Friday, July 12. 2002
Chatting with a former premier - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- The other day I paid a visit to the office of former British Columbian premier, Ujjal Dosanjh, Q.C. Dosanjh, who lost his own seat over a year ago, and who saw his NDP government reduced to two seats, has resumed his law practice. The reason for dropping in on Dosanjh was rather mundane. No, I haven’t been in trouble, rather I needed someone professional to sign my passport form. My Mum decided it was high time to get hers renewed and so I thought I might as well get it done too. Now, you can get your family doctor to sign your passport form, however I’ve just switched doctors and having only been with Dr. Sunshine for some two months, it isn’t possible for him to sign my form as the guarantor must know the applicant for at least two years.
I’ve met the former premier on many occasions, however it hasn’t been so many that he’d actually remember me. He remembers my Mum, as it was in his previous stint as a barrister that my parents used his services to acquire the house we live in now. When we got into the office, Dosanjh said though he knew my Mum he couldn’t really sign my passport form. My ego shattered, I had to remind him we had met over two years ago, as I had arranged for him to come to my old History class at Sir Charles Tupper. I also dropped the fact that we met at the subsequent NDP convention that elected him leader of that party, thus premier of this province. He apologised and remembered we had met and therefore agreed to act as my guarantor in the process of acquiring a new passport.
His office is nice. They’ve moved to the corner of King Edward and Cambie after years on Victoria Drive here in Vancouver. We arrived early before our 1:30 appointment, and after checking in and before sitting on the comfortable sofas in the lounge, I noticed his son Aseem wandering in and out of his own office, chatting with the receptionist about basketball and stuff like that. Assem Dosanjh, a newly minted lawyer, will be remembered for getting into a fracas after graduating from law school in Ontario. He’s a lawyer now at the firm, Dosanjh Woolley. Ujjal Dosanjh himself had wandered out, wondering if lunch could be ordered, as he “hadn’t gone out yet.”
He greeted us in the lounge asking us to his office, which was the corner suite over looking the busy corner of King Edward and Cambie. It was neat and clean and I noticed his law degrees on the wall, and another large framed sheet, which looked like a certificate signed by the deputy attorney general of the time, Stephen Owen (now Liberal MP and junior cabinet minister); and signed at the top by then lieutenant governor Garde Gardom. It’s probably the certificate signifying Dosanjh’s appointment as attorney general or premier.
There’s an armoire on the other side of the room which looked empty. There’s a book shelf at the back of his desk that holds a few books, including one of the writings of Mahatma Gandhi. There’s a photo too, of his wife Raminder. After ascertaining the time when we first met, we chatted amiably. He asked me what my plans were about school. I said I hoped to get a degree in Political Science or something like that, and that I wanted to go into journalism. He then asked if I thought of going into politics, as he said I had the personality for it. I shrugged and said, “Well, not right now, but one never says never.” Dosanjh then, as he was filling out my form, looked up and said, “Spoken like a true politician.”
Prior to our visit, I had told my Mum that she should refrain from any political questions. Dosanjh, since his defeat in May 2001, hasn’t spoken out on partisan political matters. He’s refused comment on his successor Gordon Campbell’s government, and the only time he’s said anything was over the government’s cutting of legal aid services. After he signed our forms and photos, we chatted some more. I had but one question to ask. He relented and I asked whether he had any plans to write a book. He said he’s considered it and that he’s gotten a number of offers from publishers. “I’m still a young man,” he said, so probably not in the near future can we expect a tome from Canada’s first premier of Indo-Canadian descent. (I cannot think of another term to use in the place of ‘Indo-Canadian’, as I rather detest using hyphenated terms.)
We then talked about other political books on past BC premiers. (We’ve had a lot, mind you.) He noted that “Wacky Bennett” though he had books written about him, hadn’t authored a book himself. Neither has his son Bill, nor Bill Vander Zalm for that matter; though they’ve both had books written about them. He asked if I had read the David Mitchell tome on W.A.C. Bennett. I said yes, as well as the memoirs of Dave Barrett and Mike Harcourt, to which he said, “Is there anything you haven’t read?” I replied, “Your book.”
As he walked us out of his office he said, “Anytime you need anything, call. That way I won’t say I don’t know you.” I thanked him. Though I voted for him in May of 2001, I really didn’t want him or his party to form the government. Prior to the vote, he himself had given up hope on winning, saying Campbell would win. I wanted Campbell to win, simply because after 10 years and no matter his own personal contribution to the situation, the NDP needed to go and this province needed a change. I’ve talked politics with him numerous times and I have found him a thoroughly decent and honourable man. He’s also a man of integrity and great personal courage. In a way, it’s a pity he isn’t part of the politics of this province anymore.
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