Example of too little spending on Seniors

I am working with a group of seniors called the "expansion Committee", who are worried about the current overcrowding in the Cameron Seniors Centre. I have studied the historical reason for this current lack of sufficient space in the building. This study has led me to believe that the local authority responsible for this Seniors Centre and three other centres has not given the financial funding that this centre should have received from the very beginning.

This Seniors Centre was not the product of planning by the city planners. It came about by the work of some senior women, who were convinced that Cameron needed a Seniors Centre. Their hard work resulted, as their numbers grew, in recognition by Victoria of their efforts, by approving

a constitution and Charter. At first, they operated in a room that the Recreation Centre did not need, and today they occupy the entire upper floor of this centre.

The seniors have kept on growing in number, and can now count about 1000 members. In fact the

modifications to the Rec centre have been made by the seniors funding 1/3 of the cost of these

improvements. Now they need more than a few modifications to the building, if their activities are not to stagnate. They are presenting a petition to the City of Burnaby to expand the building.

If you , my blog readers, can use whatever influence you have to help these seniors get what

they want from from the Burnaby City Council, I ask you to do so.

New Premier with new promises

This evening BC Liberals chose Christy Clark as their new leader and Premier. She speaks of a new beginning in BC, with an emphasis on "family". But Gordon Campbell's old guard still surround her, and will they welcome change? She will have to be very strong willed to resist their influence.

When she speaks about family, I hope that she remembers that grandparents(SENIORS) are

the foundation on which families are built. Gordon Campbell was not very kind to seniors in this province. When she goes to the polls in the next election, she will have to convince seniors that she is different, and this really a new beginning for the Liberal party.

Seniors ballroom dance group

This evening I attended the Chinese New Year session of the Cameron seniors ballroom dance group. It was a brave attempt by Lisje to organize a dinner for her group of sixty at the lowest possible price of $5 each. That she managed to provide a plate for everyone is to be applauded. If anyone complains, I would say to them that they got more than they paid for. It was interesting to see the organization of the group. She has a great number of willing volunteers. there were glitches that were not their fault. Some outlets in the kitchen did not supply the necessary power for the rice cookers in the small kitchenette whose equipment needs to be overhauled. The more up to date kitchen equipment was in the room rented to the Baptist church.

This is another example of the lack of space in this Seniors Centre. Seniors have to curtail their activities to manage with the limited space at their disposal.

BC leaderless political parties

The political scenario in BC is a very interesting one at the moment. Some people may even find it very amusing. We have the two main political parties in the provincial government without aleader. Both leaders, Gordon Campbell of the Liberal party and Carole James of the NDP party resigned shortly one after the other. Gordon Campbell recognized his unpopularity with the BC people, and Carole James was pushed out by 13 dissidents in her own party.

We now have a number of politicians contesting the empty leaders' seats. On the NDP side we

have the spectacle of a party at odds with its own constitution the demands that one of the three top posts in the party be occupied by a woman. On the Liberal side, we have ex-ministers of the Gordon Cambell government, disclaiming having had any part in the sale of BC Rail.

Christy Clark is the only outsider, who was not in Gordon Campbell's government when he resigned. I do not believe that Ms Clark had any part in the sale of BC Rail. It is quite clear that she supports a referendum on the HST in June, earlier than the September referendum supported by her political opponents. She is the only one who has taken up a clear-cut position. PersonallyI would give my support to her in her quest for the leadership of the BC Liberals.

Too little spending on Seniors Centres

Demographic studies show that in the next 9 to 12 years seniors in BC will grow from 14 % of the

population to 23% of the total population. Yet the majority of Seniors Centres were built at

least 30 years ago to accomodate a senior population that numbered about 10% of the BC

population. Centres for seniors are being squeezed and as a result activities for seniors are

unable to expand for lack of physical space.

Our local governments, who are the major players in creating Seniors Centres, have neglected

spending enough, in response to the growth in the senior population. Their excuse is lack of funds.They must realize that they cannot sit back, and hope that some miracle will occur to

help them cope with a burgeoning senior population who will be quite different from the older

generation. Younger seniors will be healthier, better educated, and their financial situation

will be superior to older seniors. They will need more activities corresponding to their better

health. The days when seniors will be happy sitting down playing card games are over.Local

governments had better wake up to the more active needs of younger seniors.

Carole James has had two chances to become Premier of BC. In spite of the low popularity of Gordon Campbell, who recently announced that he will be stepping down as premier of BC, she has been unable to increase her own popularity in the polls.She has not shown the dynamism that a leader of the opposition should have. What new ideas has she brought to the BC political scene ?If the Liberals are able to find a new leader who has projected the kind of personality that Carole James lacks, I predict that the BC NDP will remain an opposition party in 2013.

Speaking to people, whom I would think would be strong supporters of the NDP, I hear the words: "I may not vote for the Liberals, but I will not give my vote to the NDP, as long as Carole James is their leader." These are women to whom I am speaking. You would think that they would support another woman. But they tell me that Carole James does not project the dynamism that they expect of a political leader.

The truth about the BC Rail Sale

Will the public ever know the truth about the sale of the BC Rail? The abrupt end of the trial of Mr Basi and Mr Virk with a guilty plea and a ridiculous sentence of two years minus a day home incarceration leaves more questions than aneswers.Gordon Campbell apparently thinks that the public has no right to obtain these answers, although it is the taxpayer who ultimately pays the bill.In his usual haughty way he places all the blameon on these two ministerial aides,who were hired by his own chief of staff, Martyn Brown. Like Pilate, he washes his hands, and passes sentence on the two aides appointed by his own government and placed in the ministries of Finance and Transportation.
After the police raided the legislative offices of Mr Basi and Mr Virk in December
2003, it became clear that the fous of the investigation was on the BC Rail.Why did the Liberal government go ahead with trhe sale? They cancelled he pproposed saleof a BC Rail subdivision, but went ahead with the main sale. There seems to be a real
contradiction here. Is it possible that CN Rail was already selected to win the bidding for BC Rail? There were repeated allegations made in court by the defence that the "fix was in" for CN Rail to win the 2003 bidding . .the abrupt end of the trial means that the truth of that claim will not be tested.
The Liberals do not wish to have their part in this sordid affair revealed.