Skip to content

Jocelyn’s Jottings: A letter to the new government

You’re in, here are a few requests
23119302_web1_201023-RTR-voting-day_2
Revelstoke’s polling station was at the community centre. It was open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. for general election day Oct. 24, 2020. (Jocelyn Doll/Revelstoke Review)

Dear projected government,

As a voter with a vested interest in B.C. being as amazing as it can be, I have a few requests.

First, have the conversations.

At the moment preliminary results indicate that it will be an NDP majority government for the next four years. As a resident of a riding with a Liberal MLA I ask that despite your hold on power you stop and take a minute to listen.

Do you remember the saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely”? The benefits of democracy are that no-one has absolute power, but a majority government comes pretty close.

Please represent all of us, even those who didn’t vote for you. Please listen to critics and amend plans to be the best they can. The more voices considered, the better the solution. Two-heads, or rather, 87 heads, are better than just your 55.

Second, don’t take too long.

Everyone I know who has been involved with any kind of government, whether it be from applying to renovate their house to applying to use Crown Land, complains of bureaucracy and “politics”.

I ask that each of our representatives speak on our behalf but choose your words wisely. Don’t speak just to speak. Say the important things.

We need to take time, but we also need support, solutions and action.

Third, communicate with us.

As a journalist I always hope that the government endeavours to communicate, however, during a world-wide emergency it’s more important now than ever, and I think you can do better.

Tell us where the money is coming from and how it will impact us. Be specific. The aspirational, directional jargon is tiresome and we see through it.

If you don’t have the answer, find it. It’s not a politicians job to know scientific details, but please elevate the words of the experts we can trust. Give us access to the people who have the answers.

Another important thing to communicate is timelines. When we are planning our budgets and wondering what the future holds, we really need to know when the support is coming. Even if it is just a “we will have more information to share on this date,” that is better than nothing.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Jocelyn Doll,

Revelstoke


 

@JDoll_Revy
jocelyn.doll@revelstokereview.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.