By Tim Amey

(Adrian Dix stands next to Chilliwack Hope NDP candidate Gwen O'Mahony)

Chilliwack, B.C. - If you didn't know any better, you'd swear there was an election on in Chilliwack.  Last week Premier Christy Clark was touring through Agassiz and Rosedale, Tuesday it was NDP leader Adrian Dix's turn. 

Dix was at the Chilliwack Hope by election NDP headquarters, talking about all the ills of the BC Liberals.  Dix says education, the forestry industry and the courts are all in rough shape thanks to the government.  “Last year we saw a doubling in judicial stays, we’re seeing very significant prosecutorial stays in other words...with drawing of the case,” he says of the court system.  “Last week we had a report from the independent ombudsperson saying the Government had failed to respect seniors in the province. We had a report from the independent auditor general saying…they had failed to support forest health.  The BC Utilities Commission had noted that the Government’s Hydro policies had fundamentally failed.” 

He says they've especially driven up the costs of prescription drugs by signing an agreement on generic drugs that drives prices 40 percent higher than Quebec and Ontario.  Dix says that drives costs for the pharmacare system, seniors and people with chronic disease.  He says those extra costs could go a long way to pay things like the Time Out program for seniors in Chilliwack that was canceled due to a lack of funding.  Dix maintains that in tough times “you have to get the fundamentals right and the government doesn’t have the fundamentals right.”  He says the priorities for Christy Clark are running TV ads that cost millions, promoting her branding. 

Dix says he would make the health care system more efficient such as reducing the cost of prescription drugs.  He says he wants to focus on education and training to close the gap for young people entering the job market.  He also wants to make education more accessible by restoring nonrefundable student grants.
 

Comments

Posted by: loveinchilliwack on February 21 2012 7:15 PM

I'm interested to see how anyone could actually make the health care system more efficient. Maybe Polkaroo will show up too...