BC Politics --- The Stories of 2010

Happy New Year ... I hope that you were able to enjoy a great Christmas with family and friends. As you read this, I am away for several days so that our family can visit and spend time with family.

I have a great deal of confidence for the conservative movement in British Columbia in 2011, and as 2010 ends, let's take a look back at some of the events that happened in the wacky world of BC politics:


Jan. 20: The BC government issues layoff notices to 233 provincial employees in the second round of cost-cutting measures since B.C.'s deficit soared in 2009.

Jan 21^st ... Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health, which carry out directives issued by Health Minister Kevin Falcon, are cancelling 2,450 surgeries this February through March. The government has characterized the reduction in operating room procedures as an "Olympic slowdown". Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health, which carry out directives issued by Health Minister Kevin Falcon, are cancelling 2,450 surgeries this February through March. The government has characterized the reduction in operating room procedures as an "Olympic slowdown".

February 1^st ...Today B.C. Liberal agriculture minister Steve Thompson suggested in a radio interview that the Buy B.C. program could be the key to helping struggling fruit growers in the Okanagan stay in business, yet despite the fact that the program costs little more than what the government is spending on Olympic tickets for B.C. Liberal friends and insiders, he would not commit to reinstating it.

March 2: The B.C. government tables a budget that forecasts a $1.7 billion deficit this fiscal year, and reveals a BC Hydro plan to increase rates by 15 per cent in the next two years. The budget maintains the government’s priority of protecting core services in health and education and commits every dollar raised through the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and four other revenue streams to be used for health services funding when the HST comes into effect July 1, 2010.”.  While health and education have received modest increases in funding, other provincial ministries are facing significant cuts: Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Forests and Range and the Healthy Living and Sport Ministries.


March 12^th ... B.C. Liberal health care cuts and the failure of the Interior Health Authority to prevent surgical tool contamination are leaving Thompson – Cariboo - Shuswap residents facing long waits for medically prescribed surgeries. According to recent wait times data from February 1, 2010, which predates the cancellations of hundreds of surgeries at RIH, over 35-per-cent of patients, have been waiting over 52 weeks for neurosurgery, close to sixty-per-cent for procedures of the ears, nose and throat.

March 30: Finance Minister Colin Hansen introduces legislation to wind up the provincial sales tax to make way for a harmonized sales tax.


April 6: Former Social Credit premier Bill Vander Zalm launches BC's first successful initiative petition, calling on the government to "extinguish" the HST.

April 9: B.C. Public Safety Minister Kash Heed resigns his cabinet post as the RCMP investigate possible Elections Act violations in his 2009 campaign in Vancouver – Fraserview.

April 18: Premier Gordon Campbell announces B.C. will proceed to environmental assessment for Site C, a third hydroelectric dam on the Peace River.

Apr 23^rd ... BC Conservative president Wayne McGrath announced today that Randy White, former MP and House Leader in the House of Commons, will Chair the party's Tactical Advisory Group. White, who resides in Qualicum Beach, will recruit politicians, both current and retired, to advise the party as it steps up its organizational activities. "The party's numbers are growing quickly and Constituency Associations in all riding’s are forming with vigor that we have not seen before," McGrath says.

White has come out of retirement, he says, "because I can no longer support the BC Liberals and I want to help End the Tax and Spend mentality that exists with both the Liberals and NDP parties in this province." When talking recently to BC Conservatives, White indicated, "It is just the same old scare tactics in BC when both the NDP and Liberals say if you don't vote for us you will get the other party.

April 27: Attorney-General Mike de Jong announces new fees and vehicle impoundment options for drivers caught with a blood alcohol reading between 0.05 and 0.08 per cent.

June 11: Peace River S. MLA Blair Lekstrom resigns as energy minister, saying he can no longer support the HST.

July 1: The harmonized sales tax takes effect in B.C. and Ontario.

July 15^th ... BC is set to become the gambling capital of North America - at least in cyberspace. Earlier this morning, the B.C. government announced a major expansion of its online gambling website, including a plan to introduce 75 new casino games to the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) website. This makes B.C. the first jurisdiction in North America to legalize and regulate online casino games.

