Thoughts on BC Politics and More

What happened in Victoria last week?   Well for those interested in politics, the end of the week was the final sitting of the legislature for this session.   It was a day where a lot of reflecting on how the Fall session had gone, what had been accomplished, what could or should have, etc … and all of the media political reporters were there to get the comments on those and other things, from BC Liberal leader Christy Clark, and NDP leader John Horgan. In other words, the perfect opportunity to capture the media’s attention with a well-placed shot across the bow message.   Which party was missing from the BC Legislature to capitalize on this opportunity?   Dan Brooks and the BC Conservative Party. I met with Dan Brooks nearly two weeks ago, in Kamloops, to talk . At that time I suggested that he throw away his 'Pablum' stump speech and start getting hard-hitting. ASK … where are the tens of thousands of jobs that Christy Clark promised would ...

If you recall, I quit the BC Conservative Party this past Spring, following the Executive and Board of the BC Conservative Party offering an apology to Alison Paton and company, and re-instatement of their memberships. Their carefully planned sabotage of the party, timely due to the closeness of the election, led to damage the Conservatives were never able to recover from in time for the May 2013 election.  As has been stated here, and elsewhere, it was sabotage plain and simple. What was the result of their dissension ?  Not one single BC Conservative candidate was elected! I have been vocal, and public, in my comments about the party since asking for my membership to be removed.  I was not alone in this; I was simply public about it.  Other members simply disengaged and walked away in disgust at the lack of direction, or failed to renew their memberships. So, let’s have a quick recap. I quit because of the actions of the bo...

The following segment, from a CBC News story this past Spring, says it best: Clark won the 2013 provincial election in part on the promise of fostering an LNG industry that would create tens of thousands of jobs and wipe out B.C.'s debt, but the government's plan has fallen behind schedule .  (CBC May 20 th , 2015) If that segment was unique in its statement, then perhaps it could be ignored … but it isn't.  Here’s more: Premier Christy Clark's promises to transform British Columbia into Canada's top job-creating engine appears to be stuck in second gear, even as the provincial economy is predicted to surge. The premier's four-year-old plans set lofty and ambitious goals and aimed to place B.C. among the top two Canadian provinces for economic and job growth for 2015.  Recent Statistics Canada economic data …. puts B.C. in fifth place among the provinces for job creation. (Huffington Post...

Last night, I had the opportunity to meet one on one with BC Conservative Party Leader Dan Brooks, here in Kamloops.   He'd had a long drive, coming down from Vanderhoof, and I could tell the length of the day, and the miles, had worn him out.   Part way through the day, he let me know that he was going to be delayed. It seems that just a short distance out of Williams Lake, he'd received a phone call from someone in Quesnel wanting to talk to him about running as a Conservative candidate, in the Quesnel North riding, in the next election.   He turned the truck around and headed back North to meet with the individual, and then headed back on his way to Kamloops; no wonder he looked worn! What's with political life that it takes someone young and vibrant, and seems to wear them down before your eyes?   I remember the provincial campaign, in the late 70's, when Dave Barrett's NDP government went down to defeat after just one term.   I also remember B...

As many of you know, on November 4 th I once again took out a membership in the BC Conservative Party (see WHO should speak for conservatives in British Columbia? ) So what has happened, on the part of the BC Conservative Party, since that date? ………………….. nothing. Now I don’t need any special “Welcome Back” message from the Party, however I find it rather odd that at the very least, someone didn’t send an email acknowledging receipt of my online membership … an email including the latest newsletter … a message from the party on the up-coming AGM in February … or even details on how to make suggestions on policy proposals for consideration at the February AGM …….. nothing. Speaking of submissions for policy suggestions, I sent an email to the BC Conservative Party, asking about how members went about putting forth suggestions; no response. That led me to then contact the Regional Director (Nando Di Lorenzo), who I had worked with previously on the Executive...

Today in the National Post, I saw a story written by Colby Cosh, entitled, “ Is conservatism on the way out? ” In part the writer stated: Perhaps the secret of recent history in the provinces is that conservatives are not addressing psycho-semantic problems with the term “conservative.” How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m a social liberal but a conservative on economics”? This is the default political position of most adults now, is it not? Liberalism, which is to say pluralism, has won the argument in the “social” realm of government. What once was liberalism in economics, the dirigisme that my generation was taught to think of as the “mixed economy,” has largely lost; but the people who call themselves Liberals have succeeded at extricating themselves from the reputational burden …   I thought the story raised some interesting points on ‘conservatism’ as a whole, Michael Beauclair which is why I posted it to my Facebook page .   It got a...

Yesterday I received a message, much like many I have received recently, asking me, “ Alan, are you still involved with the BC Tories?” I responded by saying … I am again now. There is a movement from grassroots members, who have left (or are disengaged) to get back at it. Party MUST get back out and engage with people of BC ... raise our profile, and present a platform and policies that people can and will identify with.   Are you still a member? This individual replied saying: “ Yes. We need to get our act together.” I agree, and so do a large number of people who have been phoning, emailing, and phoning me in the past couple of weeks.   I believe it is imperative that we start now, to think of good well qualified people we can bring to our conservative cause. They need to know this party will no longer be allowed to stay lost in the wilderness… We need to talk with former BCCP candidates who left after the disastrous and em...

On November 24 th , the BC Conservative Party issued a media release titled, “ Youth Movement Comes to the Fore at BC Conservatives AGM ". The release stated the members had ‘elected a new board of directors with a distinctly youthful outlook.’  It quoted Leader Dan Brooks saying, “There is a youth movement underway in our Party.  It bodes well for our future – we are dedicated to working on behalf of British Columbia for a long, long time.” Looking at what the individuals on the board’s executive (President, Vice President, Secretary "Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do!" and Treasurer) brought to the table, there did appear to be a wealth of talent there.  Individuals like Kristy Fredricks with a B.Sc. in Human Ecology … Shane Smitas, a self-described ‘serial entrepreneur’ and Founder and President of two companies … Graham Plant, a medical-devices professional, with an advanced diploma in Biomedical Technology … and Robert Boscacci, a Cha...

Yesterdays post on my Blog, " WHO should speak for conservatives in British Columbia ?" has led to me receiving a number of phone calls, and also comments posted to it.   I guess there is life out there after all.   I wanted to share just a few of them with you, because as one person pointed out to me in one of the calls I received last night, I thought I was alone and no one else was thinking and feeling the same things I was. And as another commented, " It was an informative conversation for me last night exploring why you concluded your previous letter with the words by Richard Armour. Those are rudder like words that need to be heard particular at this time and into our historical context. Looking forward to connecting with you more in the future."   Just so you know, the quote he is referring to is, " Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong ."   As you...

While many existing members of the BC Conservative Party --- and others who have left --- are asking, “What relevance to British Columbian voters does the BC Conservative Party have?”, the party itself is now asking its members this question: “Do you want to change the name of the Party; and if so, to what?” An email has been sent to remaining members of the Party (that they still have up-to-date email addresses for, as well as a select number of former members, with the following message: Memo to: Active and some expired members with a current email address The possibility of a name change for the BC Conservative Party has been a discussion topic among members for a number of years. The Board of Directors decided in September to address this long standing issue by creating a committee to examine the feasibility of changing the Party name. Party members Joan Robinson of Victoria and Frank Dubenski of Qualicum Beach have volunteered to c...