A SPEECH FOR THE PEOPLE

Dear Fellow Citizens of British Columbia:

It is with great honour that I accept the democratic mandate you have
given me to act as your Premier for the next four years. We live at a
time of unprecedented crisis and opportunity, both for the economy and
the environment, and the only thing that stands in the way of progress
is negative thinking. There is much to be done, but in the interests
of brevity I will limit my talk to five areas where change is urgently
needed.

Firstly, whatever the result of the Single Transferable Vote recount,
it is clear that some 60 percent of British Columbians want to see
more fair and democratic representation. I will, therefore, invite
members of BC's two other mainstream parties to join my Cabinet to
help us develop the solutions we need.

We will also be encouraging changes in the way your MLAs behave in the
Legislature, which has been a matter of grave embarrassment to many of
our visitors, especially when they bring children. It is simply not
acceptable that elected MLAs should behave in such a rude and uncouth
manner. Starting with the new session, we will be installing a
soundproof, glass-walled penalty box in the Legislature within full
view of the TV cameras. MLAs that misbehave will be issued a yellow
card; if they receive two yellow cards in the course of a day, they
will be given a red card and be sent to the penalty box for 30 minutes
to cool off. I hope this will restore the dignity and respect that has
been sorely lacking of late.

We also aim to eliminate homelessness in BC within our four-year term.
Starting immediately, all real estate sales will be subject to a five
percent tax, generating $6 billion over the next four years. We will
give half the money to BC's municipalities to construct 15,000 small,
zero-energy, affordable housing units and use the other half to
dramatically increase services for the mentally ill and those who
suffer from addictions. From now on, we will consider the right to
adequate housing a fundamental human right.

I turn now to crime and the recent outbreak of gang violence in
Vancouver. To eliminate the cause of this violence, we will act
immediately to legalize and regulate the use of marijuana, cocaine and
other drugs in BC, eliminating the black market. The government of BC
will assume sole responsibility for the distribution of the drugs,
which will be taxed appropriately. We will release all prisoners that
have been jailed for non-violent drug convictions and I'm sure the
income will come in handy as we strive to meet our many goals.

My final topic concerns global climate change, which is a far greater
threat to human civilization and Earth's ecosystems than most people
realize. If we and the world's other countries do not act immediately
to eliminate our carbon footprints, we will condemn our children and
coming generations to a steady increase in droughts, floods, famines,
forest fires, a sea level that will be 25 metres higher, the
extinction of almost half of the world's species and global ruin.

We will, therefore, build on the initiatives of the previous
government and work with the people of BC to develop and implement a
plan to eliminate 100 percent of BC's greenhouse gas emissions by
2030. In so doing, we will build a zero-carbon society that will be a
valuable showcase for the world, for unless the rest of the world acts
too, our efforts will be in vain.

The good news is that by building this new zero-carbon society, we will do
to the current economic crisis what World War II did to the Great
Depression: we will end it, due to the surge of investment and businesses
and jobs it will create. If we succeed globally - and that's a very big if -
we will usher in a promising new era of hope and creativity. I hope you will
join us so that we can work together as we embark on these important new
challenges.