The Written Word
for March 18, 2001

What would you tell visitors from Mars who wanted to know the political situation in British Columbia?

The B.C. Liberals’ big worry in the forthcoming election campaign is that an issue might rear its ugly head. Voters, to a person it seems, simply want the earliest possible chance to throw the NDP out on its ear after nine years of nightmarish mismanagement and an only barely believable penchant for "own goals" – about one of which more in a moment. To give you an idea of the mood, Mark Milke, of the far right Canadian Taxpayers Federation, has self published a scarcely even-handed look at NDP called Barbarians In The Garden City which for 8 weeks has topped the BC best seller list.

Gather round, children, and Old Uncle Rafe will tell you a story you won’t believe. Back in the 1970s there was a serious beetle infestation in a large tract of timber in central B.C. Carrier Lumber, to bail out the government, proposing a unique method of movable sawmills, offered to log the area. The government was delighted to oblige. Enter the NDP and Mike Harcourt with their conscience stricken passion to do anything to pacify our native brethren. Without notice to Carrier, Harcourt and two senior ministers verbally promised three Indian bands that no more timber would be cut on this licence without consent of the bands, an arrangement confirmed by Forests Minister, later Premier, Dan Miller, a week later. (All four NDP premiers got into this one, folks.) The government, as the trial judge found, then set about to put after the fact barriers in the way of Carrier and eventually cancelled their licenses. Carrier sued, and won a huge judgment in August 1999 – so contemptuous was the judge of the government’s case that he ordered punitive damages to be assessed. (The total damages could be well over $150 million.)

The NDP faced a problem. This was a very bad case to have bouncing around in an election campaign so then Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh, without, he says, having read the case, advised an appeal which surely would keep the matter under wraps until the next election was safely past.

Ah, the best laid schemes etc. Premier Glen Clark was forced to resign, new premier Dosanjh dithered in calling an election and that damned Carrier case reached the Court of Appeal. Still, the appeal could take six months – maybe all would be well. Then whoopsy-daisy! (I told you this stretches credulity even for B.C.) the government found that it had "forgotten" to disclose some 46 boxes of documents to the plaintiff. The appeal had to be abandoned with all four NDP premiers and two senior cabinet ministers up to their sweat beaded brows in the mess. What to do?

Of course! Hold an enquiry so it can be claimed that it would be unfair to talk about the matter during the campaign. And who better but recently retired B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bryan Williams. The appointment was duly announced.

Problem. Mr Williams, when a lawyer, had acted for one of the native bands involved. He had also been appointed by the NDP to lose the watershed Delgamuukw case in the Appeal Courts and let the Indians win. He had, to put it charitably, the appearance of a hefty conflict of interest. To make matters worse, Williams, who was away when the announcement of his appointment was made, returned to deny that he’d accepted the commission whereupon Premier Dosanjh had to admit – lamely is not strong enough – that yes indeed Mr Williams might just not be the man for the job. For a government at less than 20% in the polls, forced into an election, the stench of the Carrier case will unquestionably permeate the entire campaign.

Can anything go wrong for the Liberals?

Yes. An issue could crop up. Old pol Patrick Kinsella is in charge of the Liberal campaign and if there’s one thing old pols hate, it’s an election without an issue. But this one will take patience. The NDP from start to finish have demolished the economy, blown half a billion on fast ferries that won’t work and, most surprisingly, have allowed the social ministries to deteriorate to the point that they had to go outside the Legislature for a Minister of Children and Families. That and more plus Carrier Lumber.

The public, focussed on throwing the rascals out, needs no distractions. Into this situation it would be most unwise of the incoming rascals to inject anything that looks remotely like an issue.