Government doesn't provide the social safety net. It's your friends and family that do.
Government just leaves them alone so they can have enough money to take care of you, if , heaven forbid, you need it.
It's a common misconception.
See if you have big government then 5 dollars of your 6 for the conservation stamp has to go to pay for their expenses and pensions and 1 dollar goes to the salmon.
No wonder out salmon stocks are declining.
The family unit broke down after World War 2, 46,998 young Canadians that would never come back to their family's. A generational gap made it very difficult for family's to provide a social safety net. Hence we had the Green papers which led to the creation of most of our social welfare system. The family unit is not always capable of providing that system, just look at how well that worked in the 'American experiment to the south' as good old John A. Would put it. Mine is able to provide it, I am lucky that way, but many are not as lucky.
5 of 6 dollars from your salmon stamp going where no one needs it is not called 'big government,' it is called government waste and inefficiency. Big government, while it can be when it is done wrong, is not always wasteful and inefficient. Examples abound in both categories.
just keep in mind that without 'big government' we would not have conservation officers, fishery regulations or the salmon stamp we are speaking of to begin with.
Regardless I believe we can agree that the money from the stamp should be returned to B.C. to enhance the fish habitat and our fishery in general.
I hate how 'big government' is the new in vogue dirty word. It has joined the ranks of other misused terms like 'Liberal'(used interchangeably with lefty, pinko, socialist, or communist) or 'Christian(which the left likes to throw in the mud a bunch).