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By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Provincial election fever gaining momentum

Mar 8, 2024 | 6:00 AM

ARE YOU READY FOR THE ONSLAUGHT? I hope so.

For the next seven months we will hear all of the promises you could want to hear about who will do what for you and why they are the ones you should vote for in October.

You can’t govern without a plan — some guidelines about what you want to accomplish. But bringing those plans into reality is so much tougher than what is written on paper. And most of what is promised will never occur because we can’t afford to do what needs to be done.

The NDP has already sacrificed the future with all the spending they’ve done. They’ve announced billions of dollars in spending to cover all our problems, from health care to housing to climate change and to relations with the Indigenous population. But they’ve really not got a lot to point to that’s been really effective. Even so, they will promise even more as the campaign moves along.

They aren’t alone. BC United, the Conservatives and the Greens will all have similar plans. And somehow you have to make a choice.

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For me, I tend to listen a lot to the individual candidates and not so much the party platform. If I trust the people, I tend to vote for them. I put my trust in the people I think will work hardest on my behalf. I put a lot of trust in our current MLAs. Peter Milobar and Todd Stone have done a great job in my view.

But there have been other candidates I would put my trust in if Peter and Todd weren’t running. Sadie Hunter is at the top of that list. She is a well-educated, smart and dynamic individual who would make a great mayor, MLA or MP. Barb Nederpel is the same. Also on that list is Dale Bass. Smart, courageous, willing to tread where no one has trod before. And then there’s my friend Dan Hines. Dan is not your typical political type. He is not loud and boisterous (most of the time) but he brings such a presence that you cannot help but trust him.

It is hard to imagine anyone upsetting the status quo in October, but the Conservatives could play a big part in the outcome here. No idea who they might run. Bill Sarai probably has a lock on the NDP nomination for Kamloops Centre. The Greens don’t have anyone on the horizon so far, and I don’t think anyone they run will be a factor. Will people get behind the NDP candidates in the belief that being on the winning side will get you some “goodies” from the government?

There is so much to prepare for in the coming months. And don’t forget what’s happening in city hall — or might happen with drought or a severe wildfire season. Throw in all the action federally and south of the border, and it will be information overload.

I have bought an eye mask, turned my hearing aids off, and put duct tape over my mouth. And now I am as prepared as I can be for the next seven months. My boss, James Peters, doesn’t have the luxury that I have. He has to come in every day and choose which stories are actually news and which are grandstanding. I wish him well. I will support him if he calls, but I may just turn the phone off until the end of the year.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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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 Pattison Media.