December 5, 2000
Kamloops Daily News



Now that an Alliance Member of Parliament has been elected
in Kamloops, we should take a serious look at some of
Alliance's  guiding principles.

Principle 1) If governments would just get out of the way,
private enterprise could do things much better.  Public
electricity utilities are a good example.  If they were sold
to private companies and the industry de-regulated, costs to
the consumer would go down.  Free market competition keeps
electricity prices low. 

The implementation of this principle ran into problems in
New Zealand, but you don't have to go that far to see the
results of deregulation. The province of Alberta privatized
its electric utilities, but now the idea has run into a bit
of a snag.

The private utilities have proposed price increases of $180
per year for electricity.   Albertans are understandably
upset, especially when those increases are added to the
rising cost of natural gas price.  The government of Alberta
has a solution -- regulate the deregulated industry.  Keep
the cost to voters low.  At least until after the next
provincial election, that is, which is expected next spring.

In comparison, B.C.'s publicly owned utility, B C Hydro, has
kept the cost of electricity lower than Alberta.  In fact,
it's lower than most of North America.  The price of
electricity has been frozen until December of this year. 
As a result, consumers' costs have declined by 13 per cent
since 1993, in constant dollars.

Incidently,  BC Hydro made millions of dollars this year
selling electricity to California, capitalizing on their hot
weather.  Imagine if the same regulations were applied to
natural gas.  Canadians would have cheap natural gas and we
would still realize a profit on international sales. 

But this idea runs counter to the principle of government
interference in the marketplace.  And even if it didn't, the
Americans would cry foul under NAFTA, claiming that our
cheap natural gas was an unfair advantage.


Principle 2) Grass roots democracy will return power to
citizens.  If we had a direct say in government through
referenda, we could overcome party politics and corrupt
politicians.  We could even correct the injustices of the
court system which gives more consideration to the accused
than the victim.

Nothing focuses the need for direct democracy than the
brutal murder of a little girl.  She has been sexually
assaulted and killed.  The killer lived in the
neighbourhood.  Police have solid forensic evidence and the
prosecutors have a good case.  A cry of justice is heard in
the land.  The killer's lawyer plans for an extended trail
-- it could go on for years.

Imagine this. Capital punishment has been abolished, but
many call for its return. Dozens of Canadians volunteer
to throw the switch that would administer swift justice to the
killer by lethal drug injection.  A referendum is held on
capital punishment with the execution of the killer as a
test case.  

The trial is broadcast on TV, with the killer strapped to a
chair and intravenous tubes attached to his arm, ready to
inject lethal drugs should he be found guilty.  Canadians
vote in front of their TVs using a remote control that has
two buttons, one for yes and one for no.  Each voter has a
unique identification code.

The voting begins, with a tally on the screen.  As soon as
the number voting yes exceeds those voting no by 100,000,  a
switch is automatically activated. The first drug paralyses
his body so there will be no violent thrashing about.  The
second causes a painful but quick death. The killer has a
oddly serene expression as the TV screen fades to black.

Ten years pass and undisputed evidence finds the executed
killer to be innocent, as Guy-Paul Morin was found
innocent of the murder of the eight-year old girl next door,
Christine Jessop.  An inquiry is called. Votes are
recounted. Some blame the technology, some say the question
was unclear.

Canada's parliamentary system is not perfect but it serves
to buffer the impulses of the moment.  The problem with
referenda is that they are often centred around an
emotionally charged issue.  Canadians get involved most when
the impulse is strong and passions are high.

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