B.C. Liberals want you to forget cuts, broken promises
Georgia Straight
By Andrew Edwards
April 14, 2009

The façade of democracy is that voters are led to believe that they will have their voices heard and that they will have a choice in how the province is run. Unfortunately, under the B.C. Liberal government, unless you are big business or industry, they’re probably not listening to you….

The B.C. Liberals know the worst way to raise capital is to spend it on services that get little to no returns for their investments. Social services, housing, health care, legal aid, and the many other services that form the social safety net simply do not bring in the capital. ….

How do the Liberals manage to keep the priorities of their agenda from outraging the citizens of B.C.? Like any major corporation, they too have a public relations department. …. Months ago however, they had more pressing matters: how to convince the voters that they care about people living in poverty. Their cutbacks to social services in 2001 had caught up to them and people were livid over how far they let these services deteriorate.

When the Liberals bowed to pressure and announced the purchase of 12 housing sites in the Downtown Eastside, it was with much fanfare and public relations, speeches, and media coverage. Those with the understanding of the Liberals previous actions on social housing and poverty in general could easily question whether these promises were genuine or merely damage control from this public relations department….

They defend their housing promises only when they feel public pressure, but their actions are less than effective in solving the issue. When community members, activists, or advocates call them out on their broken promises they’ll create new ones to divert the media and the public for a few more months. The B.C. Liberals’ housing plan is a cycle of promises, delays, and ultimately breaking those promises.

The B.C. Liberals rely on your ignorance or apathy to sell themselves as a caring, helpful government. …. Their businesses-first approach is the driving force behind keeping the minimum wage below the poverty line and the six-dollar-an-hour training wage, which gave employers the opportunity to further exploit youth and students entering the workplace.

And of course, they certainly don’t want you to remember that shortly after coming into power in 2001, the B.C. Liberals cut social programs by nearly one-third. Included in those cuts was an end to annual funding for new social housing and a “review” of projects currently underway….