Two very important and apparently unrelated evens occurred last week.
On Friday, the Vancouver Province, after years of supporting the Campbell’s environment/energy policy, called it “folly.”
On Saturday the Liberals elected Christy Clark as their new leader cum premier.
What connects these events?
Patience, my children, patience.
Ms. Clark’s selection was scarcely a coming together of all the crew. In fact it left her taking over with one MLA – none of the cabinet – supporting her. This is what happened nearly 25 years ago to Bill Vander Zalm, who took over a caucus with just one member, The Honourable Jack Davis on side. Two senior ministers, Grace McCarthy and Brian Smith fought for the nomination and they were the first to pull out of the cabinet as Vander Zalm’s caucus and cabinet had no confidence in him.
There is another major problem Ms Clark must face – a resurgent Conservative Party who will, if they mount a decent campaign, hurt the Liberals by taking away votes from them. They will also have a destabilizing effect on the right wing members of Caucus.
Now for the energy/environment issue, something none of the leadership wanted to debate and were encouraged to stonewall by lack of questions from the media.
Two potential NDP leadership candidates, Mike Farnworth and John Horgan, have issued carefully prepared energy platforms. The secret contracts bêtween BC Hydro and the Independent Power producers (IPPs) would be opened by these two leadership hopefuls and the program itself discontinued.
This puts the cat amongst the pigeons because the bankruptcy of BC Hydro is a certainty. No company, not even a Crown Corporation, can live with the option of selling its product at ½ what they paid for it or use it themselves at 12 times what it they produce it for themselves.
Ms. Clark is facing a huge issue here and it’s one of those non divisive issues where there is no middle ground. Ms. Clark can’t propose that BC Hydro go a little bit broke and that IPPs can only destroy rivers ½ as much that they do now.
The editorial in The Province is laudable to this degree – they called the energy policy for what it is – folly. It seems to me that from now on it will be difficult for former Canwest papers to support the government on this issue, even a teensy bit, having once crossed the line.
What will the Common Sense Canadian do?
We will continue to reach out to all British Columbians with this website – thecanadian.org – and public hearings all around the province.
Long before Ms. Clark’s selection we have blocked our tour which includes Damien Gillis’ documentaries with me doing the speaking. We will be coming to a place near you and you will be able to hear all about what the Province calls “folly”.
As we’ve said before, this s not an issue of left v right but right from wrong. Whether as part of Save Our Rivers Society in the past or now as the Common Sense Canadian, Damien and I have battered away at this most noxious of policies. We will do all we can to give the public around our great Province that which they have been denied – a voice.
A word of caution – because of lack of funding we will, from time to time, share expenses with others who roughly take the same tack as we do.
Neither Damien or I are NDP members – we supported the NDP in 2009 because we saw as the overriding issue to be despoiling rivers and breaking BC Hydro. In a nutshell, we support integrity of our rivers and public power. In 2013 or earlier, we will support the party which feels as we do about our environment and public power.
All we ask is that you hear us out as we take our message around the province so that you will have that opportunity.
