B.C. NDP boss to play nice with Ottawa

B.C. New Democratic Party Leader Adrian Dix is predicting a “businesslike” relationship with Prime Minister Stephen Harper should he win next spring’s provincial election even though he’s investigating ways to challenge a critical component of Harper’s economic plan: Enbridge Inc.’ s Northern Gateway pipeline megaproject.

Dix said Friday he’s assembling a legal team headed by Vancouver lawyer Murray Rankin, a specialist in aboriginal, natural resource and environment law, to consider his options to oppose the controversial $5.5-billion pipeline proposal now before a federal review panel.

Dix is also an outspoken critic of federal policy on criminal justice, Canadian-European free trade talks and health-care transfers.

But Dix said critics misjudge him if they assume he’ll follow in the footsteps of his former boss, Glen Clark, who as premier in the late 1990s was the last B.C. political leader to make fed-bashing a key part of his political arsenal.

“The days of the big federalprovincial confrontations, that’s over,” said Dix, who was Clark’s top adviser during raucous B.c.-ottawa battles over the Pacific salmon fishery.

“He’s the prime minister of Canada elected by the people of Canada, and if that changes I’ll be working with the next person and I have my own views on that,” he said.

“But the idea that I won’t work with Harper or that I see myself as some sort of a leader of the opposition to Harper is wrong. I see myself as running to make changes in B.C. That will involve sometimes disagreeing with the federal government, but just as often working with them.

“So the relationship will be quite businesslike.”

He said the world of federal- provincial relations has changed due to Harper’s refusal to hold first ministers’ meetings, the federal government’s view that Ottawa shouldn’t meddle in areas of provincial jurisdiction and Ottawa’s hands-off approach to provincial health-care systems.

Dix didn’t mention the role former Liberal premier Gordon Campbell played in ending a history of fedbashing in B.C.’S political culture by using a co-operative approach to wring more cash out of Ottawa.

Dix said he could be an asset to Harper on two key issues — resolving long-standing aboriginal issues such as the B.C. land claims file, and championing national unity if the Parti Quebecois replaces the Liberals in the next Quebec election.

But he reserved his toughest words for the government’s handling of environmental reviews of two controversial natural resource projects: Calgary-based Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline and Vancouver-based Taseko’s New Prosperity gold-copper mine.

The Harper government is aggressively championing the pipeline, tabling legislation certain to ease the project through the regulatory review process despite fierce opposition from many B.C. First Nations.

The project is also the centrepiece of Alberta Premier Alison Redford’s so-called national energy policy, which is seeking cross-canada approval for infrastructure to get natural resources, especially oilsands crude, to key markets such as China.

The federal government also announced this week the establishment of a review panel for the Taseko project near Williams Lake that is bitterly opposed by First Nations.

The NDP leader said he’ll be paying close attention to possible aboriginal legal challenges against Enbridge, though he said it was too early to say whether a Dix government would become involved in court cases.

I see myself as running to make changes in

B.C.

ADRIAN DIX