When is enough, enough ?As some of you know there is a Petition going around in the South Okanagan (Osoyoos – Oliver) area and hopefully now it is into the Kelowna, Penticton and Kootenay areas in regards to the outrageous rates that a lot of people have encountered from FortisBC.
What the people are paying is far more than what they should be paying compared to what they were paying a year ago .
I never gave it too much thought until I was reading an article on the lnternet from the Vancouver Sun that was published on April 25, 2013 where it gave out the donations that a lot of the individual companies such as Fortis had donated to the political parties .
For example, Fortis donated $524,500 to the NDP Party and $518,000.00 to the B.C, Liberal Party for the 2013 provincial election.
The only reason that the NDP Party was given more than the B.C. Liberals was because the NDP was leading in the polls.
When Fortis applied to the B.C. Utilities Commissioner to increase rates, was this donation mentioned at the same time?
I totally think not. As a matter of fact I can almost guarantee that it was not mentioned.
So how is it then that the application was awarded to Fortis to raise the rates and some of the profits were to be used for political reasons?
ls Fortis in bed with whoever wins the election? lt kind of makes a person wonder .
Is electricity not an essential product that the majority people of B.C. need?
The utility companies were supposed to operate for the people in a sensible manner, but the way I see it, they are all about filling their own pockets and I know for damn sure it isn’t my pocket that is getting filled .
This has to stop immediately.
Why is our hard-earned money going out to support these political parties when perhaps we don’t agree with the party?
lf you use the utilities, then you should pay for them but not to have our dollars going to some political party.
lf your rates skyrocketed as ours did then I ask the people who  use Fortis to please find the local petition being circulated and sign it.
lf you agree, as many others do, that we feel we have been shut out as far as being able to dispute our high costs for using Fortis power then do your duty and stand up for your rights.
As one person mentioned when he talked to Fortis in regards to the increase in his utility bill, he was told by Fortis that if he felt his rates were too high then perhaps he should buy a smaller home to accommodate his needs .
This is a very rude comment and no doubt in my mind FortisBC doesn’t give a damn about any of us.
It is time the rates were rolled back to a reasonable rate so we all can afford to enjoy the services . The money that was donated to the political parties should be reimbursed to the people by Fortis.
We have no alternatives to receive power and Fortis knows it.
That is why we are being gouged. lt has to stop. Do what you can to find the petition and sign it.
Thank you very much for letting me speak out on this important matter.

Ivan D. Vlahovic
Osoyoos, B.C.

This letter is directed at provincial Conservative Party leader John Cummins. We believe you’re amazing or just plain stupid.
After your recent decision to remove Mischa Popoff from your party,  you do NOT have a candidate for the Boundary – Similkameen Electoral District to represent the Conservatives in this election.
You must know that this riding has been conservative in the past, yet you seem to have deliberately given all those votes to the Liberals or NDP.
The question now is, who do we want as our MLA? We have five choices:
1. A “puppet” from the Liberal Party who has to follow their rules to the “T”.
2. Another “puppet” from the NDP, who have their own rules that have to be closely followed.
3. The Green Party, who would not know what rules to follow.
4. We have two independent candidates. One who doesn’t want to be elected, and is just wasting everyone’s time and their vote.
5. Then there’s Popoff, who would have gladly represented us as a Conservative candidate and would have stood up for the peoples’ rights, but paid the price by being ousted from the Conservative Party. Popoff has a mind of his own and is prepared to stand by what is best for the voters.
We are tired of having an MLA that is only there to support the ruling party with his/her vote, and not caring or giving consideration about the voters and their families.
We are tired of having candidates who are just interested in the almighty dollar and govern to be re-elected rather than to be re-elected for a second term having governed properly for the people of B.C.
On May 14 let us vote for an “independent” person who will represent us, the people of this riding, and not be a “puppet” of any other party.
In this election, the way it is going, Popoff could possibly end up with the balance of power.

Ray Vandenberg and Jean Clarke
Osoyoos, B.C.

I would like to thank the community of Osoyoos and the Osoyoos Times for supporting the Market of Taste at this year’s Canadian Slow Food Conference, held in Osoyoos on April 27.
An impressive 50 producers, local enterprises, and farmers participated, displaying an admirable range of artisan foods and delicacies, many unique to this most special valley.
I received many compliments from national delegates on what a spectacular region we are fortunate to live in, and how blessed we are with its beauty, abundance, and friendly people.
I would like to thank the community of Osoyoos for their support in making this first-time-in-Osoyoos event a great success.
Everyone involved had a wonderful time and all of the participants thorougly enjoyed themselves and were very impressed with the friendly people and outstanding hospitality.
The conference ended up being  a resounding success for our organization and we’re very pleased that we selected Osoyoos to hold our national conference.
Many of us will return in the future.

