It Hurts, and Here's Why

The election was a big win for Gordon Campbell and the Liberals and, yes, it hurt and this column is a tad personal.

As spokesperson for Save Our Rivers Society, I travelled the entire province except the Peace River and I can't begin to count the speeches and other happenings. I obviously wasn't able to get out the message about private river energy and for that I must accept responsibility.

Last night was a terrible one for the environment. Alex Morton, who has laboured so hard to save our salmon from the predation of fish farms must be bitterly disappointed, as am I.

I want to examine the election itself but I must touch upon the rivers matter for the record.

Private power generators will increase dramatically. The Bute Inlet project, larger in environmental impact than Site "C," will be approved shortly. When that happens, there will be no turning back. The message I tried to get out and failed in was getting people to understand that BC Hydro is compelled to buy that power at hugely inflated prices that it cannot come close to getting on the market. At present, Hydro has given out contracts amounting to $31 BILLION dollars, rising with each new private power licence and, here's the rub, for energy we can't use because it comes with the spring run-off when BC Hydro has full reservoirs thus lots of power. The private power will go to the U.S. and the process, unless reversed, will spell the end of BC Hydro.

One of the critical points in the election was the Campbell government's steadfast refusal to debate this issue despite all the provocation I could provide. This is a sad commentary on the election process but was a very smart move by Campbell for our case is unanswerable. I suspect that Richard Neufeld's departure for the Senate was contrived as Premier Campbell knew his energy plan couldn't withstand even mild cross examination while the new minister knew nothing about the real issues and would be able to duck debate.

Victories for fish farm, river power giants

The big winners were Marine Harvest, the fish farm giant and Warren Buffet, the largest shareholder of General Electric, partners with Plutonic Power Corporation Inc, the promoters of the Bute Inlet project. The big losers were those who care about fish and rivers.

In addition to refusing to debate the fish and power issues, Campbell skillfully painted himself as the steady hand on the tiller needed in these perilous economic times. He was able to do so because NDP leader Carole James could not avoid dealing with the NDP's traditional issues -- social issues -- thus blunting her attack on the economic front.

Campbell knew that his natural constituency did not, at this time at any rate, give a fiddler's wind passing for the homeless, the sick and the lame. His playing the economy card over and over again while refusing to get into other issues, except in a perfunctory way, had the effect of making Ms. James look like a bleeding heart while Campbell appeared as the white knight leading the province out of the economic wilderness.

Will fudged budget melt?

It's hard to criticize James because she obviously had to let her natural constituency know she was carrying their issues onto the battlefield. The end result was that Campbell had absolute control over the issue people wanted to hear about most -- the economy.

What comes next?

We'll see a new budget, which will remind many of the "fudget budget" of the Clark government in 1996, and we'll see a legislature more fractious than ever, which won't matter at all to Mr. Campbell who has, under our system, a four-year dictatorship ahead -- and none play the role of dictator better that he. We will have civil unrest over the rivers issue and when, not if, BC Hydro is broken up and sold. The polarization of our community will match if not exceed those days when Bill Bennett and Dave Barrett spat endless streams of venom at one another.

STV is not to be

Finally, STV. What went wrong?

I can only relate to personal experiences. As a supporter of STV, I was asked to make a speech on its behalf, which I did -- it was before about 100 supporters in a room in the SFU downtown campus. Supporters! I was spending valuable time and energy for nothing!

The STV campaign was obviously taken over by the Bay Street crowd. The last thing British Columbians wanted were lectures from the likes of Andrew Coyne of the Toronto Globe and Mail.

I was asked to do an endorsement for the "yes" side and did so thinking it was for radio ads only to find out, to my horror, that I became part of a telemarketing exercise. I hate that stuff and so, my mail tells me, do a lot of people.

I feel desperately sorry for former MLA Nick Loenen who has put so many years on this project and can only speculate that if he had remained in control it might have turned out differently.

Bottom line? This issue is dead for a decade.

The election itself?

History tells us that in bad times people often turn to the right.

Yesterday was no exception.

Related Tyee stories:

• BC's Clashing Shades of Green
  How 'run of river' and global warming are splitting enviros this election.
• Plutonic Power CEO denies donating to Libs, then changes story
• Guide to Tyee Election Reporting
  You gave. We reported. A round-up of our coverage so far.