July 22^nd ... The BC Lotteries Corporation is embroiled in chaos this week after it was revealed they are facing $670,000 in fines for alleged violations of the Proceeds of Crime and Terrorism Financing Act. Even though BC is the only provincial jurisdiction in Canada to be fined for this, Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman continues to dismiss serious concerns raised by Solicitor General Mike de Jong, including reports of violations of the federal anti-money laundering law are "troubling" (CKNW, July 20)

Aug. 24: The B.C. government announces unprecedented mine royalty sharing agreements with aboriginal groups for the New Afton and Mount Milligan copper-gold mines

Sept. 13: A legislative committee decides to put the HST to a province-wide vote in September 2011.
September 24^th ... The B.C. Conservatives included a glittering resumé for Jim Hart when they welcomed him as their newest adviser. Seasoned parliamentarian. Twenty years experience as a politician, organizer, strategist and spokesman. But what really impressed me was the brief note on top of the news release. "Mr. Hart is not available for interviews -- he's in Afghanistan, overseeing elections." For someone entering the B.C. political scene, service in a war zone is useful. If he can make democracy work in that hellhole, he should be able to navigate provincial politics with ease.

September 28^th ... Fight HST organizer Chris Delaney announced today he is leaving the B.C. Conservative Party, and heading to become spokesman for the new BC First Party. Delaney is a former deputy leader of the Conservatives. Reading the news this morning, I was reminded of a recent column by my colleague Stephen Hume entitled, Wondering where Delaney hops next. Well, Stephen, you can stop wondering.

Sept. 29: Labour Minister Murray Coell tells municipal leaders at their annual convention that the government is considering raising the $8-an-hour minimum wage for the first time in nine years.

Oct. 7: Cariboo North MLA Bob Simpson is expelled from the NDP caucus for publicly criticizing leader Carole James in a small local website

October 15^th ... Former solicitor general Kash Heed says he's worried the BC government is going to rubber-stamp a renewed contract with the RCMP, missing a chance to make the force more accountable in the province. Heed sits on the government's back benches after resigning his cabinet post twice last spring due to a police investigation that resulted in charges against three of his campaign workers.  The former police chief and 31-year policing veteran said Tuesday he can no longer remain silent about the talks for the new RCMP contract, saying when he was solicitor general he wanted all police agencies in BC-- including the Mounties -- governed by the same accountability rules of the BC Police Act.

Oct 15^th ... New Democratic Party president Moe Sihota is encouraging members to help organize recalls against Liberal MLAs, according to an NDP executive’s personal notes from a meeting of top party officials. The move comes after NDP leader Carole James said her party will not get involved in the campaign organized by the anti-HST movement. The Vancouver Sun obtained NDP executive member Tom Friedman's personal notes of a Sept. 21 meeting of the provincial NDP executive.

Oct 16^th ... The BC Conservative party’s annual general meeting at the University of British Columbia had a perfect scene-setter with news of the BC Liberals’ free-fall and the NDP’s internal upheaval. The other two parties’ woes put the spotlight on the BC Conservatives as the clear alternative, president Wayne McGrath told the 200 delegates. He said the growing number of new members shows British Columbian's are looking for someone other than the two parties which have been governing the province for decades.

The party’s immediate focus is on expanding its foundation, managing its growing membership and completing the development of 85 constituency associations throughout the province. A leadership convention will be held in 2011 when the party is satisfied that funding and membership is able to support a quality candidate capable of being premier once most areas of the province have local organizations, in the next year.

Oct 16^th ... Gordon Campbell's approval rating, falling for months over the harmonized sales tax, has hit "rock bottom" with only nine per cent of British Columbian's backing the premier, a poll released Friday has found. Campbell's dismal support level is the lowest recorded by any Canadian premier over the past two years, according to the Angus Reid Public Opinion survey. The poll also shows that the electorate remains uneasy with NDP leader Carole James. While her party enjoys a huge lead, with the support of nearly half of British Columbian's, the poll found her own approval rating lags far behind her party's, at 27 per cent

Oct. 18: Former ministerial aides Dave Basi and Bob Virk plead guilty to breach of trust and accepting benefits, ending a seven-year investigation and trial into the sale of BC Rail operations. The abrupt end to the trial takes place shortly before key Liberals would have given testimony.

Oct 19^th ... the potential for the BC Conservatives to strike fear into BC Liberal MLAs is very clear. Less certain but not to be discounted is the potential that BC Conservatives may have to appeal to traditional BC NDP working class voters -- especially if led by a populist like John Cummins. For any who doubt that, take a good, long look at the results of the federal election of 1993. That was the election when Reform wiped out the federal Conservative government as English Canada's right wing party and took 24 of B.C.'s 32 seats by devastating the NDP, which lost 17 of its previous 19 seats. How many B.C. seats did the Reform Party hold before that 1993 election? Exactly none, which is just as many as the BC Conservatives have today -- for now.

