The Martlet

After what seems like years of campaigning and polling, B.C. residents have one more frenzy to get through: the provincial election.

Hovering on the horizon this May, it’s still anyone’s guess as to who will end up in the driver’s seat. Last Thursday’s Funeral Procession for Public Education served as a strong reminder of what issues await the B.C. Liberals this coming election — dissatisfied CUPE members, a lot of grudges and a swath of students with growing student loans.

Premier Gordon Campbell and the Liberals will be looking for student votes through some of their exisiting campaigns. One is their unprecedented Climate Action Plan.

In campaign ads viewable on YouTube and their campaign website, the Liberals have used the words of UVic Earth and Ocean Sciences professor Andrew Weaver to describe the plan as “the most progressive plan anywhere.”

While such a turn of phrase may have the same ring as Campbell’s own “Greatest Place on Earth” catchphrase, with a respected member of the UVic community declaring the ambition of the Liberals’ environmental action, should students focus on this progressive commitment to one issue as a reason to be swayed?

“It’s [the Climate Action Plan] or business as usual,” said third-year political science student Tanner Oscapella, who sees the coming election as a crucial chance for big business and the environmentalist attitude of many B.C. residents to come together in an economic model that benefits everyone.

Pointing to the progressive nature of such government innovations as the Pacific Carbon Trust — a Crown corporation set to begin dealing in the purchase of carbon offsets — and the Carbon Tax Shift, Oscapella sees a vote for the Liberals as a vote for a better future.

While some critics warn of state-run environmental conservation over the more liberal introduction of environmental well-being, the Climate Action Plan’s emphasis on internalization doesn’t phase Oscapella one bit — by using the Carbon Tax to introduce environmental factors into the economy, green finance ceases to be a simple matter of personal choice.

“We need to legislate a uniform concern for our environment,” said Oscapella, “just like we believe in a uniform commitment to public health care.”

Such a comparison might be treading into murky waters for anyone discussing the B.C. Liberals.

After eight years of tempestuous labor disputes, the doctors and teachers’ unions are campaigning as vivaciously as any of the major parties this spring: they want Campbell out, and a union-friendly NDP government in.

Concerning the very tentative fields of health and education, Oscapella seems wary of the Liberals’ recent activities. As a student, he believes that post-secondary fees can’t remain stagnant in a constantly shifting market, but he hopes to see some drastic shifts in government policy following the election, such as a funding structure that would enable individual faculties to charge separate fees according to course requirements.

NDP supporter and fourth year Political Science student Edward Pullman says the last eight years of the Campbell government has been less-than-perfect.

For Pullman, the Liberal’s recent increase in student funding hardly makes up for the raised fees students saw following the 2002 and 2003 budgets. While the government might be implementing short-term solutions with money in regards to post-secondary and medical institutions, Pullman believes their emphasis on deregulation across the board harms public access to their rightly-deserved services.

“While worrying about up-front costs, they haven’t addressed the real issues,” said Pullman. “Instead of asking ‘how is this in the common good?’ they’re merely trying to avoid political fallout.”

The Liberal action on climate change is the ultimate example of such spending, Pullman believes.

“Continuing to develop the province’s infrastructure, while trying to cut back on greenhouse gases is like dealing with a weight problem by buying a bigger belt,” he said.

The social ramifications of any attempt at sustainability are just as important to Pullman, who sees the Carbon Tax as a debilitating force upon the poorer citizens of B.C. The NDP have been fighting for the removal or reform of the tax since its creation last year, arguing that it harms families more than it helps the environment.

Along with disputes over international interests in B.C.’s forests and rivers, the beautiful green picture conjured up in the Liberal Climate Action Plan is certainly imperfect. In the end, for Pullman, history holds far too many lessons to turn a blind eye this May.

“[The Liberal’s] track record speaks for itself,” Pullman said. “They claim they’re working for the greater good and wealth for all, while their policies show the exact opposite.”

B.C. Liberal party representatives recently visited the Student Union Building, handing out free hamburgers and coffee. While munching and quaffing, students were asked to write down their wishes for the province in the future.

The ultimate questionnaire is coming our way in May, when each major party will be counting on young British Columbians for support this year, hoping to secure new voices in an effort to win out over their adversaries.

Each party wants to be seen as creators of a legacy, a politics for the future. Whatever side comes out ahead, Pullman and Oscapella agree — we’ll be the ones who determine a crucial period of development for the province.