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Campbell’s Hypocrisy Habit

Apr 27th, 2009 by

Speed demon John van Dongen cracking down on speeders a year ago.

Speed demon John van Dongen cracking down on speeders a year ago.

Libs’ top cop has license yanked, stays in race. Too typical.

With apologies to Walt Disney: “Who’s afraid of the big bad NDP?”

During their decade in office (from 1991 to 2001) I was their constant critic. As I was of Rita Johnston, Bill Vander Zalm and Bill Bennett (after 1981 when I left his government). As a media commentator, holding the government’s feet to the fire was my job. No one in the mainstream media does that any more and it’s left to this paper and others like it to pick up the slack. Having said that, however, this column was partly inspired by Vaughn Palmer’s April 21 column in the Vancouver Sun.

Let me first deal with what I consider the worst and most frequently committed of all political sins — hypocrisy.

Time to park van Dongen

Solicitor-General John van Dongen has his license suspended. This is the same van Dongen who was fired out of cabinet for warning fish farmers when the inspectors were coming. He pays no forfeit and stays in cabinet even after waiting for a week to tell the premier that he, the top cop in the province, has a massive load of trouble with the cops.

Yet 22-year-old Ray Lam, running for the NDP, has a picture on Facebook of himself clutching at the comely breast of a comely female, which had the Liberals baying for blood, which they got. But who hasn’t got, in their mind’s eye, that picture of an obviously pissed Gordon Campbell showing him in the Honolulu clink! A picture that was displayed right around the country bringing shame to us all?

I offer no criticism of the behaviour of any of them on the basis of “there but the grace of God, etc.,” but surely if Lam had to lose his nomination, van Dongen must be fired and Gordon Campbell ought to have resigned thus saving us all a lot of grief. I guess when the stakes are high and you’re the boss, hypocrisy is a legitimate tool. Continue Reading »

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Posted in The Tyee | 3 Comments »

Anger the Polls Don’t Yet Catch

Apr 20th, 2009 by

Governator and premier: Why heat California's pools?

Governator and premier: Why heat California's pools?


Three issues gaining traction as the campaigns unfold

Picking political winners in British Columbia is a mug’s game. Going back to 1972, the NDP won a landslide victory with just 39 per cent of the popular vote. In 1975, it lost to a Socred landslide even though it still had 39 per cent of the vote. In 1996, the NDP won even though more voters picked the Liberals. This is a manifestation of the first-past-the-post system and a damned good reason to support STV in the May 12 referendum. At this writing, the Green party is at 15 per cent in the polls. They won’t stay there because the race will get down to the two main parties. If, however, the Greens had supported STV in 2005, STV would have passed and they would be looking at a pretty decent number of seats.

Why shouldn’t those people who support the Greens have representation in the legislature? That by their actions, or lack of them, in 2005 they cooked their own goose is true but that doesn’t alter the fact that the composition of the legislature should reflect the wishes of the public.

This election’s three biggies

As I see it, the election on May 12 boils down to three issues, in no particular order.

1. The perception, indeed reality, of arrogance in the person of Gordon Campbell. On environmental matters, which I’ll come to, he has been callous and insulting. The sleaze factor, now coming more and more in focus as part of the hubris of the Campbell government and its leader, increases by the day. The Basi-Virk case and the government stonewalling and the revelations of double dipping by Ken Dobell and, especially, Patrick Kinsella, show a distinct “up yours” attitude.

2. The economy is a huge issue. While axing the gasoline tax may be a good plan for the NDP, the government were waiting for Ms James’ announcement and had the government environmental poodle, Dr. Mark Jaccard, with an instant (so it was meant to appear) financial opinion that this move would cause the deficits in the years to come to increase dramatically.

What seems to me interesting is that the Liberals, during the NDP tenure, would not cut them any slack because of the Asian meltdown. “No excuses!” was Campbell’s cry. For older folks, it might be reminiscent of Albert Alligator in the wonderfully satiric comic strip Pogo. Albert, after arranging for the swamp’s picnic, took credit for the good weather. When Pogo said he couldn’t do that, Albert said, “Why not? It happened during my administration, didn’t it?” If that principle is to prevail here, Campbell must take blame for the recession. Continue Reading »

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Hey Gordo, What’s Going on Here?

Apr 14th, 2009 by

Now silent on BC Rail deal, Campbell boasted of it in 2003.

Now silent on BC Rail deal, Campbell boasted of it in 2003.


For Premier Campbell, unsavoury questions pile up.

