We have heard from growing numbers of British Columbia voters who are unhappy with the BC Liberal Government and their record of scandal and incompetent management. Examples include the BC Rail scandal, the Tree Farm License scandal and the ICBC scandal.
They have also expressed a growing concern over the apparent Olympic boondoggle, with some estimates placing the total cost of the 2010 Olympics at $5.7 billion and the impending deficit as high as $2 billion. It could take generations to pay off this massive debt and its interest. Much needed services to British Columbians will have to be cut, especially in the Interior and the North, and taxes will have to be raised.
Now that the BC Liberals have abandoned their conservative partners and taken a dramatic shift to the left with the introduction of the carbon tax, big pay raises for high level civil servants and the gag law, many voters are telling us they are tired of the incompetent and “ethically challenged” Liberals and are looking for CHANGE.
However, those voters also recall the NDP as having an even worse record of scandals and an even more abysmal record of economic and political mismanagement. When they look at the “fiscally challenged” NDP, they realize that they trust them even less than the Liberals to manage the economy of British Columbia.
These voters tell us they are looking for a viable alternative to both the Liberals and the NDP, one they can trust. With our bold new policy platform, the British Columbia Conservative Party can and will provide the ‘CHANGE YOU CAN TRUST” these voters want.
The Provincial campaign strategy features a “Party Platform” that includes the entire BCCP Policy Manual, but highlights specific areas we want to present as issues in the campaign. These include the following:
1) THE ENVIRONMENT
The BC Conservative Party is the only party in BC proposing a balanced approach, combining a strong economy with effective environmental protection. This will not include any punitive tax on carbon dioxide production or consumption. It will include incentives for industry to develop new, clean technology and for individuals to utilize that technology.
A BC Conservative Government will cancel the BC Liberal Carbon Tax and will not replace it with an NDP style Environmental Levy or the Carbon Trading System favoured by both the Liberals and the NDP.
A BC Conservative Government will ensure that the future energy needs of British Columbia are provided for in a clean environment by supporting the development and utilization of new technologies like tidal power, wind power, nuclear power, geothermal power and the development and production of biodiesel from waste wood, ethanol and hydrogen.
The production of coal, petroleum, natural gas and methane will be encouraged under strict environmental guidelines and utlizing technology to remove the pollutants from those fuels.
2) THE ECONOMY
A BC Conservative Government will make a concerted effort to improve the economy by finding new markets and new uses for our forest products, allowing the development of new mines, developing our oil and gas industry to its fullest potential and extensively reviewing our electricity industry to ensure that the residents of British Columbia receive the greatest possible benefit.
3) TAXATION
A BC Conservative Government will take a responsible approach to taxation. We will ensure that British Columbia has the lowest personal and business tax rates in Canada and will reduce the provincial sales tax.
4) HEALTH CARE
A BC Conservative Government will re-vamp the Health Care system so that it works for British Columbians by providing the highest quality health care to all British Columbians in a timely manner without bankrupting the individual or the province.
5) EDUCATION
A BC Conservative Government will reform the educational system to give parents the right to choose which school their child will attend while ensuring that the cost of that education is born by the provincial taxation system on an equal “per student” funding formula.
6) INFRASTRUCTURE
A BC Conservative Government will upgrade and maintain our infrastructure, including highways, schools and health care facilities, not just in the Lower Mainland, but throughout British Columbia. This will include twinning the Trans Canada Highway from Kamloops to the Alberta Border and providing light rail transit for the residents of the Fraser Valley from Chilliwack to Vancouver.
7) JUSTICE
A BC Conservative Government will reform the justice system to ensure that criminals, not their victims, pay for the crimes they have committed. This will include tougher sentences and more funds for law enforcement. We will also reform the Human Rights Tribunal in order to end the ability of certain segments of our population to use it as a stick to beat their critics into silence, with no recourse to a proper and unbiased justice system for appeals.
8 GOOD GOVERNMENT
A BC Conservative Government will reform the Government itself, in order to ensure ethical conduct by all members of the government, by making government accountable to the voters, not just once every four years at election time, but every day of every year. This will include Ethics Guidelines, Free Votes in the Legislature and effective Recall Legislation.
Our objective is to form the Government of British Columbia because we believe that the the liberal-socialist alternatives have proven themselves incapable of providing good government. The BC Conservative Party is the only Party in British Columbia with the policies to provide the quality of government that British Columbians deserve.
Even if the voters of British Columbia do not choose us to be the government in this election, they can still benefit from electing us to the opposition benches, as the Official Opposition or even to the position where we hold the balance of power in a minority government.
In that situation, it will not matter which of the other two parties, the Liberals or NDP form the government. The BC Conservative Party will utilize the power invested in it by the voters of British Columbia to prevent the government from inflicting grievous harm on the Province and to force it to institute measures that are beneficial to the residents of British Columbia.
The BC Conservative Party will provide “CHANGE YOU CAN TRUST”
