Friday, May 20, 2011

Follow the Money


The CUTE premier (part of the Bobbsy Twin set with the CUTE mayor) repeats and repeats in our ear that she is all about "families first."

I mean, gosh, this is the "families first" province. (The Reverend Dobson must be thrilled.)

But check out the reality, please.

ON the one hand,

B.C. presses ahead with controversial hydro dam despite $2-billion jump in cost

In 2006, this boondoggle was set in stone at $3.2 Billion.

Today, the tag is $7.9 Billion.

And let's not even get into the environmental and conservation issues.

ON the other hand,

The Vancouver Children's Festival, which has been a delightful part of community life here for 30+ years now, is suffering a $140,000 deficit.

That's right.

$140,000.

That's not even lunch money for either the city of provincial government.

It's a coffee break.

Will Gregor or Patty Cakes please step up to the plate and clean up this tiny milk spill?

Come on, Cutesies, show us where the money and the priorities are.

Families, my ass.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have young children (ages 6 and 4). Frankly, I couldn't care less about the west-sides "Children Festival" which is difficult for me (living on the south/east) to get to and expensive for my family (even when it was subsidized).

What I DO need is affordability at my local public swimming pool and ice rink.

Before the rates went up, I could bring my whole family for a swim at the Vancouver Parks Board Community Center Pool for $5.65 TOTAL. That was the family rate for two adults and two children.

After the rate increase - it was over $13 for my family to go for a swim. The price went up by over 100%!!!

People with Leisure Access Cards (those with very low income) still get in for free. Those with high incomes can afford these outrageous fees. Moderate income families have to dig very deep into their pockets.

We have not been swimming much since these increases. We simply do not have it in our budget to go once or twice per week.

My kids can do without traveling to the west side for a 1/2 hour show at the Childrens Festival. I don't think it fair that they go without access to their own local community center for swimming and skating due to outrageous prices.

I'm not about to get my knickers in a knot over the Children's Festival when our Parks and Recreation, which is used year round by families, is so poorly funded.

Evil Eye said...

I agree with the above post.

While we are talking about "families first", my son badly broke his arm on a school function in Kamloops.

He spent 1/2 day in Emerg. there, then I had to drive him to children's Emerg. (through a bloody blizzard on the Coq)in Vancouver.

Because the nature of the fracture and it happened over a long weekend in April, he had to wait 2 weeks to see doctors, to see if the arm was healing OK.

Upshot was, the bone is not healing properly, but we were 1 week over the critical time to fix the problem. There is a 50/50 chance the he needs an operation, but we will not know until tomorrow when we go in for more X-rays! The damn hospital also lost the CD with his X-rays from Kamloops!

Oh yes, with a sick child, it cost me a further $15 in parking fees to see a doctor and x-rays! We pay full wack for BC medical as well!

Family first in BC Christie - Bull Shit.

I bet if wee Hamish sprains a finger playing sports he will get first class + treatment!

Anonymous said...

The previous entry is bang on. The festivle on the West Side of the city is a non issue for most of the families that wonder whos first. I supported ms Clark. When I emailed her staff re a company (RONA) enacting policy changes that put peoples families dead last I got zero response. Rona has decided that its employees will have a different schedule every week. With split days off. Most working families will have to quit and look for another job. HAH Christy families first my a--

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