Rafe Arnott Weblog

Eye on the prize

Federal Conservative Leader Stephen Harper shares a private word with Conservative MP Betty Hinton on a stopover in Kamloops recently.
Harper and his party are pairing up with the Bloc Quebecois to topple Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority Liberal government. Thursday May 19, is the date for a targeted strike to call an election with a vote of non-confidence in parliament.
Stay tuned for further coverage of the impending federal election as well as Tuesday's B.C. provincial election.

Joy MacPhail hits the bricks

Rafe Arnott/KTW

Joy MacPhail surveyed Victoria Street like a general assessing a battlefield.
The savvy politician is campaigned-hardened, and knows when a fight can be won.
“There is a competitive race in Kamloops, and Kamloops-North Thompson. The two (NDP) candidates here will win the next election, as long as we get out and talk to voters.
“The people of Kamloops have been particularly harmed by the Liberal government – and Kevin Krueger and Claude Richmond.”
MacPhail has been travelling throughout the province the last three weeks and journeyed to the Lower Mainland yesterday.
MacPhail said she is ready to call it quits, and despite loving the last 14 years in politics, she will not miss it.
“This campaign has been wonderful, there is an energy and enthusiasm – but I’m ready to retire.”
She said the NDP is a rejuvenated party compared to the 1990s.
“We (the NDP) are a brand-new party. We had a near-death experience in 2001. We rebuilt our grassroots in every community. We have new a leader who is moderate, thoughtful and balanced.
“We still have our same New Democratic values – that are really the values of all British Colombians.”
Carole James has shown sterling leadership according to MacPhail, and she thinks the people of B.C. are embracing James’ ideas the more they hear from her.
“ She (James) is everything Gordon Campbell isn’t.”
Looking back at her time in opposition, MacPhail said her favourite debating partner across the aisle at the Legislature was (former finance minister) Gary Collins.
“There were lots of interesting debaters on the other side. Gordon Campbell, of course, never showed up in the legislature – he seemed afraid of debating. Kevin Krueger played the buffoon, so he was always fun to debate.”
With Christie Clark and MacPhail retired from the ranks of provincial politics, MacPhail said there were still female firebrands to watch for.
“Carole James for sure – Jenny Kwan. We have very interesting candidates running in the Lower Mainland – Karen Rockwell, Jenny Stevens. On the Island there is Claire Trevena, who is a solid environmentalist and will be an interesting debater.”
MacPhail withheld her views on the single transferable vote, but hoped people would participate.
“It’s up to the local people how they decide to vote. I’m keeping my personal view to myself.”

Heated debate

Dr. Dennis Pilon is seen through a television camera's viewfinder as he answers a barrage of questions in Kamloops Monday evening about the single transferable vote and what it will mean for electoral reform in British Columbia.

STV Q & A

Rafe Arnott/KTW

Citizen’s Assembly member Ray Jones talked to Kamloops This Week and answered some questions about the Single Transferable Vote; what it means for women, will ridings be too large and is it all just too complicated?

Q: How will STV increase the number of female candidates?

“Because parties are allowed to present more candidates to the public. It allows more flexibility. Given that is a priority on the parties’ part; the suspicion is there is no commitment from the parties’ too put forward women candidates. Then they blame the electoral system that there are not more.”

Q: Will ridings be too large for effective representation?

“I don’t think so. They (ridings) will still be smaller than federal ridings. The assembly struggled with the problem of riding size – it was a big issue. But people live where they live. Unless somebody wants to force people to move somewhere else. All 79 MLAs are elected from a geographical area – they’re not a party list name. With multi-members, if you don’t get satisfaction from one (MLA) you can go to another one.”

Q: Is the counting system too complicated for ordinary people to understand – is it accountable?

“No. That’s something I find annoying. There are lot of things in life which are complicated – but we use them. In a sense you could take comments like that (about complexity) as insulting – are we too stupid to figure it out? Voters must remember, they can choose only one candidate, or up to seven. That shouldn’t be an issue. As for accountability, they can print out how the votes were transferred from one to another. If people are worried about accountability they should be asking the same question about the present system.”

Q: When counting ballots in a four-member riding, where the quota is 25 per cent (for a winning candidate), are the second preferences for these votes counted?

“All the number-one choices are sorted according to candidate, then totaled up to calculate the quota. If any one candidate has more than their quota ( 25 per cent in a four member riding) then the transfer value is applied. For example if one candidate has 120 per cent of the votes needed to win, they mathematically shrink the 120 to the 100 (per cent), and that 20 per cent is shared, depending on the number two choice – but only on the over-quota candidates ballots.”

STV in the rain

A woman interested in electoral reform listens to media personality Rafe Mair speak about the merits of a single transferable vote outside the Vancouver library on Sunday afternoon. About 150 supporters and media were in attendance to cover the election referendum topic. More STV coverage to come.

James gang rides again

Provincial NDP Leader Carol James jetted through town on Wednesday. She met with local candidates Doug Brown and Mike Hanson at Hanson's campaign headquarters downtown before hopping back on her bus and leaving Kamloops in the dust.

Richmond eyes a solution

Kamloops Liberal MLAs Claude Richmond, right, and Kevin Krueger, announced gaming funds to be in place to pay the salary for Rev. Viktor Gundel's chaplaincy position at Royal Inland Hospital. The pair met with press and organizations involved with spiritual care on the front lawn of the hospital Tuesday afternoon.

