XPost: bc.politics, van.general, vic.general   
   From: 40%®Çonned@cda.ca   
      
   As long as she needs the tax proceeds from the HST.  She knows we're mad as   
   hell that she's   
   delaying the cancellation of the HST and she also knows what that will   
   translate into at the   
   polls.  Big smile.  Big mouth.  Now, a big back-pedal.   
   _______________________________________   
      
    Vancouver Sun September 1, 2011   
      
   No election in the fall for B.C., Clark says   
      
      
   Premier Christy Clark definitively ended months of election speculation   
   Wednesday, saying she   
   has cancelled plans for an early vote to focus on a jobs agenda she hopes will   
   help the province   
   weather the growing storm of global financial uncertainty.   
   "I will not be calling an election this fall," Clark said in an interview,   
   adding she has now   
   abandoned plans to seek an early mandate. Instead, she said she intends to   
   stick to the   
   province's fixed election calendar.   
      
   The decision means B.C. will hold its next provincial election on May 14,   
   2013, about six weeks   
   after the harmonized sales tax is scheduled to be scrapped.   
      
   "I was really clear about [seeking an early mandate] when I ran, but I've had   
   enough citizens   
   tell me that they don't think it's the right time for an election," she said.   
      
   "People are looking at what's happening at the international financial   
   situation, seeing the   
   instability that it's causing and worrying that an election might add to it,"   
   she added.   
      
   But NDP leader Adrian Dix said he thinks Clark's decision is due to her fears   
   that she wouldn't   
   be able to win an early election.   
      
   "The only issue for her was the polling numbers, and I think it's pretty   
   shocking," Dix said.   
   "She caused disruption in the political process for five or six months, mainly   
   affecting her own   
   party, it should be said."   
      
   Clark said the province needs to be a safe harbour for investment and the   
   creation of jobs.   
      
   Clark did not give specifics of what industries the province will focus on in   
   its jobs push.   
      
   [. . . . ]   
      
   But The Vancouver Sun has learned it will concentrate on eight sectors:   
   forestry; mining;   
   tourism; natural gas and energy; ports and airports; clean technology and the   
   green economy;   
   agribusiness and international education.   
      
   In the interview Wednesday, Clark also said she will place an emphasis on   
   education and training   
   to ensure B.C.'s economic future.   
      
   [. . . . ]   
      
   Dix said he thinks Clark's decision was based largely on the fact that the NDP   
   has prepared   
   quickly to mount a strong election campaign.   
      
   "What we've been doing has been going very well," he said.   
      
   "Because of her constant speculation and electioneering, we've worked very   
   hard to prepare.   
   Obviously she was preparing to go, and now I think probably in part because   
   we've been   
   successful in presenting a different approach - a less photo-op driven, more   
   serious approach -   
   she's now abandoned that course."   
      
   Dix added that if Clark is serious about bringing stability to B.C., she needs   
   to provide a   
   substantive vision for the future of the province. But, he said, "there's no   
   evidence she has   
   any agenda for what she wants to do for the province."   
      
   Clark insisted the decision to scrap a fall vote in favour of her jobs agenda   
   has nothing to do   
   with her electoral chances.   
      
   "We've done the polling and found out that I can [win], but I'm not calling an   
   election anyway,"   
   she said.   
      
   [. . . .]   
      
   "But over the last few months I have heard people tell me, 'Christy, we don't   
   want you to call   
   an election. We don't want the instability that comes with an election,'" she   
   added.   
      
   "We've seen what happens recently in British Columbia when politicians decide   
   to plow ahead   
   despite public sentiment," she said, making obvious reference to former   
   premier Gordon   
   Campbell's failed HST policy.   
      
   "When I said I wanted to do things differently, that's what I was thinking   
   about. I wanted to   
   make sure British Columbians felt like they were included in a way they   
   haven't necessarily felt   
   like they were in the past."   
      
   _____________________________________   
      
   You want to keep the HST.  . . .  we DO want an election.     It's quite   
   simple, Ms Clark.   
      
      
      
   *******************************************************   
   "We CAN look after each other better than we do today.   
   We CAN have a fiscally responsible government.   
   We CAN have a strong economy; greater equality; a clean environment.   
   We CAN be a force for peace in the world."                      - Jack Layton   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)