Category Archives: BC Politics

Decision Canada | Dancing With the One That Brung Ya, Part 1

April 29, 2019BC Politics, Decision Canada 2019, PoliticsRaymond Tomlin

Jody Wilson-Raybould, 2019

Loyalty is a scarce commodity in politics.
When an individual decides that they’re going to go into politics, generally there’s both a fair bit of ego and ambition involved.
A novice candidate first has to secure the nomination, which takes organizational ability, and an energized, experienced and crack team behind her or him. Once the nomination is achieved — no mean feat, that — there’s a whole campaign team that needs to be put into place, competent, organized professionals who know how to get the candidate’s message out.
A bit of history concerning Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau, age 24 in 1996, as a student at the University of British Columbia

After attaining a bachelor of arts degree in literature from Montréal’s McGill University at age 22 in 1994, Justin Trudeau traveled to British Columbia — the province where his mother was raised, continues to live, and where he had spent a great deal of time with his mother’s family — to enrol in the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Education, where he went on to attain a Bachelor of Education degree in 1998, and a teaching certificate, securing employment post graduation at the West Point Grey Academy, where he taught both French and math, later going on to employment with the Vancouver School District, as a much-beloved teacher and colleague at Winston Churchill Secondary, in Vancouver’s Oakridge neighbourhood.
Active always in politics, and long committed to a reconciliation process with Canada’s indigenous peoples, Mr. Trudeau first met Jody Wilson-Raybould when both were students at UBC, continuing their relationship when he was teaching school in our city, and after passing the bar in 2000, she was employed as a provincial Crown prosecutor in Vancouver’s Main Street criminal courthouse for three years, from 2000 to 2003.
Colleagues of Ms. Wilson-Raybould, like respected criminal defence lawyer Terry La Liberté described Ms. Wilson-Raybould as a smart, fair, and a skilled prosecutor, who treated defendants with compassion, saying …

“She has actually talked to the people who are affected. She has worked with these people and made choices about their future in a really meaningful way.”

In respect of the federal Liberal party, after almost a decade in the wilderness, when newly-elected Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau ran to become Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister in the 2015 federal election, in the lead up to the election, he made it a point to approach and speak several times with Jody Wilson-Raybould, asking her to consider running as a candidate in the newly-created riding of Vancouver-Granville, promising that he would put the full weight of the Liberal party campaign apparatus behind her campaign to secure her run for office.

Mr. Trudeau made it clear to Ms. Wilson-Raybould, on numerous occasions, that he believed it was past time that a Prime Minister elevate an indigenous woman into a federal cabinet, which was exactly what he did when he appointed his first Cabinet on Wednesday, November 4th, 2015, appointing Jody Wilson-Raybould as Minister of Justice & Attorney General.
At present, Justin Trudeau is Canada’s Prime Minister. Let’s take a look at those two latter words: Minister, means Mr. Trudeau is a Minister of the Crown. In respect of the word Prime, according to the Oxford dictionary, prime means primary, chief, principal, foremost, first, paramount, major, dominant, supreme, overriding, cardinal, pre-eminent and number one.
Politically, it is understood federally that Cabinet Ministers serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister, and in the case of provinces, the Premier.
Read what Sonya Savage — a star candidate for Alberta’s United Conservative Party and respected Calgary lawyer, with a master of laws in environment and energy, who has worked in senior positions with Enbridge and the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, the MLA-elect for Calgary-North West and the likely choice to take on the energy portfolio — has to say in this CBC article on who will make the cut when Alberta Premier-elect Jason Kenney announces his cabinet tomorrow morning …

“You serve at the pleasure of the premier-elect and I’ll be happy to serve in any capacity,” Savage said on Wednesday. “First and foremost is to represent the people who elected you.”

Exactly. Should Ms. Savage make Jason Kenney’s first Cabinet, as is likely, she will serve at the pleasure of the Premier, as all of the Ministers of the current British Columbia NDP government serve at the pleasure of Premier John Horgan. That is Politics 101. Canada’s is Justin Trudeau’s government. British Columbia is John Horgan’s government, plain and simple.
Baleful that Jody Wilson-Raybould never grasped this basic political precept, in place across every government, in every country across the globe.

