I believe that it is important to have respectful, educated discussions about politics, and I respect anyone’s political beliefs, assuming they have made an effort to educate themselves on the issues. Having access to accurate, complete, and objective information is a critical part of being an informed citizen.
I would hope that a B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press would discuss B.C. politics in an unbiased and fair manner, providing the reader with adequate information from which to draw their own conclusions. I am disappointed with Tom Fletcher’s “B.C. Views” column in The Morning Star because his writing has been repeatedly one-sided.
In a recent column, Fletcher wrote: “Now that the B.C. NDP-Green coalition has engineered the looting of the public treasury to replace union and corporate money for political parties, it is moving on to tilt the electoral system to favour its urban support base and prop up smaller parties.”
This statement about the issues of electoral reform and banning union and corporate election donations is blatantly biased. I would have preferred to read an objective, informative article on the issue of electoral reform, including the benefits and drawbacks of the first past the post and proportional representation voting systems. Such an article would educate the public and help citizens make an informed decision before the 2018 referendum on electoral reform.
In a subsequent column published in The Morning Star titled “Year of the Green,” Fletcher states “If I may suggest one new year’s resolution for B.C. voters, it is to keep an eye on this guy,” referring to B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver. I agree that it is important to hold our elected officials accountable. However, I think it is equally important to support fair, unbiased journalism and reporting. Personally, I will be keeping an eye on Tom Fletcher’s writing in 2018.
Taylor Weixl