Dear Editor:

With the provincial election campaign now officially in motion, I was looking forward to a rousing debate amongst candidates and voters. However, once again, a privileged group organized by the partisan Chamber of Commerce has highjacked the rules for the All Candidates Forum.

As a rural voter who already feels disenfranchised by the policies and disregard of the B.C. Liberal government, I am disappointed that my one chance to interact in public with a future representative will be denied. Is it even worth turning up at the forum only to watch a candidate recite his partys policies as if it were a high school poetry competition?

Here are a couple of suggestions to the Chamber of Commerce for regaining public trust and engagement in this town. Post all submitted questions online. More people would send in a question if they knew it wouldnt disappear into a black hole. Also, identify the person who submits the question.

This way we salvage at least some of the principles of this subverted democratic process.

Baiba Morrow

Wilmer