The leaders of the B.C. Liberals, B.C. New Democrats and B.C. Green Party stuck to their party scripts during the first of two broadcast debates scheduled for this provincial election.
Green leader Jane Sterk sat in the centre, with Premier Gordon Campbell on her right and NDP Leader Carole James on her left in the studio of Vancouver radio station CKNW.
Premier Campbell appealed to voters to stick with his Liberals, who he said have overseen eight years of building the B.C. economy to one of the best on the continent. He credited his Liberals for bringing B.C. from a have-not province to the best economy in North America.
NDP Leader Carole James said the election is about what British Columbians want for their own and their families' futures. She said she's hearing from forestry workers who are angry that their industry has been ignored, and seniors who feel abandoned.
And Green Leader Jane Sterk took a shot at the behaviour and negativity of both leaders, promising that a Green MLA would help restore "civility" to the B.C. legislature.
In a press scrum held after the 90-minute debate, the NDP's James bristled at accusations that her party's platform could drive the province into debt. James said the NDP platform is fully costed and fiscally responsible and her party would meet its goals by targeting waste such as cutting government ads and rolling back wage increases to top mandarins.
Campbell told the press that the NDP platform will cost thousands of jobs and his party is the best able to see B-C through the recession. Campbell said the Liberals knew the first quarter of 2009 would be tough but the party's economic strategy is working, with his government creating more jobs than any other province over the past eight years.
B.C. Green Leader Jane Sterk says the NDP's plan to dump the carbon tax is "completely irresponsible." She says her party believes a carbon tax is the first, important step toward curbing greenhouse gas emissions and she blasted New Democrats for denigrating the levy as a "gas tax."
The Hook will continue to report on this morning's debate through the afternoon.
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the falconer
3 years ago
three's company...
didnt hear the entire debate, but of what i heard, i was quite impressed with sterk.
i may not agree with all of the green party's platform, but at least she's open, and frankly, seems to know a little more than james does. it was refreshing seeing someone with some intelligence take the other leaders to task. its a shame that both the libs and the ndp are complete rubbish. theres no real choice in this province. heres hoping for electoral reform......go STV!
seth
3 years ago
james needs new handlers
Not a word from her on the tens of billions in IPP losses. How many people will be working in BC with our industry paying 12 cents a kwh for pirate power and competitors in washinton state paying 2 cents for nuclear. Not a word.
Not a word on Helmut Pastrick saying the Liberal decicit is 1.5 billion not .5.
No attack on Sterk for her effort to elect the Liberals and let Gordo have at the environment for 4 more years.
Nothing. Just her usual bland bullshit. What the xxx##xx@@ is the matter with her advisors or is she really that stupid?
Luke Skywalker Redux
3 years ago
Undecided/Swing Voters...
Carole went into the debate with the NDP continually suffering from negative momentum.
Caught the very tail end of it and the views of the 4 undecided voters thereafter.
If the views of these four undecideds is any indication, the NDP's negative momentum is getting worse.
After listening to the party leaders, 3 out of the 4 undecideds have ruled out the NDP as an option.
Apparently, Green Party leader Jane Sterk impressed all 4 of 'em.
One call into that segment probably says it all:
"If Gordon Campbell asked everyone to smile, Carole James would take a contrarian approach and ask everyone to frown".
It's James' "contrarian" and "negative" approach, "just to be different", causing people to look elsewhere to place their ballot. The Greens might be the beneficiaries.
As I stated months back, the NDP continues to look like it will receive its lowest level of popular vote since 1969 (2001 being the anomaly).
Frank
3 years ago
undecided voters on CKNW????
I will guarantee that anyone on CKNW calling themselves an "undecided" was a PAB caller.
As for James being negative, oh please, she tries to sit in the centre but this is a polarized province and she hasn't figured that out yet.
Frank
3 years ago
the "debate"
By the way, appropos the discussion from a few days ago, I stand by my statement that the NDP being on CKNW is a total waste of time.
I even wrote to NDP head office as soon as I heard James would be on there to ask if anyone was working there since it was clear no one had thought about it.
Luke Skywalker Redux
3 years ago
Frank...
After 10 am, 4 self-declared undecided voters were "in studio" for one half hour. discussing the earlier debate.
A whole different animal from the stacked calls from each party's headquarters.
Frank
3 years ago
Luke
How were these undecided voters found? Or were they constructed in a CKNW backroom and if so was the AI of these "undecided voters" tested to ensure no previous bias?
The polls are quite clear, the Liberals will win, massive spending cuts will happen in the post-election budget, senior's will lack care, child poverty will increase, emissions will go up, Liberal insiders will continue to get lucrative contracts and our rivers will no longer be worth visiting (unless you like to have picnics next to industrial projects). What's not to be happy about it?
frenchy mcswede
3 years ago
I walked into
my ndp mla's office and yesterday and it was filled with eager, chomping at the bit volunteers. These are the people who will get james elected with a majority, unlike bc liberal voters, who in all but the most redneck ridings will stay home in droves. in fact, the tactic of exposing campbell rather than keeping him in a bubble as they did last election, is going to backfire badly on the "liberals." It's like that old joke about removing the character psychological armour, and then people screaming when they see whats underneath: "For god's sake, put that armour back on! You're too ugly to even look at!" Campbell's pathetic fireside chat style ads in which he says absolutely nothing merely showcase the premier for the empty minded, smug nothing that he is.