Oct 19^th ... Did the B.C. government agree to pick up the $6-million legal tab of two former government aides, who admitted this week to leaking confidential information, in order to avoid an embarrassing trial? That's one of many pointed questions asked Tuesday by B.C. Opposition New Democratic Party leader Carole James. "The public is asking themselves: doesn't it appear that the government is using taxpayer dollars to secure a guilty plea?" James said, pointing to the fact that Attorney-General Mike de Jong approved the arrangement well before the two men changed their plea to guilty.

Oct 21^st ...Moe Sihota solicited donations for a stipend to compensate him for his work as the provincial New Democratic Party’s president, says the head of the British Columbia Federation of Labour. The NDP says it is paying Mr. Sihota, a former cabinet minister, a stipend using a “generous, earmarked gift from the labour movement.”

Oct. 25: Premier Gordon Campbell announces a sweeping reorganization of resource ministries, two days before a televised address announcing a 15 per cent personal income tax cut for the New Year.

Oct 28^th ...Jack Peake isn’t surprised to see B.C. Conservative Party membership growing by “leaps and bounds.” “People are actually very fed up and frustrated with the form of government that exists in Victoria today,” he said. “And they’re not prepared to flip a switch and go completely in the opposite direction.” Which is fine by Peake. “In my opinion, that (Liberal - NDP tug-of-war) has not served this province well,” he explained. That’s why Lake Cowichan’s former mayor fully supports the B.C. Conservatives. Peake’s the party’s policy chairman, the regional director for Vancouver Island-North, and president of the party’s Cowichan Valley executive. Also backing the provincial Conservatives is former Cowichan Conservative MP Reed Elley.

Nov 3^rd ... Premier Gordon Campbell fell on his political sword Wednesday, expressing hope that his resignation will refocus attention on his government's economic performance and away from the hated harmonized sales tax that was his undoing. Campbell ended speculation about his future at a hastily called news conference where he announced his plans to step down after 26 years in politics, nine of them in the premier's office. "When public debate becomes focused on one person, as opposed to what's in the best interests of the province of British Columbia, we've lost sight of what is important," Campbell, his voice tinged with emotion, told reporters after emerging from a cabinet meeting.

Nov 15^th ... As the provincial Liberals and New Democrats grapple with their own policy and leadership controversies, a party that has spent the last few years on the fringe is hoping to become a force on the provincial political scene. In recent months, the B.C. Conservative Party (no affiliation with the federal Conservatives) has seen its membership grow throughout the province and in the Kamloops area. The party is now at a point where it plans to form and recognize the Kamloops - South Thompson and Kamloops - North Thompson riding associations. The right-of-centre party plans to hold constituency meetings in the next couple weeks, on the heels of a visit to Kamloops by federal Conservative MP John Cummins.

Nov. 17: Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett is fired from cabinet for criticizing Campbell and urging him to step down sooner.

Nov 19^th ... British Columbian's have witnessed political firestorms before, a lot of them. But perhaps none this spectacular, this apocalyptic; it's like a giant mushroom cloud has settled over the capital's legislative buildings. The day before accepting his "Builder of the Decade" award, Mr. Campbell scuttled his October Surprise, a 15% income tax cut. The one he announced during a rare televised address three weeks ago and that seemed intended to save his foundering leadership. It failed; British Columbian's saw it for a cynical, Hail Mary bribe.

Nov 20^th ... MP John Cummins speaks to BC Conservatives and guests at a meeting in Kamloops

Nov 22^nd ... Anti-HST protesters begin a recall petition drive targeting Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong.

Nov 26^th ... Un-noted last week amid the political confusion, British Columbian's lost a venerable institution. After a proud, 80-year history, the research branch of the Ministry of Forests and Range was disbanded. It is ironic, in the government's self-declared Year of Science, that it should dismantle such an internationally respected scientific institution. B.C. is a world leader in many areas of forest research. Our excellent reforestation record, forest genetics program, long-term growth and yield experiments, forest growth models and ecologically based bio-geoclimatic classification system were founded on sound science and are the envy of many countries.

