The Federal and Provincial Governments are doing so many creepy things right now that it’s hard to know where to start.
Of course, part of the plan is to flood us with major changes by way of omnibus bills and numerous revolutionary bills introduced with just a few weeks to pass them. It’s sneaky, surreptitious, disingenuous and really creepy.
You may have heard that the Federal Government is going to replace the 1000 member Employment Insurance review board with a 74 member board that simply says “No.” They expect it will be a lot faster. So you can see that the BC Provincial Government and the Federal Government are in cahoots to change everything for the worse. These are ugly times.
But today we want to talk about Aircare. During the final days of Ujjal Dosanjh’s charge as the Premier and leader of the NDP in BC, we made a Freedom of Information request regarding Aircare and how many newer cars failed. We had to fight for the information — they didn’t want to give it up easily. Ultimately, Ujjal gave a press conference where they changed Aircare so you would only need to attend every two years. Later the same day, after the reporters were done filing their stories, they gave us the disclosure.
It turns out that only a few GM trucks newer than 10 years old fail Aircare. But the Government succeeded in controlling the story. And it’s not just the party apparatus — senior bureaucrats are wise to the spin.
Ujjal is a good guy. Speaking to him at a political event a few years later he confirmed what happened — just the normal course of things in a government. Chatting with Gordon Campbell at the Point Grey Fiesta in 2003 I said “Gordon, things are looking bad — you guys might not pull this off next year” speaking of the election.
Gordon said “Paul, don’t worry — for the next 12 months, nothing but good-news stories.”
And so it was.
Here we are and, as we alluded, the BCLiberals have now stated that they will turf Aircare. In 2014. So, only if they actually get to govern. Your reward for voting for them.
Of course, it’s a poison pill for the NDP, because they will wish to undo that plan. And the intention isn’t based on good public policy, but to try to win votes.
Good news stories for 12 months.
Aircare will still be here because the NDP will probably win the next election. But we expect them to make changes to it to reflect the fact that newer vehicles do not need to be tested.
Still, Aircare, as much as we loath it, serves a purpose.
I really want a 1993 Dodge D-0150 pickup. For years I’ve been trying to find just the right 1993 Dodge, but the problem I have found is that they won’t pass Aircare. Alas, I was stymied by the need to ensure that my vehicle was in good repair.
In any event, there is little doubt that the need to Aircare vehicles caused many people to remove offending vehicles from the road. Enforcement is the effective tool.
There is simply nothing that comes out of this Government that is trustworthy. It’s unfortunate, but since the HST blew up in their face, they have been so desperate to hold on to power that they have given up working in the best interest of the province.
You’ve got to hand it to John van Dongen. He may have a bad driving record, but he understands that any Government that gives up its moral compass purely to maintain power doesn’t deserve the confidence of the electorate.