We live in a province that has weathered the downturn, has a stellar financial record, enjoys low taxes, good health care, a strong education system and has sunny economic prospects.
But listen to the news and it seems every day is a constant hum of negativity about Premier Christy Clark and her government. The pounding of our premier is relentless.
Sure, she’s made mistakes, she’ll be the first to admit that. But look at what she has achieved. She won the leadership of her party with only 1 of 49 MLAs supporting her. She had to work with a wounded caucus, deal with her predecessor’s baggage and rebuild.
Right off the bat she was derided by the NDP, the pundits and armchair critics as Premier Photo-op. It didn’t matter that she raised the minimum wage, brought in a jobs plan, won a major shipbuilding contract, rewrote family law legislation, or introduced a commendable budget that held the line on spending. The (sexist) narrative was established. Everything from comments about her cleavage to patronizing claptrap from the good old (mostly) boys.
They didn’t expect her to keep powering on. She renewed her cabinet. She has recruited an exceptional group of new candidates. She brought in a balanced budget and made tough decisions, some tougher than her predecessor was prepared to make.
Meanwhile, where is the scrutiny of Adrian Dix and the NDP? Here we are, less than 12 weeks from election day and Dix has evaded any serious discussion of his plans.
He has carefully cultivated a ‘serious’ image, but there’s nothing serious about the results. He’s said nothing, refuses to show his cards. Let’s remember this is a man who backdated a memo while chief of staff to then-premier Glen Clark and was forced to resign over it. So, why do we only hear one side of the story?
Let’s make this a fair playing field, it’s time for some serious media scrutiny on the NDP. As each day ticks down to election day, it’s a free day for Adrian Dix to say nothing.
Sheila Orr
Saanich