DeAnna Cross
Market of Taste,       co-ordinator
Slow Food Canada

My husband and I would like to thank the Mayor of Osoyoos, Stu Wells, for welcoming Slow Food in Canada to your beautiful town.
The event was fantastic and the Town of Osoyoos and the people are very welcoming.
The outdoor market with the local vendors and the wine tasting from the local vineyards was amazing.
We would also like to thank Watermark Beach Resort and the staff there for the comfortable surroundings.
We were very well looked after and the food that was served was so delicious.
We will be back to visit your wonderful resort.
We would also like to thank the Thompson Okanagan Convivium of Slow Food in Canada, all of you who helped to put this fantastic event on should be so proud.
The food, the events, the setting and the speakers were out of this world.
It was a fantastic event and we really enjoyed our time in Osoyoos.
Thanks once again for a great time.

Peter and Mary      Lundgard
Peace River, Alberta

Paul McCavour and Julie Turner
Osoyoos, B.C.

There has been much discussion in the media surrounding the cost of electricity in recent months, and for good reason since it’s something we all rely on every day and have come to expect to be safe and reliable.
In particular, the residential conservation rate that was implemented in July 2012 has caused many of our customers to speak out. Most of our customers will benefit from this rate, but we are sensitive to the fact that some customers will pay more.
The BC Utilities Commission mandated that FortisBC implement the residential conservation rate after looking at variety of different rates and considering the bill impact on customers, including high-use customers, electric heat customers, low income customers and customers in different locations.
The BCUC approved a residential conservation rate that would result in 75 per cent of customers seeing lower annual bills and only five per cent of customers seeing an annual increase of more than 10 per cent due to the new rate.
While we know some customers are seeing increases, particularly in the winter, approximately 75 per cent of customers will have lower bills averaged throughout the year.
To look at it another way, if we went back to billing using a flat rate, a majority of customers would have higher annual bills for electricity.
As part of the decision from the BCUC, FortisBC is required to provide a summary on the effectiveness of the residential conservation rate and whether it is increasing conservation amongst our customers.
This review is currently underway and will include consideration of feedback from customers.
FortisBC understands that any increase can be a hardship for some customers and encourages those customers to get in touch with us directly to see if we can help.
Please call us at 1-866-436-7847 or visit our website at fortisbc.com/rcr to learn more about the residential conservation rate.
Thank you for publishing this letter.

Tom Loski
FortisBC
Vice President
Customer Service

Former Conservative MP Stockwell Day is trying to convince British Columbians that a vote for one of John Cummins’ candidates is a vote for the New Democrats. He claims voting Conservative on May 14 will split the free enterprise vote.
Day evidently forgets how new parties get started. It was not so long ago when he himself led a new free enterprise party called The Canadian Alliance. And doesn’t Day recall that his former boss, Prime Minister Harper, opposed Gordon Campbell’s piece of legacy legislation, the carbon tax, from the moment it was announced?
Clearly, voting for the B.C. Liberals is what will split the free enterprise coalition in this province. B.C. Liberals have drifted so far to the left it’s not even funny anymore. Between hitting us with the only carbon tax in North America, putting us at a huge competitive disadvantage with all neighbouring provinces and states, and then hitting us with continuous rate hikes and two-tiered billing on the use of OUR electricity, Christy Clark is proving she’s more than willing to beat the NDP to the punch when it comes to hitting families, farmers and small businesses right in the gut!
What exactly makes Day think any of this qualifies as free enterprise? Does he believe taking more money out of the hands of British Columbians to pay for one of the largest and most-overpaid public-service sectors in Canada will help the economy?
The opposite was the case back when Day was Finance Minister in Alberta. Why don’t we deserve the same sound fiscal management as Albertans?
The worst part was the location where Day made his announcement; right here in the Boundary Similkameen where Christy Clark fired sitting member John Slater for unexplained reasons.
No one is perfect; we all have shortcomings. But for Clark to turn on one of her own, and then pick his successor without letting the membership in this riding have any say, is all the evidence voters need to see that nothing outside the Lower Mainland really matters to Clark.
Had Slater not been fired, the perpetually cheery Stockwell Day would’ve given the exact-same speech. And the amazing part is he won’t see any irony in that. You see, he’s working for Christy Clark, not you and me.
Meet the new Stockwell Day folks. Former Conservative cabinet minister, newly minted Liberal enforcer, and master of reading a prepared statement no matter what happens in the real world. This is what happens when a politician retires in his fifties with two pensions and loses touch with voters.

Editor’s Note: Mischa Popoff is running as an independent in the riding of Boundary-Similkameen after  being ousted by the B.C. Conservative Party last week.

Mischa Popoff,
Osoyoos, B.C.

The B.C. Liberals under Christy Clark cannot be trusted.
B.C. Liberals said they would not sell B.C. Rail, then did anyway.
People were shocked when this government admitted it was paying the entire $6 million in legal bills for Basi and Virk when they admitted they were guilty, a complete contradiction of government policy.
Because of the B.C. Liberals, B.C. Hydro is going to lose $290 million  this year, due to paying higher rates for the electricity we are not using.
That’s Free Enterprise.
B.C.’s recent budget is not credible. In 2012-13 total B.C. revenue is expected to be $43.1 billion. That’s an annual growth of 3.1 per cent, but the second quarterly report for 2012-13 showed that revenue increase by only 1.9 per cent from the previous year.
In the current budget government assumed revenue would increase to $44.6 billion.
If revenue continues to grow at 1.9 per cent, revenue for 2013-14 will suffer a $1.1 billion shortfall.
The Auditor General, John Doyle, recently released a scathing report on the governments “carbon offset” program, forcing schools and hospitals to pay more for private-sector “carbon credits”.
Under B.C. Liberals we have had FOUR consecutive deficits in a row. So much for red ink they pledged to “outlaw” forever.
B.C. Liberals cannot be trusted.  After 12 years of B.C. Liberal mismanagement, it is time for a change. I hope everyone remembers their track record when they vote on May 14.

