay less for everything power, food, entertainment,ect?

Finally, someone with a conscience...thankyou Blair Lekstrom

What???
A Liberal MLA who actually LISTENS to the people in his riding?
Say it isn't so!
In reality,Lekstrom is a victim of the "party" system.
His leader, Gordon Campbell, tells him how to vote,and to hell with what his constituents want him to do.
Problem is,that's not why he or anyone else was elected!
He was elected to LISTEN!
Lekstrom will not be the last,nor is he a shoo-in for the next election.
Like all of them,they blew it and the people of B.C. have stood up for democracy.
Wonder if the likes of Bond,Bell,and Rustad are listening?

It is honourable of Lekstrom to do what he did. I would like to see more cabinet miniters or even Liberal back benchers do the same to this Premier as I believe he does not "get it" nor does Hanson. They were elected and should be listening to who elected them and not to their own agenda, even if they personally believe what they are doing is right. The Liberals have forgotten what is "democratic" and what is not. One of my concerns for the Peace River area and the Prince George/MacKenzie area is that a lot of money and taxation is coming from the Peace River area by way of gas/oil exploration. Who will be monitoring this with Lekstrom not in cabinet. Mr. Bell seems to be a die hard Campbell fan so we know wherethat is. If other cabinet ministers would have the courage and boldness to do what Lekstrom has done, Campbell would have no choice but to leave. If the Liberals are so bent on the course they are taking they are not thinking of the future as they know they will be voted out. The Liberals have to change and put someone in that is fresh, energetic that may bring new policies or a better direction by "listening" to the people who put them there. I for one do not like the alternative. The current Mayor of Surrey seems like a "commom sense" type of person and seems to get matters done.

porter ....

I am a baby boomer and I pay taxes. Anyone who spends money pays taxes. Anyone who lives somewhere pays someone something and that someone has an income as a result and pays taxes. If there is an income, whether CPP, or investment income, one pays taxes.

Do they pay more or less taxes than the generl population? That depends. Even an 8 year old who buys candy pays taxes.

You are totally forgetting about immigrants. Canada is number 12 in the world with the number of immigrants coming to this country.

1. United Arab Emirates 21.71 2010 est.

2 Cayman Islands 16.09 2010 est.

3 Kuwait 15.65 2010 est.

4 Anguilla 13.55 2010 est.

5 Cyprus 11.68 2010 est.

6 San Marino 9.63 2010 est.

7 Aruba 9.56 2010 est.

8 Turks and Caicos Islands 8.63 2010 est.

9 Luxembourg 8.34 2010 est.

10 British Virgin Islands 7.74 2010 est.

11 Australia 6.13 2010 est.

12 Canada 5.64 2010 est.

13 Isle of Man 5.20 2010 est.

14 Botswana 4.91 2010 est.

15 Singapore 4.79 2010 est.

16 Ireland 4.66 2010 est.

17 Liechtenstein 4.63 2010 est.

18 United States 4.25 2010 est.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2112rank.html?countryCode=ca#ca

Campbell is tied to the tracks like a damsell in distress.
The tracks are the BC voters and the train that is coming around the corner is a BCR locomotive with the HST being the Engineer!
The kicker here is the train has no brakes.

Lekstrom did the right thing! For ten years I waited desperately for an NDP MLA or NDP cabinet member to do something like that, like putting the constituents first.

It never happened, during all the endless controversies and four different Premiers.

It's time for Campbell to call admit that his HST idea sucks.

It's time for Campbell to call a time-out and admit that his HST idea sucks.

If he doesn't he will leave a heavy ball and chain on the leg of his successor.

If the Liberals had any sense they would call a special leadership convention and oust Campbell and instal Lekstrom. IMO thats their only hope for survival.

Lekstrom went from being a union executive member to being a member of one of the most corporate friendly right wing governments BC has ever seen.

I find myself thinking he has done the right thing for the wrong reason.
I believe Lekstom to be simply an opportunist who has seen a shift coming and wishes to get in position to exploit the change.

Lekstrom made the right call for the right reasons. He understands how a democracy is supposed to work and I applaud him for that.