Horgan to blame for Queen Charlotte Lodge pain
Once again, Premier John Horgan continues on with another one of his blunders. John Horgan continues to shoot from the hip without ever doing any research on his decision making.
The latest blunder is in regards to the Queen Charlotte fishing lodge in the waters off Haida Gwaii.
On July 10, Horgan stated that Queen Charlotte Lodge and other such lodges were operating legitimately to resume operation since the earlier shut down due to COVID-19 precautions. Then just three weeks after, on July 30, John Horgan changes his decision in support of the council of the Haida Nation reporting that 13 residents tested positive to COVID-19. Horgan does not even contact Queen Charlotte Lodge to discuss the decision he was going to make.
On the First Nations Health Authority website, on July 24, they are quoted saying, “It is believed that all cases are either residents who had recently travelled off island or had exposure to other residents who recently have travelled off island.” Not a mention of Queen Charolotte Lodge.
After months of intensive preparation and so much anticipation Queen Charolotte Lodge managed to open up for the 30th fishing season on July 10.
The major accomplishment was having fishing charter customers flying from Vancouver on charter to Prince Rupert airport, and then flying from Prince Rupert by helicopter to Queen Charlotte Lodge, avoiding any contact with mainland Haida Gwaii.
The lodge is 35 kilometers from the nearest land community and only accessible by air and by water.
Thanks to John Horgan, 150 employees have lost their jobs, the season is finished, tourists that were coming to the lodge are very disappointed, and business owners of Queen Charlotte Lodge are facing millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Word has it that Queen Charlotte Lodge is now looking into legal action against John Horgan and his government. Nothing new, as John Horgan has spent mega tax payer dollars on legal fees such as fighting the Kinder Morgan pipeline and lost all cases. Once again, if John Horgan would have done his research, there would be no need for this court case to proceed.
In summary, John Horgan closes down the Queen Charolotte fishing lodge, that had no direct contact with Haida Gwaii mainland in any way, shape, or form.
In the last B.C. provincial election, some taxpayers said maybe it was time to let the NDP govern B.C. once again. Why? None of you would ever take back a former spouse from a previous divorce. Voting NDP spells disaster decision and policy making 24/7. Why? B.C. is the only province in Canada that has an NDP provincial government.
Queen Charlotte Lodge did everything possible in making a safe opening possible, abiding to the rules of the health authority and Worksafe and yet John Horgan turns a blind eye, giving the shaft to the lodge. B.C. is in a sad state of affairs having a premier that never takes the time to do research before making legal binding decisions. Research would save B.C. taxpayers millions of dollars.
Unbelievable!
Joe Sawchuk
Duncan