CKNW Editorial
for October 7, 1999

The cancelled Convention Center situation is quite possibly the worst of the worst of this government in Victoria. At least with the millions we spent on the fast ferries we do wind up with some boats, however inadequate and over priced they may be.

The beginning of this story is, if memory serves me correctly, 1978 or 9 when Hugh Curtis, then a senior minister in the Bill Bennett government presented cabinet, of which I was a member, with the possibility of an Exposition to be called Transpo. Through a series of events this became Expo 86, something opposed by the socialists especially Mike Harcourt, with a passion. The socialists have since, through some clumsy attempts to re-write history ...because it was so successful ... tried very hard to pretend that they were for it all along but facts are facts. Harcourt as Mayor of

Vancouver is on written record as opposing it.

The Provincial government of the day with considerable courage and skill got the federal government onside as well as the local business community and they did it big time.

While all this was going on there were lots of stresses and strains between the provincial and federal governments. I know ... because until 1981 I was there and in the midst of some very acrimonious exchanges. But never, ever did either the provincial government nor I must say the federal government lose sight of the fact that they each served the same voter. Sometimes this was tough especially since at the same time Expo '86, as Transpo had become, was going on Premier Bennett was in sharp and deep disagreement with Prime Minister Trudeau on the Patriation exercise. In fact, Bill Bennett was, for a time, Chairman of the Premiers at the very time all but Ontario and New Brunswick were fighting Trudeau tooth and nail and were dubbed by the media as the "gang of eight." No one could ever accuse Bill Bennett or members of his government of not standing up to Ottawa for British Columbia.

Yet, through all these very serious and often bitter moments Bennett and his ministers were able to convince the Federal Liberals through the good offices of Senators Ray Perrault and Jack Austin that Expo '86 deserved a huge contribution from the feds and that contribution came. It came also at a time, I might add, when the Liberals had no MPs from British Columbia and, as long as Trudeau was around, no prospect of any.

This Bill Bennett tradition went back to his father's time. W.A.C. Bennett was always sideways with the federal government yet got through the Columbia River Treaty exactly as he wanted it despite the fact that treaties fall under federal jurisdiction. This prompted then Prime Minister Pearson to remark to President Lyndon Johnson that while he, Pearson, was prime Minister of Canada, Mr Bennett was master of all he surveyed.

Contrast this to the actions of the present government in Victoria none of whom can escape responsibility for what has happened. Glen Clark simply did not know how the Canadian game was played. In fairness, his Minister of Inter-Governmental Affairs Andrew Petter did, but in important matters he was obviously overruled. When, over two years ago, Glen Clark used the Nanoose Bay testing site as a bargaining chip to bring the feds to the bargaining table for the fisheries issue it worked. And it was a classic WAC Bennett ploy. But smart premiers do not over play their hands and Clark did, reviving the same ploy a couple of years later. The feds can stand having their nose brought close to the stinky stuff but you can't rub their noses in it. Clark didn't understand this. He should have paid more attention to how his idol, Bennett senior, handled things. Now it is all screwed up. David Anderson quite correctly observes that is he tried to bring the convention center back to cabinet he would be laughed out of the room. It will take considerable skill to get this critical venture back on the table.

Why is it so critical? Well, that's why I dwelt on Expo 86. That fair

succeeded beyond our wildest dreams and the need for a new convention center is, in a direct line, the consequence of that success. We need it because the vision of Bill Bennett paid off so handsomely. All one need do is look at what has happened to BC since BC Harbour Place and the Convention Center were built ... those docks are not filled with cruise ships because people happened to look under the V in a travelogue ... It all came about because we successfully sold ourselves to the world.

This now must be put back on track. Relations must be re-established with Ottawa which scarcely means that Victoria must kiss Ottawa's backside ... what it must do is re learn that you can fight your fight without causing such potential loss of face that all areas of communication dry up.

We have, thanks to the butchery of Glen Clark, a very big task ahead. It might do Premier Miller and all aspirants to power in BC a lot of good to look back and see how other governments have conducted active, often unpleasant relations with Ottawa without so poisoning relations that all intelligent discourse dies.

The convention center must be built and to see that done, some crow and humble pie will have to be publicly and privately consumed by BC politicians. The sooner this starts, the better for all of us.