B.C.’s first NDP premier remembered for justice, compassion
Dave Barrett, B.C.’s first New Democrat premier, was remembered for stepping in and stepping up with policies protecting everything from farmland to seniors and even children’s behinds threatened by the strap.
About 800 people gathered March 3 at the University of Victoria’s Farquhar Auditorium for a state memorial service for Barrett, who died last month in Victoria after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87.
Barrett is survived by his wife, Shirley, children Dan, Joe and Jane, and four grandchildren.
“Dave had an ability to capture your heart, mind and soul,” said Premier John Horgan, who described Barrett as the most captivating political orator he has ever seen and will likely ever see. “Dave had a knack.”
Horgan said he will always remember Barrett’s speeches. They started slowly, but within minutes his shirtsleeves were rolled up and his foot was on a chair and he was loudly proclaiming the best way to help people, especially those considered underdogs.
Horgan said he joined the NDP after hearing Barrett speak to a crowd of 30,000 in 1983 at a rally protesting government restraint.
“The meaning of social justice, of compassion, of caring for all British Columbians, not just a select few but everybody, that’s what Dave Barrett was about,” Horgan said. “It was in the morning, in the afternoon and before he went to bed.”
In the three years that he was premier, a record 357 bills were passed. His still-enduring political accomplishments include the Agricultural Land Reserve, the Insurance Corp. of B.C., the B.C. Ambulance Service, pharmacare for seniors, the B.C. Day holiday and the abolition of corporal punishment in public schools.
“All of us were touched by Dave Barrett,” Horgan said. “It’s a legacy that will never be seen again.”
Bill King, who was Barrett’s labour minister, recalled how the NDP government was criticized for raising the hourly minimum wage by 50 cents, with predictions that the economy would be crippled. But Barrett persisted, cheered on by hotel and restaurant workers.
“Dave was very passionate about trying to elevate the standard of living for pensioners, retired people, people at the lower end of the economic ladder,” King said.
“Barrett was passionate, hilarious and at times impetuous. He was really a fireball. It’s really a great honour to have the opportunity to say goodbye to an illustrious premier, a great friend and a colleague for many years.”
Barrett was born in 1930 in Vancouver, the third child of Jewish parents. He grew up in East Vancouver and after high school attended the Jesuit-run Seattle University, majoring in philosophy. He studied social work and became director of Haney Correctional Institution.
Dissatisfied with the institutional approach to social problems, Barrett turned to politics. He was elected as MLA in 1960.
In 1972 he became leader of the NDP, and the party made history by defeating the five-term Social Credit government of W.A.C. Bennett.
The New Democrats were voted out in 1975, but Barrett remained leader of the party until 1984. He then moved onto federal politics and was a member of Parliament from 1988 to 1993.
Barrett’s wife and children were on stage at the memorial and his three children spoke.
Son Joe said his father was able to stay connected with his family in his final years, but it was difficult.
“The last few years, even though Dad wasn’t able to respond in words, we knew he was there in gestures, in smiles, in the way he looked at us,” he said.
Denise Blackwell, a Langford municipal councillor and a longtime admirer and friend of Barrett, was among those attending the memorial. She said she first met him in 1972 and was bowled over by his common touch.
“I was working for the province and he came into the government workers’ cafeteria in his shirt-sleeves,” Blackwell said.
“I just thought ‘whoa’ because that never would have happened before.”
Larry Fofonoff said his only meeting with Barrett was in 1974 while driving a cab in Victoria. Dispatched to a house, Fofonoff found himself picking up Barrett for a trip to the airport.
“I said: ‘I know you, you’re that world-famous rugby star,’ and he seemed to like that. So we talked and it was a great trip out,” Fofonoff said.
“And he tipped well, too.”