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By Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson

Sound Off

SOUND OFF: Throne speech fails rural communities in B.C.

Apr 15, 2021 | 11:23 AM

MORE THAN A YEAR INTO THIS PANDEMIC, British Columbians are looking for a glimmer of hope. As vaccinations got underway, it seemed we had it. But with a third wave of the virus gripping our province, people are feeling anxious and uncertain once again.

They’re looking for a strong plan from government to not only get us through this, but to move our province forward beyond the pandemic. This week’s throne speech provided a perfect opportunity for the NDP to provide those assurances. Unfortunately, British Columbians didn’t get the answers they were seeking. They got a throne speech that lacked details and a vision for how we will move forward.

Another source of great anxiety in my riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin has to do with the flooding issues that have plagued our region for years, and only seem to get worse.

We all know about the devastation caused by wildfires in recent years. The scorched earth absorbs less water, creating more flooding and increasing its intensity.

Many affected residents have sought the help of the province through different programs and many of them have been denied the financial assistance they have asked for. Some of these requests have come to local governments in my riding, but they are too large for them to deal with.

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One example is with respect to a landslide in the Frizzi Road area of Williams Lake. The government did provide assistance after a major landslide last year that broke city main sewer lines that run through this beautiful valley. We were grateful for the help at the time of this first major slide – but the City warned of potentially more damage, predicting that we would see more landslides in this area.

The City requested the help of the province to curtail future slides but was denied. Following that, we did see two more slides which have affected multiple businesses in the area along with the river valley itself. There is a mobile home park very near this slide area and the railroad tracks are now within 100 feet of it. The last slide damaged infrastructure including storm sewers and more, however further requests for assistance have been turned down. Sadly, I didn’t hear anything in the government’s throne speech that would indicate help might be on the way.

As the Opposition Critic for Rural Development, I had also hoped to hear so much more in this speech about our rural roads which are currently being ignored by our government. There are areas in rural B.C. where the roads are actually crumbling and in some cases lost entirely due to flooding, landslides or disrepair.

We have a bridge on the way to Canim Hendrix Road where the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has reduced the speed to 20 kilometres per hour, and it is still unsafe because of a broken and destroyed surface. Our culverts, roads and bridges are devastated in some areas and this throne speech has not significantly addressed any of this.

There is a culvert on Dog Creek Road that has wreaked havoc on the people of this area. It is currently flooding at least a half dozen homes and continues to literally rip a home in two. The residents of this home have had to vacate because it is no longer safe to live there. This water course has destroyed Dog Creek Road and Highway 20 repeatedly for the last four years. It has also caused significant damage below this area but continues to be ignored by this government.

I truly believe that in these particularly challenging times, people expect firm answers and good solutions to our very significant issues – as well as proper investments to see them through. Sadly, in the Cariboo region and throughout rural B .C. we aren’t seeing any of this from the NDP government

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.