In the months-long run up to any provincial election, announcements by government are rightly viewed suspiciously. And certainly the decision by the BC Liberals to establish a fund to save rural schools slated to close falls into that category.
The $2.7-million program is designed to rescue from certain death nine institutions that were scheduled to be shut down. Of the nine, however, none is more important to the government, and to the newly appointed secretary for rural education, Linda Larson, than the one here, in the south Okanagan community of Osoyoos, just north of the U.S. border.
Osoyoos falls within Ms. Larson's riding of Boundary-Similkameen and the decision to close the high school created enormous antipathy in the town toward the MLA and her government.
Kids were going to have to be bused to Oliver, a half-hour down the road. That was only one of a long list of aggravations the move was going to cause.
This week, Okanagan Similkameen school board trustees voted to use the fund to keep the secondary school open. But if you think Ms. Larson can now breathe easier, you would be wrong. There remains enormous resentment that it even came to this. And most people believe politics (and a looming provincial election) was at the core of the government's decision to keep schools such as Osoyoos secondary off the chopping block – nothing else.
Meantime, parents were put through months of unnecessary hell as they tried to figure out how life at a different high school nowhere close to where they lived was going to affect their families.
The umbrage many have taken over this is tangible; a bitterness that is certain to last a long time. And it is not the only problem Ms. Larson has as she prepares to defend her title as MLA for the area. The New Democratic Party is aware of this as well, which is why the party intends on mounting a tough campaign against the Liberal legislator. The NDP knows that if it can't win in ridings where the incumbent is as vulnerable as Ms. Larson, it has little hope of winning power.
Besides the flip-flop on the high school, there are two other major sources of anger likely to haunt Ms. Larson come next May's election: one is the fate of a proposed national park in the area and the other is a correctional centre that has been built in Oliver.
The idea of establishing a national park to protect one of the most important desert ecosystems in the world has been talked about for years now. Support for the project has been steadily building among residents and business groups that see enormous commercial benefits in creating a destination for hiking and wildlife enthusiasts around the world; polls have shown massive public backing for the project. The most public dissenter, however, has been Ms. Larson herself, who has given voice to a small group of ranchers and hunters who don't want to see the park go ahead.
It would appear that she is going to get her way. The government released an intentions paper last year indicating its preferred plan, one that would create two small protected park areas but leave out the largest area of land people most wanted to see included. Despite the general unhappiness with the proposal, it looks like this is what the government will do; a compromise that will not make many happy. Few will forget Ms. Larson's backroom and public role in seeing that the national park most people wanted was not created.
The other matter stirring up incredible dissent is the correctional centre soon opening in Oliver. At capacity, it will house nearly 700 people and many are worried about the constant churn of inmates into the community upon their release. Residents are concerned about crime going up; there is consternation, too, over the fact there are few local facilities like detox centres or mental health outlets to help these people transition into a healthier, crime-free lifestyle.
Talk to people in the area and few believe Ms. Larson did enough to try to block the facility from going ahead. Now it's built and a fait accompli. It is certainly jarring when you first see it, so large and imposing is it against the soft, Okanagan landscape.
Ms. Larson will have a lot to answer for come election time. She can't be looking forward to the all-candidates' debates, where many of the questions will concern the actions of her and her government.
Gary Mason