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Letter: Opposition politicians demand action they won’t take when in power

Zebra mussels were first seen in Canada (Lake St. Clair) in 1988.
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Zebra mussels were first seen in Canada (Lake St. Clair) in 1988.

That was more than 31 years ago. In the same year, the Conservatives under Brian Mulroney were re-elected with a majority. They did nothing. In 1993, 1997 and 2000, the Liberals under Jean Chretien were elected with majority governments. They did nothing.

In 2004, the Liberals under Paul Martin won a minority government. They also did nothing. This was followed by two Conservative minority governments and one Conservative majority government under Stephen Harper, which also did nothing.

While it should be no surprise to anyone that the majority Liberal government under Justin Trudeau has done nothing, for our Conservative MP Mel Arnold to demand that the government act on the problem of zebra mussels begs two questions: Why didn’t he call on the Conservatives when they were in power, and does anyone really believe that a Conservative government with him as MP will do anything?

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At least with Arnold in opposition, we hear him speak out. If he is in government, he will be silent because only a total ban on boats moving between watersheds will prevent the mussels from coming in – and come in they will.

Similarly, Greg Kyllo is now outspoken in demanding action on B.C. forest practices – yet when he was in the government, he did and said nothing. A recent column in the Province sums it up nicely: B.C. Liberals still clueless on forest sector needs.

Could we please elect someone who will do something when in government, rather than just complain when in opposition?

Richard Smiley


@SalmonArm
newsroom@saobserver.net

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