Leslie McNabb began her candidacy with some controversy- the NDP picked this riding as one that could only have a female candidate,. This has struck some even long-time NDP supporters as fundamentally undemocratic- as one letter-writer noticed- Tommy Douglas himself would not qualify to run here.
This is true, but if it is also true, as Leslie says, that our legislature has fewer female members than Iraq or Afghanistan, then something needs to be done.
Affirmative action is a policy which admittedly breaches the principles of absolute fairness for individuals in order to correct injustices that occur at a social level.
A particular male may be discriminated against in order to correct the widespread discrimination that has occured against women in power. I believe it is an imperfect but reasonable, and necessary corrective to social ills that otherwise would not be addressed in a timely way.
Otherwise, McNabb has done a reasonably good job of representing her party.
The stength of the NDP, of course is in their claim that they “care”, and their focus on social programs. Their weakness, at least in the public eye, is in the area of economics. The perception persists that the NDP is bad for the economy, and even if this is not backed up by history or sober policy analysis, the perception is enough to scare voters away, or even have an adverse affect should the NDP come to power. If there is a major fault in their campaign, it has been their inability to respond to this charge in a convincing way. They seem to prefer to change the subject towhat they will do for the under-priveleged, missing the point that these days the economy is on everyone’s mind.
That having been said, the provincial NDP is in the hands of a competent passionate leader, and they would be good stewards of the province’s fortunes.
Hazel Lennox of the Green party has acquitted herself well. Pressed into sevice, she has proven an able speaker, and in command of the issues. The Green party’s vision of a completely restructured economy, eliminating international trade and focusing entirely on local economies may be the wave of the future, but it is a little too different from what most people expect in their lives. We may not need an apple from New Zealand in the middle of winter, but most of us would be hard pressed to give up our cup of coffee, and some coconut milk for the curry.
Although they have no pretence of holding power, the Green party message is an important spur in the right direction, and they deserve a voice in the legislature.BC-STV can help achieve that, and is one of the most powerful arguments for voting in favour of it.
Don McRae has proven himself a capable bureaucratic type of administrator, as he has worked on Courtenay council and various committees. At the same tine, he has not distinguished himself as a leader, especially in areas of social justice.
The late Stan Hagen was rumoured around the time of his passing to have been working on a plan to bring some social housing construction to the Comox Valley, and if this is true, it would have gone a long way to cozy him up to the progrssive lefty community. Don McRae has shown no particular interest in this sort of area. Instead, he seems content to run on the Liberal legacy.
When he came to the candidate’s meeting in Cumberland, McRae revealed his future style. It was all about Maple Lake- he found out that some people here felt strongly about the lake’s use for recreation, and he promised he would try to make that happen. That’s it. Maple Lake. If Don thought he understood the needs and anxieties of the citizens Cumberland, he was mistaken. Mega developments, and the state of our infrastructure and its costs are at the top of the list, and if Don McRae doesn’t understand that after his years in local municipal politics, then that’s of concern.
If the Liberals are good for business in the province, then it is in a way that often comes at the expense of the environment, or the long-term well being and security of the population.
In every area they are favouring private business interests, often at the expense of prudence or reason.
Ocean-based fish farms need to stopped- they are ruining wild stocks. Offshore oil exploration would take us along a dangerous path that reeks of last century’s thinking. Opening up our provincial parks to development while charging families to pay for parking is a betrayal of the principles of generosity and access that have helped make BC a tourist mecca. It’s just dumb.
I have spoken to an apolitcal health care administator who knows about P3 hospitals- they are a nightmare- lousy with incompetence and profit-driven decisions which put health at risk. They are a mistake.
Similarly, run-of-the-river projects in the context of our NAFTA agreement seem to truly endanger our ability to control our own rivers, as Rafe Mair and others have been warning.
As a side note.I found the behaviour of McRae’s supporters really offensive at the candidates’ forum in Cumberland. A steady stream of well-dressed older ladies and gents strode to the microphone, read questions from their little pieces of paper, accused Leslie McNabb repeatedly of lying, and then smirked back to their seats. What were they thinking? That they were scoring points? There is something particularly.galling about smug affluent bullies. It brought to mind everything that is reprehensible about the Liberal party in British Columbia, and for that alone, it’s a club that can count me out.
Barb Biley of the People’s Front (admittedly, a friend of the WORD) is one of the smartest and most committed individuals I have met, and in another universe she would be queen of everything and we would all be happier. Her presence on the election cicuit raises the level of the discussion, but there’s a good chance she won’t win.
I can’t comment on the BC Refederation party- although the candidate Paula Berard seems a reasonable and appealing person, I’m still not really sure what they stand for.
BC-STV may be the most important opportunity of this election. It is admittedly a flawed system, with mixed results internationally, and it requires quite a leap of faith to support.
But what we have is no longer acceptable. BC-STV is a way we can move beyond our polarized BC politics, where one of two parties crash into office without room for any diversity of thought or vision. There is at least the possiblity of opening up the polticial landscape to new voices.
I am voting for Leslie McNabb, in the hope that the NDP takes over the government, and restores some of the social programs cut by the Liberals in their devastating first momths of office, spends some serious resources on building low-cost housing, and preserves our heritage of parks, rivers, hydroelectric power generation, and medical care in the collective hands of the people of the province, instead of profit-driven corporations.
Above all, I am voting for BC-STV.