ROTHENBURGER – Horgan needs to see and be seen during wildfire crisis
Premier Horgan at Southeast Fire Centre earlier this summer.
An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.
FEELING IGNORED is nothing new for the B.C. Interior but it would be nice if the provincial government would make more of an effort to show up right now.
I’m not the first to notice the difference between the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the less than urgent feel to Victoria’s reaction to the unprecedented (that’s a popular word these days) wildfire situation.
While COVID prompted daily provincial-level televised briefings early on — and they’re still frequent — what we get with respect to the wildfires is an occasional lecture from Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth.
It’s left to local officials throughout the province to keep the public up to speed as much as possible. Their briefings are essential and appreciated but people need to know the party in power is engaged.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Horgan fishes while BC burns, sounds familiar…
Princeton’s one stop sign highway junction shows how disconnected our governments are from reality.
Ellis Ross certainly knew the importance of people having an opportunity to be heard, and to see for himself the destruction being faced by rural BC communities due to wildfires. Meantime, Premier John Horgan, Public Safety and Solicitor General Minister Mike Farnsworth, and Forests Minister Katrine Conroy are nowhere to be seen — that’s NOT leadership!
On vacation or spending a few days with his family while still briefed? The government is made up of thousand competent people and the very many various departments function at arms length form the premier. But considering the incessant criticism he is getting form the locals perhaps his decision to not show up is not a surprise.