THE RECORD
February 28, 2001

Fiat Lux

by Ed Deak

A few weeks ago I suggested that people should start asking questions of their BC Liberal candidates, as the Party doesn't have a platform. Their whole campaign is based on sugar coated platitudes without any substance, hoping to catch the suckers to vote for them, like Vander Zalm did in '87.

I started working on this set of questions soon after, with the difference that they should be asked of all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, so that we know what they really stand for? I intend to send this questionnaire out to as many papers as possible, and hope that at least some of them will publish them and at least a few people will start coming to their senses and make some effort to find out the facts before it is too late.

We hear a lot about the alleged damage done to the economy by the NDP, but what are the platform and plans of the BC Liberals? Gordon Campbell has been doing his commercials on TV for a week by now without saying anything apart from childish promises of turning the economy around to create wealth and prosperity. Mulroney and Chrétien promised the same, but all we got was phony free trade, the GST and the loss of our democratic rights to multinationals.

I am in constant contact with economists on every continent. Their stories show how deregulation and the sale of health, education, water, power, sewage, etc. to multinationals are literally destroying whole countries and the lives of millions. I don't know of a single case of deregulation or privatization anywhere on Earth, that hadn't increased costs, unemployment and destitution.

Here are some questions people should ask and demand answers from all candidates, regardless of party affiliation:

Have you voted PC in 1984 and supported the deregulation of the oil and gas industries?

Have you voted PC in 1988 and supported the FTA and GST?
Have you voted Socred in 1987 and supported their "no policies, no platform" campaign?

Are you supporting a vague, promises only, platform of any Party?

Have you supported, or agreed with the Socreds' sale of BC Gas?

Was the sale of BC Gas and the deregulation of the industry beneficial to our people?

Would you vote for the deregulation and the sale of BC Hydro?

Would the loss of public control of BC Hydro hurt, or benefit the people of BC?

Do the profits of BC Hydro bring benefits to our people, or should they go abroad?

Should there be plebiscites on the sale of publicly controlled and owned properties?

Would you vote for the sale of ICBC?

Do you know how much the young and old people and farmers would have to pay?

Do you know that private companies can cancel any insurance without giving reason?

Do you know that this is done routinely to force people into the "assigned risk" category?

Do you know how much the innocent victims have to pay under "assigned risk"?

Would you vote for an increase of the minimum wage?

Would you vote for the weakening of labour and union affiliation laws?

Do you know that the BC forest industry invested close to $20 billion in 20 years?

Has this investment created a single net job, or eliminated thousands?

Do you know that 97% of foreign investment buys Canadian businesses and fires workers?

Should the resources of BC be controlled by our people, or by foreign multinationals?

Would you vote for the sale of school, health, municipal, etc. services to multinationals?

Do you know of the ongoing FTAA and GATS negotiations to enforce such privatizations?

Do you know of any place where privatized services may have reduced costs to the public?

Do you know that under NAFTA and WTO rules deregulated and privatized services can not be re-regulated, or re-nationalized again, regardless of the destruction they cause?

How can an export based economy be "turned around" when the customers are broke? Do you know that the USA is the most indebted country on Earth, existing on credit?

Are you in favour of corporate demands for increased raw log exports? Do you think the workers of BC have priced themselves out of their jobs? Do you know that under Article 13 the Bank of Canada can issue interest free loans to national, subnational and even municipal governments? Should this law be enforced?

Should corporations demand unlimited profits, but pay low wages from our resources?

Should international "trade laws" overrule our national and subnational governments?

Should First Nation land claims be legislated? How should the legislation be enforced?
Should the accountability of candidates start here with the answering of these questions?

Copyright (c) 2001, West's International