Or can I call you John?
I know you must be very busy right now, but I wanted to drop you a line about the riding of Fraser-Nicola, where I am privileged to live.
I’m sure you know where the riding is, but I was sorry that you couldn’t visit during the election campaign. It’s a very beautiful place, full of friendly and welcoming people who would, I’m sure, make you feel right at home. I expect you’re going to be fully occupied for a while, but feel free to take a swing through here when you have a spare day and get to know us.
Until you can make it up here for a visit, there are a few things you should probably know about Fraser-Nicola. We’re a pretty rural riding, for the most part, which means that a lot of the things that preoccupy voters in the Lower Mainland aren’t necessarily pressing concerns here. For example, I’m sure that the people from the area who make the occasional trip over the Port Mann Bridge will appreciate saving a few dollars each year, but removing those tolls is hardly at the top of the Fraser-Nicola wish list (plus we remember that the Coquihalla was tolled for more than two decades, under both your party and the Liberals, and no one made a campaign issue out of that).
Affordable housing? Again, not that much of a pressing issue here. Ditto with improving transit in the Lower Mainland and ending gang violence. Your plan for $10 a day daycare sounds promising, however, which will perhaps encourage more daycare spaces to open. In fact, we just had four hard-working ladies in our area complete a year-long early childhood education program, and I’m sure they would appreciate an expansion of daycare in the region (because $10 daycare doesn’t help when there’s no daycare to start with).
I also saw that you promise to increase access to doctors, nurses, and health practitioners, as well as relieve the pressure on emergency rooms and decrease patient wait times. Again, I presume this means throughout the province, because there is a hospital in my town that really does need some help.
Another promise is to build 114,000 rental, social, and co-op homes over the next 10 years. This is really good news for our area, where many of our small communities struggle with low rental housing stocks (again, these new units are going to be built all over the province, correct? Not just in the Lower Mainland?).
You said that “unemployment is up in every region outside the Lower Mainland and the Island. People who are working are working harder and longer, and not getting ahead. More and more jobs are part time, and more and more people are working two jobs to make ends meet… . Resource communities and families have paid the price.” You added that you will “create good jobs … in every corner of B.C.” And you even told us how you’ll do it: by creating 96,000 construction jobs with new schools, hospitals, roads, and rapid transit. I, for one, can’t wait until we get rapid transit in Fraser-Nicola (because—and sorry for the repetition here—these projects will be all over B.C., right?).
Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time. Please do come visit us one day; it would be great to hear from you!