August 22, 1999

A Weekend in B.C. Politcs - THE COMMENTARY

By Joseph Planta

Well, this past weekend has been nothing short of eventful. There have been four Premiers in the last 13 years. All four have been unable to fulfill the mandate the electorate gave them. All four have left politics in a cloud of scandal and a smoke screen of political strife and instability. Glen Clark did, on Saturday, do what so many had predicted before, so many have demanded before, and so many have wished for before. Glen Clark resigned as Premier of the Province of British Columbia. From Bill Bennett’s “retirement” in 1986, to Bill Vander Zalm’s resignation in 1991, Mike Harcourt’s departure in 1996, to last Saturday’s announcement by Glen Clark, the politics in our Province have never been the same. Described as wacky and unstable, most of that dubious distinction falls directly on the hands of Glen Clark and his Government. From fastcat ferries that went over budget, mismanagement of Forest Renewal funds, fudget budgets, deficit after deficit, and everything else, Glen Clark should have resigned months ago.

For most of Saturday I waited for the Premier’s resignation. After the release of the damning search warrants on Friday, I had expected his departure from the premier’s office anytime now. It was at about 3:00 when I heard the news, and then after that was done, it was now waiting for who would fill his shoes. I was about to go to dinner, but I insisted on staying in the car for about 30 minutes before the announcement was made. Once I heard Dan Miller had been ‘unanimously’ chosen, I knew that I lived in a most interesting province, one that has a most exciting and strange political climate. I will not speculate on whether or not Glen Clark played a role in Dimitrios Pilarinos getting a casino license, because it is now up to the courts to decide. Mr. Clark has categorically denied any wrongdoing and his admission of innocence, must be taken to account.

Now, it is time for our Province to repair. I think it is unfair to force the NDP into calling a snap election. It is time now for Executive Council to repair the state of our Province. Mr. Miller must make sure that the Government is in reasonable shape. Once he has tried his best and once the NDP have chosen a new leader, an election must be called and for the people of this Province to decide who they want in Government. It is a safe bet that Gordon Campbell’s Liberal’s will form the new administration. It is hard, though, to speculate how large his majority will be. I’ve learned in this very interesting political climate, not to speculate until you really have to. I don’t have to speculate now, because no election has been called, yet. And you cannot count the NDP out yet. 10 years ago, no one would have conjured up the fact the Socred movement would be dead, 1 year ago, no one would have though Gordon Wilson would have been a NDPer. 6 months ago, I didn’t think Glen Clark would still be Premier.

I echo Bill Vander Zalm’s words, that we live in severe instability. Let the NDP try to change the damage, they’ve inflicted. Once they are proved wrong, which I’m sure they will soon enough, we can throw them out. One more thing, I really have to admire Glen Clark’s facade at his announcement. He was at the top of his game, masterful politician and it’s a real shame he’s now just the MLA for Vancouver-Kingsway. What is most regretable of the entire mess, is that the NDP is robbed of any chance in future elections. They will probably go the way of the Federal Tories and The Socreds, and what’s sad about that is that it robs the electorate of a segment of representation. As a democracy, representing all points of view is of utter importance. Glen Clark has sunk this ship. The story continues and history is being made, stay tuned.

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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .