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“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

’20 for 2020’ ... instead of some attempting to build society into a model of their own choosing, there needs to be an open dialogue and sharing of beliefs and opinions


Well, we are down to the final two days in our series “20 for 2020” ... and on day number 19, comes a thought from Garret Seinen. 

As human beings, the most significant problem we face today is the same problem faced by our ancestors throughout history - how can we be certain a particular thing is true or false.  How can we know when we’re being misled?

Each of us, as individuals, must be able to see what to reject, and what to accept,  in order to get the most out of life ... to use our time to support things we won’t later regret ... and to avoid looking back at life and saying “I’d have done better if I’d realized ‘that’ was nothing but a lie”.

When a government tells us that our country has ‘no identity’, should we believe that? In my opinion, that is a blatant distortion of the truth, and so in fact I believe we are being misled.

When we are told that humanity faces extinction in ‘X’ number of years, and government does little or nothing to dissuade that belief, should we believe it?

Should we be free to question whether or not we are seeing global warming, or to ask to what degree it is happening?

Government tells us we need to pay a ‘price on pollution’ (carbon tax) as part of its climate action plan, to protect our health and our communities.  If that is indeed reality, should it not be fair game then to ask why imported petroleum products are not similarly taxed? 

A pipeline across northern BC is okay, safe, and fine for the environment says the government -- and yet one from Alberta to the BC’s lower mainland is not.

Are the words and actions of the government misleading?  Which of these two statements is false? Which statement, if any, do we reject?

Again, from Garret comes the question, “Is it harmful to hold incorrect ideas?”.

Of course, it’s personally harmful to hold ideas as true, when those ideas turn out to be false; mistakes are never helpful to an individual. Today however, there are many who believe exposing people to ideas, which they disagree with, is dangerous to society. 

So, do we ban the ‘free speech’ of those we disagree with? The answer should be a resounding, NO!

Instead of some attempting to build society into a model of their own choosing, there needs to be an open dialogue and sharing of beliefs and opinions ... and why those beliefs and opinions are held. The reality is, the ideas of an individual or group need to be seen as better than those of another individual or group, before followers can be gained.

I know it’s too much to ask, however it really is a shame that politics has become so polarized, rather than accepting that others may have ideas which can work.

Groups, organizations, politicians, political parties, working together? We can only hope.


And with just one more day to go, here are the suggestions, to this point, on “20 for 2020” ...

#1 … those who wish to lead, should acknowledge that government must be about people.

#2 … a review of services provided to areas and regions where much of the provinces revenues are collected from.

#3 … there should be a full review of all license costs and fees, which the provincial government has imposed upon us, to see where and how they are being used

#4 ... we need a permanent fix to the problem of keeping medical practitioners in some of the more rural areas of the province

#5 ... put an immediate end to the Community Benefits Agreement

#6 ... the next BC government must be committed to sustainable resource development

#7 ... government should make treatment for chronic conditions free to residents

#8 … new schools should be designed to incorporate community uses as identified by the areas they are to be located

#9 ... Bids submitted to build future ferries will include not just the lowest submission that meets structural requirements, but will also include the financial benefits of building in BC

#10 ... soberly audit the health ministry with a mind to make adult decisions for the long-term betterment of our health and care

#11 ... ICBC’s monopoly on vehicle insure must end

#12 ... Make politicians accountable to their electors, and maybe convince British Columbians that it is actually worth it to cast a vote

#13 ... This is NOT to reduce budgets for these three ministries, INSTEAD, it is to ensure what’s allocated provides BC residents the best services and education possible

#14 ... The public should be able to hold the BC Medical Association (and its members) accountable for their policies and practices

#16 ... The carbon tax, which adds hundreds of dollars a year to the cost of living for each of us ... and untold thousands of dollars to BC businesses and industry ... must end

#17 ... reconfigure all government ministries, to more closely align them in sensible groupings, or singular entities

#18 ... ’20 for 2020’ ... those wishing to lead government in the BC legislature, should insist on there being a Tripe “E” Senate
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