Was his hiring as Chief of Staff in the interests of BC … did the bloated Premiers Office need another political appointee paid for by the taxpayers of BC?

In recent days, John Cummins, leader of the BC Conservative Party has raised a number of questions, and points of concern, regarding Christy Clark’s new soon to be Chief of Staff, Ken Boessenkool

BC Conservative Party
Leader John Cummins

While Christy Clark has publicly stated she is against using a per-capita basis for health care transfer payments, as Cummins pointed out, that very idea was championed by Ken Boessenkool.

“Ken Boessenkool championed the idea of transfer payments being allocated on a per-capita basis, the very idea his new boss is campaigning against,” said John Cummins, Leader of British Columbia’s Conservatives. “Mr. Boessenkool was a super-lobbyist with significant influence in Ottawa – so it was no surprise that the move to per-capita funding was included in the 2007 federal budget.”

A Toronto Star story in December of 2010 in the Toronto Star had the following quote from Boessenkool … “If the past is any guide, this meeting will quickly degenerate into provinces begging the federal government for more money to fund their own programs. This makes sense: Wouldn’t we all want to spend someone else’s money?”

That being the case, Cummins has rightly asked, “Does he still stand by what he wrote … has Mr. Boessenkool already lost his first battle in the Premier’s office before he has taken office, or will the Premier’s position change when he becomes Chief of Staff in February?”

What is the answer to this question? Yesterday, John Cummins asked another important question of the Premier:

"Why did Premier Clark appoint a Chief of Staff who in her words 'share[s] a lot of views in common' with Quebec separatists?  Does Premier Clark still believe that standing up for provincial rights is the same as Quebec separation? Has she discussed these views with Mr. Boessenkool … how does Mr. Boessenkool feel about his new boss lumping him in with the Bloc Quebecois?"

Again, these are important questions, and it appears only one person is asking them … the leader of the BC Conservative Party, John Cummins.

It doesn’t end there.  Today has arrived with a fresh new set of questions, this time with regards to the Northern Gateway Pipeline.

Today, a media release from the BC Conservative Party states:

Christy Clark's new Chief of Staff, super-lobbyist Ken Boessenkool, was a registered federal lobbyist for Enbridge from March 20th, 2006 to January 22nd, 2008. He was specifically lobbying for the Northern Gateway Pipeline.

This led Cummins to ask:

"The Northern Gateway pipeline is too important for allegations of conflict of interest in the Premier's office.  Mr. Boessenkool's relationship with Enbridge opens him up to accusations of conflict of interest should the province support the project. 

The only way to remove the impression of any decision being tainted is for Mr. Boessenkool to be excluded from any discussions or decisions about the Northern Gateway pipeline.  Will the Premier publicly announce that Mr. Boessenkool will not be involved in any discussions or decisions to do with the Northern Gateway?"

With the exception of Christy Clark, most people are well aware that the ONLY reason Christy Clark hired Ken Boessenkool, in the first place, was to shore up the BC Liberals on-going loss of support amongst the provinces small ‘c’ conservative voters.

It now appears this may have been a disastrous decision on her part, and one that will only increase questions being asked about her leadership abilities and skills.

Boessenkool doesn’t take up his position until mid-February; I have to ask,

“Was his hiring as Chief of Staff in the interests of BC … and did the bloated Premiers Office need to have another political appointee paid for by the taxpayers of BC?”

I’m Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts of one conservative.