Fight HST Turning Serious Debate into Clown Show

(Aired on September 21, 2010)

There probably isn't one person who sees this editorial who is surprised MLA Terry Lake's name is near the top of the list of targets for the anti-HST recall campaign. As the chair of the legislative committee who made the unpopular decision of going to a referendum on the HST, and an MLA who didn't have a big margin of victory last year, that shouldn't be surprising.

Lake's future is hardly in doubt, even though his committee copped out and took the easy way out of the HST controversy by going to a referendum a year away. It was a cop-out because by next September, the fuss over the HST will be gone, and we will have spent millions of dollars on nothing. All because the Liberal members of Lake's committee used the excuse that the referendum was a way to listen to the people instead of having the guts to debate the issue in the legislature and take a vote. This way, they blame the anti-HST forces for causing us to spend all that taxpayers money instead of simply saving it by voting on it instead. And if you're going to have a referendum, have it sooner rather than later so we can have a vote while the issue is still a hot topic.

What I can't figure out, though, is why Bill Vander Zalm and the anti-HST forces are turning the whole recall process into a clown show by making it into some kind of Survivor game. That's about as tactless as Lake's committee's decision on the referendum. If Chris Delaney and VanderZalm are serious about this issue, and they've put a lot of work into it so far, why would they cheapen the whole thing by this charade? Maybe they're simply giving up. They don't even have a proponent to run a recall campaign in Kevin Krueger's riding. Maybe it's all over and the anti-HST folks are just going through the motions. I can't think of anything else given the stupidity of their latest move. This is a serious thing. Treat it that way, or walk away.

Unlikely Liberals Influenced Elections BC

(Aired on August 12, 2010)

It was only a year and a half ago that Terry Lake was being touted as a poster boy for the Liberal Party. A bright man, with experience as Mayor of Kamloops, well-spoken, looked good, the kind of guy you might want to have eventually as a Premier of the Province. Now Terry might become a poster boy of another kind.

Now that the Anti-HST petition has been declared valid, and yet delayed at the hands of the Chief Elections Officer, Lake could well become the first recall target in the province. Anti-HST forces are upset that Elections B.C. is refusing to send the petition on to the government until legal action over the petition clears the court. That could be some time down the road. I'm not expert enough on constitutional law to know whether that's outside Elections B.C.'s mandate or not.

But while pro-HST forces are pleased with the decision, what it means is that there is now a bigger perception than ever that the government is influencing the decision. Whether they are or not is immaterial. Do you think anyone out there believes the government that they didn't have anything to do with the delay? What Elections B.C.'s move has done is to inflame the situation even more, and provide Anti-HST forces with even more ammo going forward.

And even if they aren't successful in forcing the recall of a single MLA, what they have accomplished is to stretch out the Anti-HST and anti-government sentiment in the province for a longer period of time. While the Liberals would dearly love to deal with the HST petition and get it out of the way, in order to have things quiet down before the next election, they've been stymied by yesterday's decision. And that's why, if you think about it, the Liberals likely had nothing to do with any decision by Elections B.C. yesterday. They would have much preferred, I believe, to get it to government, deal with it, and get it over with. Now, they're forced to wait even longer, taking us that much closer to May of 2013. Not an enviable position to be in.

MLA Lake in the Crosshairs

(Aired on August 11, 2010)

This is a pre-taped segment, so as much as I'd love to comment on the decision of elections BC with regards to the anti-HST petition, it's impossible.  The petition organizers seemed to make every effort to ensure that the petition would be valid.  And say what you want about the leaders of the campaign, but they aren't quacks or political neophytes.  They should know the process and what is required.

Having said that, it is entirely bizarre to me how this entire process has put one man in the crosshairs.  If the petition moves to the next stage, that will involve the parliamentary committee chaired by Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake.  The government will need to take the initiative seriously, and that committee will be tasked with determining how that's done.

But then there is the prospect of province-wide recall campaigns for MLAs.  If that is what the anti-HST organizers are up to next, the first MLA they target will no doubt be - drumroll please - Terry Lake.  Why?  Because not only did Lake win a close election in a riding that has plenty of NDP support, but he is a rookie at the provincial level.  Whatever happens, the man is going to be under pressure.

Lake has a sharp mind, and occasionally an even sharper tongue that can get him into trouble.  But he will be prepared for whatever happens, as he is someone with good political instincts and a lot of fight in him.  The only thing he shouldn't do is underestimate the fight in the anti-HST crowd.