You can expect to hear a lot of revisionist history as the longest election campaign in BC history gets underway. One example of such well rehearsed rhetoric was displayed in an interview on the Rafe Mair show with acting host Shiral Tobin and guest Virginia Greene. Greene, Campbell's hand picked candidate, is "seeking" the Liberal nomination in the riding where Garry Collins resigned rather than complete his term. The Liberal nominee will face the NDP's Gregor Robertson on May 17th.

Part of the Campbell mantra is to refer to the 1990s as if they were the dirty 30s, "ten lost years" or words to that effect. In her interview with Tobin, with respect to our economy Greene claimed that "we've gone from worst to first" and that "we were broke as a province". Public accounts, the financial statements audited by BC's Auditor General, report that for the last year of the NDP, the fiscal year ending March 31, 2001, BC ran a surplus of $1.6 billion ($1.5 billion when crown corporations are included). Anyone can check the hard facts for themselves. From 1991 to 2001, BC's population increased from 3.4 million to 4.1 million. The average annual population growth rate in BC in the 90s was 1.9%, almost twice the 1.0% experienced since 2001. BC's real GDP (inflation adjusted to chained 1997 dollars), rose from $98.4 billion in 1992 to $125.1 billion in 2000. The average annual growth rate for real GDP during that period was 3.0%, slightly higher than the average 2.9% experienced since 2001. Just for the record, the average annual rate of growth in real GDP from 1981 to 1990, the decade before Mike Harcourt was elected Premier, was just 2.0%, and average annual population growth in the 80s was 1.7%.

As much as Campbell and his clones may try, the May 17th, 2005, election is not about a past decade; it is about holding Campbell accountable and looking to the future. Do we want to preserve the benefits of ICBC at a time when other provinces envy public automobile insurance and have stepped in to regulate private companies? Do we want to protect the best Pharmacare system in the country, or are we prepared to see further increases in user fees? Should the public and the news media have access to information about the operation of BC Ferries, or should it be treated like a private company even though it is publicly owned? Should an independent officer of the legislature investigate the deaths of children, or should the Ministry be able to hide what it did or failed or do in tragedies like the death of Cody Fontaine? It is time for Campbell and his wannabes to answer some of those questions.