Speaker as Premier's Stooge

November 26, 2003

Collins wrong about the Speaker

Government House Leader, Gary Collins, claimed that government has no control over the Speaker, Kamloops MLA Claude Richmond. He stepped on the government news about BC Rail by refusing to recognize Joy MacPhail in question period. The government controls the Speaker's salary, his expense account, his ability to travel, his office budget, grants to his constituency and whether or not he gets a nomination to run again. The Speaker does what the government wants.

Anyone who believes Collins probably is also busy clearing their chimney and getting cookies ready for Santa. Richmond doesn't randomly recognize MLAs who are jumping to their feet to be recognized in question period. The government whip, the House Leader or a designate prepares a list and gives it to the Speaker. Everyone knows when they are to stand and be recognized. It is no accident that Richmond had enough backbenchers to recognize so as to exhaust the 15 minute question period without recognizing the Opposition.

In some countries the kind of abuse of power that Richmond demonstrated when he failed to recognize Opposition Leader Joy MacPhail, leads to civil disobedience or far worse. Rule of law is important; Richmond's behaviour as Speaker has harmed respect for legitimate channels of opposition to government. With a pathetically defensive statement just before the 6 PM dinner break on Tuesday November 25th, Richmond accused Kwan and MacPhail of being rude with their heckling and warned the media that he would not enter into a debate with them over his decision. His weakness was evident when he went on to say that any apology would be up to the Members as he would not demand it. He is the one who should apologize for bringing Parliament into disrespect.

We should be grateful that the man who wears the three pointed hat during his majestic stroll into the legislature, before he ascends to his throne, cannot control the media. That kind of pomp can go to some people's heads. When our government institutions fail us, a free media can still be a powerful tool for holding government accountable. If the 75 MLAs on the government side of the legislature told Speaker Richmond to behave himself and act as if he respected the rights of the opposition, he would have to listen, but they are led by the man who on election night declared that there is no Official Opposition. The Speaker's apparent disrespect for Parliament is a reflection of the attitude of his boss, Premier Gordon Campbell.

November 25, 2003

Speaker looks like Premier's Stooge

On November 25th Claude Richmond, Speaker of the BC Legislature and MLA for Kamloops, positioned BC several notches below the most primitive emerging democracy. He refused to recognize Opposition Leader Joy MacPhail in question period as he allowed the clock to run out by calling on one government backbencher after another.

Richmond disgraced British Columbia when he followed Gordon Campbell's election night orders and ruled that, unlike every parliamentary democracy in the world, BC has no Official Opposition. Following that disgraceful decision and the placement of Jenny Kwan and Joy MacPhail in office space overlooking the exhaust fan for the legislative dining room, he at least referred to MacPhail as "Leader of the Opposition". The 15 minutes allocated to question period is recognized as the prime time when the Opposition holds the government to account; the Auditor General referred to its importance during one of his presentations to the Select Standing Committee on Finance. Under the Campbell government and Speaker Richmond, MacPhail and Kwan have been limited to less than half of question period; government backbenchers burn off the rest of the time with questions like "please tell my constituents the wonderful things you did for them today". On the day Campbell announced the details of his broken promise not to sell BC Rail, Richmond refused to recognize MacPhail in question period.

Richmond might claim that he was penalizing MacPhail for her heckling. Anyone who listens to the legislative debate knows that government members relentlessly harass Kwan and MacPhail without interruption by the Speaker. Followers of federal parliament recognize that question period is a time of active heckling on all sides without the federal Speaker ever resorting to the kind of puppet like behaviour Richmond displays to please Campbell. Could it be that Richmond has his eye on the upcoming cabinet shuffle, and thinks his outrageous favoritism will get him off the Speaker's Throne and into the cabinet office?

Premier Gordon Campbell broke three promises with one stroke of the pen on the day his puppet snubbed MacPhail. First, he sold all of BC Rail except a remaining empty shell company and the rail bed, directly contrary to his promise in the New Era Document. Second, by selling a massive tax credit he effectively granted CN a business subsidy contrary to his promise not to subsidize businesses. Third, he extended the legislative sitting into the first week of December contrary to his promise to have a fixed legislative calendar. Reporters were told on the afternoon of November 24th that the legislature would sit into the following week rather than adjourn as scheduled on November 27th. Nothing was said in the legislature about the extension, and no notice was given to the Opposition. That abuse of legislative privilege is yet another example of the total disregard Campbell, his caucus and his Speaker show for parliamentary tradition.

Parliamentary democracy is sometimes called a dictatorship in which the people have one day every four or five years to make a change. That cynical remark is usually used so as to embarrass governments that are going too far in their disrespect for the role of parliament. Campbell has shown that his arrogance khows no limits, and his contempt for the legislature is without bounds.

Campbell would have British Columbians believe that his 60 to 90 year operating agreement with BC Rail will bring jobs and opportunities. His news release and analysis are as empty as the tricky words used to fool the public in his New Era Document. The elimination of BC Rail's debt is no different from someone eliminating their mortgage by selling their house. The payment of municipal taxes is nothing new; Campbell promised they would be paid by every Crown corporation. The "Northern Development Initiative" is a package of basic services that government would be expected to provide in any case. The $1 million wheel repair shop is a pittance compared to the work that will be lost in North Vancouver. Improvements in Prince Rupert are a straight transfer of work from the Port of Vancouver, and the promise not to increase freight rates for five years merely puts the bad news off until after the next election. Government news releases are like the New Era Document - full of deceit and short on independently verifiable facts. The "fairness advisor" claims to have made dozens of analyses; at the very least those reports should be made public.