I could not believe what I was reading this morning in a piece written by Jonathan Fowlie regarding the dismissal of Ken Boessenkool.
Tonight Vaughn Palmer follows that up with an excellent column of hos own describing the premier as amateurish and sneaky.
These are not exactly the qualities the voting public wants in a premier especially with the upcoming debate over the Enbridge pipeline.
It’s not exactly the confidence builder the folks who just left the BC Liberal get pumped from the election convention want to read about either.
It is basic human resources cover your ass stuff to have documented files from everybody that saw,knows and talked about the type of complaint lodged against Mr. Boessenkool.
In fact most companies I have worked for document files on 3 month junior employees just in case.
The type of complaint leveled against Boessenkool, senior employee, is not only documented but referred to legal counsel before anybody gets disciplined let alone canned.
I have been listening to discussions a lot lately about what issue or issues the BC 2013 election will be fought over.
One pundit says the economy ( I guess that’s fashionable since James Carville coined the phrase ‘it’s the Economy Stupid!”),another says the election will be fought over BC Rail,another says it will be all about getting rid of the BC Liberals.
Some people even say that this election will revolve around the environment or post secondary education.
What about fracking?
One thing they all seem to agree on is that the government should be framing the ballot box issue.
In truth and in fact they are all wrong.
These are not issues they are files within a mandate.
Elections are about Leadership!
You don’t vote on the economy you vote on who best to lead you through a rough patch or who to lead and manage a good economy.
BC Rail? You are not voting on that, you are voting on who best to lead the legislature to make sure that never happens again?
The environment? Post secondary education? Those are not issues; the issue is who best to lead the province in the right direction and manage those two files.
The pipeline? Just another file. You vote on who best to handle the file.
The Government frames the issue right?
They should be. Gordon Campbell ( no matter what you think of him) was very good at framing the leadership issue. He won three elections. He also left when he realised he could no longer frame this as his issue.
Today the government is no longer setting the pace on the main issue for the upcoming general election.
If you believe the polls the BCNDP are framing the issue of leadership for the government.
Adrian Dix is waging a very calculated and to this point successful campaign showing himself to be the best leader.
He is including everybody in the discussion and is not afraid to release bits of his platform.
A case in point: His recent speech at the Vancouver Board of Trade. he told a largely pro business audience that if successful in the election he would raise corporate taxes back to levels of 2008.
He is showing extreme confidence and speaks with out emotion.
He lays claim to wanting to do politics differently and backs it up with statements like” If the Federal government changes their mind and does not close the Vancouver Coast Guard I will be the first one to issue a press release applauding the government and that decision.
Contrast that with the premier who, when asked on a radio show ( Bill Good to give credit where it’s due),to comment on the polls showing the women’s vote is going to the NDP said after a few callers phoned in, it’s early,people are not paying attention and I plan to run on my record.
What the premier should have said was’ those polls are on me, I am the leader and I have seven months to work hard and prove that I am the right person for the job.
So as of right now the she is right, she will be running on her record.It is a record of not taking simple leadership of a simple question.
Likewise the optics from the recent BC Conservative AGM and dissident fiasco were not good for the party and when contrasted against the backdrop of Adrian Dix’s handling of George’s Heyman’s position on fracking ( George is entitled to his opinion we welcome discussion here) once again gave the voting public something to compare them to.
There are seven months to go until the election.
To be successful the BCNDP needs to continue what they are doing, the other parties have to catch up.
Christy Clark: Sorry Justin but nobody takes center stage from me!
Not wanting to be one-upped on the news high-lites by the likes of Justin Trudeau, Knucklehead Premier Christy Clark used the occasion of the opening of Trudeau’s coronation to tell the world she will withhold electricity if the pipeline goes ahead without her okay.
One problem with what Clark said is that if and when it gets to that point she will either have been ousted by her own party or sent packing by an angry electorate.
Justin Trudeau on the other hand, well, his world, is about to get a whole lot more exciting after announcing tonight that his hat is in the ring to lead the Liberal Marijuana Party of Canada to oblivion.
I am sure The Prime Minister is sitting back thinking this is the best thing that could have happened to him and the Conservative party.
Trudeau, if as expected, waltzes to the LMPofC leadership more or less uncontested, he will have more than Prime Minister to contend with.
Tommy Mulcair is no dummy and wants to hold onto the title of Patron Saint of Quebec. Trudeau will not get seats in his home province without a fight.
