Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Premier Clark Votes No Confidence in her own Government

As my faithful readers know, I've been using this blog to aggregate media on the BC Liberals for some time and yes, to rant and rave. But here in BC, we've gotten to a whole new level where I couldn't even make this $h!t up if I tried.

Our own Premier, Christy Clark, has actually given her own government a vote of No Confidence in explaining why she is refusing to call the Legislature back into session for a fall sitting. If the Premier and leader of the majority government isn't responsible for carrying out the mandate and creating the culture of the Legislature then who the hell is?

I can only surmise that this was one of those unscripted moments where her media wranglers were notably absent and she went off the speaking points that had been carefully prepared for her. They must have some sort of code word for this by now.

Now, going into an election year, I suppose it will be helpful for the voters of Victoria to be fully aware that their Premier and the "leader" of the BC Liberals does not consider them to be "real people." I'm not exactly sure what she would consider them to be, but the dehumanization of the population of an entire city is pretty clear in spite of what spin they're now trying to put on her very honest and sincere comments.

Some relevant facts:
  • The BC legislature only sat for 48 days last year. 
  • The legislature recessed on Thursday, May 31, 2012 almost four months ago.  
  • A fall session of the BC legislature was scheduled to be in operation for only 28 days in October and November 2012.
  • The BC Liberal government apparently plans to cut spending by $241 million this year and $398 million next year to meet budget targets. 
  • It will be almost 9 months between sittings of the Legislature under Clark's leadership. 
  • A provincial election is scheduled for May 14, 2013.
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Here are some choice excerpts:

Hutchinson first reported her comments at the end of the summer, but they surfaced again this week in the context of Clark’s decision not to hold a fall session of the Legislature.
She told him: “When the House rises at the end of [May], you’re never going to find me in Victoria.

“I try never to go over there. Because it’s sick. It’s a sick culture. All they can think about is government and there are no real people in Victoria, and you get captured by this inside-the-beltway debate, and it’s really unhealthy.”

Finance Minister Mike de Jong gave a more persuasive and less flattering explanation for the lack of a session when he told reporters recently that it was cancelled because Clark restocked her Cabinet with rookies who need time to learn their portfolios and the government wanted to continue the work started last summer of “reaching out to British Columbians.”

In other words, it lacks the competence at the moment to face the opposition in question period and would rather spend the time campaigning.

It’s not unusual for a fall sitting to be cancelled. But to assert that time spent conducting the formal business of the government would be a waste of time better spent “listening” to the common folk represents a new level of contempt for the political process.

What’s most disturbing is that the contempt is being shown by the one person who is in the best position to improve the “sick culture” and make it more productive.

Or who would be if she had any desire to make it a more effective institution. That doesn’t seem to be on her fall agenda, however.

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Some people will say anything to get elected, why the change of heart? Which statements are true? How do you trust someone who changes their spots so fast? Or is there another agenda and isn't that as bad, or worse? See de Jong above.
 
 
While running for the B.C. Liberal party leadership in 2011, Clark "told reporters she loved the daily cutandthrust of question period. After she won the party leadership, she expressed a desire to run in a byelection as quickly as possible to get her seat in the house. "As you know, I love question period and I hate to miss it," she told reporters.
When Clark was resigning as an MLA in 2005, during her first stint in office, she also professed love for the job in her last speech in the chamber.

"I have a deep, deep love of politics. I love question period. I love debate. I love the people I've met. I even love the protesters. I love politics."
 
Some response:
 
It's little wonder that the Liberals have little support on Vancouver Island if they think the people who live here are part of a sick culture," said John Horgan, NDP MLA for Juan de Fuca.

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An open letter to B.C. Premier Christy Clark

I thought I'd write to you about your decision to cancel your provincial legislature's fall sitting.You were supposed to face opposition parties for seven weeks at Question Period and now — nothing.
 
Your Finance Minister Mike de Jong explained the rationale: 
 
"The government will be preoccupied over the next number of months in terms of the preparation of the budget blueprint, and continuing what began in the summer and reaching out to British Columbians. That will be the focus for the government."
Is it really too much for citizens to want their leaders to focus on key issues and reaching out — whatever that means — while being held accountable in their own legislature?

Your government hasn't faced the electorate since you won that byelection and became Premier and you do have an election scheduled for May 14, 2013.

So, what's the message here?

That the government doesn't want to hear from opposition parties during a time of deep austerity and cuts?

Or that the government does so little of consequence that there's no need to meet about its activities? Not a lot of good options.

From Twitter:


Premier Clark forced to explain remarks about Victoria


But will they be real people? RT : Next week will see an extra 1500 -1700 politicians in town to attend the UBCM 

Skills training plan could have been good news for Clark, but b/c of her sick Victoria comments, it was derailed.

Carole James says Premier Clark should step down if she doesn't want to come to Capital, legislature
  

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