EDITORIAL: Premier Campbell – good or bad?
On some fronts, outgoing Premier Gordon Campbell was a progressive reformer. On his watch, First Nations issues were recognized, legislation to reduce greenhouse gases was put in place, fixed-date election laws were implemented and full-day kindergarten was rolled out across the province.
On the business front, green power alternatives were introduced, red tape and taxes were cut and B.C..’s relationship with Ottawa was vastly improved. The Olympics, a calculated risk, mostly paid off.
But there were bumps along the way: Contract agreements were torn up, education funding hasn’t kept pace with costs, health care and child welfare reforms failed to live up to their potential and the minimum wage has been stagnant. His government’s botching of the harmonized sales tax roll-out has left a lasting legacy — one the future premier will have to sort out.
How Campbell’s history is written in the future will no doubt depend on who is writing it.
What do you think? Do you think Gordon Campbell was, overall, a good premier for British Columbia? Vote in our online poll.
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