Sometimes you just have to look politicians square in the eyes and say:
"Good try, but everything you just said is completely useless. Would you like to try again?"
Such is the case with Justice Minister Suzanne Anton this week as she attempted to spin something out of thin air to make it look like the government has done anything about the Highway of Tears between Prince Rupert and Prince George since Wally Oppal released his public inquiry report in December, 2012.
You see, she said there is the affordable Northern Health Connections bus and, through a contract with the province, Telus is working to extend cellular coverage along Highway 16. These things are making the highway safer.
But the problem with this is both of these things were in place well before Oppal ever tabled his report. The Connections Bus has been running for more than five years and the contract in question was signed with Telus in 2011.
The one major recommendation related to Highway 16 coming from Oppal and his public inquiry into missing and murdered women in the province was that "the province should develop and implement an enhanced public transit system to provide safe travels between northern communities, particularly along Highway 16".
And in that regard, if you put the movement of glacial ice against progress by the province one can be failry certain the glacier would win time and time again.
Going back to the criticism that the NDP have been leveling against the government for the past two years, the truth of the matter is the province has done absolutely nothing in the past 18 months to make safer a stretch of highway where more than a dozen women have gone missing or been murdered.
It just doesn't seem to be a priority on the radar and to insinuate otherwise is completely disingenous.
So, once again, good try, but everything you just said is completely useless.
Would you like to try again?