Would somebody in BC PLEASE wake up those still working in BC politics and BC media! (I’m retired.)
They should all be screaming like hell … so loudly that Mark Carney and the other self-absorbed Eastern egotists in charge of the federal Liberal Party hear BC’s anger and outrage at how our province was just insulted and demeaned by the Liberals’ Prime-Minister designate.
On Friday, Carney appointed 23 MPs to join him in the “new’ Liberal election-ready Cabinet … but named only ONE Minister from BC … and only TWO from all of Western Canada.
What an insult!
New Brunswick, with its population of 850,000 was handed TWO Cabinet posts … compared to only ONE allocated BC, despite our population of 5,720,000.
Outrageous!!
In fact, Carney also appointed two additional MPs to his Cabinet from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia … giving the Maritimes FOUR Cabinet seats, compared to only the total of TWO for BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
And numbers count in Ottawa!
Cabinet presence brings power! Cabinet membership influences policies! And, Cabinet posts bestow federal spending dollars … millions of them!
Just ask the ELEVEN Ontario MPs who Carney rewarded with Cabinet posts! EIGHT of them in the Greater Toronto Area alone!!!
Or the SIX Quebec MPs named Cabinet Ministers by Carney.
BC got screwed!!
Carney’s Cabinet appointments are a revival of the old Liberal tradition as enunciated in a surprisingly frank admission by Liberal Senator Keith Davey in the 1980 election: “Screw the West; we’ll take the rest.”
It was a remark that insulted every Western Canadian … and, let’s keep it real: if Davey had disparaged Quebec or Ontario like that, he would have disappeared from the Liberals’ back corridors.
But No … Davey remained highly influential inside the Liberal Party and went on to be named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1999.
After all, it was just Western Canadians he had demeaned, insulted and suggested didn’t count.
Now a new Liberal Leader has revived the tradition.
So where are BC’s “federal” politicians? I’ll tell you where: they are too cowardly to advocate on behalf of BC or the West … because giving us a fair share would give Central and Eastern Canada a lesser share than they now hold.
Our MPs should be screaming loudly to reflect the outrage of Western Canadians at Carney’s open side-lining of our proper place at the federal Cabinet table.
And where are our media? I’ll tell you where: British Columbians are paying the price for having “political reporters” now too tired/lazy/incompetent to report more than press releases or too largely controlled/managed by corporate bosses back in Toronto, who I’d bet are quite happy with Carney’s decision to over-represent Ontario and Quebec in his Cabinet!
So once again, Western Canadians … and especially British Columbians … are getting screwed!
Carney should not even show his face … or his finger … in Western Canada … to peddle Liberal campaign propaganda that “his” government respects or values Westerners’ role in his government … blah, blah, blah.
And if he dares to show up, hopefully SOMEONE in BC’s “working” media and politicians will wake up … and let Carney know British Columbians expect … no, DEMAND … Cabinet NUMBERS and POWER that our population deserves in return for the BILLIONS and BILLIONS in contributions we pay into federal bank accounts.
Harv Oberfeld
(Follow @harveyoberfeld.ca on “X” for FREE First Alerts of new postings on this BC blog.)