EDITORIAL: Clark posing a bad picture

In her quest to seem young and hip, Christy Clark forgets that her job as Premier of B.C. requires a certain level of decorum and respect.

It sometimes seems that in her quest to seem young and hip, Christy Clark forgets that her job as Premier of B.C. requires a certain level of decorum and respect.

Christy Clark once again demonstrated how oblivious she can be, creating another fracas with her attempt to host an International Day of Yoga event. “Om the Bridge” would have seen Vancouver’s busy Burrard Bridge closed for several hours on June 21, and set the province back $150,000.

June 21 is the first day of summer. It’s also, as many people are aware — though apparently not Premier Clark — National Aboriginal Day.

Clark apparently still hasn’t learned a lesson that most people learn in their childhood, that showing respect creates respect in turn. When it comes to dealing with B.C.’s First Nations, showing respect is a key piece of the puzzle.  It would be hard to describe how much disrespect Clark showed by organizing — and planning to attend this event — on the same day.

And she didn’t stop there, taking to Twitter on Thursday to mock the people expressing concern over Om the Bridge.

The whole sorry mess fell apart on June 12, when Clark announced she wouldn’t be attending Om the Bridge. It’s worth noting that in Clark’s 220-word announcement that she wouldn’t be attending the event, only 23 words were dedicated to National Aboriginal Day — the rest was about the wonders of yoga. Nor did Clark mention anything she might be doing on the 21st to honour Canada’s First Peoples.

One Twitter user, Peter McCartney, summed up Clark’s attitude pretty well when he suggested the premier was “showing all the maturity of a 12-year-old.”

Though perhaps that is doing a disservice to 12 year olds. Most of them have a better idea of what respect for themselves and others entails. Perhaps we could find a 12-year-old to offer Clark some basic lessons?

 

Penticton Western News