To the editor:

The community of 100 Mile House is suffering cuts on all sides. If Donna Barnett hasn’t noticed the BC Liberal cuts, she is not paying attention to her community.

Vital organizations such as the food bank and our libraries have been cut by Ms. Barnett’s colleagues in government.

As far as gaming grants go, if Ms. Barnett was paying attention, she would know every Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) in the province had their gaming grants cut in half this year. That means the Cariboo Christian School Parent Support Group, the Buffalo Creek Elementary School PAC, 100 Mile House Junior Secondary PAC, and the 100 Mile Elementary School PAC will all have less dollars to buy needed classroom supplies and support student activities.

This is a double whammy since the B.C. Liberals’ consistent under-funding of education was worsened this year by the cancellation of the annual $110-million facilities grant. That cut hit every school district in the province, and in many cases, the money that was cut had already been partially spent, meaning less resources for the classroom. School District 27 lost about $1 million.

BC School Sports, the organization that holds competitions for school sports teams across the province, including teams from 100 Mile House, lost all its provincial funding this year.

Meanwhile, the 100 Mile Special Olympics Club received $1,500 from gaming after applying for $7,500. That isn’t even enough to send the team on one trip.

Perhaps Ms. Barnett should hold a public forum similar to the one held last Tuesday in Williams Lake by her New Democratic colleague, Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson, which addressed these concerns. She had an invitation to sit down, listen and learn about the impact these cuts are having on the communities she is supposed to represent, but she chose to ignore the problem instead.

Charlie Wyse

Williams Lake