Nov 26^th ... The last act in a nasty vendetta has finally played out. Premier Gordon Campbell's government has decided to kill B.C.'s only independent drug review agency. And not just kill it, but bury it in an unmarked grave.

Nov 29^th ... BC Conservatives in the Kamloops South Thompson and Kamloops North Thompson vote to form constituency associations

Dec 2^nd ... The two main parties in British Columbia aren’t serving the interests of the general public — but there’s another option that does, my son. That was the message put out to about 150 BC Conservative Party supporters by former Newfoundland premier Brian Peckford Tuesday night. The event, held at the Parksville Civic and Technology Centre, saw Peckford team up with former Reform Party MP Randy White as they worked to whip up enthusiasm for a third option in the riding.

Dec 6^th ... Carole James announced she is resigning as leader of the BC NDP after weeks of infighting among her MLAs.

Dec 12^th ... The BC Conservative Party is calling for changes in government accountability after it was revealed that 21 BC Ferries employees are making over $200,000 per year. “We don’t believe that crown corporations should be shielded from public scrutiny,” says Wayne McGrath, Party President.
Balancing the attraction of top talent with the protection of public funds is always a challenge for government, but the current system requires a Freedom of Information Request to obtain information on compensation and salaries. “Holding government accountable for the salaries it pays and the contracts it makes, should not be difficult. We believe in transparency,” says Keith Roy, Official Spokesperson of the BC Conservatives.

Dec 14^th ... The sorry state of the B.C. College of Teachers is a result of Liberal government policies designed to minimize conflict with the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) rather than protect the public interest, a former college registrar says. A report released last week by government fact-finder Don Avison blames the BCTF for interfering in college business, and the college for lacklustre performance as the professional regulator. But Marie Kerchum, who spent 17 years as a senior employee with the college, said significant responsibility for the college's dysfunction lies with government.

Dec 17^th ... The BC Liberal Party Provincial Executive has unanimously endorsed the use of online and phone voting for members to cast ballots for the Party’s upcoming February 26th Leadership Vote.

Dec 17^th ... Dead British Columbian's can’t vote, but they still could influence the leadership races being conducted by the B.C. Liberals and the New Democratic Party. As the contenders search for ways to set themselves apart, they need only look as far as the coroner’s service. The resignation of Dr. Diane Rothon, the chief coroner for about eight months, has raised concerns the government is eroding the office’s integrity and autonomy. B.C. needs an independent coroner’s service that is free from political interference — and we need politicians who are willing to commit to that.

The service, which is supposed to be an independent investigator of unnatural, unexplained, unattended and unexpected deaths, has had problems in recent years. Shortly after the Liberals were elected in 2001, for example, the government transferred responsibility for reviewing child deaths to the coroners service from the children’s commissioner, but did not give it enough money for the job. More than 700 child death files were forgotten in a warehouse without being reviewed.

Dec 19^th ...VICTORIA – Christy Clark could run in a by-election if she wins the B.C. Liberal leadership vote in February, but she is leaning towards an early general election instead. B.C. became the first jurisdiction in Canada to establish a four-year schedule for elections in 2001, blocking a majority government’s ability to call surprise elections for political advantage. The new premier would have to change legislation that sets the next election for the second Tuesday in May, 2013. A schedule for elections is in my view the most important democratic reform achieved in Canada in the last decade.

Dec 24^th ...The giant publicly owned utility waited until Dec. 23 to file the business plan on its $1 billion smart metering program. Smart meters: Your existing meter will be replaced with a digital version including a permanent two-way connection between your home and Hydro. Supposedly this will help conservation. You'll know more details about consumption of power in your home and be able to take advantage of off-peak rates. Like running the dryer in the middle of the night instead of when everyone in the province is making dinner.

But it will help Hydro too. No more manual meter checking. And it should be much easier to detect and catch electricity theft. Grow ops take note. So big Hydro will be watching. The business plan claims that once the smart meters are up and running, starting two years hence, they will produce benefits of $1.5 billion over the next 20 years. But you'll search through the business plan in vain for any studies to support that claim. Meanwhile we'll be paying up front through our utility bills. The full cost is estimated at $930 million, most of it for the meters, computer software, and installation.


I know there have been a great many additional stories in the world of politics in BC, so consider this just a snapshot. If you feel I missed something that should have been included, I encourage you to drop me an email and let me know.

Bye for now ... and have a Happy New Year.