The fact that the federal finance minister visited the riding this week to hear area residents' concerns in advance of his government's preparation of the budget doesn't guarantee that all, or even any, local projects will receive funding when Jim Flaherty and the government release the document on Jan. 27.
But it doesn't hurt their chances, either, John Weston, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country, said on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Flaherty took part in a public input session attended by some 450 people at Park Royal Mall in West Vancouver.
The meeting, which lasted 90 minutes, included questions and/or presentations by some 60 or 70 people and was a bit of a strange brew - part Conservative Party love-in, part public input session, with the average age of the audience members of about 65.
West Vancouverites, specifically those who normally vote Conservative, made up the vast majority of the audience, which also included three sitting MLAs, two more sitting MPs, First Nations leaders and the mayors of Lions Bay and Sechelt. As one of the first speakers noted, speaking directly to the finance minister, "These are your voters. These are Conservative voters here."
Well, not quite all of them. At least three of the speakers/questioners identified themselves as being from the Sunshine Coast, and a number of the speakers - whether Tory blue or some other colour of the political rainbow - expressed serious issues with established Tory policies. More than once, speakers stood up to rail on Flaherty and his government for their decision some 18 months earlier to start taxing income trusts after having said they wouldn't do that. At least two urged Flaherty to reverse that decision.
Gordon Politeski, who identified himself as a Sunshine Coast resident, probably diverged most of all from the theme of the evening, telling Flaherty bluntly, "I urge you not to support many of the initiatives that have been put forward tonight."
Politeski added that while he supports widespread tax cuts for ordinary Canadians, he doesn't agree with the notion of investing in infrastructure as a strategy for kick-starting a struggling economy.
The government's planned auto-industry bailout, which is obviously playing quite well in Flaherty's home province of Ontario, also was the subject of some discussion. More than one speaker urged the Harper government to also give ample attention to B.C.'s struggling forestry and fishing industries. Flaherty responded to questions about regulation of the investment industry by saying he supports the conclusion of an independent panel's report, released this week, calling for a single, federal securities regulator.
"Everybody who sells products in capital markets must be regulated, because these products and what happens to them have the power to change people's lives," he said.
Both during and after the meeting, Weston - whose work to bring Flaherty to the riding was described during the meeting as something of a coup for a rookie MP - said he had met with municipal, regional and First Nations leaders across the riding before Monday's meeting and prepared a report that he then submitted to the minister.
In it, he included projects, most of them related to infrastructure, that local leaders felt were among the most important in their communities for the Feds to consider.
Leaders in Gibsons are seeking money for the construction of a "neighbourhood" geothermal energy system that would "harvest ocean heat for residential and commercial use," Weston said. As well, the Gibsons Landing Harbour Authority is seeking money to expand and add 100 moorage spaces to the Gibsons marina.
Leaders in Sechelt, meanwhile, are seeking $1.8 million for the upgrade of sanitary sewage systems in two neighbourhoods, while the Sunshine Coast Regional District is hoping for some $10 million to upgrade the district's wastewater treatment facility.
Weston said it was a "major undertaking" to meet the leaders of all 12 municipalities, regional districts and First Nations in the riding. In some cases, he had to meet with those who had just been elected, before they actually took office. But he lauded leaders, both for their community-mindedness and for their grasp of the bigger picture.
"There was an underlying theme of selfless thinking - about the need to look after the interests of all Canadians," he said.
"I don't want to inflate people's expectations that we're going to get any or all of these things," Weston added. "My job is to advocate for any or all of these things, and to also look at the national interests, at the health of the whole country."
