The provincial election date is May 14. The writ will be dropped about 30 days earlier, signalling the official start to the election campaign.
Just to emphasize, this means – the election campaign has not yet begun.
Although parties are already into campaign mode, for elected politicians, the taxpayer-funded work of government continues. Or at least it should.
However, perhaps the smart meters are working in an unexpected way. The Shuswap has apparently been sending out its own electro-magnetic field recently, pulling in the perhaps metal filing-filled shoes of seldom-seen Liberal government ministers.
The seldom-seen is not meant to be a criticism; it’s not necessary to visit each riding to do the jobs of government.
We realize that the Shuswap riding has long been a Liberal stronghold, thanks to the long-time efforts of current MLA George Abbott, and the Liberals are naturally very motivated to hang on to it.
In the past week alone, the Shuswap has played host to B.C. Minister of Advanced Education, Innovation and Technology, John Yap, as well as B.C. Minister of Justice Shirley Bond.
Is the timing a coincidence? Probably not.
But if you are a government minister and are going to visit – say, for instance, as Minister Bond just did – could you make your visit a less glaringly obvious campaign move?
Bond visited Salmon Arm Secondary and spoke with the dry grad committee. She was not alone.
Accompanying her was – Shuswap Liberal candidate Greg Kyllo.
Why is a taxpayer-funded government minister taking an election candidate with her to a public school on government business?
We know why – and it is difficult to see it as anything other than a cynical misuse of a government position.
