An open letter to the Honourable Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure
Re: retaining Balfour as the destination for the Kootenay Lake ferry
As an MLA and a minister, you are in a position of leadership. The electorate looks to you for leadership.
Yet you are not leading, you are following. You are following the wishes of vocal Balfour residents who resist change. These residents represent a special interest group, one that is at loggerheads with the common good, the greater good, the public good.
At this time you have an opportunity to cut the ferry’s travelling time roughly in half, increase the number of sailings, and generally improve the connection between the East and the West Kootenays.
To do so would be in the interest of everybody, whether they be people transporting goods, seeking services, doing business, or working on the other side of the lake. Surely you understand that the greater good is represented by those who use and depend on the ferry, not a small segment of the general population that does not really use the ferry but stands to benefit from its docking where it does.
Recent election results in the United States and Iceland have shown that voters are rather disenchanted with conventional political processes and that they are seeking change.
Donald Trump called Washington, D.C., a ‘swamp’, and what he referred to was its being a swamp of lobbyists, influence peddlers, and special interest groups.
The message is clear, politicians need to re-acquaint themselves with the greater good, the public interest, and stop catering to special interests. Would you please show some leadership and demonstrate that Victoria is not just another swamp that needs to be drained.
Jon Wyngaard
Riondel, BC.