A fight that bodes well for Conservative Party fortunes across Canada as both the NDP and the LMPofC clash and prepare to split whatever vote is out there allowing Harper’s team to come up through the middle and win seats they don’t currently have.
It’s also possible, although I never take the electorate for granted, that the CPC will pick up additional seats with the new riding redistribution under way and expected to be in place before the 2015 campaign.
This should make for a larger majority in 2015 than they have now.
Speaking of elections,Liberals in BC complained during the 2011 federal campaign that they were tarred and feathered with the Gordon Campbell Liberal brush. Just wait until they get painted with the Christy Clark ” I am a federal Liberal in my heart brush”
They will also have the Ghost of Justin’s old man to contend with.For years the west has wanted in and now that we are ” aint no man named Trudeau going take that away from us”
The next LMPof C leader has his work cut out for him. ( it will be no cakewalk for Mulcair either, as by the time 2015 rolls around, Adrian Dix and the BCNDP will have had two years to screw up enough things to have their share of doors slammed in their faces too)
For Justin Trudeau to succeed and show the country he will do politics different and more exciting, he will have to be just like his dad.
He will have to be like his dad in that he will have to stand at the ready with his middle finger, the only difference being he will have to wave it at his own party establishment rather than the electorate in Salmon Arm,BC.
The folks in the LMPofC establishment will no doubt try and refine Justin’s image,something that he cannot allow to happen.( Look for fallout here too!)
Clark has done nothing to create jobs nor has she helped with the cost of housing.
The specter of an NDP government with its alarming tax and spend policies ( You will hear more after the election.Don’t expect Dix to say or do anything with such a large lead in the polls), is also contributing to the exodus as young people head to conservative Alberta and Saskatchewan in search of better paying jobs and housing they can afford to live in.
What would you expect them to do? With No job prospects today and even less after next years election most young folks are leaving now to beat the rush next May and June.
Don’t forget about those pesky Liberal gas, carbon taxes,smart meters, higher insurance and hydro.People can escape that by bolting for the confines of neighboring welcoming provinces.
Who would be happy about this?
The moving companies that’s who. I can imagine they are planning for steady growth over the next 11 or 12 months.
Maybe that was Clark’s idea of creating jobs?
Better hurry folks, Dix will find away to tax you on the way out of town.
If you get the urge to jump Pauline, don’t let me get in your way!
Pauline Marois, while she confused the heck out of her constituents with her position on the student conflict about tuition ( you remember she looked hammered in the picture playing the symbols in the recent demonstration), asked the question ; Why can’t the provinces have responsibility over Employment Insurance?
The answer to that is both easy and obvious.
Firstly one can only imagine the level of extortion that would exist between the provinces and the federal government regarding funding for this file given all the recent Christy Clark caused hullabaloo at the first ministers conference.
Secondly and more important the provinces would not have a clue what to do when a person moved from one province to the next, got laid off and wanted to collect the insurance.
I imagine the conversation would go something like this” But sir you worked to majority of your time in Saskatchewan so I don’t see how you would expect us here in ( Insert the province of your choice) to finance your unemployment. Might we suggest you write those folks back home?”
The response from the folks back home would be ” We regret to inform you that you no longer reside in the province of ( Insert once again the province of your choice) might we suggest you appeal to those bureaucrats in the province where you now live?
Of course if your new province just happens to be Quebec you might get an answer like this” While we appreciate your claim for employment insurance is important to you, you must realize that we are in the middle of a referendum on which country you actually live, so until that is cleared up no claims will be processed. You should also realize that if we lose and Quebec remains in Canada there will be a further referendum delaying the processing of your claim even longer. Might we suggest for your sake and for ours, you pack your stuff up and move to the province of your choice?”
I think it’s pretty obvious why Employment Insurance would be a federal responsibility.
The BC Conservatives have climbed into a dead heat with the BC Liberals while the approval rating of Premier Christy Clark has dropped to an unheard of low of 26%. ( How do you say Gordon Campbell anyone?)
This writer,along with the residents of Port Moody and Chilliwack would rather we catch a glimpse of a poll that matters.. That would one would occur if the Premier would take time out of her busy agenda filming videos for Hockeyville, and call the by-elections that folks have been waiting for.
It’s time Premier Clark,put families first and call the by-elections.There are enough families in these two ridings that want to have representation in the legislature.
Please get on with the job that you were unelected to,Call the By-elections now!
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