View on Politics: More BC Conservatives leave the party

0:00Scott Sean's in for Simeis Sarah on your Thursday morning. Normally at this time we check in with the Vancouver Suns Vaughn Palmer. He's on vacation right now. So joining me is CKNW afternoon host, Jazz Joe Hall. And Jazz, I am very glad to speak with you because Holy moly yesterday was a big day. And you had both conservative MLA's who left the conservative party on your show. Tell me about that. Yeah, you know, I thought you know yesterday might be a quiet day. Boy that ended pretty quickly with the news that the Donugal Wilson, the MLA for Boundaries to Milkabee and soon after Scott McKinnis of the Columbia River Rebels, Vol. MLA, both sent letters saying that they're resigning from the B.C. conservative caucus and both of them are on number eight and nine when it comes to defections and just under a I guess three weeks now. And it was interesting talking to both of them, you know, they cited Miss Finley, Carolyn Finley's reported

1:01connection to Alberta separatists among a lot of concerns. Scott McKinnis talked about serious ethical questions around Miss Finley's team. What struck me in between both of them on this afternoon drive yesterday is how how do I describe this? They're conservatives who come across as very normal as people concerned about what their constituents care about trying to articulate that anger and frustration about emergency rooms being closed occasionally in their respective constituencies. The issues around homelessness in their communities. Mr McKinnis talked about just even Alberta separatism and the fact that Miss Finley's leadership team played footsie with the separatism. I mean, his community is about 200 kilometers of his constituency runs along the Alberta border. It's a very serious issue for his constituents. And you know, as I listened to both, what I was struck by is, you know, why am I here from conservatives like these two on a regular basis articulating conservative policy while we spend so much time talking about culture wars and other things like in slogans like faith family freedom.

2:12When here you have two conservatives care deeply about their constituents and talking about this and I go absolutely they're going to quit and I understand why they're quitting why not only them and seven others prior to them have quit and I think there'll be more coming later this week and early next. I don't think it's just the star I don't think it ends here, but what that's what struck me more than anything is that version of BC conservative that the average natural Vancouver Southern Vancouver road voter doesn't hear enough of and I think that's what's frustrating. I think for a lot of folks who are looking for an alternative to the NDP. So that's struck struck me more than anything. It's a really interesting time for provincial politics here in BC because I totally think you're absolutely right. I listened to the Scott McKinnis interview. We played a clip of it this morning and I think he really zeroed in on on some of that. But also yesterday we got the news that Ian Payton was supposed to meet with the RCMP. Do we have any more information on that? Did that happen? Do we know what happened or anything that was said there?

3:15Well, I don't think the police will be making any comments and I think Mr. Payton did say there would be a meeting tomorrow yesterday morning at about nine o'clock so I understand is that that did occur. My understanding is he'll be he's the third BC conservative MLA that has been interviewed by by police. I was speaking to a contact yesterday they say their potential could be more. Who will be contacted by by police as well on this issue. These are initial conversations. This can be of course denied anything anything with inducement or kind of convince an MLA to step down in in in regards to a job being offered to them. So we don't know where this goes at this particular point but you know look you just lost two MLA's yesterday. You got a former MLA or sorry former party member and Mr. Payton being interviewed by police that's third member of the caucus at one time. And on top of that you had Chris Delaney a chief of staff who says the guy become a distraction and I want to step away so his family can spend her energy and time on on running in the bio action.

4:22I think that's a bit of a cop out I think he does attract a lot of attention and I think this was inevitable in regards to his resignation as well. He's viewed as somebody who has very hard right conservative positions and that's been part of the problem. So it'll be interesting to see what happens with this family of the days ahead. This she actually sit down with her caucus has some of these conversations perhaps pull back on some of her positions because if you think yesterday was the end of the Exodus it's not. I'm just keep hearing a few other names being thrown around every day is different so you never know I thought yesterday was going to be quiet but also you got two resignations and Mr. Delaney be the third of the staffer so I think you can expect more in the days ahead. Yeah and that's a really interesting point jazz because you know after a day like yesterday we're at nine like you mentioned nine MLA's who have quit in you know the past three weeks to a month. And the question becomes how long does this go on how far does it go before yeah the party a Carolyn Finley just sort of admits that like okay that there's no coming back from this.

5:25How far how long does this go on you think that we're going to keep keeping having these conversations every morning. Well I think with Mr. Miller bar was already said he's setting up a party along with Ian Peyton I think the other seven MLA's that have left will be kicking the tires of see what that party looks like what its name is whether it's political philosophy is. And Mr. Miller bar is already said that party will be ready to go by the fall legislative session so in about a month it'll be there'll be the legislature with a party and to be an official party. It takes two MLA so they'll have that with Mr. Miller bar Mr. Peyton and potentially attract more people to their to their party so they certainly will be the third party in the legislature but as if they're able to attract the other seven and potentially more from that caucus you know they're going to track attention in regards to specific. You know issues that they that they were talking about policy so be in the news that we attracting attention that perhaps at one time be seen conservative with the traction with I think you know the question really right now is is the be seen conservative brand dead like so much damage been done between John Rusted leadership and now miss Finley's three month leadership can you actually bring it back and say this is a mainstream political party hey voters vote for us if you're angry at the end of the panel act as government.