As I write this, I’m coming to the end of a long road trip where I’ve been speaking to groups about the Campbell government’s energy policy, which bids fair to permanently lay waste to 600 to 700 of our rivers and streams in this wonderful province of ours.

In fact, tomorrow evening I will do my seventh speech in six days, 10 in the past two weeks. During those days, I’ve had time to reflect on just what makes this premier such a destroyer of our unique environment.

When Gordon Campbell was leader of the opposition, I was up to my eyeballs fighting Alcan over Kemano II, or as they preferred to call it, the Kemano Completion Project. He wanted to know more about this matter so he came to my radio studio and looked at my material. He was with me for half a day whereupon he pronounced himself opposed.

Some time afterwards I asked him what had made him take that position and he related to me that he had seen a billboard showing sockeye salmon going into the Adams River to spawn and he didn’t want his kids deprived of this wonder. I was impressed.

It surprised me when he became premier and almost immediately took the moratorium off Atlantic salmon fish farms.

Questions about our salmon

The issue at that time was the huge escapements of farmed salmon and the question was whether or not they might establish themselves in our rivers and streams. The premier was deaf to the entreaties of many of us who asked that he bring back the moratorium and apply the “precautionary principle” before anything further was done. Taking him at his word, I assumed that he cared for our environment. Continue Reading »

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River Privatization Just Produces Power That We Don’t Need

Apr 11th, 2009 by

As I make my way around the province I find the following the greatest area of misunderstanding (a misunderstanding fostered and encouraged by the government and the private river people) to be that private power will help take care of BC’s energy needs.

When lawyers see a statement like “fish live in water therefore I must visit the North Pole” they call it a non sequitur; literally “it does not follow”.

The Campbell government and the power producers have a pronounced a classic non sequitur in the private power debate. They say “British Columbia needs or will need power therefore we must have private ‘run of river’ projects.”

Remember that electricity in bulk cannot be stored and must be used as it is created. BC Hydro “stores” electricity by creating a reservoir behind its dams which can be used to turn their generators. For all intents and purposes, private river plants do not have the ability to store significant amounts of water. In fact they boast of the fact that they don’t create reservoirs. They must, then, rely upon the quantity of the river flow. The amount of energy produced by private power must come from the Spring run-off; when the height of the river drops, as it does after run-off, little if any electricity can be created.

It does not, then, follow that if we need power we can use private river projects because the vast majority of power created by private projects comes at the same time BC Hydro’s reservoirs are full thus have no use for private river power.

In short, the only use for private power is export which is what Donald McInnis, CEO of the Plutonic/General Electric partnership freely admits. Continue Reading »

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Posted in Save Our Rivers | 2 Comments »

Our soulless government

Apr 6th, 2009 by

Are we prepared to sacrifice our fish and water?

Are we prepared to sacrifice our fish and water?

What I predicted some years ago to then Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister John Van Dongen has come to pass – the environment, quite apart from global warming, has become an election issue – big time. When I spoke to this spiritually challenged minister in a spiritually challenged government – I’ll explain the phrase a little later – I was talking only about fish farming and this was before the sainted Alexandra Morton began her investigations into the death of hundreds of thousands of Pink and Chum salmon smolts from sea lice from fish farms. At the time of the interview with Mr. Van Dongen the big issue with fish farms was escaping Atlantic salmon getting into our rivers and disturbing the spawning redds and even beginning to establish themselves. That problem remains but the more serious question is the sea lice.

The Campbell government’s handling of this issue has been appalling. Ms Morton presented compelling evidence piled upon more compelling evidence and the government paid attention only to brush aside her findings and those of one fisheries biologist after another. Indeed the autocrat Campbell would simply say “all the science is on our side”. On it would go – scientific paper after scientific paper hammered the point home. Indeed as Professor John Volpe of the University of Victoria said, “the scientific arguments are over”. A legislative committee went around the province and confirmed the scientific findings. Then the “autocrat” appointed former federal fisheries minister and one time Speaker of the House of Commons, John Fraser, to head up a committee containing fish farm supporters and even they confirmed the evidence. While this was all going on, the Campbell government kept handing out more licenses and giving expanded licenses to existing farmers.

The arrogant “up yours” from the government has displayed a hubris which has become obvious to people who had never paid much attention to fisheries issues. It’s become such an issue that even the Campbell loving CanWest empire can no longer ignore it although they’re doing all they can to tamp it down.

