DIX WOULD HARM B. C.- CANADA RELATIONS

Provincial premier candidate disagrees with PM Harper on a number of issues, not the least of which is the Northern Gateway pipeline

I( B. C. NDP leader Adrian) Dix already has served notice he’s unprepared, on a variety of fronts, to accept Harper’s policies.

t’s a good bet federal- provincial relations would do a nosedive if, as polls suggest, Adrian Dix becomes B. C.’ s premier on May 14.

The federal government doubtless is prepared for such an eventuality, not blind to those polls.

Stephen Harper’s style is to keep dealings with provinces low- key. He avoids federalprovincial conferences and regularly resists the urge to squabble with unco- operative premiers.

The Conservative leader’s posture is in keeping with a view that Ottawa and the provinces should each stick to their respective areas of jurisdiction.

That said, Harper clearly enjoyed his dealings with former Liberal premier Gordon Campbell, whom he subsequently appointed Canadian High Commissioner to Britain. Campbell had consistently refused to criticize Ottawa.

The Harper- Campbell relationship contrasted with an earlier rapport between Jean Chretien and former NDP premier Glen Clark. Clark continually badmouthed and baited Ottawa. And in 2000, the Chretien government moved to expropriate B. C.’ s Nanoose Bay torpedo testing range, when the two leaders disagreed about its use.

Needless to say, federal largesse in B. C. was kept to a minimum during Clark’s tenure.

The Campbell era, meanwhile, saw huge amounts of funding flowing to B. C. from Ottawa, for the 2010 Olympic Games as well as other endeavours.

Should Dix become premier, he’d lead a third NDP provincial government in the country, after Manitoba and Nova Scotia.

Those making predictions about a Harper- Dix dynamic have reason to be pessimistic.

The two haven’t met, although “they may have interacted in some way at a PM’s speech to the B. C. legislature before the Olympics,” reports Harper spokesman Andrew MacDougall.

Dix has said: “It is my intention to have a business- like relationship with whoever is prime minister, whether that’s Mr. Harper or Mr. ( Thomas) Mulcair. That doesn’t mean we’re going to accept everything the federal government says on every issue.”

Indeed, Dix already has served notice he’s unprepared, on a variety of fronts, to accept Harper’s policies.

The Conservative leader’s plan for the economy relies on federal austerity along with reduced taxation, especially on the corporate side. The prime minister has urged provinces to integrate their PST into a harmonized sales tax, giving businesses a competitive advantage. And to lower provincial taxes on business. Harper is gung- ho on resource development, streamlining federal laws related to environmental assessments.

Of course, British Columbians, as of April 1, scrapped B. C.’ s HST. Dix, who contends “the HST shifted $ 1.9 billion in taxes onto working families,” has vowed, as premier, not to reinstate it.

Last September, Dix told a Vancouver Board of Trade audience that, as premier, he’d raise B. C.’ s corporate taxes back to 2008 levels, and reinstate a capital tax on financial institutions. “It’s not easy to say we are going to raise taxes,” he told the business crowd. “This is a reality of the times.”

More recently, Dix has promised to extend B. C.’ s carbon tax to cover vented oil and gas emissions.

An even greater point of contention between Harper and Dix involves the Northern Gateway pipeline, which Harper considers a strategic imperative for Canada.

The proposal would enable the export of Alberta’s oil to Asian markets.

Dix is opposed: “I don’t think it’s in the economic and environmental interest of B. C.”

If he wins government next month, the NDPer plans to withdraw from the continuing federal environmental assessment of the Northern Gateway, setting up a provincial review instead.

Said Dix: “If we do nothing, then the decision of the B. C. government will be made by Stephen Harper.”

If Dix becomes premier, you won’t need a weatherman to forecast an incoming chill from Ottawa on the west coast.