2016 leaves us here in my part of the world with a clear cold sky adorned with the most brilliant crescent moon and Venus shining so brightly it seems like a mini version of the sun. It’s simply stunning outside.
Usually I do a review of years end most popular posts but time for another change. 2016 was a year I concentrated more on me after an intense spring working on Site C posts…which turned into a summer writing about Site C even while exploring the mountain! After nearly ten years writing here, it was time.
And the year has brought much change for me… and I would do it all again in a heart beat. Sometimes we get too comfortable where we are sitting, we resist change because the unknown is scary or it is too much work or maybe we just don’t know were to start.
And of course you have to make sure it’s a good change or you just may end up in a situation where Donald Trump becomes your president…
I’m excited about 2017 for a few reasons. I am seeing more and more people coming to the realization that the way the current government operates isn’t working for a lot of people. And I am seeing many more people asking what they can do to change that. They are realizing the power of their vote ( I hope! ) and I urge them all to do their research and use it well.
And for political parties in BC? I urge them to #respectthevote each of us has and actually try to earn it rather than just buy it, or assume it belongs to them. Guess what? Telling people not to vote Green or Indie or Conservative ( do we have any this time?) or Communist for that matter ( we do have those!) didn’t work for you any other times you tried it, so maybe challenge yourself to actually work harder at earning their vote via your policy.
RESPECT THE VOTE.
And for the rest of you? Thank you. Thank you for reading and sharing, for discussing and being a part of things like the entire #notrealworld hashtag that is still going strong.
I hope you stay for the ride in 2017. The first blog post of the year is sure to raise some eyebrows and generate discussion. And I wish you all, every one of you, will keep the faith that change is not only possible it is coming. Will it come this May? I don’t know. But I am going to work hard to make that happen.
Remember, we may not all have the same path or ideas, but I think most of us are playing for the same team and have the same destination. Let’s up the game for everyone. Raise the bar. And make 2017 the best we can.
Happy New Years everyone! Be safe, and see you next year!
Westcoast Views with Laila Yuile 
My New Year’s Wish. 2017 to be highlighted by a return to a democratic, and responsible provincial government…and a leader who won’t accept top ups.
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Well.
2017 wont be boring THATs for sure…… 🙂
Donald Trump sworn in as President….and then embarassing an entire country,,,repeatedly.
Christy Clark in a shiny new hard hat, uttering more inanities and embarrasing an entire Province….repeatedly.
Justin Trudeau breathlessly pontificating “Because its 2017″……..
PS.I cant wait to see what crawls out into the light for the impending May election. Something always does……
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Happy New Year everyone……we must go forward into 2017 and demand better from politicians who need reminding they are public servants, WE pay their salaries. It is way past time to stop the tail wagging the dog, and bit of old fashioned honesty wouldn’t go amiss either.
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2017, time will tell. 2016 wasn’t bad, if we don’t think about Trump being elected. On the bright side, comedians have a lot of material to work with.
People get the government they vote for and thus deserve. However Children don’t vote and they don’t deserve the pain and misery Christy Clark has heaped on them. If people leave her in office, then they simply do not care about the children of this province.
Christy Clark has a $2B surplus but isn’t using it to bring the schools up to seismic grade, so she can’t care that much for kids. She won’t raise welfare rates so kids remain very poor, so she can’t care that much for kids. Kids are dying from Fent. but do we see new hospital beds for kids with addictions for detox and rehab? not so much so its reasonable to conlude Christy and her b.c. lieberals just don’t care about the children of B.C. If voters continue to leave this person in office, they too do not care about the children of B.C.
2017 may simply be a repeat of 2016 and the other 15 yrs prior.
but in the mean time, HAPPY NEW YEAR and lets think positively!
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Have you seen this: https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/01/04/PR-Stunt-LNG/
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No, but I read it now. What scares me is the fact that long-time BCNDP voters are turning against the party over some bad press the party is receiving lately…….deservedly, it appears. Isn’t this what the NDP is famous (or more correctly, infamous) for? ………snatching defeat from the jaws of victory?
So now we can expect another four years of arrogance, incompetence, and downright corruption from an even more emboldened harridan, the only B.C. politician that has made all other pompous, self-absorbed, incompetent B.C. Premiers look like candidates for the Best Politician of the Century Award.
What can we do to stop this train wreck? Journalists like you, Laila, and a handful of other bloggers in B.C. are doing your best to keep the public informed, but is it enough to turn the tide on the flood of BC Liberal political ads on the MSM, masquerading as ‘public information announcements’? I find that John Q. and Mary Public are so busy trying to keep the wolf from the door that they only hear and see what Christy and her minions at the MSM are dishing out.