Now we have the huge private power issue. The government and industry call it “run of river” which it is not. “Run of river” means that the flow of the river involved is not interfered with – like the “old mill stream” in song. These projects divert rivers for up to 20 KMs and do enormous permanent environmental harm. I’ve written and spoken a great deal about these issues but today I want to simply deal with the issue which should put paid to the entire matter. Continue Reading »

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The Big Lie About the Need For Power

Apr 1st, 2009 by

As I write this it’s one down, 6 to go on my 7 speeches in 7 days tour. It is my intention to speak in every corner of the province against the privatizing of our power.

Since I began this fight I’ve been wondering what argument the government was going to put up it being impossible for me to see anything to be said for this energy plan.

Forgive me if I go over some old ground today but as the government’s spin is now becoming clearer I think it’s time to put some things in perspective.

First, let me say that Save Our Rivers Society is opposed to any privatization of power. We have been well served by BC Hydro since the late 60s and we’d be damned fools to let it go.

Second, here’s what the government story is. We need power they tell us and quote statistics to demonstrate this. They use BC Hydro figures to demonstrate this but that does not include the 12% of power that comes from other sources such as Alcan, Teck Cominco, Fortis and the like. The National Energy Board, an independent body which issues the export permits, has BC a net exporter of most years.

At the meeting in Squamish was a man with an interest in private river power and his mantra was “we need power therefore we must encourage private river power. He spent much of his questioning stating and demonstrating the need for more power, especially into the future.

I confronted him with this fatal argument.

“Sir”, I said, “even if we did need power – indeed let’s say for sake of argument we need it badly – Private power would be the very last place we would look to got help because private river power can only produce power during the Spring run-off when BC Hydro’s reservoirs are full.” Continue Reading »

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Goodbye Gag Law

Mar 30th, 2009 by

Protest ad by National Union of Public and Government Employees

Protest ad by National Union of Public and Government Employees

Good riddance to Campbell’s clamp down on free speech

On Friday the Supreme Court shot down the Campbell government’s “gag law” amendment to the B.C. Elections Act.

That’s great news. But it’s not clear the judgment comes in time to salvage free speech during this provincial election.

And for me, an important question remains.

Where has the news media been? It’s been months since the BC Liberals passed their law and tried to get away with muffling democracy. But most of our journalists didn’t seem to care much. By their lack of outrage, the media risked becoming an accessory to the crime of censorship.

Here’s what the Bill 42 “gag law” has meant as I’ve attempted to exercise my right to express opposition to government policies in this province.

In my capacity as official spokesperson for the Save Our Rivers Society, I’ve been warned not to address the meetings of just one party or I will have lost my appearance of being independent. Think on that a moment — my right to say what I damn well want is taken away unless I am, by someone else’s opinion, “independent”. Apparently I’m not appearing to be independent if I speak my own mind — it’s where I speak it that matters!

Implicit in this is that you people out there in voter land are so bluddy dumb that Rafe Mair, like some latter-day Pied Piper, can mesmerize you and take you to the polls where you’ll vote as I wish you to.

The ‘gag law’s’ targets

This “gag law” is an atrocious piece of legislation and it’s aimed at people like me who take on one main issue, in my case the environment. It’s trained on unions who may well wish to fight the war on education issues. Presumably, if a war was in the offing, no anti-war group, or pro war group for that matter, could fight an election on that issue except by paying a fine or going to jail! Continue Reading »

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Spare us from Gullible Gord

Mar 23rd, 2009 by

He’s star struck by big biz beyond BC’s borders.

Cambie Street merchants Susan Heyes (left) and Abby Palmer. Photo: Evalu8.org.

Cambie Street merchants Susan Heyes (left) and Abby Palmer. Photo: Evalu8.org.

I’ve finally figured it out. The Campbell government consists of incompetent, blundering fools with frozen smiles and expensive suits.

It’s worse, really, because that incompetence is combined with thoughtlessness, arrogance and hubris — a fatal mix.

Let’s start with the latest. The merchants of Cambie Street, led by Susan Heyes, are suing the government for loss of business during the time when Cambie Street was inaccessible because of construction of the Canada Line.

Campbell’s transportation minister, Kevin Falcon, has hidden (no doubt on orders from above) behind legislative immunity, a medieval concept designed to keep the King from getting at MPs. In this case it’s to protect the minister from giving evidence about the Canada Line’s horrible impact on so many businesses. He would be sworn to tell the truth.

