This was a bizarre year in B.C. politics. Its bookends were, at one end, Premier Gordon Campbell's mug shot displayed for all to see following his night in a U.S, jail, and at the other end chaos in BC Ferries.

Campbell's efforts to deny that he sold BC Rail may be the most damaging political event of 2003; it established a credibility gap that he may not escape.

And the latest polling figures show NDP support rising across B.C., now a mere six points behind the Liberals, with Campbell himself receiving a 60 percent disapproval rating from the citizenry. How did the premier and his party, now two thirds of the way through their term and 500 days away from the next election, fritter away support over the past year?

For starters, despite promises to revitalize the B.C.economy, B.C.'s real per capita economic growth is dead last, and the number of unemployed is at record highs. The economic miracle that was supposed to be part of the "New Era" is nowhere in sight. Campbell speaks of over 100,000 jobs being created but the hard fact is that since the 2001 election employment has increased by 78.1 thousand (on a seasonally adjusted basis), or an average of just less than 1.6 percent per year compared to an average of 2.1 percent per year over the previous 10 years.

Cuts and secrecy

In opposition, Campbell and his caucus argued for a virtual blank cheque in order to protect children who are at risk of abuse; in government, Campbell axed the Ministry of Children and Family Development. In 2001-02 the budget for the Ministry was $1.553 billion; it was cut to $1.451 in 2003-04 and a further $70 million is slated to be cut for 2004-05.

Investigations of children in need of protection have been reduced by 20 percent; front line child protection social workers have been laid off; as of September 2003, nine children-in-care died compared to seven in all of 2002. The Ministry's plan to decentralize to a regional model has been repeatedly postponed; the latest postponement was accompanied by a warning that decentralizing to regions should not proceed while budget cuts are still underway. Campbell's campaign book, the New Era Document, promised to "Stop the endless bureaucratic restructuring that has drained resources from children and family services." They have done the opposite!

2003 also marked a new level of secrecy for the government that promised to be "The most open, accountable and democratic government in Canada." Routine questions from the media about the cost of various government advertising campaigns go unanswered. Minister of Human Resources Murray Coell repeatedly refused to answer the simple question about how many people he expects will be kicked off welfare on April 1, 2004, as a result of his arbitrary two year eligibility rule - the first of its kind in Canada. At the click of a mouse, his Ministry's database is capable of producing statistics broken down by any conceivable cross tabulation, on how many people have been on assistance for over two years, yet Coell stonewalled all questions.

Sea lice multiply

In February the government announced a "plan" for children's mental health. It called for closing valued resources such as the "Maples" - the "plan" is to develop a plan. The ill conceived cuts to the Maples were quickly denied, leaving future financing in doubt.

In March the government announced that it would take back tenure rights from forest companies, limit the amount of compensation and forbid the companies from resorting to the courts. That came from a government that promised to "Protect private property rights to prevent government from expropriating assets without fair compensation."

In April government finally produced measures of sea lice infestation on wild salmon in Broughton Archipelago; infestations were 50 percent higher than allowed under regulations that have been in place in Norway since 1998. The Campbell government remains committed to fish farm expansion despite the threat to wild salmon.

In May the Campbell government introduced changes to the provincial drug program, Pharmacare. Tens of thousands of seniors will pay hundreds more as a result of what the government termed "fair" Pharmacare. Anecdotal evidence indicates that some seniors are walking away from their pharmacy counters rather than filling their prescriptions. The former maximum of $25 per prescription was replaced with a requirement to pay the full individual deductible first - between one percent and three percent of total family income. To add insult to injury, every person in BC had to register for the new program - an exercise in chaos for many.

Crackdown on Quilter's Guild

In June the Campbell government denied the Vancouver Quilters' Guild a license to hold its annual raffle. The Guild provides hand-made quilts for a Battered Women's Shelter, BC Children's Hospital Nursery and the extended care ward at the University Hospital. Meanwhile, contrary to its election promise not to expand gambling, government budgeted for a 45 percent increase in gambling revenues over the next three years. The Quilters' Guild appeared to be too much competition for the government to tolerate, but political heat forced them to back down.

On July 23rd government backtracked on its foolhardy plan to privatize the Coquihalla highway, but on July 29th it initiated a request for expressions of interest to privatize the administration of Medicare (the Medical Services Plan) and Pharmacare. The successful bidder and the details of the privatization will not be revealed until after the 2005 election.

In August the Vancouver Island Health Authority announced an across the board cut of two percent to each of its departments as part of its plan to reduce spending by $42.5 million by March 31, 2004. It was the first of several health authorities to announce service cuts in order to balance their budgets and earn pay bonuses for their chief executive officers and for the Minister of Health.

The Campbell government unilaterally implemented an eight percent reduction in fee for service payment schedules to medical laboratories effective September 1, 2003, and it announced a further 12 percent cut effective April 1, 2004. In December the BC Supreme Court ruled that government's actions were illegal; this time, they couldn't get away with breaking another contract.

In October Campbell's A-Team ran off to Alberta for a joint cabinet meeting while the B-Team was left to answer questions in the Legislature. Meanwhile, BC Ferries floated a biased poll in preparation for the ugly dispute which unfolded in December.

Marriage on TV

In November, the government confirmed that it was selling BC Rail to CN, although it redefined the word "sale" in its efforts to deny the obvious. November also saw a crisis develop as thousands of teachers refused to pay their $90 college fee in response to the government's move to appoint a majority of directors to the College of Teachers.

December witnessed the first ever joint interview with a sitting Premier and his wife on Global TV. Perhaps the Premier's handlers were concerned over the pending year end coverage that would remind everybody about the embarrassment of his night in a Maui jail, or perhaps they wanted to derail often repeated questions concerning other aspects of the Premier's character. Those who are concerned about the future of British Columbia know that there are serious policy issues that require debate, and that diversions into Campbell's personal life merely detract attention from more important matters of public policy, such as his credibility gap, his failed tax cuts, his cuts to social services, and his failure to stimulate BC's economy.

David Schreck is a political analyst who publishes the web site Strategic Thoughts