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By Kathy Michaels
Where were you last night Celine?
Among Canadian cliches of beavers and mounties, you should have been there, thumping your chest, proclaiming undying love for Renee, the allegedly under-represented French Canadians and bidding adieu to the Games.
Instead we had Nickelback — the only platinum selling band no one will admit they enjoy — and an array of less-than-camp, but talented Canucks.
It wasn’t right. Nobody else was fit to close this chapter of B.C.’s spandex and sequin clad history than the world’s reigning Queen of Cheese, and we really need to put a proper lid on these Games. Separate the good from the bad Vegas-style, if you will.
As the golden glow of owning the podium fades, things will start getting dicey. Endearing memories of Premier Gordon Campbell busting out his white-man dance moves alongside a casually attired, yet seemingly frozen, Prime Minister will dissipate as discussions on dollars and cents take over.
That’s right. It’s budget time Celine, and this financial crisis cost the province a wee bit more than your last two weddings combined.
Tuesday’s budget is forecast to contain a deficit of about $1.7 billion, but the government is banking on growth. The question of when that growth will occur remains, however.
Employment numbers Statistics Canada released in early February show B.C. lost 4,200 full-time jobs in January.
Last month, the B.C. government laid off 233 public-service employees —147 unionized and 86 non-unionized staff. That follows a round of cuts in September 2009, when the province got rid of 203 regular and auxiliary jobs. The government is hoping to shed many of the jobs through attrition.
It’s expected more Titanic-sized bad news is coming, too. Everyone from health care officials to increasingly poor artists and sports groups are raising red flags.
And lest we forget, the who’s who of the service industry and home building industry have been bellowing for months about what the HST will do to them.
So, do you see why we needed you last night Celine?
It’s unlikely that our collective hearts will go on in the way they have in the last 17 days when we suspended judgment and learned to believe.
We needed a show stopping ballad to wash away the mythical “powers of you and I” so we can get to the business of losing faith again.
kathy@kelowna.com
Tags: Celine Dion, Gordon Campbell, nickelback, olympic closing ceremonies, provincial budget, stephen harper