6:46Right now I'm not sure anybody believes that this is a government and waiting number one and the second issue of course is if this by election when it does occur and let's say miss Finley isn't successful if she going to resign I don't think so many of so that she is probably going to continue running the party so you may see greater strife after the by election date if Miss Finley doesn't win so there's a lot going on here in regards to the broader conversation of what a conservative is and that's part of the issue then go back to what I said off the top. You know you had Mr. McKinney's and Ms. Wilson who came across as very normal concerned MLA centrist political leaders who care deeply about their constituency and then you have the other side of this conservatism which is this ongoing issue and it's not just a BC issue or even a candidate show I think it's a Western culture issue which is you know how deeply do these political parties weight into the culture wars and is that where the voter is and I would argue yeah if somebody socially should matter let's have that conversation. But when you vote it's a pocketbook issue it's about affordability it's about gross freeze it's a cost of gas prices and trying to get around the city it's about having daycare daycare being available for your kids it's about you know building that bridge from the North Shore that my no many racial residents want to see a frustration of self the phaser of voters at the late lane tunnel which

8:05should have been a ten lane bridge those are the issues that people vote on the economic issues and until the BC Conservatives can get to that space I just don't see how they're going to attract that wide swath of centrist voter out there they've got a lot of problems and I think it's going to continue this week and in the week ahead. Continuing our conversation now with CKNW afternoon host Jazz Joe Hall and Jazz we've been talking about the BC Conservatives but things are not all good for the BC NDP either they have this massive issue of a 1.5 billion dollar hole in the budget how did they miss this how did they get the screw this up so badly. Yeah it becomes it comes down to from what the ministry is saying this BC's finest energy ministries they admitted they got four human cause administrative errors that basically it's inflated projected natural gas revenue so what 1.5 billion dollars so the biggest mistake was a formula dragged in correctly across the spreadsheet cell to my understanding the other was a gas unit conversion when you can making these inversions plus two cases of staff

9:17I guess they're playing data from a previous fiscal year and those sort of accumulation of those mistakes at half of the 22 gas price forecast to province uses to calculate right it's it's kind of net and net the gas profits and it's complicated but what it's done at the end of the day these simple little errors one would argue it is basically it's over estimated almost 300 million dollars in revenue per year or less. Over five years up until about 20 28 20 29 fiscal so that it's a total of 1.5 billion dollars now officials say they'll correct the books is coming in in a few days actually it's time for 14 for now they are quarterly report and they've also brought in outside experts to check future works now these are all profits that are booked ahead so when you look at your forecast in regards to budget deficits that will impact the government it's not something that's happened in the past it's.

10:17It's looking forward so it's on paper and they fix that but yet on paper certainly will show a short fall 1.5 billion dollars when you got massive deficits that were already running it it's not something you want to deal with I shouldn't be laughing but I just it's just boggle the mind with all the experts that you have in government all the people in sector there somehow a simple error in regards to a formula that's been dragged across the spreadsheet cell and a few others. Small things as well as let it is 1.5 billion dollar. Mistake it you know it does show once again the NDPs challenges at this point and the fact that the public are looking for an alternative at this moment and there should be a great moment for the BC Conservatives or any opposition party to prove that they're a government in waiting instead you have these resignations and there's a myriad of challenges that the opposition can be making it should be making. I'm sure we'll be making come October for the legislative session the NDP is not doing great in regards to its messaging on a variety of issues you still have significant amount of emergency room shutting down weekends you have significant challenges and a variety of files but if you look at the polling today and I want to connect this back to our previous segment the NDP would still win a majority government and I would argue they don't deserve to win a majority government and that's the challenge that we have before British Columbia right now you've got a fiscal hole it's massive a great credit for this.

11:45These errors that they've gone through and they say it will get on top of that and that I understand it's it's a book forward quite frankly and so it's not something that's in the past so it's revenue that they thought was coming so that's going to impact the bottom line but it's a classic example of where it should never have happened and it should be significant challenges to this government regards to whether or not they should be running this province in the next term but right now we're in that moment where this story should be a lot better. This story should be a lot bigger and instead we're focusing so much of our energy time on MLAs residing every day. Yeah, Jess do you wonder if perhaps it's time for us to like look at politics differently the fact that these are the only options that we have here in this province and they're in charge of such big and important things that are so significant in our everyday lives it feels like we should have a better option than these. Yeah, I mean if you look at the polling there's probably about 30% of people that are pulled from last few polls that I've seen that are looking at an alternative that isn't BC conservative or NDP.

12:54So there's a yearning for that and look in this case the government is rolling out a new royalty framework when it comes to natural gas so they can capture more of the revenue for the taxpayer in regards to our natural gas fields which I think is important and there'll be those in the private sectors they waste so slow down here. We've already going through difficult times but I think it's important what we're doing in regards to natural gas travel. It's going to matter even more as we grow a lot more LNG facilities but we need an effective opposition here that should be challenging them on this issue. And I'm Gavin does a pretty good effective pretty good a critic but we need more of that. Should we be calling for the other general to investigate and whether or not this new system is working. You know that frustration is there the NDP is wearing this it's like any government nine ten years into its mandate. These are the kind of mistakes they're making that you see from a lot of governments and you either bringing new people or you get your act together and right now they're struggling. They really are struggling but until the opposition gets us act together I think this frustration is going to remain and until the center right real lines in some capacity.

14:02Whether it's other BC conservatives or another banner we're going to continue to see this because you already have to be a four out of ten when you're when you're opponent is only a three you're going to do five. That's the problem with all the things of that. Yeah I would say so. Jazz Joe Hall host of the afternoon show here on CKNW thanks so much Jazz great to have you on and to speak with you and appreciate your time. Chat tomorrow. All right looking forward to that.