HUGE HST VICTORY

British Columbia's version of the Tea Party claims victory. The people have spoken with 54% in favour of axing the HST.

THE NAME GAME

Former finance minister Colin Hanson, has proposed the idea of changing the name of the BC Liberal Party. Hanson floated the idea at the party’s biennial convention last week in Penticton. His proposal sends a desperate message that the BC Liberals are vulnerable and are in need of rebranding.

Ironically, Hanson is, in great part, responsible for the poor public image that the BC Liberals suffer from. As the architect of the unpopular HST, he only added to the public disdain that the party was feeling following the BC Rail scandal.

Voters are likely to view this name change chicanery for what it is – an attempt by the party to distance itself from itself.

Sailors believe that it’s unlucky to rename a ship; but if your ship is sinking I guess it really doesn’t matter.

CLARK FOR THE WIN

Last night’s by-election win for Premier Christy Clark should keep her perma-smile in place for the next month or so, at least pending the results of the HST referendum in June.

Although her margin of victory was slim, 600 votes, the win is huge for Clark. A loss would have been seen as a major defeat for the newly minted Liberal leader, especially at a time when her party is trying to rebound from several publicly perceived negative years.

Clark is particularly lucky that her NDP challenger was viewed, by many, as being on the extreme left. Had she faced off with a more main stream centre left candidate, I think the result would have been far different.

Clark should also be thankful that the BC Conservatives did not field a candidate in the riding. That very well could have split the vote, sending the NDP candidate up the middle to victory.

Bottom line, the electorate liked Christy Clark more than David Eby. This should send a strong message to NDP leader Adrian Dix, who is also seen to be on the far left of the party.

Over the next month, Clark will face her first real challenge as premier as she tackles the HST referendum and a lack of voter appetite for the tax.

So far though, Clark appears to be made of Teflon as nothing seems to stick.

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but it will be interesting to see if she can fool all of the people. With the HST issue, Clark will be flying by the seat of hear pants, but she should remember in Peter Pan you could see the wires.

THE VANCOUVER-POINT GREY SLEEPER

Voters are going to the polls today in the provincial byelection for the riding of Vancouver-Point Grey.

While the voter is faced with a wide selection of also-rans, the race comes down to the two unimpressive front runners, Liberal Christy Clark and David Eby for the NDP.

Christy Clark, the newly minted and unelected premier, is seeking a seat in the house. The problem for Clark is that she needs a full time porter to carry her political baggage. Clark had a previous, less than stellar, political romp serving as Minister of Education, Minister of Children and Family Development and Deputy Premier. During her time in cabinet, Clark was often seen to be arrogant and brash. Most notable, was her repeated confrontations with the province’s teachers. She was also tainted by the Liberal’s scandal involving the sale of BC Rail. Although never charged in the affair, she was the subject of a lot of finger pointing.

After serving only one term, Clark decided not to seek re-election in the 2005. At the time, she claimed she wanted to spend more time with her young son. However, shortly thereafter, she sought the NPA nomination to run as candidate for mayor of Vancouver. It would be easy for one to conclude that the real reason she did not seek re-election was due to the BC Rail cloud hanging over her head.

During the bylection, Clark has failed to attend any all-candidate meetings, opting instead to staging town hall meetings absent of any challengers. She did, however, find time to make several pork project announcements for the Vancouver Point-Grey riding.

David Eby is a left wing ideolog lawyer and executive director of the BC Civil Liberties. He is also involved with the Pivot Legal Society which routinely challenges the police and advocates rights for prostitutes and the legalization of drugs. Eby loves to get in front of a television camera, especially if involves a protest against such things as the Vancouver Olympics.

It has been 30 years, since the government has won a byelection in British Columbia.

While the two main picks fail to inspire, on the eve of the HST referendum, it will be interesting to see if the voters take a liking to Clark.

A THOUGHT ON MOTHER'S DAY

Everyday should be Mother's Day.

THE PHANTOM OF BERTHIER- MASKINOGÉ

Rookie NDP MP Ellen Brosseau has finally surfaced to give her first media interview, since being elected last Monday.

Brosseau, speaking to a local reporter, said that her victory came as a “shock,” because she “wasn’t really expecting to win.”

While Brosseau did have time to vacation in Las Vegas during the campaign, she claimed she “never had the opportunity time to go to the riding.”

It is still not clear whether Brosseau even knew she was candidate. Apparently, the NDP needed a candidate to run in the riding of Berthier-Maskinogé and a friend of hers, who works at NDP headquarters in Ottawa, put her name forward.

I suspect that Brosseau woke up Tuesday morning to find she won the lottery – a salary of $157,000 for at least the next four years.

If anybody is in contempt of parliament, it is the NDP for making a mockery of the election process.

BARMAID TO MP

Questions are being asked about a barmaid who was elected as one of the country’s newest MPs.

NDP candidate Ruth Ellen Brosseau won her seat in the Quebec riding of Berthier-Maskinongé. She took the seat, which was previously held by the Bloc Quebecois, by a margin of 5000 votes. The riding is located about 400 kilometres from her home in Gatineau, Quebec. It is also a largely francophone riding and her French language skills are reported to be minimal if any.

The 27 year old single mother held the position of assistant manager at Oliver’s Pub on the campus of the University of Ottawa. During the election campaign, Brosseau continued working at the pub and even spent part of the campaign vacationing in Las Vegas. It is not clear if she even visited the riding during the campaign.

Now, two people have come forward to say that they did not sign Brosseau’s nomination papers even though their names appear on the form. Rene Young says that a signature on the form looks like his, but he has no recollection of ever signing it. He also said that a second endorsement purporting to be his wife’s does not look like her signature at all.

Elections Canada officials have indicated that they will be looking into the issue.

I think Brosseau should be asked to produce her birth certificate.