“Let me get this straight: Gordon Campbell's closest friend and political adviser is accused by a special prosecutor of influence peddling, he pleads guilty to provincial lobbying charges and he also runs afoul of federal lobbying regulations. But the NDP are the ones who should apologize? Now I've heard everything. Sorry, but the Liberals don't get the last laugh on this one.”
- - Mike Smyth (the Province), March 14, 2008
March 19, 2008
“It speaks to the arrogance that is wrapped around the upper echelon of this government. Increasingly, you get the impression that the place is run by a little club of people – the Premier, his hand-picked deputies, chief of staff and people like Ken Dobell who are above everyone else. It gave the impression that certain rules weren’t that important because we know what’s better, we know what’s best.”
- - Keith Baldrey (CKNW), March 14, 2008
March 19, 2008
“One minute Dobell could be providing Campbell with policy advice under his government contract. The next, he could be lobbying Campbell for more money for housing in Vancouver, part of his job under a contract with the city.
“So far, the government has failed to acknowledge the problems and its errors in judgment. It risks the appearance of arrogance -- a belief that its actions are not governed by the rules and standards of accountability that it would apply to others.”
- - Editorial (Times Colonist), March 12, 2008
March 19, 2008
“I don't believe for a moment that every child that went to a residential school was abused; I think a lot of aboriginal people benefited greatly from the residential school system, but we never hear from them.”
- - Bulkley Valley – Stikine MLA Dennis MacKay (Hansard), March 12, 2008
March 19, 2008
“I have to ask, why do we pay a guy $250 an hour who, by his own admission, doesn’t know what he’s doing?”
- Former SoCred Cabinet Minister Bruce Strachan
March 19, 2008
“Colin Hansen said yesterday the money for these non-volunteers will come out of existing Ministry budgets. In other words, once again, it will not be calculated as an official Olympic expense. Off the books. Under the table. Hiding the true cost of the games to the taxpayers.”
- - Mike Smyth, CKNW
February 18, 2008
“Simply put, the policy to restrict access to [health] services was deliberately taken by government and it is still being used as a method of controlling a perceived escalation in costs.”
- - Todd Whitcombe, Prince George Citizen
February 18, 2008
“One of the most unfortunate aspects of this throne speech is the short shrift given the forestry industry. Two years ago a plan was desperately needed for the industry; nothing appeared until after last year's strike and that was threadbare. There's little that is new or innovative or that will make a real difference.
“The speech touched all the high points, but overall provided little beyond the ideology we've had for the past eight years.”
- - Editorial, Nanaimo Daily News
February 18, 2008
“Somewhere in the east wing of the Legislature, a deputy minister in the Premier's Office must be in charge of storing all the napkins and backs of envelopes that Campbell has used to scribble half-baked ideas.”
- David Schreck, Strategicthoughts.com
February 18, 2008
“The 42-page (Throne) speech, delivered by Lt.-Gov. Steven Point, included a laundry list of ongoing projects and a few new promises, much of it focussed on the inter-related issues of climate change, forestry and the environment. There was little, however, that could be construed as a plan.”
- - Andrew MacLeod, the Tyee
February 18, 2008
