My letter to Double C (Christy Clark)

Based on my friend Russ's (read his blog) encouragement I wrote a letter to our Premier, Christy Clark. I doubt she will read it, as she most likely has someone who does that for her, and they probably receive thousands a day. But you never know.

Dear Premier Clark.

First of all, I would like to share with you the excitement I felt with you being chosen to become the Premier of B.C. I liked your energy and enthusiasm. I liked the idea of a woman in the Premiers seat. The promise of new ideas and a fresh set of eyes to view our Province. However.....

I am very disappointed that your government isn't completely opposed to the Northern Gateway Project. What does B.C. have to gain from this project, besides some limited construction jobs and a few jobs at the port where the ships will be loaded. What does B.C. have to gain from this project. The destruction of thousands of kilometers of rivers, wetlands, habitat of endangered species, and the whole loss of the coastal eco-system in the event of a super tanker running a ground and leaking. The risks out weigh the benefits 10 to 1.

I am a working father who is a Red Seal tradesman. Progress pays my bills. I don't believe a carbon based economy is progress. As a British Columbian who has had the privilege to grow up and live in the "Best Place on Earth" I feel that to grow our economy we need to move away from resource extraction and move to a less invasive based model. We have the minds and the willingness to grow our energy sector with green power that could be exported south, and become a world leader in such technologies. Why can't B.C. become the base for all other countries to come and see how to "do it right"? We should be the place that has the infrastructure to allow hydrogen cars to become a reality and not science fiction. We should mandate solar panels be installed on every new building to feed the grid. We should invest millions into creating safe and efficient cycling infrastructure to move people around, getting them out of cars and becoming healthier. We should be the first place in North America to completely legalize marijuana. We should turn the Great Bear rainforest into a Provincial Park, ban fracking, take back our fisheries management from Ottawa, and increase taxes on un-healthy processed foods to fund the increased healthcare burden caused by obesity. 

The old boys way of doing business is ruining the economy, the environment and our sovereignty. I suspect that your party would like to stay in power, and I would like to support you, but with the current state of affairs in our province, I am afraid my enthusiasm for your leadership and your government will quickly be extinguished. Let us be a Province that sees through clear eyes, not one that is clouded by the multi-national dollar signs.

Sincerely Blayne Prowse. Cumberland B.C.