Editor, The News:
Re: “Political leaders dedicated to personal ambition.’
Steve Ranta complains that the leaders of the Liberals, the NDP and the Greens are only in it for personal power, but he has a long way to go to make a persuasive argument to back this up.
Each party had a party platform which was a blueprint of the policies they would bring forward if they were given the privilege of running the government.
Christy Clark’s throne speech bore little resemblance to her platform. For instance, after not having anything to say about campaign funding reform in her platform, she apparently realized the merit of banning business and union donations just in time for the throne speech. (This policy was in the NDP and the Green platform.)
Ms. Clark also finds that there is more money than she thought, so she will indeed be able to eliminate bridge tolls, reduce poverty and fund daycare. Wow.
In the end, the resemblance between her throne speech and the platform of the NDP was truly remarkable. She claimed that the Liberals had been enlightened during their campaign while talking to citizens. Of course, that’s something they should have been doing all along, perhaps especially while in power. To me her throne speech felt like the worst type of political ploy. It sounded more like the first volley of her next campaign than anything else. I wonder how cheated Liberal voters who voted on the merits of her Party’s platform are feeling after that incredible throne speech.
If Ms. Clark really meant what she said during her throne speech, she will happily vote along with the NDP and Greens as they attempt to bring the changes they campaigned on to fruition. Her sudden enlightenment means that finally, there will be harmony, joy and stability throughout the province. Maybe that will happen but personally, I wouldn’t bet on it.
In the meantime, I’m going to be giving Horgan and Weaver the benefit of the doubt. They worked incredibly hard to get themselves into a position where they may be able to make some badly needed changes in this province. They’ve taken power away from Christy Clark and her Liberals, which is what the majority of British Columbian voters wanted. For that I congratulate them both.
Elizabeth J. Rosenau
Maple Ridge