Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

“I am completely underwhelmed,” was one of the milder terms McComb used



THE SIDEWINDER:  Following the election of the NDP, anyone expecting quick action on social housing issues in Maple Ridge, and the rest of British Columbia, will likely be in for a huge disappointment.
NDP MLA Selina Robinson
Coquitlam - Malardville

As part of his gender balanced cabinet, Premier John Horgan appointed Coquitlam - Maillardville MLA Selina Robinson as the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.  Other than having served as a member of Coquitlam's city council, it is not clear what other expertise Robinson brings to the table, particularly on the demanding housing portfolio.

Robinson's performance on Jon McComb's CKNW talk show on Monday morning revealed her seemingly total lack of ability to answer even the simplest of questions on housing issues.

Robinson said there was no clear timeline on how or when the NDP government would tackle the housing crisis.

McComb is usually thoughtful and polite, regardless of who he is interviewing but following Robinson's less than stellar response to questions concerning housing, the normally genial talk show host offered a very harsh critique of her performance.
“I am completely underwhelmed,” was one of the milder terms McComb used.

He added that she was mealy-mouthed and was still campaigning.

How all of this plays out in Maple Ridge could result in further delays in dealing with the homeless issue, and low cost social housing.  It seems that Nicole Read's 2014 campaign goal of dealing with homelessness within a few months of her election as mayor could be even further delayed. 

Even though BC Housing still has $15 million set aside for a purpose-built shelter in Maple Ridge, and city hall has had the report of the MLAs committee on a proposed shelter, Mayor Read's council appears stuck and totally lacking in direction on the topic.

With the next municipal election only 16 months away, I guess we can expect that the mayoralty campaigns will soon begin to heat up with new and even bigger promises on issues such as homelessness, drug addiction and related crimes, and alcoholism and mental health.

The almost certain promises and commitments of the coming campaign remind me of a few lines from a soliloquy in MacBeth,

“It is a tale told by an idiot,
Full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”




SANDY Macdougall (aka The Sidewinder)... is a retired newspaper reporter. He was elected for three consecutive terms to Maple Ridge municipal council in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and also ran for the Progressive Conservatives in Kim Campbell's ill-fated federal election campaign
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nurses Take Job Action After Years of NDP Neglect

Image Credit:  BC Nurses Union BC nurses have reached a breaking point after years of unsafe conditions, rising violence in the workplace and a government that wouldn’t listen. Now they are on the picket line fighting to be heard. Last week, nurses began job action with a 72-hour strike notice, refusing non-essential overtime and stepping back from non-nursing duties. As of Tuesday, they have escalated to picket lines for the first time in decades. This moment was avoidable. It is the result of years of unanswered concerns from the frontline workers who keep our hospitals running. Nurses have been raising the same concerns for years: unsafe staffing levels, rising violence on the job, and a workload no single person should have to carry. None of it is new, and none of it should have taken a strike vote to get the government's attention. "Nurses are exercising their legal right to job action, but it shouldn’t have had to come to this," said Kiel Giddens, MLA for...
Post a Comment
Read more

British Columbians Still Don’t Know Who’s Paying for NDP’s BC Hydro Deal

The NDP is making billion-dollar promises with BC Hydro, but British Columbians still don’t know who will pay the bill. Last week’s memorandum of understanding isn’t what the federal government and the NDP are making it out to be. It’s an admission that the NDP failed to make the long-term investments needed to keep B.C. powered. Now British Columbians have serious questions about the cost and whether BC Hydro ratepayers will end up paying the price. David L. Williams, MLA for Salmon Arm-Shuswap and Shadow Minister for BC Hydro and Electrical Energy Development , said British Columbians deserve clear answers about the full implications of the Canada–British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement. “British Columbians deserve the full truth,” said Mr. Williams. “This multi-billion-dollar announcement does not answer who pays for cost overruns, who pays for new generation, who carries the risk if industrial customers do not materialize, or whether ratepayers will be forced ...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Government Blames Everyone but Themselves

The federal government has announced new measures to support British Columbia's forestry sector, including $65 million in funding for projects across the province. While any support is welcome, it falls far short of the level of assistance other provinces have secured for key industries. Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer says the NDP government needs to take responsibility for its mismanagement of B.C.’s forest industry instead of trying to pass on the blame. Despite promising to create more jobs in the forest sector, the NDP government has overseen the loss of thousands of forestry jobs and 21 mill closures which have devastated communities. “If Premier Eby spent more time addressing the regulatory issues impacting the forestry sector than he did complaining about the federal government, we would not be in the position we are now,” said Stamer. “And instead of trying to place the blame for mill closures on Donald Trump, Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar should t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more