Campbell's Accountability

November 6, 2007 Campbell's Accountability "I'm pleased to stand here and be very clear. This government, this Premier, will be held accountable by the people of British Columbia for every decision we've made, including these decisions." Premier Gordon Campbell, Hansard, November 5, 2007 Translation: As long as I get re-elected with a majority, tough-luck if you don't like what I do. The entire half hour of question period in the Legislature on November 5th focused on questions between various members of the Opposition and the Premier. Like his Ministers on previous occasions, Campbell enthusiastically reported on expectations for the Convention Centre Expansion but didn't answer questions about when he knew the project was out of control. Question period tends to be bad theatre, with the Opposition prefacing questions with rhetorical flourish and the government ignoring questions, or answering with more rhetoric. Both sides should be chastised for their excesses; nevertheless the hard questions should not be ignored. On Monday those included: Can the Premier tell us when Ken Dobell told him that the convention centre expansion project was going wildly over budget, and who made the decision to keep that fact hidden from the people of British Columbia? The cost that the Premier used again and again was $495 million, but he knew that the real cost was $637 million. The question is: who made the decision to use a fictional figure to give the cost of the convention centre? Was it the Premier or was it Ken Dobell? Who made that decision? When was it that the Minister of Finance advised the Premier that this budget was going into cost overrun? The Premier has acknowledged that there was regular reporting on the costs of this project, but the point here is: why didn't he tell the public? Why did the Premier decide to keep the knowledge of those cost overruns secret for 18 months? The Premier's special adviser chaired the board for four years. He presided over $400 million of overspending. He chaired the audit committee as well. Who made the decision to retain him as chair for those four years of cost overruns repeatedly? When did he know that there was a cost overrun to the Trade and Convention Centre, and why didn't he come clean and tell British Columbians the truth? When did he know that there was a cost overrun, and by how much, and why didn't he come clean and tell British Columbians the truth? Don't hold your breath waiting for answers. Premier Campbell appears to be so confident and arrogant that he defines accountability as winning the next election. It is interesting to research definitions of accountability. The popular concept may be making someone suffer consequences for their actions, but definitions are as weak as being answerable or accepting responsibility. Hence the Premier can say what amounts to: "I'm responsible; what are you going to do about it?"