The politics of dancing

Rafe Arnott/KTW

There is a pause on the telephone as Chief Shane Gottfriedson ponders his reply.
The Kamloops Indian Band leader answered questions regarding the B.C. Liberal Party’s track record with First Nations.
“Speaking on behalf of my band, I think we need a strategy for land claims. Something comprehensive for individual bands in the treaty process.”
Kamloops - North Thompson NDP candidate Mike Hanson alleged local bands were unhappy with the progress of talks with the Liberals, and said First Nations had not been given what the Campbell government promised them.
“If you speak to these Chiefs – they are frustrated with the process of talks at this point.”
A meeting with local NDP candidates would be nice said Gottfriedson.
“I have not heard from [Mike Hanson or Kamloops NDP candidate Doug Brown] . . . I’d like to sit down with them and listen to what they have to say.”
Gottfriedson said while he was not specifically unhappy with the Liberal government, he would like to meet with MLA Kevin Krueger and try to work on resolutions.
“I want to meet with [Krueger] before the election gets too far along, and get the KIB perspective out there.
“Every time I call [Krueger] he has been very accommodating about what [KIB] is doing and what we need support on.”
According to Gottfriedson, KIB has issues with gaming at Mount Paul Centre, among others.
He said it’s important people know he is not just looking out for his band.
“[My thought] is a regional approach. First and foremost KIB has a major economic impact on the area. We generate $200 million annually for the local economy.
“What is good for the region is good for us.”
Gottfriedson said he met with Green Party candidate Grant Fraser already.”I’ve had discussions on where [Fraser] said he stands on specifics.”
But, when questioned about what he thought of the Green stance towards First Nations, Gottfriedson said “– it’s hard to say. How much support does the Green party really have?
“[The question is] what government elected will do the best for the city and the region?”
Nathan Matthew, North Thompson Indian Band Chief, said he knows this election will not be won or lost on aboriginal issues.
“[Campbell’s] government started off with an antagonistic, aggressive stance [towards First Nations] with the referendum on self-government.”
Matthew said the provincial government had not done Natives any favours.
“They are selling off B.C. lands and lining the treasury with those funds without any compensation to First Nations.”
Natives have always had challenges with provincial governments Matthew said.
“The experience of this Liberal Party has left a bitter taste in the mouths of First Nations when we look at how they have handled corporate interests compared to those of [aboriginals].”

Focus on winning

Eight local lifeguards will be competing in the Canadian Lifeguard Champoinships being held in Kamloops starting Wednesday. The discipline will be featured as an olympic demonstration sport in 2008.

Winds of change

Rafe Arnott/KTW

The nature of political language tends to be confusing at the best of times, and with every election in Kamloops – be it provincial or federal – one word in particular always comes up – bellwether.
It is something television political analysts like to say with a certain smug satisfaction.
Bellwether usually crops up in retrospect on a TV broadcast, an afterthought, or in hindsight mentioned on the radio.
The word is intriguing, and a quick trip to www.dictionary.com turns up it's meaning;
'One that serves as a leader or as a leading indicator of future trends.'
Former New Democratic Party MP for Kamloops, Thompson and Highland Valleys, Nelson Riis, described Kamloops and it's long-held status as political bellwether succinctly;
"[Kamloops] is an incredible cross-section. Compared to most areas, it has a varied demographic. It has it all; First Nations, pretty much every ethnic group. It is a microcosm of society."
Riis said the city was a mirror image of our province.
"[Kamloops] is a reflection of the [British Columbia] demographic – because it is so varied."
Russ Gerard, federal Conservative riding president for Kamloops, and former city councillor, said "Kamloops is made up of down-to-earth blue-collar working people. They do the majority of the voting. This has been going on for 50 years. They are the ones deciding who gets in and who doesn't."
University of Victoria political scientist Norman Ruff hinted at geographic factors as reason for the Tournament Capital's sphere of influence on electoral opinion.
Ruff cited transportation links, business and social trends as indicators of Kamloops' status.
"Kamloops marks the transition from B.C's northern Interior and the Lower Mainland. [Because of its location] whatever happens in B.C. happens in Kamloops – it's the nature of its position
"It is a political and social crossroads – that is what makes it a bellwether riding."
Former mayor of Kamloops, Cliff Branchflower, said "In nearly 50 years here as far as MLAs go, we've always had government members. Back in the days of Phil Gaglardi in the fifties and sixties, Jerry Anderson for the NDP – Dave Barret's regime.
"Then [Kamloops] went back to So-Creds when Bill Bennett was in.
"In '91, of course, both local ridings went to the NDP. Then there was a split for a short while and Fred Jackson was defeated in the north and Cathy MacGregor took over from Art Charbonneau."
Branchflower shrugged his shoulders and said; "those (voters) with similar political ideas will vote in a particular way."
Gur Singh, long-time Kamloops neurosurgeon, and no stranger himself to politics, felt the city's social, and political clout was in it's diversity.
"Every candidate [I can recall] without exception, from [Kamloops] riding has formed the provincial government.
The riding has a real mix of constituents. From the right, from the left – all of the spectrum is here. That I believe, is the general political parties' perception."