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Letter: Fed funding can be better spent

I would rather my tax dollars go to help my fellow Canadians
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The Okanagan is again experiencing forest fires and as climate change gets worse we will face more and more of these events.

Unfortunately, it’s pretty clear that climate change is not a priority for the federal Liberals or Conservatives. Last year B.C.’s worst fire season on record cost $563 million. Forest fighters worked 70 days and 65,000 people were displaced. But compare that to the $600 million Mr. Trudeau spent for a three-day meeting in Quebec for wealthy G7 world leaders. Or to the $1.1 billion the Harper Conservatives spent on a three-day G8/20 meeting in 2010. (People may recall the $50 million of that was siphoned off into MP Tony Clement’s riding to build a gazebo. Conservative voters have rewarded this unethical behaviour by putting “Gazebo Tony” back into office ever since.)

When Liberal and Conservative politicians think it is appropriate to spend more on three-day meetings than what is spent on a record-breaking forest fire season I think they have lost touch. The 2 billion+ spent on two meetings could have been better spent on Canadian veterans, affordable housing for the homeless, modernizing a failing health care system, clean drinking water or child poverty.

I would rather my tax dollars go to help my fellow Canadians rather than to wine and dine the rich and powerful friends of Liberals and Conservatives.

B. Cousins