the stick, the stone and the puddle

if you live in the greater vancouver are then you’ve probably seen the sign ‘on strike to save lives’. well, as it turns out…we might as well get used to the idea of strikes. 2010 is fast approaching, and while many are blindsided by the olympics, there’s bigger events on the horizons for bc’s population. the provincial government is pretty much hoping everyone is amazed and captured by the olympics and completely ignores the problems waiting for all on the horizons.

a few years ago, with the olympics still a few years away, the liberal government had an idea. the idea was…calm and no hassle with collective bargaining agreements for all unions. how was that accomplished? well you probably guessed it, they threw money at the problem, and placed the end of the contract until after the olympics. thus, obtaining no hassle, no contract talks, no strikes, no headaches from any of the cupe sections during the time leading up to the 2010 games. well…all is well so far, people got most likely the percentage raises they were looking for, and all are happy. however, the effect of this is quite simple…most (if not all) agreements are pretty much set to end in 2010, just after the olympics. combine that with the recent ‘crisis’…and essentially we’re looking at a very long 2010 year. there’s no money to be thrown at the problem, costs have already been cut, and most likely the government will be looking to recover some of the cost. which will simply lead to long talks between both parties…with the simple outcome of more strikes.

who’s to blame for this? it’s quite simple that the short-sighted liberal government is to blame for this. they patched up the problem, attached the band-aid solution…and now with the talks approaching we’re all going to pay for this. in their solution, they haven’t fixed anything, yet they managed to delay the inevitable. problem is…most contract talks are coming up in pretty much the same calendar year. what’s the solution? given our chicken government, we’re looking at a cheap and sneaky way out. chances are, there will be more lies fed to everyone. more promises made, waiting to be broken. there will be more cries of ‘we did not know the costs of the olympics’,'we did not anticipate the crisis’, and so on. i won’t be surprised if the liberals are quite hoping the current motions to dismiss the government will be completed. i wont’ be surprised if the liberals will actually help the process (in secret of course). why you might ask. well the thing is quite simple…when shit will hit the fan come post-2010 games…it will be massive. jobs will be lost, people will be pissed and strikes will happen all over the place. the blame will be thrown, quite rightly so, at the liberal government (even thou some or at least half the blame should be put on the shoulders of the fools that voted this government for a third time into place). the only question remains…if the elections (which you have to admit are quite imminent) will happen before the problems start or during. either way, come march 2010…we’re in a hole.