British Columbia Federation of Labour

Published in The Vancouver Sun, May 13, 2008.

Thanks to fixed date elections, we know British Columbians will head to the polls a year from now.We also know the Campbell government will spend millions of taxpayer dollars, supplemented by millions of dollars from corporate donors, in an attempt to convince voters that the Liberals deserve full credit for the "booming economy". They'll suggest this is some sort of golden age of their making and conveniently ignore the influence of high commodity prices, low interest rates and migration.

That is not all they will ignore.

They'll ignore census data just out that shows BC's rich getting richer, our poor getting poorer and the middle class barely hanging on. The truth is, life is tougher for the vast majority trying to find affordable housing, education, childcare or a decent paying job.

Campbell and the Liberals will ignore the plight of the homeless and continue to spend less money on public housing than any other province. BC has at least 5,000 people without a roof over their heads. The number could be as high as 10,000. The Campbell government will focus instead on a new roof for BC Place.

BC's poverty rates are the worst in the country and have gotten worse during Gordon Campbell's two terms in office. But, don't expect to see any provincial initiatives to reverse those numbers in the next year.

Flush with a 54 percent salary increase Premier Campbell will ignore the more than 100,000 British Columbians who earn $8 an hour thanks to a minimum wage he froze back in 2001. The Premier and his MLAs, who voted themselves a 29 percent pay raise, will ignore tens of thousands of British Columbians and dozens of municipal councils which have endorsed a $10 an hour minimum wage that is protected by an annual cost of living increase.

This government will ignore the deepening crisis in our forest communities. The Premier will shrug his shoulders while mills close, 10,000 workers are laid-off, raw logs are exported, saw dust is imported back and mills are dismantled and shipped overseas to be reassembled to produce lumber and foreign jobs. Clear across the province forest workers, their families and their communities have been abandoned.

The government will ignore the crisis in childcare and pretend it's someone else's problem to fix. Parents, grandparents, teachers and business leaders know that quality early childhood education is key to our well-being as a society. All studies show that the benefits and savings far surpass the initial investment.
The government will ignore the plight of the elderly and refuse to restore the funding it cut from homecare which enriches the lives of the elderly, relieves hospital overcrowding and provides aid to family members who are stretched thin as they try to look after older parents.

This government will also ignore its critics.

Worse still, it will attempt to stifle and censor them.

Bill 42, which is being rammed through the legislature, will gag critics for five months before the next election. This law goes to new anti-democratic lengths to stifle free speech.

This government doesn't want teachers to comment on education or speak out about school closures. It's afraid of what health care workers might have to say about the conditions in our hospitals or what forest workers might have to say about the devastation in their industry. It simply can't tolerate free speech when it comes right down to it.

We all know how this government treats workers and the less fortunate during tough economic times. We saw it first-hand during Gordon Campbell's first term as he cut services to those who most needed them and gave tax cuts to those who least needed them.

His second term has given us an opportunity to see how he treats people during relatively stronger economic times. Nothing much has changed.

With 12 months to go until the next election, British Columbians will be bombarded with good news announcements as the government tries to polish its record. This government needs to be held accountable for the people and communities that have been left behind, not the "booming economy" their media barrage will be trumpeting.

The government will try and muzzle its critics, but three hundred and sixty-five days is a long time in politics.

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