HEADLINE SAYS ALL

Destruction of e-mail records puts heat on B.C. Premier

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell.

Court filing says employee was ordered to delete records that lawyers in a government corruption trial have insisted are critical to the defence of their clients.

WRONG GUY FOR THE WRONG JOB

When Kevin Falcon was appointed BC Health Minister recently, I predicted trouble with a capital "T."

Falcon is now saying that he will impose financial penalties on executives in the pubic health care system who fail to meet their financial and performance targets.

Listen to his philospohy in his own pea-brained words:

"That's how most people in the real world operate and it should be no different here."

Really, Kev?

First, this statement shows that Falcon doesn;t understand for a split second the role of government in a modern Western democracy. He also doesn't understand that governments, especially in their management of social programs, are exactly NOT like the private sector. The public governance of health care is a universe unto itself with different rules, targets and agendas.

That does not mean for a second that anything goes or that sloppiness with public funds is to be tolerated or excused.

It does mean that the model is significantly different and that outcomes and expenses need be measured in slightly different ways from say...General Motors! Hahahaha.

Which leads us to Falcon's second problem. Or better, our second problem with the Good Minister.

His role model is "the real world."

He means, we can only surmise, the real world of GM and Enron, Goldman Sachs and Bernie Madoff.

Lovely.

Those are the role models we want to be emulating when it comes to our care of the elderly and cancer and diabetes.

Right.

RE-CYCLE

For the past several months, I have been "clocking" bicycle traffic on the Burrard Bridge.

The largest number of bikes I have ever counted, including at rush hour, is eleven. Yes, 11.

The average is six.

Now, for this, we the taxpayers have spent $1.3 Million to create the famous bike lane madness.

Yesterday, I avoided the Burrard Bridge going downtown.

Coming back several hours later, I witnessed and experienced first hand tempers boiling over at Thurlow and Pacific and at the entrance to the Bridge.

The time was 4:40 pm.

There were seven bicycles. Coubnt 'em. Seven.

Now, this action by this dedicated council may or may not be a good thing for them politically, but that is hardly the point, is it?

The point is expensive tinkering using the public purse to further partisan and ideological aims that border on fantasies.

The Mayor and his Hollyhock Happy Planet dwellers can get all their bicycle friends out in full force for the Big Foto Op, but it won't change the reality.

There is not and never has been a bicycle problem on the Burrard Bridge.

The problem remains at 12th and Cambie.