13 December 1999
BC politcs, the laughing stock of the country? - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER - I’m a British Columbian. I am also 17, but that’s beside the point, because in my lifetime, this province has had 6 Premiers, none of which have finished a full term in office. Do you think it’s the rain? Is it because we’re all the way out here in the wet and West coast?
It’s been an eventful year, nonetheless. The current NDP bunch, were drowning in their little “fudget-budget” scandal, where the misled the public, à la Bill Clinton, and said that they were fiscally responsible. One of the opposition’s loudest voices, Gordon Wilson, crossed the floor to assume a cabinet post. He was quickly dubbed Flip Wilson, by the pundits out here, and Fotheringham in this paper. A former premier who resigned in the cloud of scandal (Bill Vander Zalm) returned to the political scene as the president of Reform BC, seems like planting tulips wasn’t his beat. And probably the biggest of the last little while: Glen Clark the scrapping Premier, resigns after a buddy of his built a deck onto his house. We have a new premier, while their party is trying to scrape themselves together for a leadership race, in February.
In the pathway to now, we BCers have had a lot spewed on our trail. Red-ink, fast ferries that were overbudget, forestry funding that’s been wasted like lawn mulch, plus the resignations and returns of the characters that’ve fill the hallowed halls of the Legislature in Victoria.
We have had some positive stuff happen in my lifetime, regardless. We had our first female premier in 1991. She only lasted 10 minutes, but she was a woman, nonetheless. We gave our country the first female PM too, Kim Campbell, she lasted only 10 minutes too, but she was a BCer. We said ‘NO’ to Charlottetown, as loudly as Canadians can get. And our fair PM Mr. Chrétien, just appointed the nation’s first female Chief Justice, in Beverley McLachlin, who happens to hail from fair BC.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, BC gets the bums rap from the rest of the country. Particularly you folks back East, at least that’s what the pundits out here say and try to emit for us to inhale. The Globe and Mail, hasn’t ever been a paper that tried to represent all of us out here, neither is the National Post; At least almost-Lord Black is trying his best.
Maybe we aren’t really Canadians? Maybe we should separate? We never get any special favours from Ottawa, unless you count the RCMP pepper-spraying us at APEC, or the Commons shutting down debate on the Nisga’a treaty. Mr. Chrétien and the Liberals show utter contempt towards us, which usually drives us to practising self-destructive politics.
And it’s not just the current administration, Mulroney and Joe Clark, tried to cram Charlottetown down our collective throats. Trudeau gave us the finger, maybe it was because Maggie came from West Vancouver. And we have six lousy seats in the Senate, plus another lousy 34 in the Commons, while Quebec has less than our population.
Our greatest contribution to Canadian culutre: The Beachcombers? Double Exposure? Svend Robinson?
I’m only 17, but honestly I have nothing to propose. I think we tend to be comfortable and settle in the den of complacency, out here ready to bitch and complain so ineffectively, that no one notices. If you ask me, I think it’s because of the rain.
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