Meet Gordon 'Five Great Goals' Campbell.
By Bill Tieleman
Published: April 28, 2009
TheTyee.ca
As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.
- Andrew Carnegie
British Columbia has seen many firsts in its exciting political history and another first has recently been achieved by Premier Gordon Campbell.
Doug Jung became the first Chinese-Canadian member of Parliament when he was elected in B.C. in 1957 as a Conservative.
B.C. was embarrassed by having the first cabinet minister in the Commonwealth to be convicted of bribery when ex-forests minister Robert Sommers was found guilty in 1958.
Dave Barrett became not only the first New Democratic Party premier in 1972 but the first of Jewish origin as well.
Rita Johnston of Social Credit was B.C.'s first woman premier and Kim Campbell was a B.C. member of Parliament when she was appointed Canada's first woman prime minister.
The NDP's Moe Sihota became the province's first Indo-Canadian cabinet minister in 1991 and Ujjal Dosanjh its first Indo-Canadian premier in 2000.
And then there's the B.C. Liberals' Gordon Campbell -- our first premier with political attention deficit disorder.
The facts are very clear -- just check back and watch Campbell get excited about and then lose interest in almost every big idea he has had.
Five late goals
Remember Campbell's 2005 throne speech? He launched "Five Great Goals for a Golden Decade."
In case you have an equally short attention span as the premier, here they are:
- Make B.C. the best-educated, most literate place in North America.
British Columbia has seen many firsts in its exciting political history and another first has recently been achieved by Premier Gordon Campbell.
Doug Jung became the first Chinese-Canadian member of Parliament when he was elected in B.C. in 1957 as a Conservative.
B.C. was embarrassed by having the first cabinet minister in the Commonwealth to be convicted of bribery when ex-forests minister Robert Sommers was found guilty in 1958.
Dave Barrett became not only the first New Democratic Party premier in 1972 but the first of Jewish origin as well.
Rita Johnston of Social Credit was B.C.'s first woman premier and Kim Campbell was a B.C. member of Parliament when she was appointed Canada's first woman prime minister.
The NDP's Moe Sihota became the province's first Indo-Canadian cabinet minister in 1991 and Ujjal Dosanjh its first Indo-Canadian premier in 2000.
And then there's the B.C. Liberals' Gordon Campbell -- our first premier with political attention deficit disorder.
The facts are very clear -- just check back and watch Campbell get excited about and then lose interest in almost every big idea he has had.
Five late goals
Remember Campbell's 2005 throne speech? He launched "Five Great Goals for a Golden Decade."
In case you have an equally short attention span as the premier, here they are:
- Make B.C. the best-educated, most literate place in North America.
- Make B.C. a model for healthy living and physical fitness.
- Build the best system of support in Canada for persons with disabilities, special needs, children at risk and seniors.
- Lead the world in sustainable environmental management.
- Lead Canada in job creation.
Now, as you might guess, some of these goals are no longer, well, golden, and they won't likely be met this decade or any other one.
Take number five -- last month British Columbia certainly led Canada -- but in losing 23,000 jobs, not creating them.
And yesterday, Statistics Canada reported that B.C.'s economy actually shrank in 2008 -- for the first time since the recession of 1982. The province's gross domestic product dropped by 0.3 per cent while Canada's overall GDP grew by 0.5 per cent.
Or look at number three -- unfortunately B.C. once again leads the country -- in having the worst child poverty rate of any province.
Reading incomprehension
But at least we're consistent, because under Campbell's government B.C. has the worst rate for five years in a row, according to advocacy group First Call, from 2003 through 2008.
And don't forget number one -- making B.C. the most literate place in North America. I guess that means restoring the hundreds of teacher-librarian positions the B.C. Liberals cut in their first term -- but I don't recall seeing that news release.
There's lots more, of course. Campbell held the most divisive referendum ever attacking aboriginal treaty rights shortly after being elected -- now he is planning a Recognition Act that will give First Nations those rights through legislation.
Campbell slashed the public service with a vengeance in his first term -- now he worries about how to recruit and retain government workers.
Anyway, the good thing about political attention deficit disorder is that... what were we talking about?
Oh yeah, Gordon Campbell.
Related Tyee stories:
BC economy shrank in 2008 despite Liberal claims
Who Is Gordon Campbell 3.0?
Now, as you might guess, some of these goals are no longer, well, golden, and they won't likely be met this decade or any other one.
Take number five -- last month British Columbia certainly led Canada -- but in losing 23,000 jobs, not creating them.
And yesterday, Statistics Canada reported that B.C.'s economy actually shrank in 2008 -- for the first time since the recession of 1982. The province's gross domestic product dropped by 0.3 per cent while Canada's overall GDP grew by 0.5 per cent.
Or look at number three -- unfortunately B.C. once again leads the country -- in having the worst child poverty rate of any province.
Reading incomprehension
But at least we're consistent, because under Campbell's government B.C. has the worst rate for five years in a row, according to advocacy group First Call, from 2003 through 2008.
And don't forget number one -- making B.C. the most literate place in North America. I guess that means restoring the hundreds of teacher-librarian positions the B.C. Liberals cut in their first term -- but I don't recall seeing that news release.
There's lots more, of course. Campbell held the most divisive referendum ever attacking aboriginal treaty rights shortly after being elected -- now he is planning a Recognition Act that will give First Nations those rights through legislation.
Campbell slashed the public service with a vengeance in his first term -- now he worries about how to recruit and retain government workers.
Anyway, the good thing about political attention deficit disorder is that... what were we talking about?
Oh yeah, Gordon Campbell.
Related Tyee stories:
BC economy shrank in 2008 despite Liberal claims
Who Is Gordon Campbell 3.0?
Chatting with the polished puzzle who seeks a third term as BC's premier.
Premier Campbell Backing off Global Warming Effort?
Premier Campbell Backing off Global Warming Effort?
Enviros worried that cabinet shuffle sends a signal priorities have changed.
2 comments:
How could we ever survive without Gordo running the show? REAL EASY.
He never often does what he says he will do or not do. Some voters are so blind they actually believe the arrogant guy. Don't put me on a list as decided
I'm not a fan of Gordon Campbell either, but describing him as "ADD" is inappropriate and ableist. Using a learning disability as an insult is offensive. People with ADD struggle with social stigma and discrimination. Your column repeats harmful stereotypes and drives home the point that having (or appearing to have) ADD is a terrible character flaw, rather than a manageable disability. In fact, many people with ADD are exceptionally intelligent and creative. They need our support and understanding, not stereotyping and insults.
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