Justin Trudeau shares a moment with this wife Sophie Gregoire on election night 2015

On October 19th, 2015, the Justin Trudeau-led Liberal Party won 184 seats in the 338 Parliament, gaining an unexpectedly large majority government. One of those seats belongs to Mr. Trudeau. When it came to appointing his first cabinet, Mr. Trudeau had an embarrassment of riches from which to choose, of the 183 returning or newly-elected Members of Parliament in Canada’s 23rd national government, ambitious and accomplished all, and possessed of the belief that s/he would make a superb Minister of the Crown and serve the people of Canada well in such capacity, 153 of whom were to be sorely disappointed when Mr. Trudeau announced his cabinet.
Note should be made that Canadians heard no whinging or public gnashing of teeth from the 153 Liberal members of Parliament who failed to make Justin Trudeau’s first cabinet.
At least for most Liberal Members of Parliament, loyalty to the party under whose banner they ran, and the Prime Ministerial candidate they had committed to support and (they did, and with the exception of Jane Philpott, Jody Wilson-Raybould and Celina Caesar-Chavannes) still do, remains of paramount importance, as does loyalty to the Prime Minister.

VanRamblings’ studied & informed supposition as to the outcome of this year’s election

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is the leader of the country, and the leader of the Liberal Party, the political figure who offers the Liberal Party of Canada, its many thousands of members, the sitting and supportive Members of Parliament and the people of Canada, the best opportunity to retain government, to continue to work on behalf of all Canadians, even if the win this coming October 21st is to result in a reduced majority, the latter thanks to the imprecations of Jody Wilson-Raybould, a sentiment of condemnation many members of the Liberal caucus, in every province and territory, have expressed to attentive and heedful members of the press.

Let’s take a look at the qualifications of Canada’s current Attorney General and Minister of Justice (pictured above), the Honourable David Lametti …

Prior to his recent appointment, Dr. Lametti was a full, tenured Professor in the Faculty of Law at Montréal’s McGill University (Mr. Trudeau’s alma mater), specializing in property, intellectual property as well as private and comparative law. He was also a member of McGill University’s Québec Research Centre of Private and Comparative Law and a co-founder and member of the McGill Centre for Intellectual Property Policy. He served as the Associate Dean (Academic) of the Faculty of Law, McGill University, from 2008 to 2011. Multilingual, Minister Lametti has taught at the university level in French, English, and Italian.

In addition to his responsibilities as a professor, Dr. Lametti was a member of McGill University’s Senate and a Governor of the Fondation du Barreau du Québec, as well as president of the governing board for his children’s — André, Gabrielle, and Dominique’s — school.

Dr. Lametti holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws from McGill University, a Master of Laws from the Yale Law School, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Law from Oxford University. Prior to starting his doctoral studies in law, he served as a Law Clerk to Justice Peter deCarteret Cory of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Clearly, Minister Lametti is a piker, and unqualified to become, and now serve as, Canada’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice.
When Justin Trudeau appointed his first cabinet, did he appoint the accomplished Dr. Lametti as Canada’s new Attorney General and Minister of Justice? Nope, he didn’t. He appointed a former junior Crown Counsel, Jody Wilson-Raybould, who went on to believe that she had the divine right to serve in that capacity for as long as she remained interested in doing so.
Humility and forbearance, thy name is not Jody Wilson-Raybould.
Part 2 of 3 of Dancing With the One That Brung Ya, tomorrow.

