Report missed real priorities
Times Colonist (Victoria)
November 26, 2007
Letters By: Veronica Scott and Ronnie Phipps, B.C. Coalition for Health Promotion, Duncan.

We are pleased to see that the Select Committee on Finance and Government Services recent report was able to find common ground with the Liberals and NDP. Too bad, however, that they are out of sync with the priorities of local communities.

Removing tax exemptions on candy bars and tobacco, and jacking up the price of liquor may serve some purpose, but these are short-term punitive measures. The real priority social issues raised by communities throughout British Columbia are poverty, affordable housing, substance misuse, homelessness and availability of child care.

B.C. communities want to develop their own solutions, based on their own priorities, to improve the health of their populations. We need to support these efforts, not momentarily after the issues become front-page news, but on a preventive ongoing basis….