The BC Liberals are well-known for smiling photo ops when elections are on their way — just like every other Canadian political party.
So when the Smiling Creek elementary school funding announcement was made at the end of November, instead of say, September or October, many people assumed it had to do with the upcoming byelection to replace former MLA Doug Horne, who resigned to run federally.
The problem with that suggestion is the fact that the byelection date hasn't been named, so if the BC Liberals were going to use this opportunity to stake some territory, they have to rely on long memories. The photo op has to have a best-before date of two months or longer.
It should also be noted that the former Conservative federal government also handed out a lot of cash in the Tri-Cities just before, and during federal election, and look where the Tories are now.
Clearly, those funding photo ops don't necessarily result in votes at the ballot box.
