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

Governments - whether the previous BC Liberals, or the current BC NDP under Premier John Horgan - feels the need to use tax-payer resources to self-promote what they’re doing … OVER and OVER and OVER again!


In case you were not aware, the Land Matching program, under the auspices of Lana Popham’s Agriculture Ministry, has been cranking out story after story about this BC government program.

The last one coming out on June 28th, triggered that I’d seen mention of this before, so I checked my Agriculture file, and sure enough the government couldn’t get enough of telling us about Land Match; in fact, there was three stories alone on September 18th of last year.

Honestly, this is one of the things that really gals me … the government (whether it the previous BC Liberals, or now the BC NDP under Premier John Horgan) feel the need to use tax-payer resources to self-promote what they are doing … OVER and OVER and OVER again!

Since January 5th of last year, there has been six releases from the BC Government News department, all related to the same program – the BC Land Matching Program.  Now I’m sure they would use the rationale that many were because of being for specific regions of the province, however how does that fit for the September 18th three-peat?  That certainly was not necessary.

Here’s the stories, and timeline, over the past eighteen months:

January 5th, 2018 … land-matching project connects new farmers to farmland in Metro Vancouver

A pilot project that matches new farmers looking to get their start in B.C. agriculture with available fertile farmland in the Metro Vancouver area will kick off in 2018, thanks to a $25,000 investment from the governments of Canada and British Columbia … this investment will help create opportunities for young and beginning farmers, leading to economic growth and helping to strengthen our middle class…


September 18th, 2018 …. BC Land Matching Program supports new farmers in Columbia Basin

… new and young farmers in the Columbia Basin are receiving support and services from a dedicated land matcher, as part of the new BC Land Matching Program … this program will help young people enter into the agricultural industry, which might otherwise be a challenge because of the rising cost of land in some regions of BC


September 18th, 2018 … BC Land Matching Program supports new farmers in the Okanagan

… new and young farmers in the Okanagan are receiving support and services from a dedicated land matcher, as part of the new BC Land Matching Program that connects farmers looking for land with landowners wanting to lease their land for farming … program helps young people enter into the farming industry, which not only benefits retiring farmers, but also all British Columbians by increasing food security and access to locally grown foods…


September 18th, 2018 … BC Land Matching Program supports access to affordable farmland for young farmers

… BC Land Matching program aims to address a lack of affordable farmland in the province by connecting new and young farmers with local landowners … an innovative approach to one of the greatest barriers facing new and young farmers, which is accessing affordable farmland … the program will help new and young farmers…



… new and young farmers throughout BC are seeing results and getting agricultural land into production, thanks to the support of regional land matchers and the B.C. Land Matching Program … the challenge for young and new farmers entering the agricultural industry is acquiring affordable farmland that they can farm …

June 28th, 2019 … Land matcher to help new farmers in remote communities

… new and young farmers in northern and central British Columbia will have access to support and services to enter the farming sector following the expansion of the BC Land Matching Program (BCLMP) … land matchers are making it much easier for young people and aspiring farmers to find affordable, suitable land and enter British Columbia’s vibrant farming sector



There you go …. new and young farmers … Land Match Project … getting their start in agriculture … receiving support and services … create opportunities… enter the agriculture industry.  

 All of these word combinations show up in each one of the media releases, and pretty much the only change is the location, which creates another opportunity for government self-promotion.

Government news, in my opinion, should give the who, what, when, where, why of new – or changing – government programs … THAT’S IT!

Sadly, in moving back and forth between BC NDP, and BC Liberal governments, neither have felt they should undertake this change in philosophy, when it come to what they promote through news releases.

Is there anyone out there ready to take up the challenge?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

Tourists Rack Up $200M in Unpaid Health Bills While BC Patients Wait Years for Care

While British Columbians wait years for basic medical care, the NDP government has allowed non-residents to rack up $200.6 million in unpaid health bills since 2020-2021. New research from SecondStreet.org, obtained through a freedom of information request, revealed that people from outside Canada are coming to BC, receiving health services, and leaving without paying their bills.  The losses span every health region in the province. "British Columbians are not guaranteed timely access to healthcare, be it treatment or diagnostics, and this situation continues to deteriorate under the NDP," said Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island and Critic for Health. "Taxpayers are footing the bill for tourists' health treatments to the tune of over $200 million, enough to cover over 21,000 hip replacements in this province while British Columbians wait months to years for that surgery.” The research found BC has the worst record of any province in Canada examined so far. Under a dec...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Finance Minister Given "F" on Report Card by Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Peter Milobar, MLA for Kamloops Centres and Official Opposition Finance Critic, released the following statement in response to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's 2026 Finance Minister Report Card, which ranked BC Finance Minister Brenda Bailey dead last among provincial finance ministers in Canada with an overall grade of "F":  "British Columbians didn't need a report card to know things are headed in the wrong direction. They see it every time they pay their bills, try to buy a home, or watch another government deficit pile up. But now an independent national organization has confirmed that NDP Brenda Bailey is the worst-rated finance minister in Canada. "After nearly a decade of decline under this NDP government, British Columbia has become a province where people pay more, government borrows more, and families get less in return. We have some of the highest debt in the country, repeated credit downgrades, and no credible plan to get our finances back on...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more