The B.C. Debt Clock Tour hit the Okanagan today, and we set a record: at 36 degrees in Keremeos (felt like 42 according to the weather experts), it was the hottest stop in debt clock history. A thermometer inside the clock trailer hit 50+ degrees at least three times during the course of the day.

We started in West Kelowna, at Tim Hortons. One couple drove past the clock, did a double-take, drove back the other way, pointing, and then drove past it a third time shaking their heads. I presume they went straight home to sign our petition.

After that, we stopped briefly in Peachland for a quick photo near Lake Okanagan, before spending 90 minutes in Summerland. An elderly woman stopped by the clock, and told me how she and her husband scrimped and saved all their lives, and now get by on a very modest fixed income. “They keep raising my taxes,” she told me. “Everything is more expensive. And then we still have this debt. I can’t even go to coffee with my friends any more – I can’t afford $3 a coffee.”

In Penticton – home of the three-year property tax freeze – we mercifully found some shade near City Hall. A family of four sat near the clock, eating ice cream. Dad smiled at me: “We owe $50,000, just the four of us?” he asked.

“That’s what it works out to,” I said, “plus another $70,000 for the federal debt.”

“Wow,” said the seven-year-old daughter. “That’s a lot of money, Dad.”

Finally, it was off to Keremeos, the last, and hottest, stop of the day. I had a great chat with Steve Arstad, editor of the Keremeos Review… stay tuned for an op/ed touching on that soon.

I’ve dubbed this part of the trip the “Sweat the Debt Tour.” It fits – it’s hot, and taxpayers need to start worrying about the provincial debt.

One final note: there’s nothing like a cool swim in Okanagan Lake to wrap a hard day taxfightin’. I love B.C.