The votes are in. Whether or not you exercised your right to vote, and whether or not you are happy with the result, the majority has spoken.
Both candidates made election promises – perhaps these promises won your vote. No matter what you think about the election, the results, or provincial politics, our MLA is our best chance of getting changes for the Elk Valley.
Obviously, the MLA can only push for changes at the provincial level, and doesn’t have power at the federal level.
The federal government is responsible for such things as national defence, foreign affairs, criminal laws, banking and issuing paper money. But provinces have the power to make laws affecting forests, hospitals, highways and municipalities.
Provinces are also responsible for administering criminal laws (hiring police and establishing courthouses), even though those laws are written by the federal government. In other words, most of the things that matter locally can be affected by laws coming out of Victoria.
Now it is up to the Elk valley residents to make sure the MLA sticks to all those election promises that got him elected as our voice in Victoria.
If you want to see changes, give Bill a call. Remind him about the promises he made in the run up to the election. Tell him what you want to see happen in the valley. How else will he know what the residents need? Keep pushing until you see the Elk Valley get what it needs.
Bill might be our voice in Victoria, but we are the ones that put him there and we are the ones whispering in his ear.