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Letter writer concerned about the past decade, now voting NDP

Letters to the editor
By Letters to the editor
May 8th, 2013

Editor, The Nelson Daily

I have seen the damage the “Liberal“ party has done to our province since being elected in 2001.

– Jumbo wild is a beautiful, pristine and magical place that needs to be protected. Christy Clark has ignored the enormous public protest of the people in the Kootenay’s and is bending the laws by setting up a municipality where there are no people living. Her plans to allow an international real estate company turn this wild kingdom into a resort will make a few people very rich and have devastating effects on grizzly bear population and much other wild life as well. This beautiful wild mountain range that belongs to the people is being privatized. Local hikers will be trespassing once Christy Clark gets her way.

– the “Liberal” government has shown the people of BC how little public education means to them by increasing class sizes, that means less jobs for teachers, and less help for students. The ”Liberals” goal was to bring in Teacher’s assistants at a much lower wage. The public school system is deteriorating and becoming a joke under the “Liberal” government.  If you want an adequate education for your children, you better have the funds to put them in a private school.

– Health care, as we all know, has long waiting lists to see a specialist, or get an appointment for a simple procedure in this province.  I think the “Liberals” motto should be “People with cash come first, the rest of you serfs can wait in line”. The “Liberals” privatized the hospital workers taking away union jobs from many women, and lowering standards in hospitals.

– The “Liberals” also shut down 55 group homes for developmentally disabled adults in BC. Some of the residents had been living in the same home for twenty years and their room-mates had become like their siblings. The “Liberals” wanted to save money by moving them from unionized group homes and placing them into the foster care system. This had traumatizing effects on society’s most vulnerable.

– Tuition fees doubled in BC from 2002 to 2005, upfront grants eliminated, along with punitive interest rates on student loans, the highest across Canada. The average interest earned from one student in BC obtaining a  graduate degree is $8,000.

-in 2010, BC recorded the worst overall poverty rate, higher than any other province in Canada. (reported by First Call, citing Statistics Canada Data)

– people on welfare and disability need to be given ways of earning and becoming independent. Single people on welfare are starving and need to be able to keep enough earning until their basic needs are met. Single parents on welfare need support to educate themselves so they can be self- sufficient. The “Liberals” won’t let single parents stay on welfare and go to university, well getting student loans. They will let them sit on welfare and be uneducated though. They even take away the child support payments they receive. That effects their children and how they eat. The shelter portion is so low, that people use their food money to pay rent and utilities.

– The “Liberal” government has taken money away from the “books for the blind”, then had to re-instate it because of so much public disgust. They have taken money away from kids with autism, who were doing extremely well, and then declined after the cruel cuts from the “Liberal” government.

– The biggest problem I have with the “Liberal” government is how imbalanced of a party they are. It is all about money at all costs. Whether it is endangered animals living in the forest or respecting the rights of First nations people’s sacred land, people living in poverty, autistic kids needing support, or the elderly needing care, Christy Clark is blind to anything that does not bring in a buck.

I am voting NDP because I want to see an end to this one sided government. I want to see improvements in health care, education, environment, poverty and the foster care system, I want to see a government who cares about our economy, but not at the cost of the people!

Although I like the Green party and what they stand for, I don’t think they are ready to have a majority government and voting Green will take votes away from the NDP.  

That will allow the “Liberals” to get back in.

Maureen Petit

Nelson, B.C.

Editors Note: The Nelson Daily is not endorsing any candidate in the upcoming provincial election, but believe it’s fair to publish an equal number of letters from readers wishing to state their opinions regarding the three parties running candidates in the Nelson/Creston riding.

 

 

 

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