FORSETH – If a service is declared essential, it should be available to all

WHILE THE WHEELS of transit, in metro-Vancouver, sit idle, BC United leader Kevin Flacon has a solution:

“Frankly, these are essential services. People use transit to get to work, to get to doctors appointments — this is not something that should be getting in the way and interrupting the public.”

I find it interesting that Falcon has decided this is the solution, not because I disagree with him, but because I never thought I would hear the leader of ANY political party say it.

For as long as I can remember, I have always believed that if a service is provided by the government, then it should be deemed essential to the needs of British Columbians. The flip side of that, of course, would be that if it isn’t a service essential to our needs, then why should (or does) the government provide it?

But back to Falcon and his comment.

I realize he didn’t specifically say that IF transit is deemed essential, then workers shouldn’t be permitted to strike – he simply commented that transit should be considered essential.

The reality is, he wasn’t really offering a solution to the problem, his comment just made for a good eight-second (as they call them) sound bite.

Which leads me back to my initial wondering — IF a government provides a service, then why are workers permitted strike action?

The same holds true for British Columbians youth – why are strikes permitted in education?

Or in healthcare?

Is there a better solution?  What might that look like?

Declaring something should be an essential service, without ensuring the service is actually provided to British Columbians, is no solution. It sounds good, but that’s about it. And sadly, no one in the media chose to challenge Falcon on his comment, and ask for an explanation as to what his proposal would look like.

There is a workable solution, we just have to take the time to figure it out so that the people of B.C., and the employees who provide us with valuable and much needed service, can come up with it.

In Kamloops, I’m Alan Forseth.

Alan Forseth is a Kamloops resident. For 40 years he has been active, in a number of capacities, in local, provincial and federal politics, including running as a candidate for the BC Reform Party in the 1996 provincial election. He was involved in the BC Liberal leadership campaign and is now a member of the BC Conservative Party.