Decision Canada | Passover | Liberation, Freedom & Democracy

April 23, 2019BC Politics, Decision Canada 2019, PoliticsRaymond Tomlin

Passover is a major, biblically derived Jewish holiday, a commemoration of Jewish liberation by God from slavery in ancient Egypt, their (our, for VanRamblings is a Jew) freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses, commemorated by the story of the Exodus as described in The Five Books of Moses, most especially in the Book of Exodus.
As with Passover and the theme of liberation and freedom, that too is what our democracy promises us, and that is what Canadians will be voting for come this October, in Canada’s 43rd general election.
As Canadians find themselves at the beginning of our country’s quadrennial federal election season, those of the Jewish faith today celebrate the midway point of Passover, which commemoration began this past Friday evening, and will end late on this upcoming Saturday evening.
As the Jewish celebration of liberation, freedom and democracy draws to a close in just a few days, Canadians’ celebration of the three central tenets of democratic life across our nation is just now beginning.
Commencing with publication of VanRamblings columns effective this upcoming Monday, April 29th, VanRamblings will provide our own idiosyncratic insight into a variety of subjects, including the recent Jody Wilson-Raybould ‘scandal’ (sure not to please many), the state of our provincial governance (ditto, although overall, we’re supportive of our New Democrat government), and Vancouver’s municipal government — of which we will be somewhat critical, but much less so than you might imagine.
In the interim, we’ll leave you with our early prediction as to how the federal election will unfold late in the evening of Monday, October 21st …

With the Jody Wilson-Raybould ‘scandal’ fading back into the deep recesses of the consciousness of fickle Canadian voters, come Monday evening, October 21st, 2019, while the Liberals will end up losing seats in BC (5 – 8), Ontario (23+) and the Maritimes (6), they’ll pick up seats in Québec. The Conservatives will gain seats in BC (8 – 10), Ontario (23+), Québec (5 or more), and perhaps as many as a half dozen seats in the Maritimes.
Meanwhile, the NDP will be all but wiped out in Québec, taking their seat count down in that province from 16 (as of election night 2015) to one lone seat, that of the much-beloved Ruth Ellen Brosseau, in the riding of Berthier — Maskinongé. Meanwhile, the Greens are set to gain additional seats on Vancouver Island and in the Maritimes, and if Jane Philpott joins newlywed Elizabeth May’s ascendant Green party, a seat or two in Ontario.
Although we’re looking at an ugly election, as Justin Trudeau has predicted for months, the Liberals possess the most experienced and effective campaign team, are well-financed, and have in Justin Trudeau a born campaigner, who lives to interact with the electorate.
Andrew Scheer, sad to say, simply lacks Trudeau’s charisma, and although the Conservatives will gain seats in the next Parliament, we predict Scheer will not catch on with most of the electorate.
Jagmeet Singh, as with Trudeau, will also prove to be a first-rate campaigner, but what with 17 resignations and defections from his caucus in recent months, unless Mr. Singh catches fire with the electorate, the woefully underfunded federal New Democratic Party will find themselves having one helluva not-so-good time on the campaign trail.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth May’s political star is in its ascendancy, which will translate into votes for her from disaffected members of the Liberal, Conservative and New Democratic parties, resulting in an effective rump Green caucus in Canada’s next Parliament.
Take note: you read it here first.

After completing the writing of the above post, a friend posted a text message at the conclusion of a lengthy text tête-à-tête we were having on the upcoming federal election, resulting in the writing of the following …
For another, not too dissimilar projection, the Laurier Institute for the Study of Public Opinion and Policy’s Barry Kay last evening published his seat projection on the Global News website, giving one seat to Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party, and only two seats to Elizabeth May’s Green Party.

Source: Laurier Institute. Blend of polls from Nanos, Forum, Angus Reid, Leger and Mainstreet between mid-March and mid-April, derived from over 15,000 individual interviews. Link provided by VanRamblings reader (friend and politico), Jacob Kojfman.

Decision Canada | Earth Day 2019 | A Present Climate Emergency

April 22, 2019BC Politics, Canada, Decision Canada 2019, PoliticsRaymond Tomlin

Record-breaking cold temperatures across Canada and the U.S. Midwest this past winter had most easteners cranking up the heat and wishing they could hibernate.
Climate change is creating extreme conditions on both ends of the spectrum. With eastern Canada caught in the midst of a series of record cold snap throughout the winter, on the other end of the planet more than 50 wildfires were raging in Tasmania, Australia’s tiniest state. In fact, Australia has had eight of its ten hottest summers since 2005.
Last summer, the failure to pass legislation that would have reined in greenhouse gas emissions resulted in the ouster of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
Meanwhile, according to the New York Times story linked to above …

” … (Turnbull’s ouster) could be a bellwether for the 2019 Canadian election, set for October 21st, in which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces a powerful challenge from politicians aligned with the country’s oil industry. Conservatives have pledged to undo Mr. Trudeau’s plans to put a price on carbon nationwide if they take power. At the provincial level, Conservatives have won majority governments in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick after campaigning against the federal government’s carbon tax programme.”