Gladys Brown
Midway, B.C.

Stockwell Day warns that voting for the B.C. Conservatives will split the “free enterprise” vote and “risk” electing an NDP government.
It’s certainly clear that he does not know which political party he belongs to.
Would someone please show him the way out.
You might also remind him that his brand of “free enterprise” government has got us into this economic disaster that will cost us dearly to rectify. Twelve years of dictatorship was too much. Are we stupid enough to want more of it?
We all know that more Liberal or Conservative administration will eventually spell the making of a Third World province out of B.C. And that’s exactly what they want.
When two per cent of the population holds all the wealth and power, they can completely control the remaining 98 per cent and do anything they want with them.
People would be down on their knees begging for any job to earn a pittance in order to survive.
See already what the federal conservatives have done by allowing companies to bring in cheap foreign labour instead of employing Canadians who need work.
Day had the nerve to say that there is a “risk” of electing an NDP government. (Would he talk like that if the vote splitting were in his favour?) By the way, just what is this “risk” that he is talking about?
Is he afraid that “free enterprise” will evaporate if the Liberals are voted out of power?
He can rest assured that the rich minority will always survive and thrive no matter which style of government is in power.
Liberal, Conservative and similar types of administration that do not consider all people under their jurisdiction are doing us more harm than good. Send them the way of the dinosaurs.
Let’s just take a serious look into history. Who remembers the musical, “Fiddler on the Roof” which portrayed the sordid times of the Russian people living under the leadership of the czars? “May God bless the czars and keep them very, very far away from us!”
Or what about, “Les Miserables” and the French Revolution? This musical/movie in our local theatre was a mighty grim reminder of what oppression by the two per cent is all about. Who wants that?
Try the Industrial Revolution in England and the child labour laws at that time. Are we turning back in that direction? Never by any means, PLEASE!
This is the 21st century in which we want government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Democracy includes and considers all people under its administration. Cooperation will bring us success.
Competition without proper regulations and controls will continue to destroy us, like in West, Texas where an unregulated fertilizer plant exploded and took half the town with it.
We invite and encourage everyone to vote for democracy, not for more crony capitalism which has been rife with deceit, corruption and propaganda. On May 14, let’s all VOTE for and work co-operatively to build a better life for all people.
James Demetrick,
Oliver, B.C.

This letter is in regards to the recent front page article in the Osoyoos Times about the local senior who is starting a petition against the recent hikes by FortisBC.
Yes, I agree with Mr. Thorstieson, whether it is seniors or otherwise, that a six per cent raise on Fortis utilities is rough and all their excuses on their part that we should use less electricity.
Should we all pull the plugs when not using our washing machines, televisions and computers, etc.
Would it not be interesting to see the difference?
Is the smart meter going to make a difference to the control of our electricity?
Fortis knows very well that smart meters are not necessary and the manufacturers have the alternative wired meter far less costly.
The excuse of the cellphone and other commodities carried by hand are not 24 hrs.-365 days a year steadily on.
It is up to the individual.
B.C. Hydro uses the drug crops found in individual homes as an excuse.
It should be up to hydro to report to our police as that is their duty to do the requirements.
I recently had a phone call with someone asking several questions apparently to do with the Enbridge Pipeline.
The caller said that because I answered yes to questions one and seven that I agreed to the pipeline.
Well I assure you that without question Enbridge should never be allowed to lay pipelines through our mountainous B.C., through the Douglas Channel embracing Kitimat and on.
Please get a map of B.C. out and look at our coastline. It is one of the most hazardous in the World. The Douglas Channel is the longest and possibly the most difficult to manoeuvre.
An accident is not a question of never happening but when.
The damage will be catastrophic!
All that area and the Dutch Steel plan to manufacture natural gas has been cancelled thanks to the stand taken by the First Nations.
I have been through that area and it is one of the greatest salmon spawning river areas in the world. We need to make big business realize that Mother Nature and people come first.
We may have to take life at a slower pace and consider our surroundings, wildlife and our health. We need to take a stand and voice our opinions!  Since the free trade agreement, much of our industry has moved out of Canada into the Asian Countries, now they want our resources to keep them busy.
How crass can our governments become?
We Canadians have become too Liberal in our attitude and big business has under Conservative thinking taken every advantage. The big bucks count for them. Big everything and I do not have to point anything out.
That’s not good enough when they buck the unions because of people demanding a decent wage. Because of big business running to poor countries, setting them up and allowing low wages, we will find decreasing sales and livelihood in Canada.
In a generation or two who will reap the benefits? Even a cave might look good. Thanks for reading my penned thoughts.

Agnes Sutherland
Oliver, B.C.