John Horgan, the leader of the B.C. NDP and official opposition, and Carole James, finance critic, were in Osoyoos last Wednesday as part of an outreach tour around the province. Horgan (second from left) and James (third from left) heard from a group of about 15 people about their concerns. The meeting at the Sonora Community Centre was not extensively promoted and Horgan said he prefers meeting with smaller numbers for a more intimate discussion. (Richard McGuire photo)
Two high-profile members of the provincial NDP official opposition made a stopover in Osoyoos last week during an outreach tour of B.C.
Leader John Horgan and Finance Critic Carole James had an informal chat at the Sonora Community Centre with about 15 members of the community last Wednesday to discuss issues of concern.
The meeting was billed as a chance for the MLAs to meet with families and hear from them about where their budgets are feeling the most pressure.
Concerns raised covered a wider range of issues, however, including temporary foreign workers (a federal issue), the difficulty community services have with funding, hydro costs, policing, health care and funding of heritage sites.
James argued that the B.C. Liberal government’s latest budget gives tax breaks to the richest two per cent of B.C.’s residents while the rest pay more through increases to ferry prices, auto insurance premiums, health insurance premiums, electricity prices and other fees.
Both Horgan and James said their tour is an important way to keep their fingers on the pulse of the province.
Politicians become isolated if they don’t get out to meet people, they said.
“I get people’s passions for various issues that we are able to then give voice to in the legislature,” said Horgan. “That’s invaluable to me as an opposition leader.”
The tour has focused on communities that are not represented by the NDP, he said. Recent stops have included Kamloops, Comox, Grand Forks, Chilliwack and Hope. After the Osoyoos stop, the two MLAs headed up to Oliver and Penticton.
The small turnout, Horgan suggested, was partly intentional and was partly the result of very little promotion and its timing during lunch on a workday.
“I find that’s a more intimate setting,” he said. “It gives people an opportunity to feel comfortable and to have a discussion. I find that if you have large meetings you tend to get the vocal people at the front of the room and other people go, ‘This isn’t for me,’ so I prefer the intimate setting.”
Horgan said he tries to meet with small business people and chambers of commerce to meet a wider range of people than simply NDP core supporters.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
John Horgan, the leader of the B.C. NDP and official opposition, and Carole James, finance critic, were in Osoyoos last Wednesday as part of an outreach tour around the province. Horgan (second from left) and James (third from left) heard from a group of about 15 people about their concerns. The meeting at the Sonora Community Centre was not extensively promoted and Horgan said he prefers meeting with smaller numbers for a more intimate discussion. (Richard McGuire photo)
