February 7, 2003

A New Era of Deceit

"You didn't ask me that question", will be Geoff Plant's contribution to the demise of the Campbell government. Forevermore the news media will question whether Ministers are withholding the full truth and playing word games. The case of the smoking judge has inflicted more damage than providing another example of a double standard.

On Friday afternoon, a favorite time for releasing bad news, government announced that there would be no increase in the education budget for 2003-04. The news release was headlined "Government Protects Education Funding for Second Year". By now British Columbians know that "protects" means "cuts". It reminds everyone of the word games played by Attorney General Geoff Plant. Class sizes have increased, and will now increase further. Course offerings have decreased, and will now decrease further. Schools have closed and more will follow. If that is "protect", then save us from what the Campbell government means when it uses the word "cut".

More was lost when Geoff Plant agreed to install a ventilation system for the smoking judge than just the public's share of the expense. The government's credibility was permanently damaged. Students of Orwell already knew that "New Speak" was part of the "New Era". Those who carefully compare the "New Era Document" to what government is now doing can detect similarities only if they look for subtleties and tricks in how words are used. Most people aren't interested in that exercise. They know when they have been deceived.