Any suggestions as to what ordinary BC citizens like myself can do to assist in the fight to remove Christy and her fake Liberals from office?
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Yes.. an ardent and good NDP supporter accused me of losing the 2017 election for the NDP because of my posted docs and my response was who was he going to blame for all the other losses?
There are so many bright,youthful,passionate bright lights in the NDP caucus right now. And its a shame that a few inside the party behind the scenes are so ardent on repeating past mistakes that have ruined their chances in past elections…and may ruin it for so many good people in this one too.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again. The BC Libs are a very powerful campaigning machine. Well oiled, well scripted and they have crafted a highly successful narrative on the NDP that has the entire party in a box DESPITE all the ammo,scandals and failures that remain factually on the Liberal record.
The simply truth is the NDP have never, in any election, been able to overcome that narrative with one of their own to counter it. And that is why they keep losing. It isn’t me. It isn’t the media. It is whoever is behind their campaign strategy,who crafts their ads,who writes their scripts. It doesn’t work and it doesn’t resonate very far beyond their base.
One can hope that people in BC are just so done with a government that doesn’t work for them they are willing to vote for anything but Clark.
As to your last question? Get engaged in any way you can. Write letters to the editors to counter spin. Print off stories and share with neighbours and friends. Get discussions started in non confrontational ways and most of all… don’t tell people they are wrong for feeling or thinking the way they do – I see this a lot on social media, people telling others they are stupid if they vote for the BC Liberals and it only serves to immediately stop the discussion and alienate the person being called stupid.
Ask them questions.
Do you feel Hydro rates are high? Do you know they are going to increase signficantly over coming years?
Whats important to your family?
Take it from there. For example when I tell people Site C never had the only review that ensures BC Hydro customers are protected,people who were for the project suddenly say ” What?”
They assume government is taking care of them.
Show them where that isn’t true. There are a wealth of facts out there. Let those facts speak for themselves 🙂
And thank you. For your support and readership. I appreciate it.
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Thanks for our thoughtful advice, Laila. I do all the things you mentioned and I try not to insult anyone (except Christy, of course) but sometimes it seems I’m just spitting into the wind. It would be nice if all the people I forward news articles or send e-mails to were like you and Rafe. Your replies help me keep soldiering on.
Thanks again for all you do to keep British Columbians politically informed. BTW, how’s that list of Christy Clark’s misdeeds coming along? 😉
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Mr. Horgan must go on the attack and use the Liberals track record that they cannot deny. More importantly? He must show everyone that he is focused on an economic and environmental blueprint that will work and will be sustainable. He must spin, in an accurate way Christy’s favorite quote, “the NDP represent the forces of no.” Her corporate forces don’t know how to say no…and we know better. Here’s our plan… and we won’t demand a top up for our Premier from “Cash for favors” that only end up costing the taxpayers more hard earned dollars.
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“Do you feel Hydro rates are high? Do you know they are going to increase significantly over coming years? ”
Well you ‘ain’t seen nothing yet’ hydro and gas (and therefore everything else which is connected to these two) will go sky high because of this global warming myth and “fight” climate change scam. Where I come from, England, hundreds of seniors each winter die from the cold, because they cannot afford to eat AND heat their homes the prices are so high. Renewables are not only very expensive but unreliable and there is talk of power outages in the UK because so called green energy cannot keep up with demand. Wind turbines are more or less useless….. if the wind is blowing too hard they have to be turned off and of course when the wind isn’t blowing hard enough they are not generating any power. Sad to see these monsters are sprouting up here. Solar in certain areas too is unreliable so these need back up to not only keep the lights on but to power industry etc. Now we have a PM here who has jumped on the climate bandwagon and the rip off tax on carbon is just the beginning. When did CO2 become a pollutant? We need CO2, it is plant food, without it the planet will die. But hey, lets not stop certain people making a huge amount of money out of this scam, and then we have the likes of Gore, De Caprio and Suzuki jetting around the globe in private jets burning aviation fuel telling us ignorant folk to stop polluting the planet. They making huge amounts of dosh whilst not getting the irony or hypocrisy, so now the rip offs begin. I wonder where in the world the next ‘fight the climate’ junket is going to be, last time it was Paris so where will they all jet off to next, somewhere nice, far away with lavish hotels and food to stuff while they think up more ways to steal our hard earned and then jump on the polluting planes and return home to lecture us about saving the planet.
Can someone stop the world…..I want to get off!
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