NDP Leader In The Cariboo Today

Saturday, March 04, 2006 01:04 PM

James is meeting with community stakeholders in the Cariboo region

B.C. New Democrat Leader Carole James is back in the northern half of the province, after January's caucus meeting in Prince George.

James says she plans to continue holding stakeholder meetings throughout the province in a bid to hear local concerns. She met with municipal politicians, seniors and logging truck drivers in Williams Lake this morning.

She says a lot of concerns were raised around seniors. "The lack of long-term care beds, the lack of a regional hospital in Williams Lake, the lack of support from the Interior Health region to actually listen to the community and address their challenges."

From the logging truck drivers, it was safety issues. "Concerns about the additional pressures they face in increasing their loads and the lack of capacity on the roads."

James says she also heard a lot about infrastructure needs and says she'll be holding the Liberals feet to the fire to keep their promise to put money back into the Interior and Northern B.C.. "The surplus in our provincial budget is coming from this region (via the resource sectors) and this region deserves to have some of those resources given back."

The New Democrat leader is quite confident her party can affect that change. She points to the current review underway in the Interior Health region, with some beds re-opening, and an increase in funding for the Ministry of Children and Families as proof the Official Opposition, "can get things done."

James is in Quesnel this afternoon for similar meetings.

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Posted on Saturday, March 04, 2006 01:04 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on March 4 2006 6:58 PM

Hiss.. Boo... Git..

Posted by: Palopu on March 4 2006 10:24 PM

I wouldnt bet any big money on that prediction.

Posted by: Palopu on March 4 2006 10:32 PM

She forgot to mention that when the NDP were in power for 10 years they didnt do a thing in this area except twin the John Hart Bridge to try and get re-elected. 14 million over budget I might add. They were too busy with the Island Hiway and the FastCat Ferries. Even with Lois Boone as Minister of Hiways from this area we got absolutly nothing.

Posted by: duffer on March 5 2006 8:32 AM

Lefty, I hope you are wealthy because if the people in this province are silly enough to vote the N.D.P. in again, we will see the economy go downhill as quickly as it did while they were in power before.

Posted by: diplomat on March 5 2006 11:44 AM

>"...the NDP were in power for 10 years they didnt do a thing in this area except twin the John Hart Bridge to try and get re-elected. 14 million over budget I might add..."<

We are paying for the twinning of the bridge NOW as it was started very late in the second term of the NDP.

The ten years of the NDP were a complete disaster, in my opinion which is based on solid facts.

B.C. went from number one province to dead last in Canada, in fact to have-not status while every other province experienced steady growth.

However, if the majority of the voters want to come back for more 'punishment' so be it.

Perhaps we can have another decade of huge budget surpluses while doubling the provincial debt, like the NDP did.

Smoke and mirrors under the guise of new democratic socialism - a free lunch for everybody!

Cheers!

Posted by: ammonra on March 5 2006 9:33 PM

Well, I don't know who built the university and the courthouse, if it wasn't the NDP. Still, the amnesiacs know best, I guess. Once again, the debt is mentioned, and once again the NDP's $1.5 Billion surplus is completely ignored. Once again the Liberals borrowing Billions of dollars so they could shovel money into their friend's pockets is ignored. Why is that? Selective memory must be so wonderful. Smoke and mirrors indeed!

Posted by: acrider54 on March 6 2006 6:30 AM

But the economy is doing so well! For who! Not me that's for sure and probably no better for the rest of normal underpaid working people of this province.

Posted by: diplomat on March 6 2006 8:27 AM

"Once again the Liberals borrowing Billions of dollars so they could shovel money into their friend's pockets..."

Some people don't know how to make a rational argument so they resort to making inflammatory cheap accusations like the one above!

Suppose I were to say that the NDP borrowed 17 billion dollars to shovel it into the pockets of their union friends?

I am sure you wouldn't be too pleased, now would you?

Posted by: Palopu on March 9 2006 8:06 PM

Selective memory indeed. The University was Planned and building commenced by the Social Credit Government, and one of the main reasons is was built, was because the Socreds were having a hard time getting relected. The NDP carried on after the Socreds lost the election, however as I recall because the Socred board still had a few years to run, the NDP appointed 15 more members to the board and for a short period of time there were 30 board members. This University has been and always will be nothing more that Politics. The Province could have gotten along quite well without it.
For anyone who is interested for 3500 Full Time equivelant students spread all over North Central British Columbia, this University costs taxpayers 65 to 75 Million dollars a year to run. Maximum number of 5 year graduates per year. 500. Enrollments have flat lined, and I suspect they will begin to decline in the not to distant future.

As for the Courthouse. We had a perfectly good Courthouse on Third Avenue which we gave to the Native Friendship Centre so we could build a new one. Go into the **new courthouse** and look around. You will never see such wasted space, office, courtrooms, and rotunda, anywhere in the City. At any given moment 3 courtrooms are empty.