Perhaps the fact that Prince Edward Island Green Party leader Peter Bevan-Baker is leading in the polls and on the threshold for a majority win in tomorrow’s 66th Prince Edward Island general election might be seen as a necessary and fitting backlash to the Trump-like, decidedly right-of-centre Conservative Party sweep that seems to have our nation in its grip.

April 22, 2019 poll for Maclean’s magazine indicates an historic win for the PEI Green Party in tomorrow’s precedent setting 66th Prince Edward Island general election.

All of which begs the question: with less than six months to go to the upcoming 43rd Canadian general election when is the Andrew Scheer-led federal Conservative Party planning on releasing the party’s climate change plan, particularly when as recently as December he refused to commit the Conservative Party to meeting Paris targets?
As the Star Editorial Board published earlier this year …

The Conservatives’ critique of carbon pricing has become increasingly incoherent.

On the one hand, they say, the Liberal plan is a tax grab. On the other, since 90 per cent of what’s collected by Ottawa will be rebated back to taxpayers and most will actually come out ahead, it amounts to “bribing people with their own money.” Again, on the one hand a levy of $20 a tonne to start is an onerous “tax on everything.” At the same time, they insist, it’s a paltry amount that won’t cut GHG emissions nearly enough. As the old joke goes, the food here is terrible — and such small portions!

Amid all this politicking and confusion, the advantages of carbon pricing continue to stand out.”

Make no mistake: the environment is very much on the minds of the electorate this year. The federal Liberal, New Democrat and Green parties have, each and every one of them, developed coherent and forward thinking strategies to fight climate change, and preserve our planet.
Andrew Scheer’s Conservative Party has not.
On this Earth Day 2019, that’s something for all of us to think about.

Decision Canada | Resurrection of Canadian Poli | Values

April 21, 2019BC Politics, Decision Canada 2019, News, PoliticsRaymond Tomlin

Six months from today, Canadian voters will go to the polls in the 43rd Canadian general election, to elect 338 Members of Parliament to Ottawa. As is the case in every election, our democracy and most cherished values will be very much on the line in the late evening of Monday, October 21st.
On this Easter Sunday, when according to the Christian faith God raised Jesus from the dead after his crucifixion, in a Sunday morning resurrection, the 43rd Canadian general election, too, is very much about resurrection.
Will Andrew Scheer’s right-of-centre Conservative party be resurrected, once again allowing the Conservatives to come to life as the governing party of Canada? Will Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party, having suffered the poor misfortunes of the Jody Wilson-Raybound ‘scandal’ be resurrected in time for the October 21st general election, and find themselves given new life after having suffered an unrelenting death spiral these past months?
Will Jagmeet Singh resurrect the federal New Democratic Party from their 42-seat position in Parliament, and bring the party a renewed vibrancy and new life? And what of Elizabeth May, Canada’s one-seat Green Party of Canada leader — with the advent of a Peter Bevan-Baker led PEI Green party government possibly in the offing this upcoming Tuesday evening, and given a vibrant and effective Green Party caucus in Victoria and a poll topping Green Party contingent in Vancouver civic government, on the evening of October 21st will Ms. May be joined by a half dozen or more of her Green Party colleagues, resurrecting grassroots democracy in Canada?
Over the course of the next six months, VanRamblings will delve into the issues that will help determine the 43rd Parliament of Canada, and whither our democracy — although, truth to tell, we also intend to write about our civic and provincial governance, as well as provide idiosyncratic coverage of the arts, the stories of our life, and during the course of the year our cancer journey, and how we find ourselves once again present and accounted for.
VanRamblings’ plan is to write daily through the end of June, addressing any number of topics that interest us, while cutting back our publishing scheduled somewhat during July and August, while once again ramping up our federal election coverage following Monday, September 2nd Labour Day.
We hope to see you back here often. We’ll be looking for you tomorrow.