Weaver throws lots of jabs in debate
ANALYSIS: Green leader puts Clark and Horgan on ropes, asks NDP leader: ‘Are you going to lose your temper?’
The leader with almost nothing to lose looked to land most of the hits during the televised B.C. election TV debate in Vancouver on Wednesday night.
Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver, who last week stayed quietly in his corner during most of a radio debate, took centre stage, literally and figuratively.
He put B.C. Liberal Leader Christy Clark on the defensive and knocked NDP Leader John Horgan off balance more than once.
In a conventional three-way leaders’ debate, the incumbent takes most of the hits. This time around, with Weaver taking a surprising number of jabs at Horgan, it looked like the Opposition leader was forced on the defensive as much as the premier.
After Horgan rapped Weaver for supporting two B.C. Liberal budgets, the lone Green MLA fired back: “Unlike your party, I actually think about what I’m going to vote for.”
Then he slammed the NDP caucus for following the party line on every vote for four years and told Horgan: “As a career politician, you know nothing but saying no and being antagonistic to the Liberals.”
Another jab at Horgan about “la-la-land economics” was followed by the jeer: “Are you going to lose your temper with me now? Because you did last week.”
Horgan, who tried to focus on the Liberals through the exchange, finally said: “You don’t look like a different politician to me, Andrew. You look like all the rest of the politicians.”
Weaver asked Horgan about the NDP’s promise to eliminate Medical Services Plan fees.
After Horgan reiterated it, Weaver said: “That may be fine and dandy, but you basically are saying you have a plan to develop a plan to come up with a plan.”
Horgan’s response was disconcerting: “Correct.”
After some cross-talk, Weaver said: “Are you going to get mad at me now, too?” Horgan: “Oh, come on, man.” There was also a confusing exchange where Weaver talked over Horgan about the political party fundraising controversy, to the point where Horgan appeared to predict a Liberal election win based on big money donations, saying later the only way to stop it is to curb donations.
Earlier, Horgan got off a much better response to Clark, who rapped him for not once asking a question about softwood lumber, which this week turned into a crisis.
“If you came to question period more often, maybe I would have the opportunity,” he said.
For her part, Clark dwelled on the same points from the debate four years ago, defending a government that is focused on jobs and controlling government spending, in the face of two men who want to raise taxes.
Asked by Weaver why people should trust her after none of the liquefied natural gas jobs she promised in 2013 have materialized, she said her opponents would wave the white flag, but “I don’t think people want us to give up.”
When Clark was asked about trust, in light of a police investigation into political-party fundraising, her bogus claim that the NDP had hacked into a Liberal computer system, and the quiet salary the party paid her on top of her premier’s salary, she ducked. Later, she referred to controversies she’s experienced, but said she’s always had people’s interests at heart.
The amount of time Horgan and Weaver spent attacking each other might be an indication of what their polling is saying.
The main takeaway was that, for all his disdain for career politicians, and protestations that he’s not one, Weaver is pretty adept at the game.
British Columbia’s election campaign is in the final stretch after a TV debate Wednesday night that featured lively three-way clashes on the economy, housing and political leadership.
Liberal Leader Christy Clark is trying to maintain her party’s 16-year grip on power and while her record was a target for her opponents, Clark was also on the offensive as she took shots at the NDP and Green Party’s financial policies as a risk to an economy that has led growth across the country.
But growth has raised concerns about elevated house prices in the Vancouver area.
Faced with the charge from NDP Leader John Horgan that the Liberals waited too long to help families trying to put a roof over their heads, Clark said she wanted to make sure the government didn’t wipe out the value people have built in their homes by acting rashly.
“For people who already own a home, you have a lot of equity in that home, it is your investment and it’s something that you want to protect. So it was really important that our government make sure we did all of our homework,” said Clark, adding measures her government has taken such as a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver has helped slow rising house prices.
Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver told Clark her government has a wrong-headed view of housing. “Houses and accommodations should be there for people to live in, not to be viewed as commodities to trade like gold or potash,” he said.
The leaders debated for the first time last week on radio, which was largely remembered for a testy exchange after Clark touched Horgan on the arm and told him to calm down, causing the NDP leader to ask his Liberal counterpart not to touch him again.
The debate on Wednesday featured three-way clashes, but the moderator also singled out Horgan on his temperament, asking if he has an angermanagement problem.
Horgan said he gets angry when he sees government inaction on a range of issues from underfunding of schools to a lack of support for children in care, which has resulted in suicide.
“I’m passionate. I got involved in public life because I wanted to make life better for people,” he said.
Clark was put on the spot when she was asked about a stipend she once collected from the Liberal Party on top of her salary as premier and about the political donations that have led to a police investigation of B.C.’s political parties.
The Liberal leader deflected the question on trust, partly by discussing her economic record.
“I am someone … who has in my first term as premier experienced some controversy, but I have always done that with the best interests of people at heart, making sure that we are creating jobs for people.”
The campaign has defined distinct choices for voters from the three parties.
The Liberals have run a largely stay-the-course campaign so far, highlighting their stewardship of Canada’s top-performing economy. Clark is promising a personal income tax freeze, a small business tax cut and four more balanced budgets, building on a string of surpluses in the last five years.
Horgan is running on the slogan “It’s time for a government that works for you,” a swipe at the Liberals over political donations from corporations and wealthy individuals.
Clark has fired back on political donations, accusing the NDP of being under the influence of big unions after it emerged that some of the party’s senior campaign staff are being paid by the United Steelworkers.
Horgan is promising a daycare program that would cost $10 a day, a significant increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and the elimination of medical services premiums, something the Liberals have promised to halve, starting in January.
Weaver is promising to double the tax on foreign home buyers and extend it across the province, while also providing free daycare for working parents who have children under the age of three.
On the economy, Weaver accused Clark of misleading the public on the promise of a liquefied natural gas industry that she has trumpeted.
Clark said she is still confident LNG will deliver jobs when the gas market recovers.
“Both of these guys want to wave the white flag and put an end to those jobs and those hopes and dreams of all of those people who like to have a regular pay cheque,” she said.
Earlier in the debate, Horgan told Clark voters shouldn’t believe the promises she makes as they went back and forth on housing.
“Why should anyone believe you now?” Horgan asked. “Just before an election, you are always quick with a smile and a promise, but you don’t deliver.”