You can be sure that Premier Campbell made this decision out of fear: fear that Heyes might get justice, thus compensation, because of the government’s heartless blunder. If it’s a fact (as former MLA and finance minister Carole Taylor said in her testimony) that the government had no power over the RAV (Canada Line) construction, there’s no reason for Falcon to be afraid of testifying. One is entitled to infer, then, that Falcon and Campbell might have something to hide.

Piling up blunders

Falcon is also the man who refused to build a tunnel at Horseshoe Bay instead of ruining a sensitive environmental area.

The Campbell government built transmission lines, after refusing to adequately bury them, over a neighborhood and a school in Tsawwassen then refused to listen to the residents who felt that electricity from the wires would put their children at risk. Having built the lines, Campbell looked at the polls in a safe riding and didn’t like what he saw. He offered to buy out the houses involved, thus implying that these transmission lines are indeed potentially dangerous. Then the premier offers these potentially dangerous houses to other people.

The Campbell government blundered into public/private partnerships (P3s) failing to understand that rather than spreading the risk, it doubled it since the private company could go broke while the government couldn’t. Thus the Campbell government, in one case, lent the private contractor enough money to pay back the money they owed the government on the P3 deal!

The government — as usual without any public input — pledges to spend a billion dollars upgrading the Deltaport facility just as the Panama Canal is doubling its capacity and the Northwest Passage is opening to cargo ships.

The Campbell government is building the South Fraser Perimeter Road, thus substantially increasing pollution while creating serious environmental damage, loss of farmland and interference with the abundant wildlife. Continue Reading »

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Welcome to my new website

Mar 20th, 2009 by

Many of you will know that I’m the official spokesperson for the Save Our Rivers Society and I urge you to visit our website a www.saveourrivers.ca and look particularly at the Powerplay series by our brilliant film maker, Damien Gillis.

My task will take me all over the province laying out the terrible policy of this government, a policy that has no redeeming feature whatsoever.

I realize that my support of the NDP has been a shock to some and I want to address this in a few words.

When I was a cabinet minister in 1975-80 I was able to pass more consumer legislation than ever had been done before or since. I forced Canada’s banks to obey BC law, forced the Vancouver Stock Exchange to meet much stricter standards, brought in legislation to bring home travelers stranded by charter flights, licenced Car dealers (with 6 Car dealers in my caucus, three of them in cabinet) and was responsible for starting the wine industry in the Okanagan which has proved so successful. While Environment Minister I stopped government killing of wolves (which was hated by my ranching colleagues) placed a moratorium on exploration and mining of uranium (which exists today) and went to Seattle and made a settlement with Seattle Light and Power where they gave up their rights (under an agreement with the BC government in 1941) and stopped the raising of the Ross Dam on the American side of the border which would have flooded our side making a big lake where we had, and now still have, a beautiful drifting, canoeing, flyfishing stream. As Minister of Health I brought in palliative care and home care. Continue Reading »

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Manufacturing Need: How Campbell’s Funny Arithmetic Makes a False Case for Private River Power

Mar 17th, 2009 by

Over the next few weeks I’m going to break down our message into its component parts. I do this because on every possible ground the government and the private power people are dead wrong and, to save a lawsuit, are telling, in Churchill’s words, bushels of terminological inexactitudes.

Today let’s talk about BC’s need for power and, if we need it, how it can be obtained.

It seems to me that the old maxim I learned in Law School prevails: “He who alleges has the onus of proof.” That would be the Campbell government. It seems to me that they rest their case on two arguments. Rather than putting forth a white paper with their research and holding public meetings where we, the ignorant rabble can have our say, the reasons given by the Campbell government are these:

1. The public wants more computers and plasma TVs so we must have more power. (You might note the absence of any science in that assertion!)

2. BC Hydro, our public power utility, is a net importer of energy and have been for 7 of the last 10 years. It appears this is nothing more than legalistic trickery: they are very careful to say “BC Hydro,” as opposed to the province of British Columbia (and then strip away what they consider as power trading directly under Hydro until they are left with numbers that suit their purposes). Which explains why the most reliable figures we have – on BC, our public power province – tell a very different story. I ask you this question: which would you prefer, the figures of a government that is deeply committed to private power (BC Hydro, as a crown corporation, is under the thumb of the Campbell Government – and therefore under tremendous duress to back up the government’s private power policy), or the National Energy Board, which monitors all sales of energy abroad and which says that BC has been a net exporter of energy for 8 of the last 11 years? (Stats BC’s numbers also suggest we are typically net exporters of power.) Continue Reading »

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Posted in Save Our Rivers | 6 Comments »

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