Rotary: Guest Speaker: Douglas Horne, MLA Coquitlam – Burke Mountain

Douglas Horne was elected as the first Member of the Legislative Assembly for Coquitlam - Burke Mountain on May 12, 2009. He has been active in politics for many years.

Along with his wife Larissa and their two children, Doug has have lived in Coquitlam on Westwood Plateau for over 10 years. Larissa is also very active in the community, including being a member of the Coquitlam Rotary Club and acting as one of the founding Directors of the Westwood Plateau Community Association.

Doug began his talk by commenting that some of what is being said in the media these days is being embellished.  He commented that the “truth” that many of us believe is no longer based on the truth and instead it’s based on people’s perceptions.  He cited several examples of this relating back to issues within our community and the province as a whole.

Riverview

Riverview is now closed, however there are still three lodges in use that were built in the past few years that are still benefiting people in our community.  Riverview is a unique place and in fact has been a community within our community for many years.  Contrary to popular belief, Riverview is not a park and has in fact had many homes on its grounds for years.  Doug believes a conversation based upon the facts needs to take place with community stakeholders in order to move forward in a positive way.  He also believes history needs to be preserved and most importantly the grounds should remain in their current natural state as a strong piece of the community moving forward.

Healthcare

When the question is asked “do you believe that the Liberal government has reduced healthcare spending?” - 2/3 of British Columbian’s say YES.  However, on the contrary, spending has increased each year far greater than the rate of inflation.  Doug did concede that while spending has increased perhaps it hasn’t been enough to meet the demand.  Doug believes the healthcare system needs to be more customer service & patient focused.

Education

• SD43 spending in 2002 - $180M
• SD43 spending in 2012 - $230M

This increase in spending is despite there being less than 3000 students in the district in 2012 compared to 2002.  Doug believes that school trustees are placed in a difficult position as they have little say in how the money is spent.  Most of the budget goes to teacher salaries so as a result the trustees don’t have much of an opportunity to make changes or shift directions.  To prove his point Doug shared an example of the child who had his allowance increased from $10 to $12 per week.  In order to go to the movies with his friends he had to give up his weekly milkshake – he couldn’t afford both.  The question Doug posed to the group was did the child lose a milkshake each week or gain a movie – both are true statements it just depends on how you want to view the situation.

Liquor Distribution

This issue begins with the fact that the LDB is in need of a new warehousing facility.  Private groups have approached the government saying instead of building a new warehouse why don’t you let us handle the distribution because we can do it for cheaper than you can.  The government was originally in discussions with six groups that were interested but have now reduced this down to three.  The government has said that they want to ensure work for the current workers under a possible new distribution model.  Doug says the government won’t make a change unless this other option will be cheaper and in turn more beneficial for the people of BC.  Doug referenced an example of a few BC wineries that used to handle their own distribution and since transferring this to Container World they are now saving 30% on their distribution costs.

Questions

Q: With respect to the future of the Riverview grounds, how will this impact Colony Farms? 

A: No changes for Colony Farms

Q: What are the plans for Eagle Ridge Hospital?

A: Among other things, a larger ER is planned and construction is to start in the next 12  months.

Q: What is your opinion of the Northern Gateway project?

A: This is an issue the government has communicated poorly on but they do have major concerns which they just haven’t voiced publicly until this week.  As stated in the news media, the government believes BC needs to receive a better balance between the environmental risk and the financial benefit in comparison to what is currently being proposed.