The Editor,
Re. "Shortsighted way to balance budget" (Letters, The Tri-City News, Feb. 22).
In response to the letter from Yvonne Harris concerning the proposed sale of surplus properties by the B.C. government, I disagree.
It is smart to sell off unused and unwanted assets, and is something that is routinely done by all governments.
Bruce Ralston, the NDP finance critic, recently confirmed this when he stated, "Governments buy and sell properties routinely."
In fact, a little research would have shown that the NDP government of the 1990s sold $500 million of surplus property, which would be about a billion-dollar value today.
To use Ms. Harris' analogy, I'm sure any cost-conscious farmer would have done the same with unproductive land in the "back forty" but probably not to buy a glass roof for a barn.
Jon Wheatley Sr., Port Moody
