I am glad to see that Mel Arnold is proactively seeking input from people who have a clear grasp of what is needed, and importantly, an informed conception of what it will cost.
I have only been here two years and I haven't researched the extent to which his predecessor, Colin Mayes, sought this level of input from the community.
I would have thought that, as Mr. Mayes was representative of a majority government, and the revenue was more available during those years, any consultation he had been involved in bore fiscal fruit.
At least, it should have.
That being said, the degree to which Mr. Arnold has shown his responsiveness in the first 100 days to a myriad of issues, is to be commended.
However, it is to be expected that the Liberals will pour whatever money they can get their hands on into projects that seek to solidify the absurd number of promises in their election platform.
Regardless of whatever our political stripes were prior to Oct. 19, our best interests now are with giving support to the man we elected and his, no doubt, challenging efforts to squeeze money out of the Liberals over the next four years.
The past is the past.
We need to solidify our efforts here in North Okanagan-Shuswap to assist Mr. Arnold is showing Mr. Trudeau that "budgets don't balance themselves." and that this riding has gravitas and meaning, and financial needs that reflect the impact the economic slowdown is having on people from this area who have lost their jobs in Alberta.
Dean Roosevelt
Vernon