Sylvie Paillard
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West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country MP Blair Wilson may be struggling with the quagmire of federal bureaucracy as the Conservatives attempt to organize Ottawa, but he is open for business.
Wilson was in 樱桃视频Monday (March 6) meeting with residents, delivering a speech at the inaugural 樱桃视频Historical Society meeting and trying to find a permanent local constituency office.
Wilson's West Vancouver office will be open this weekend, leaving only Sechelt and 樱桃视频without. But soon all major centres in the Sea to Sky will be able to accommodate constituents, according to Wilson.
"We want to be up and running as quickly as possible," he said.
Wilson currently books time in an Adventure Centre office to allow his staff, and on occasion himself, to service locals twice a week. But the arrangement is not permanent.
"No official arrangement for office space has been struck," said Lesley Weeks of the Sustainability Corp. "We do not have an open office at this time but have been discussing the possibility of renting one of our meeting rooms if it is available."Wilson said he's hoping to move to a space that is assured for two days a week without having to call ahead.
Wilson was recently appointed to the position of Socio-critic for Finance, which will mean working with former Liberal Revenue Minister John McCallum. But he is still working out of a temporary cubicle in Ottawa. Offices have yet to be assigned to each politician, but staff promise it will all be sorted out before Parliament sits April 3.
Fresh from a trip to Torino, Wilson said it was important to get his "feet on the ground" in Italy to gather information for the Sea to Sky's 2010 experience. He was determined to go to the 2006 games and had been trying to gather representatives for three weeks, but the new government's disorganization hampered any progress on the issue so Wilson said he decided to "pull out my own Visa card." And he said he wasn't disappointed.
"However big you imagine the Olympics to be, multiply that by 100," he said.
Wilson attended meetings with high profile 2010 organizers Jack Poole and John Furlong as well as with CEOs and vice-presidents of some of the top 5,000 companies on the planet.
"We could never get meetings with them otherwise," he said.
Wilson said he believes there are numerous opportunities to leverage 2010 in 樱桃视频and across the Sea to Sky. While individuals do congregate in the major centre where sports events happen, tourists still seek thrills outside of sports.
Wilson said he will hold the current government accountable for their end of the massive 2010 event and provide viable options when those in power are perceived as heading in the wrong direction.
One criticism he leveled at the Conservatives was the delay in committing their half of the $110 million construction cost overrun. Although the province anticipates the federal money, the government has not yet made a statement to that effect. Wilson believes the federal government has a good opportunity to have "strings attached" to the funds, such as ensuring environmentally sensitive work is done.
