Campbell scared of opposition, says Chouhan

Backrooms column by Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 13, 2006


Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Raj Chouhan thinks he's figured out why the B.C. government is not planning a full session of the legislature this fall.

"They don't have anything to talk about," said the rookie NDP MLA, who was recently appointed the NDP critic for mental health. "Gordon Campbell is running scared of the opposition."

Chouhan is convinced the Liberals are trying to avoid some tough questions, such as when are they going to reinstate the position of mental health advocate in B.C.

"I want to ask them, for example, why in B.C. we do not have a mental health advocate so people suffering from mental health problems have a voice," Chouhan said last week. "I've met with almost a dozen different groups in the past few weeks all over the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, and each one of them is telling me this (the advocate) is a very, very important issue."

The position of mental health advocate, formerly filled by Nancy Hall, was cut by the B.C. Liberals during the government service reductions of 2002, Chouhan said.

"When it comes to mental health, this government has cut back in so many areas," he said. "There is no independent minister to advocate on behalf of these people, and that's why we need an independent advocate: to see what the needs are in the community and to make recommendations on what remedies or services could be provided."

Chouhan is also in the early stages of organizing a mental health forum in Burnaby where community groups and individuals can come to air their views and talk about their needs. Stay tuned for details.

LIBERALS PICK DELEGATES

Don't expect any total victories when the local Liberal riding associations get together to choose their delegates for the federal party's leadership convention taking place in Montreal later this fall.

Watch for the big showdown between the Gerard Kennedy faction and supporters of former environment minister Stephane Dion, with maybe a few other delegates spots going to the seven other leadership hopefuls.

Mark Ransom, executive director of the federal party's B.C. office, said the Burnaby-Douglas and Burnaby-New Westminster ridings will hold their delegate selection meeting in conjunction with the New Westminster-Coquitlam and Port Moody-Westwood ridings on Sept. 29 at a still-to-be-decided location. Each riding gets to choose 14 delegates.

"It's an issue of resources," Ransom said of the combined meeting. "As you can imagine, with nine leadership candidates, the odds of finding neutral volunteers is not that great."

Kennedy's camp has apparently been going great guns under the guiding hand of Gurdev Dhillon, and the word on the street is that he's pretty much wrapped up the youth vote.

Dion, who earned headlines with his visit to Burnaby Lake two years ago, probably has the best known Burnaby name on his side in the person of Bill Cunningham, the former executive director of the federal cabinet offices, one-time Paul Martin organizer, past president of the B.C. wing of the party and twice candidate in Burnaby-Douglas. Also adding fuel to Dion's fire is former provincial cabinet minister Joyce Murray.

Not to be outdone, Ken Dryden has lined up local lawyer and former Liberal candidate Celso Boscariol as his local organizer, while Michael Ignatieff is getting help from Burnaby's own Johnathan Ross, publisher of the TDH Strategies website.

Other hopefuls who managed to put their feet on the ground in Burnaby over the past few weeks include Scott Brison, who did a campaign stop at Death By Chocolate on Kingsway, plus Hedy Fry, who was the guest of honour at a house party on Elwell Street.

Despite my best efforts, I've been unable to get a message to Bob Rae's best-known local organizer, former Burnaby-Edmonds MLA Patty Sahota.

RIDING REVIEW

Will Burnaby finally get four members of the legislative assembly all to itself?

That's the biggest wish of Mayor Derek Corrigan as the B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission officially begins its review of the provincial riding boundaries and the number of MLAs.

While the commission is officially working off a blank slate, information on its official government website states that the government is willing to consider an increase in the total number of B.C. MLAs from the current 79 to 85.

If the overall size of the legislature is increased, it would be very difficult for the Gordon Campbell government to deny Corrigan's wish.

Currently, Burnaby and Coquitlam share one MLA in the person of B.C. Liberal Harry Bloy, whose riding gets about two-thirds of its population from the Coquitlam side of the boundary.

The three-member commission, led by B.C. Justice Bruce Cohen, has also been instructed to come up with a proposal for a 'single- transferable vote system' - an unusual system of voting that was narrowly rejected by B.C. voters last year.

The commission will host a series of 'public consultation sessions' this fall. The closest stop to Burnaby will be on Sept. 19 at the Westminster Club, in New Westminster.

The commission will then unveil a map of its proposed riding boundaries in late 2006, have a preliminary report ready by August 2007, conduct public hearings in fall 2007, and issue a final report in February 2008, a year in advance of the next provincial election. For more information, visit the commission's website at www.bc- ebc.ca.

IT'S OFFICIAL

Ryan Warawa made it official last week when he formally filed papers to become the Conservative party candidate in the Burnaby- New Westminster riding.

Warawa, 30, is the son of Langley MP Mark Warawa, and has been active in the Conservative, Canadian Alliance and Reform parties since he was 17. The riding is currently held by NDP MP Peter Julian.

MAKING HISTORY

I don't usually do promotions in this column but this one is different.

Brian Veitch, the son of Burnaby's original power couple Sheila and Elwood Veitch, has been working overtime for the past several weeks as he tries to stave off the creditors from that most fantastic of tourist attractions - Storyeum.

Veitch is the vice-president and general manager of the $22 million attraction that is currently seeking new investors. Storyeum is a living tribute to the history of British Columbia, and a definite must-see, not just for tourists, but for anyone who wants to learn a little bit more about this province we call home.

My own mother described it as "absolutely wonderful" when she and I visited during its inaugural season in 2004.

"The response we're getting is just like your mom's," Brian told me recently. "Ninety-nine per cent of the people just love the show. But it's an expensive operation to run, and it takes time to build that audience up."

Storyeum uses live actors to tell the story of B.C.'s history in seven elaborate underground theatres. Included are a retelling of the Tsleil-Wathuth creation legend, the arrival of the first Hudson's Bay trading ships, a re-creation of an authentic Gold Rush era boomtown, the building of the railway and the arrival of the first steam train.

The whole show takes about 65 minutes and it will leave you spellbound. Visit Storyeum at 142 Water St., in Gastown, or call them at 604-687-8142.