CKNW Editorial
for July 27, 2001

Judging from my recent mail, several things have happened.

For one I’ve become an NDP sympathizer, an out and out member of the NDP or even a member of the Communist party. For another, I have few if any listeners left and those I have will soon be gone. In fact, reading my mail has become great fun as I see the white hot anger lined up behind the abuse I’m getting.

On another level, though, I can’t help wondering what kind of society I’m living in that can get that worked up about two MLAs who, because they are the second largest party in the Legislature, want Official Opposition status.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen one non sequitur play out so long. Because, it is said, the NDP were such a lousy government, ruined the province, etc etc etc, they should be deprived of what is constitutionally theirs, opposition status. People are quite unwilling to listen to any argument that would give Ms McPhail and Ms Kwan more research money somehow convinced that this money would be NDP money.

Let me tell you that have never been there, why oppositions need considerable money for research. There are something in the order of 20 basic ministries, taking away the Ministers of State and the oddball ministries. Each one of these ministries spends an enormous amount of tax revenue. When you have a decent sized opposition, each ministry has an opposition critic to keep tabs on the minister, his legislation, and the expenditures in his ministry. At that, a great deal of outside help is needed so that when the Minister presents legislation or his budget to MLAs in Committee, it can be properly scrutinized. For two people to do this without plenty of help is an impossibility.

Who loses when the opposition is underfunded?

Judging by my mail, it’s the NDP. In fact, it is we the people who suffer.

The next budget will be something in the order of ten billion dollars. It will be prepared by the government and presented to the Legislature for approval. It will then go to Committee as what we call estimates where, line by line, it will be voted upon. Under the very best of circumstances, it is arduous work by an opposition critic with research help to do a decent job in these estimates. For one thing you must be fully versed in what makes up that ministry so you can understand what the figures mean. For two people to handle the lot is impossible. It means that for Ms McPhail and Ms Kwan to examine the next budget line by line they must know all these ministries, including very complicated ones, thoroughly and to gain that knowledge with a minimum of help. Simply cannot be done so most of the budget will pass without scrutiny.

Contrary to what many think, Legislation is not always brought into the House in leisurely fashion so that all MLAs can scrutinize it and understand it. Even if it is, the quantity of legislation facing the two New Democrats will simply be too much to handle.

Why do I say that we the people suffer because of lack of well financed opposition?

Because it is demonstrably true. Opposition’s great task is to expose all government initiatives to the full glare of public inspection. You and I aren’t going to read all those estimates books and all the legislation – that’s the opposition’s job.

Can it really be a widespread view that the Liberals are endowed with some special variety of smarts that makes them incapable of mistakes? Of Arrogance? Of Wrong-headedness? Have we so much faith in this government that we will accept, uncritically, everything they put forward?

Upon what historical principle do we base this unbounded optimism?

What I gather from my mail is that it’s not that writers don’t want opposition, it’s this particular variety they don’t want. If I’m right in that, we have reached a very dangerous area, for we will now be saying that it doesn’t matter how elections turn out, the majority can deprive the minority of some or all of their prerogatives if they don’t like them very much. To me, this is an extraordinary position to take and if one does take it, one should go further.

Ms McPhail and Ms Kwan should be deprived of their right to sit on Legislative Committees. After all, if on those committees, they might ask awkward questions of government members. The Speaker has agreed to offer the NDP the first two questions in Question Period. Why? If the NDP are to be denied their status why not keep them out of Question Period as well, unless somewhere down the line the Speaker thinks he’d like to hear them? Come to think of it, why not deny them the right to speak at all?

About ¼ of our fellow citizens voted for the NDP in spite of their appalling record. In total, 42% voted against the Liberals in a highly polarized vote. That is a very large minority who, given the stark choice of Gordon Campbell and the Liberals or not, chose not. It may well be that they would have preferred others to do the opposing but Ms McPhail and Ms Kwan are all they have - and they are entitled to a full opposition. We are, judging from my mail, to have them without a voice in the Legislature or at any rate a muted voice.

Have any of you who feel that way any idea what this new House will look like? Two questions in Question Period from the Opposition with the rest being pre-arranged puff balls thrown by Liberal Backbenchers to their cabinet. In fact, Liberal caucus meetings will be largely concerned with making up soft pitches from the backbench to the front bench. Estimates will probably result in the two NDPs concentrating their efforts on one or two ministries with the rest passing without scrutiny.

There will be no opposition to legislation that counts for anything.

If I am left with the choice of Campbell poodle Speaker Richmond’s view of the world which calls for mean-spiritedness and revenge, and that of Churchill who said in victory, magnanimity, I’ll take Churchill … not just because it’s morally right but because it’s right, period.

This not all without its wry humour. Here am I being accused of NDP sympathies when I gave up a good law practice and a successful business to run, twice, against the NDP – something my name-calling tormentors haven’t done.

As I said the other morning – while I hate to lose a single listener I don’t give the slightest thought to pleasing listeners when giving my opinions. The day I started caring about that is the day I should quit.

As I get launched into the next four years of watching government in action I’m consoled to note that if I am a NDP sympathizer on the basis of my support for the constitutional right of the NDP to Official Opposition status, I’m joined by other very obvious supporters of the NDP like Vaughn Palmer, Mike Smyth and Norman Spector.

Some listeners, I say advisedly, could do with a little growing up.