BC POLITICS … the week of March 13th

This week we got a new cabinet (the old are out, but some stay in) … Lekstrom is back (but where’s Bill Bennett) … Campbell resigns seat (where will Christy run) … John Cummins to resign as MP (will he be back as MLA).  EXTRA EXTRA … all this and more is coming up, so read all about it!

Gordon Campbell's Revenge? How Campbell came to Colin Hansen's rescue - Christy Clark at risk

… as of this evening, new Premier Christy Clark, who lacks a seat in the BC Legislature, has not announced she is running to replace Campbell as his old riding's MLA. Why …

Cummins looks to step up his role with BC Conservatives
Retiring Tory MP John Cummins says his departure from Ottawa will allow him to step up his role in the BC Conservative Party – and hopefully break up the coalition of the right under the governing Liberals. The only question, the Delta-Richmond East MP …

BC Politics … week of Feb 13th, 2011

Well this week we saw three candidates (2 Liberal and one NDP) drop out of the races to lead their parties … a Throne Speech and Budget delivered that mean nothing as a new premier will be elected next weekend by the BC Liberals … more on Basi Virk / BC Rail and a multitude of other stories. 

As usual, I have tried to stick with one perhaps you may have missed, or that offer another side or viewpoint.  Regardless, take a minute to click the link in each headline and read on for the political stories that made the news this week in BC.

MLAs back after 256-day break -for four days
BC politicians return to work at the legislature Monday for a bizarre one week session that includes a …

Liberal Leadership Debates, and soon the NDP

What if one of the provinces largest political parties held leadership debates and the majority of British Columbian's said, “Who Cares”? 

So far there have been three opportunities for Liberal leadership candidates to have a ‘real’ debate (Vancouver, Kamloops, Prince George), and to show us why they should replace Gordon Campbell as leader of the BC Liberal Party, and by extension premier of the province.  The result unfortunately has indeed been a chorus of “who cares”.  

With the top political job on the line, one would think British Columbian's would be far more interested in these debates; however they have become largely non-events.  Non-events because none of the candidates has presented any ideas to electrify us – it’s been one boring pillow fight actually. 

It’s not just the candidates who are to blame though as the Liberal party has ensured that any real discussion of ideas is stifled, so as to avoid controversy.  That leaves voters desperately looking for a leader that will step forward with ideas to show they are actually committed to representing us -- and being accountable to us.

This Week in BC Politics

It’s the weekend, and I'm off to Vancouver at 4:30 Saturday morning to attend a meeting of the BC Conservative Party … sure hope the rest of you got to sleep in.  As always, another interesting week in BC politics, including this first letter / comment from the Williams Lake Tribune, written by Independent MLA Bob Simpson:

Your next premier is brought to you by …
Recent events in BC should give us pause to consider if it's now past time we put a stop to the influence corporations have on our political process by ...

Also this week we saw the resignation of Alberta Premier Stelmach, and you will find a story on that further below.  So read on and refresh your self on some of the stories that made the news this week.  Just click on the title to go to the full story:

Plenty left for both leaderships
... it's going to be fascinating to watch …..  

Harry Lali ... 'the establishment' ... and 'Older White Males'

Since news broke of the ridiculous situation the NDP find themselves in (at least 1 of the 3 main party positions must be filed by a woman), many have been outspoken about how “un-democratic” the New Democratic Party is.

Again, one of the following 3 positions must be filled by a woman … the Treasurer, President, or Party Leader, and since Carole James resignation, that leaves only the leaders position available – and no woman stepping forward to date declaring they are in the running.

So what do we have?  Equity Quotas … Gender Rules … Reverse Discrimination

Joining the chorus in the past several days, and again yesterday in announcing his candidacy to the leadership of the NDP, longtime member Harry Lali has all of a sudden discovered this clause in their constitution.  As he has been an MLA now for 20 years, I have to wonder how he missed this important point.