by Scott Carpenter
Black Thursday they called it. Government workers from around the
province of British Columbia adorned black clothing and arm bands to protest the Liberal government's
slashing of over eleven thousand civil-service positions province-wide. Some ministries, such as the
Department of Highways, have been gutted – losing up to as much as 60% to 75% of their staff.
Complete office complexes have been abandoned and redundant facilities such as jails and court houses
have been shut down – permanently.
Gordon Campbell and his "Liberal" government swept to power last
year (winning 77 of a possible 79 seats in the BC Legislature) on a mandate to set British Columbia
back on the road to prosperity. Prosperity, as the Liberals promised, would be built on a platform
dedicated to freeing the private sector from crushing taxes and burdensome regulation. This last move
by the Liberals to help cut 1.9 billion dollars from the budget by 2004 is just one in a list of many
things that has some of us wondering if the Liberals are actually Conservatives – or
Libertarians in disguise.
Indeed, it is rare to see any government – especially in this
day and age – taking such a profound step back from the slippery slope. Not only have the
Liberals adopted a policy of fiscal responsibility by introducing massive tax cuts (25% on personal
income tax alone), reducing the civil service by about a third, and reforming and reducing welfare,
but they've also made strides in introducing a degree of social and political freedom as well.
Just around Christmas of 2001 the Provincial government served their
Federal Liberal counterparts with notice that the province of BC would no longer continue to
administer nor enforce the Federal Firearms Act. The registration center established by the former
(Socialist) New Democratic Party at the provincial capital in Victoria, British Columbia is slated to
be shut down by about April 1st of this year. From there on in the feds will have to deal with this
dirty little mess on their own. And with hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of Canadians
already in violation of licensing requirements, the future for this hideous law looks grim.
Add to that the elimination of photo radar, the return of the Grizzly
bear hunting season which the NDP axed in the wake of European pressure (the season creates overall
revenue in the millions of dollars for rural British Columbians) and a willingness to thumb their
noses at powerful special interests and you have a recipe for something bordering on a quiet, clean
and tidy little revolution.
In fact, it's not just civil servants who were in for a shock.
Welfare recipients in the Province of BC got a sudden wake-up call as well. On top of closing 36
welfare offices across the province, the new government has also come up with much more stringent
welfare requirements to get people off the dole and back to work. In all, the BC government sent
notice to some 60,000 welfare recipients informing them that they were employable and were expected to
start looking for work – soon – before the tap gets shut off for good.
On top of all that, the government has shut down twenty legal-aid
offices, twelve district forest offices, ten highways offices, eight correctional facilities, five
probation offices, five energy offices, two residential-tenancy offices, two coroner's offices and
one medical-services plan office. Inmates in correctional facilities will be expected to double up to
account for the cell shortage. Whole forestry departments have been shut down and relocated.
And of course the thugs among us are out in full force since the
Liberals started cleaning house. They're picketing government offices and threatening to "shut down
business" in the province.
Ken Georgetti, the president of the Canadian Labor Congress, said he
will be telling companies to tell Campbell they don't like the instability that his cuts have
created.
As to what instability he is referring to he did not say. I can only
assume he is speaking about ex and current government employees who are picketing almost every
political office in the province on a daily basis. Of course, that's not private-sector instability
– it's public – and that has little if anything to do with how well business functions.
Actually, that's not entirely true. When government shrinks –
as it has in the past few weeks here in Beautiful BC – private business tends to breath a sigh
of relief. And maybe – just maybe – that's because government (particularly big fat
socialist types) – are notorious for looting and pillaging private wealth. So, it stands to
reason that when government gets cut, business confidence grows, gray markets become legit once more
and investors return to the place where their investments are least likely to get pillaged.
Indeed, this recent move to reduce public "waste" by the government
of BC is a clear indication that the welfare state is coming to a crashing halt north of the border.
If the Liberals have their way, by 2004 we will be 2 billion dollars closer to a balanced budget with
greater economic, political and social freedom for all British Columbians. Moreover, we will be one
step closer to shedding the idea that man should live in servitude to his brothers.
That means for all the delinquents out there who can't do anything
but push papers and play solitaire in their cubicles – it's time to wake up, smell the coffee
and get a real job. Because the free ride is over buddy, and we – the producers of this society
– don't feel the least bit sorry for you.
Black Thursday my ass. They should have called it "Freedom Day".
_________________________________
NOTE: ISIL member Kurt Pokrandt in Vancouver, BC reports that The Public "Service"
unions have been screaming blue murder. They try to persuade people that the world is
coming to an end, but they don't get much support – if the response in radio talk shows
can be trusted. The teachers got a contract legislated upon them, because of their
outrageous demands.
Scott Carpenteris a firearms dealer and freelance writer living in Dawson Creek, British
Columbia.
He can be reached for comment at nanook@pris.bc.ca
International Society for Individual Liberty
>
The Free Ride IS Over In BC
