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I spent last week on the road; travelling through the Okanagan and Kamloops on Opposition Critic business. That same week the Olympic Torch made its way through the same region of the province and up through the Cariboo. I always seemed to be one day behind the festivities!

By all accounts, every community greeted the torch with great fanfare and even greater emotion. Despite all the questions and criticism surrounding Vancouver’s hosting of the Olympics and their impact on rural BC, events like the Torch Relay touch a deep nerve of national pride that allows us to put aside our differences and our gripes and simply celebrate who we are and where we live.

As an immigrant from Scotland, I have grown to love my adopted country and province. How deeply I had grown to appreciate this country was brought home to me while I walked in the athlete’s parade at the World Triathlon Championships in Edmonton, Alberta.

Team Canada was the last group in the parade because we were the host nation. I was chatting with some of the other athletes until we turned the first corner on the parade route. A huge crowd of spectators, many hanging out the windows and standing on the roofs of the buildings on either side of the route, started yelling “Go, Canada, Go!” Canadian flags and banners decorated the buildings. The maple leaf symbol was everywhere: hats, faces, painted on the street.

None of us could talk anymore. We were so taken aback by the outpouring of pride and hope in our efforts that most of us simply choked up and fought back the tears. I can still get choked up thinking about that day.

I heard from many people throughout the Interior that they felt similar emotion during the Torch Relay and I hope that MLA Barnett is right that these people will always remember their Torch Relay event with fondness.

However, it will take more than wishful thinking and a single feel good event to make sure the lasting legacy of the Vancouver Olympics is a positive one for rural BC.

With our schools being closed and our health care services reduced, with seniors being charged 30% more for assisted living, and with HST looming over our heads, there’s a lot of hard work to be done to ensure that Vancouver’s Olympic celebration doesn’t lead to a massive hangover for rural BC!

Bob Simpson
MLA Cariboo North