February 28, 2000
In Conversation with... Gordon Hogg - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER - An MLA for the riding of Surrey-White Rock for the past 3 years, Gordon Hogg has had a presence on his community’s political landscape on all three levels of governance. Starting as a city councillor, Hogg went on to be mayor of White Rock for over ten years. Approached to run in the Federal general election of 1997, Hogg (like most candidates outside Vancouver in BC) lost to Reform and proceeded to run in a provincial by-election. Hogg was invited to our classroom last week and he and our class had an interesting and informative hour or so.
Gordon Hogg, a member of Gordon Campbell’s Liberal caucus holds the responsibility of being the education critic for Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. It’s not an easy job, I would think, because it has had a number of ministers holding that portfolio in the last year. Paul Ramsey, previously held it, until Gordon Wilson swapped with him, in a bid to win the party’s leadership.
Education may or may not be a priority for the current NDP administration. I say may or may not, because they seem to be hung up on fast ferries and stuff of the sort. But almost always, the NDP trumps out their achievements in the field of education (i.e.: tuition freezes and the building of schools), but very recently school districts had to worry about shut downs, due to labour. Gordon Hogg, was also recently implicated in Gordon Wilson’s little debacle regarding some unpaid debts that Wilson had incurred on a widow. A widow I might add that he’s (Wilson) categorically denied he stiffed. Hogg obtained these documents suggesting that the loan was unpaid for, and set out to point this out to Conflict of Interest Commissioner, the Hon. H.A.D. Oliver.
Gordon Hogg arrived late for the visit, but when he did arrive set out to plug the Liberals and their platform. He said that education would be their main priority, but I have trouble with that, because it is his leader, Gordon Campbell that’s been calling for fiscal responsibility for months, even years now. He also spoke at length about his life and career, which was nothing less than informative. I had the opportunity to ask the first question, and I took the conversation thus far, to the nitty, gritty reality of politics. We like to think the NDP is far from perfect, which they are, but we can’t hold out on perfection in the Liberal party. This is a party I might add that was rescued from oblivion by one Gordon Wilson. My question a lengthy one (as always) was regarding the Liberal Party’s position in the political landscape. The mere name Liberal, meaning left-of-centre has been skewed since Campbell took over as leader in 1994. Campbell has taken the party from the centre and moved it closer and closer to the right. A point, I might add, that made Corky Evans muse, “The Liberals are a witness protection program for old Socreds.” I fuelled my question with examples of this Socred influx, namely a former Socred finance minister who’s now drawn up the Liberal’s financial policy and the ever-present Patrick Kinsellla, a strategist and policy maker from the good ol’ Socreds.
He answered my question, a serious one on my end, with jest and good humour. In 20/20 hindsight I might add that I wasn’t terribly amused, his handling of my comments was rather funny. He did make the comment that all though they were a homogenous bunch, they could all vote and think differently. He touched on the British Parliamentary system, and suggested it be changed, but the comment that got me and that enforced my thoughts on the Liberal Party were regarding the party’s (or leader’s) policy on voting on motions and bills in the legislature. He let us in on the fact that Gordon Campbell instructs them to vote the party line on all factors that are included in the Throne Speech. If Mr. Campbell wants to get elected on the merits of his promises that his cabinet and or caucus members have their own consciousness when voting, then Mr. Campbell, yet to be Premier, his caucus, yet to be government, have already blown smoke up their collective noses.
I still think the Liberals will one day form government, but it is yet on my mind the fact that polls said they were 20% over the NDP in 1996, but Campbell ended up losing the election. It still could happen, you know. They could blame it on the system that elects members of the legislature, but whatever happens if Campbell loses the election yet again, the Liberals will have no alternative to dump Gordon Campbell. Another leadership convention, anyone?
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