Happy New Year’s.
So we’ve turned the page on 2023 and get to hit the reset button once again on the calendar with new goals and aspirations, but what does 2024 have in store for us?
With all the bad news in recent times, from wars in the Middle East and Europe to severe droughts, wildfires, mass shootings, sky high interest rates and housing costs, and of course the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House in November, it can be challenging to find something positive to feel good about, particularly in the world of politics.
But we actually have a few things to be very thankful for, specifically in the accomplishments of our two central BC representatives, Cariboo-Prince George MP Todd Doherty and Skeen-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach.
Doherty’s crusade as an opposition MP to get the 988 suicide-prevention hotline passed by the House of Commons, and finally implemented by the slowly moving and often hyper-partisan Liberal government, three years later, is a giant achievement.
Fifty or possibly one hundred years from now the legacy of this service will likely still be felt, saving lives every day across the country.
Doherty’s personal efforts to see this through will make a difference for thousands of Canadians suffering from mental illness and for their families who will be sparred traumatic losses.
Taylor Bachrach, an opposition MP for the New Democrats, has also made his mark, from helping to establish our first passport office here in Prince George, to fighting for better compensation from airlines when they’re clearly at fault, to keeping northern post offices open in rural communities, to his latest efforts to reduce the near-complete control of CN on our national railways in order to increase passenger rail service and give rural Canadians another viable, safe and sustainable transportation option.
Despite having two of the most challenging travel schedules in the entire House of Commons, living so far away from Ottawa, Doherty and Bachrach have been able to get things done to help a lot of Canadians, and because of that, we should be grateful and can look forward to what these two can accomplish in the days ahead.
With a little luck, Doherty might even end up with a cabinet post after the next federal election, and that would be great news for Prince George and northern British Columbia.
I’m Chris Beach and this is the Northern View.
Editors note: The views expressed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of Pattison Media.
