Editor:
I find it rather interesting that very little is being made of our provincial political actions. Our premier has chosen the tactic of not being visible for the better part of the past year. Now she is pouring an incredible amount of taxpayer money into advertising just months shy of an election.
Are we considered so gullible this is not only acceptable but is going to win votes? In a time when we are all being told to tighten our belts financially, this behaviour is unconscionable.
All governmental services have increased in cost in the past year while our real income has continued to slide. Yet now we are being asked to foot the bill for a re-election bid of the Liberal party. What is worse, very little is being said about this.
What seems even more telling is the fact many governing bodies and even some businesses are attempting greater transparency while this province fails in simple honesty criteria. It is painfully apparent we don't expect much from our politicians. As a result we get very little from our democratic process in return. Maybe it is time to change that.
Perhaps what we need is the ability to re-assess the particular output of each of our elected members before an election. Something along the lines of a peer or performance review.
Something much simpler and more effective than our present recall option. Something that would look at basic criterion such as time spent on the job, in the community and money spent or benefits accepted.
From there we could see if they have been effective at community or constituent issues. This would set the tone for future hopefuls and develop some standard of expectation as well.
If this were to be instituted, we would actually have more input than the voting process allows.
Peter van der Velden
