e-KNOW editorial

Oftentimes British Columbia’s provincial government ‘centre line,’ showcasing the moods, needs and philosophies of the party that rules in Victoria, can be seen through the shades and blinds of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities’ (UBCM) resolutions and motions during its annual general meeting.

Considering some of this year’s UBCM conference work, it appears as though our province is heading toward a liberal bent – but not the kind that will power Premier Christy Clark and her staggering Liberal Party back in the driver’s seat for another four years.

While the roughly 1,5000 UBCM delegates will rampage through about 200 motions during their annual conference, two motions stand out thus far.

The first was passed Sept. 26 – when UBCM delegates passed a motion (Resolution A5 – put forward by Metchosin) supporting the decriminalization of marijuana. That means the majority of locally elected leaders, representing all corners of this province, say ‘yes to cannabis,’ though the motion passed through a ‘split’ UBCM floor.

Certainly, there will be people in the prairie provinces (cough Alberta) rolling their eyes and sniggering like a bully’s sidekick at the old joke – you know the one, where B.C. is viewed as the sandal and headband clad old hippie of Canada. Who cares? We’ll have the last laugh when we’re the first jurisdiction in Canada to launch the ‘marijuana industry’ and capitalize on untold hundreds of millions of dollars, many which would be peeled off into the black hole of Victoria to fund the health and education troughs, MLA pensions and the never-ending mess that is the Lower Mainland.

At the least, the UBCM delegates are displaying the trending shift toward more liberal views of marijuana taking place in North America – and those views tend to be shared more by NDPers than the staunch and staid and conservatives that wear the sheep’s clothing known as BC Liberal Party memberships.

Sadly, considering the boneheaded old fart stilt and wobble of the federal Tories, decriminalization will not occur. Stephen Harper is afraid of weed. He hears it makes people goofy and silly and they develop independent thoughts, separate from the hive, and leads them to wider virtues and beliefs, making them lose their ability to disregard facts and knowledge and hold fast to outdated and long proven false perceptions. They then get slobbering pissed and punch one another in the eye just to prove that they’re still men, goddamn it. Some will drive home; some will beat their spouses; some will stop for a quickie in a red light district; some will forget where they parked, try to walk home and end up on the front page of a local tabloid wearing nothing but a garden hose. Still, booze is legal – so no biggie right?

The second UBCM motion that indicates a strong ‘NDP’ presence in the municipal waiting room is the Sept. 27 motion opposing increased oil tanker traffic along B.C.’s coast. This of course holds towering sway over Enbridge’s northern pipeline ambitions and could potentially signal its death knell. However, it also needs to be noted that the motion squeaked through with 51% of delegates’ votes.

The motion reads:

WHEREAS a crude oil spill would have devastating and long lasting effects on British Columbia’s unique and diverse coast, which provides critical marine habitat and marine resources that sustain the social, cultural, environmental and economic health of coastal and First Nations communities;

AND WHEREAS citizens of British Columbia, particularly those living in coastal communities, and First Nations communities and environmental groups have expressed well-founded concerns over the expansion of oil pipelines and oil tankers:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM oppose projects that would lead to the expansion of oil tanker traffic through BC’s coastal waters;

AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UBCM urge the Premier of British Columbia, the Leader of the Official Opposition and members of the Legislative Assembly to use whatever legislative and administrative means that are available to stop the expansion of oil tanker traffic through BC’s coastal waters.

Stick that in your pipe and have a big, chest-wheezing puff Alison Redford!

This motion must have really dragged out the right and left wing extremes in the UBCM, as the issue personifies belief systems.

Some people don’t trust big oil because big oil essentially rules the world and the entire global economic system balances precariously on that finite resource pinhead. Many of these same people fear environmental trauma stemming from a heavy oil pipeline, including our current Premier (wisely so), as well as from oil tankers three-point turning their way through Douglas Channel out of Kitimat. These people tend to be painted as ‘socialist weenies’ or ‘left greenies.’

On the other side of the equation are the people who believe that creating jobs and making money must be the be-all, end-all. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead and we’ll seek forgiveness if we fuck things up and if that doesn’t work, we’ll buy ourselves another government in a few years.

Party politics truly is an arse’s arena – no matter what side of it you’re sitting.

The UBCM should be commended for its attempts to put a provincial voice on issues that are constantly trampled to death on the floor of the Legislature by shouting buffoons, lying Igors and terrible actors.

In terms of a provincial mirror – look to the UBCM and not the Legislature.

And the current Liberal government best be paying heed to what’s taken place in Victoria this past week. The UBCM expresses the mood of the overall electorate – more so all the time. It is clearly ‘split’ right now but that does not bode well for the ruling party moving forward.

It’s time to show an unflagging and unfailing willingness to listen to all of B.C.’s voices, as opposed to the normal party politics nonsense of only listening to those who support you.

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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