THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN BAD QUESTION PERIODS
Rough week for the NDP, who took a real beating from the Opposition on both union monopolies and the TransLink strike. John Horgan was caught totally flatfooted trying to defend calling thousands of unionized construction workers "turkeys" and then Harry Bains called the idea of bringing a mediator into the TransLink debacle "stupid."
THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TERRIBLE TURKEY TALK
With more than 100 unionized CLAC construction workers in the Legislature Tuesday to protest the NDP's sweetheart monopoly with the Building Trades Unions - where John Horgan cut 85% of B.C.'s construction workers and 82% of trades apprentices out of taxpayer-funded projects - Horgan was reminded of some turkey talk.
A few years ago, Horgan went to an Operating Engineers meeting and ripped ICBA (that's fine - we don't think much of him either) and called thousands of unionized construction workers "the turkeys at CLAC."
Horgan should have looked up to the gallery and apologized. Instead, he doubled down, claimed the comment was made in the heat of Question Period (it wasn't) and was aimed at someone else (another fib; "turkeys at CLAC" is pretty precise targeting).
Watching Hulk Horgan juke and jive and fidget and fudge under the turkey question had commentators busy:
Horgan stopped just short of the immortal line: "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
His handlers, meanwhile, would have preferred an apology. So would have the thousands of construction workers he slimed for no other reason than the fact they didn't want to be organized by Horgan's hardcore building trades union allies.
Gobble, gobble, Mr. Premier.
Of course, his union bedmates don't usually call CLAC workers "turkeys." They prefer "rats."
That's the real "inclusive", "caring-about-people" NDP, folks.
THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN PREMIER HEAL THYSELF
Horgan claimed he wouldn't "build a partisan approach toward construction."
But he cut out 85% of the workers because they didn't belong to unions who (checks notes) gave Horgan's NDP millions in partisan donations.
THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN CRASHING YOUR OWN BUS
After Horgan's disastrous day, Labour Minister Harry Bains decided to crash his own bus and take heat off the boss.
When the BC Liberals asked why Bains won't appoint a mediator to try and stave off next week's TransLink strike, he called the idea "stupid."
This drew much (well-deserved) catcalling and criticism, and Bains never really recovered.
It also gave the opposition a perfect talking point when the strike hits next week.
THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN BORN-TO-HAND-JIVE-BABY
After watching Bains' self-inflicted bus-wreck (and Dave Eby licking his chops at how much more Bains will have to pay in auto insurance after this wreck), House Leader Mike Farnworth sprung into action. Here's Vaughn Palmer's account:
We pulled the tape to see Farnie's hand jive for ourselves:
Oh, wait, pardon me: that's a clip of the BC Liberals QP team celebrating how the week went.
THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN BACK THAT BUS UP
Bains later walked back his stupid "stupid remark", saith Palmer:
THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN PROBABLY TRUE
On Monday, Farnie accidentally called Speaker Darryl Plecas, "Mr. Spender."
THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN DEFINITELY NOT TRUE
Farnie and Horgan and Claire "Pave the roads on my island first" Trevena keep claiming WAC Bennett would support their union monopoly. Of course, this is false: As Bennett's grandson wrote in the very first week of the Orca: "If he had a choice to save money – as Horgan does now – he would have gone out for fair bids. He respected the citizens of B.C. too much not to be careful with their money."
I'll add my favourite WAC quote as further evidence that the NDP are out-to-lunch: "That money is tax money, it's trust money, and I want one hundred and ten cents worth value out of every dollar."
Union monopolies corrode that value. And one more from the Great Man: "As premier, you don't act for the big labour unions."
Sadly, the current premier does.
THE QPEE FOR EXCELLENCE IN WHAT-THE-F-ARE-THEY-ON-ABOUT?
The BC Greens spent Question Period this week asking about caribou and endangered white bark pine trees. It was so out-of-left-field, it actually had me longing for a Furstenau Shawnigan Lake classic.
This is a third party headed for political oblivion - they continually waste their highest-profile opportunities to stand up for real, actual people. Caribou and pine trees are important, but hardly the most pressing issue facing the government, and ones you could chat with your buddy the Minister about anytime.
Greens gonna green, I guess.
Jordan Bateman has a long history of public policy work, championing small business and fiscal responsibility. Currently the Vice President, Communications & Marketing for the Independent Contractors and Business Association (ICBA), Jordan also served six years as the B.C. Director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, and was a two-term Langley Township Councillor.
SWIM ON:
- The last QPees was...back in October? Man, time flies. Anyway, much of Jordan's hardware went to the agriculture minister.
- This week's #BCPOLI Hotstove delved into labour disputes, which dominated this week's QPs. As well as this week's QPees.
- It seems like longer, but last October we went through a Canada Post strike. Ada Slivinski on the effect it had on small business.
