(Opinion) Goldstream News Gazette - Published: February 26, 2009
There has been nothing ordinary about the past few months as your Member of the Legislative Assembly. The spring session usually begins with the speech from the throne followed by the annual budget outlining revenues and expenditures for the coming year.
But this year the legislature opened early to allow the Campbell government to amend the balanced budget legislation to approve a deficit in the next two fiscal years. The early return followed two previous "emergency" sessions, one in the fall to debate the policy tools needed to stimulate jobs and investment and a second in January to bailout the Vancouver on the multi-million dollar cost over runs on the Olympic Village project.
Two "emergencies" and an extraordinary amendment to the budget law all in the space of a few months. These unusual events are a response to a historic shift in the world economy that has businesses, governments and workers wondering when the slide will stop and where we will be when we find bottom. Taxpayers are rightly concerned that the federal and provincial governments have reversed fields with such alarming speed.
Few commentators are wasting energy condemning policy makers for what is so obviously a massive flip flop. There is little comfort for families in partisan rants and blaming one group or another for the state of the economy. That is the normal noise that people expect, but standard practice is no longer acceptable as we are no longer living in standard times.
Here in the south Island we have watched housing starts come to a grinding halt and housing sales falter.
Whether I am at the mall, on the bus, or knocking on doors, I hear over and over again concern from constituents about the state of the economy.
Seniors are watching their retirement savings disappear; and young families are struggling to meet expenses and are concerned if the heath care system be there when they need it. Although the times are hard and will most likely get tougher in the months ahead, government should be planning now for the upturn. All levels of government are talking about "stimulus" and "shovel ready" infrastructure projects.
The Belmont secondary replacement plan that has been prepared by our board of education has been with the Campbell government for several years. Local councils are lobbying the B.C. Liberal government as well to ensure education infrastructure in our area is not left out of the province's "stimulus" plans.
The economy is often talked about as if it was some theoretical construct designed for the benefit of economists and commentators. Ultimately, the economy is about you and me. It is about meeting the needs of families and the communities we live in.
Budgets and throne speeches are designed to outline the broad direction for our people and our province. I encourage you to write to the premier and myself to let us know what you think. Together we have the ideas to meet the transformational challenges we face.
John Horgan (NDP) is the MLA for Malahat-Juan de Fuca.