That said, carol james absolutely must not let the premier get away with lies about the liberals dismal management of the economy, who as bill tielemann pointed out two tyee articles ago now has a worse economic record than the ndp, and they should also highlight alexandra morton's support, (just recently recounted by tieleman) who is five times the environmental hero that suzuki and berman , and the bought off pembina institue could ever be. It should be remembered as well that as vaugh palmer said on his recent Voice of BC show only 3 out of 16 major environmental groups support campbell, and palmer also opined that the ndp could win the election. Jane Sterk, as reported victoria's monday magazine has a framed picture of herself being embraced by a smirking campbell on her office wall. I think that pretty much says it all...
Frank
3 years ago
CKNW bias
I see the Conservative party wasn't invited. Gee, I wonder why that would be...
mcdull
3 years ago
Radio
I had to turn my radio off as I was listening to Palmer and Baldry on Christie Clark. Everything negative about the NDP. The plane ride yesterday was bigger news than anything else. Big media is definitely moving to exagerate everything that might make any NDP er look bad and cheer on King gordo( or as I like to call him bored Gord)Never call gordo out on his half truths.
PeteL
3 years ago
Where Campbells Butt end and Sterk's head begins
I'm afraid Carole is just not up to the task. She needed to manhandle these arseholes and she just let them run cirlcles. Carole is like Kim Campbell, and its beginning to look like the result will be the same. Is this lady trying to kill my party?
Luke Skywalker Redux
3 years ago
Brad Zubyk Gets It Right...
Yes, the same Brad Zubyk who was BC NDP director of caucus communications during the 1990's, the same Zubyk involved in the BC NDP's 2005 central campaign, the same Zubyk who led Gregor Robertson's successful bid for Vancouver's mayoral chair...
http://www.theprovince.com/News/insider+blasts+James+campaign/1524732/story.html
The strange thing is that the BC NDP always had a highly respected, well-oiled political machine.
Whatever happened????
PeteL
3 years ago
Only the weather
Baldrey and Palmer actually know a lot about the weather both being vacuous windbags themselves
Frank
3 years ago
Baldrey
Isn't his wife connected with the Liberals???
Dan the socialist
3 years ago
I accidentally posted this
I accidentally posted this in the 'dead air topic' so I will post it again here where it belongs. Sorry for any inconvenience.
I never normally listen to CKNW but I did this morning as I knew Ms.James would be on...what a disgrace She even flip flopped on the Port Mann bridge, man she seems determined to lose this election. Man she is awful, I am so disgusted with her more than ever now. I just can't bring myself to vote for her this time.
The NDP will be lucky to win 15-20 seats next month.
Between her and my useless NDP mla who never returns phone calls or emails, I will not be voting NDP this election. I dislike Campbell and won't be voting for him either but I will vote for an independent and if none I will spoil my ballot.
I sure hope the NDP pick someone competent for 2013......
Frank
3 years ago
Dan
Haven't you heard? Next election is too late, unless the world is fixed right now there's no tomorrow, that's why the greens are supporting Campbell.
As for 2013, it'll be the same outcome, the NDP has to be perfect, the Liberals only have to show up.
Campbellwearsatutu
3 years ago
Luke.......
Brad Zubyck is not an NDP insider,he is a unemployed disgruntled hack........
Brad wasn`t even a long time NDPer,he joined for the 2005 campaign,just like Tzeporah Berman,she held a NDP membership for 1 year........
Brad Zubyck is a federal Liberal,you can read about his bona fides here.......
http://www.robbinssceresearch.com/polls/poll_583.html
Luke,have you none of your own thoughts,or are you only capable of posting political hackery cloumns?
Rod Smelser
3 years ago
Brad Zubyk and Will Horter
Luke S
Yes, the same Brad Zubyk who was BC NDP director of caucus communications during the 1990's, the same Zubyk involved in the BC NDP's 2005 central campaign, the same Zubyk who led Gregor Robertson's successful bid for Vancouver's mayoral chair...
Yes, the same Brad Zubyk who headed the Federal Liberal campaign in B.C. for the Oct 14th election, and used a twelve year old episode plus a carefully lawyered "press release" to end the candidacy of Julian West, in coopertation with lawyer Will Horter, ... yes, the same Will Horter who told the Greens not to run a candidate in Saanich-Gulf Islands or else, and whose "Conservation Voters" are now saying "Anybody but Carol" for Victoria-Beacon Hill.
http://www.conservationvoters.ca/endorsements/ABCprov2009/view
Yes, the same Brad Zubyk who recently testified for the BC Liberals in a court case on the Elections Act, and was widely quoted as testifying that the unions run everything in the NDP.
Could it be that after last Fall's McCarthyist character assassination campaign against Julian West that both labour and social democrats were of one mind, we don't want him back working for us provincially? And since he isn't making any money working for the NDP he thought he may as well drum up some business by giving them a hard time in a CanWest sheet?