As the new Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection, Bill Barisoff will have more opportunities to distinguish himself than he did as Minister of Revenue. If he accomplishes anything positive in his new ministry, it will be seen as an improvement over the government's record for its first 1,000 days.

The Campbell government reduced the budget for what used to be called the Ministry of the Environment by $100 million since it came to office. It failed to implement the strong recommendations for the protection of drinking water that were made by its own independent panel. It relaxed the grizzly bear hunting moratorium with the consequence that the European Union now prohibits the import of grizzly bear "trophies" from BC. It allowed the expansion of fish farms, and that threatens wild salmon. It made environmental protection subordinate to economic interests. Will Barisoff continue down that path or will he make his ministry a force to be reckoned with?

Barisoff was first elected to the legislature in 1996, hence there is a record of what he said in the legislature for the past 8 years on environmental issues. According to Hansard, he spoke briefly on environmental issues when he was in opposition but he hasn't uttered a word in the legislature on the environment since the last election. Shortly after first being elected, he rose in the legislature and questioned the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks, Paul Ramsey, over the adequacy of funding for the fight against Eurasian milfoil. Now Barisoff is the Minister responsible; he is also responsible for the Waste Management Act. When he spoke in 1996 about that Act it was to argue that "It doesn't seem fair to the rural areas of B.C. that they have to adhere to such stringent guidelines and pay those kinds of costs on their taxes." Could it be that Barisoff is cut from the Campbell cloth with respect to treating the environment as an afterthought?

In 2000, Barisoff scolded Minister Sawicki on the need to have aboriginal hunters also report hunting activities. He said "I think it's imperative -- and I know that it comes through the Ministry of Environment -- that the minister take the lead in this and make it mandatory that all game shot in the province of British Columbia be reported, whether it is shot by aboriginal hunters, non-aboriginal hunters, non-resident hunters -- whoever it might be. I think that we're finding we're at a stage in the province now where we're seeing that the game is going down." Barisoff is now responsible for wildlife, and he must do the job with 400 fewer staff thanks to "New Era" cutbacks that he supported.

Barisoff will find that his new responsibilities are much more challenging than being the province's tax collector. He can perpetuate the image of the Campbell government not caring about the environment, or he can try to leave a mark that earns respect. One way or the other, he won't remain invisible in his new job.