Dude, where's our premier?

[Gone_Fishin]

Dude, where's our premier?

PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN

JULY 21, 2017 04:47 PM


While announcing an increase to welfare rates and firing the president of B.C. Hydro may be important to John Horgan to get done in his first few days as premier, it shows a shocking lack of sensitivity to more than 40,000 evacuated Cariboo residents.

Offering some additional assistance for the evacuees and the municipalities on Wednesday was much appreciated but that needed to be delivered in person, along with a vow to do and spend whatever it takes to get these people back on their feet.

As the most successful business and political leaders know, events often sideline the agenda. In those situations, sticking to the plan is delegated to others while the leader steps forward to tackle the unexpected problem. Leadership isn't just about doing the right thing, it's about being seen doing the right thing and caring for the people and their problems.

In Horgan's case, he's got experienced cabinet ministers, two of whom are former provincial NDP leaders themselves, to start implementing the pillars of their platform. He should have left them in charge for a couple of days, to get to Kamloops and Prince George, to make it clear that what's happening in the Cariboo is top of mind for him and for his new government.


No doubt Doug Donaldson, his new forestry minister, and other senior bureaucrats are regularly briefing him on the Cariboo wildfires. That's fine but in the same way that premiers need to be seen and heard doing their job, the evacuees need to be seen and heard by their premier.

snip

Neither Horgan nor Trudeau's visit would be taxing on resources. Both of them already travel with a small security detail and an assistant, regardless of where they go. Coming to Prince George or Kamloops would be just another day for these people. Rounding up a plane for a quick aerial tour of the effected areas would not be detract from the firefighting effort, nor would stopping to briefly thank firefighters and encourage evacuees to stay strong.

If both men came at the same time, it would be an opportunity for them to meet and focus on something other than their differing views on the Kinder Morgan TransMountain pipeline. Their attendance would also attract provincial and national media coverage, which would aid in the Canadian Red Cross and its fundraising efforts.

There's even political points to score if they must be cynical about it. To their supporters elsewhere in the province and the country, they would look like caring leaders, coming together to support the people in their time of need.

Horgan sitting at his desk in Victoria while the Cariboo burns and people sleep in cots or in campers in Prince George and Kamloops, wondering whether they have a home to return to, speaks volumes about his priorities. There's a major difference between standing on the lawn at the legislature in Victoria and saying he cares and coming to Prince George and showing some of the 9,000 evacuees that he really does.

Horgan and his NDP colleagues spent the election and the four years leading up to it hammering Clark and the B.C. Liberals for not caring about people, for their heartless decisions that hurt families and people in need. Yet, on her first full day as leader of the opposition, a job she clearly didn't want, it was Clark going to the people in Prince George, listening to their concerns, offering to do what she can to help.

Give a guy a new title, a nice office and some additional responsibility and caring about the little people is suddenly much less urgent than it used to be.

If actions speak louder than words, the real crisis in the province on Friday was B.C. Hydro president Jessica McDonald. She needed to be fired immediately.

Wrong fire, dude.


http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/opin ... 1.21300292?

[flamingfingers]

He's been premier for less than a week. Going to PG right now would be nothing more than a photo-op.

What?? we want to pay $1MILLION again this year for videographers, photographers to take pictures of the premier???

I think not.

[Urbane]

Horgan certainly hasn't gotten off to a good start and sitting at his desk in Victoria while the fires rage is another example of faulty leadership. Firing people, having them find out through a text to the media, and not even informing his own minister shows a terrible lack of leadership. It shows a lack of empathy too. Not good.

[Urban Cowboy]

And yet were the shoe on the other foot, you would have been attacking Clark for not showing more compassion.

[JLives]

Horgan certainly hasn't gotten off to a good start and sitting at his desk in Victoria while the fires rage is another example of faulty leadership. Firing people, having them find out through a text to the media, and not even informing his own minister shows a terrible lack of leadership. It shows a lack of empathy too. Not good.

Do you want him to go pick up a hose and start fighting it or something? Right now he's best to stay out of the way and let the professionals do their jobs. He extended the state of emergency, that was a good decision and how he fits in best.

[Queen K]

I can't believe this. Why is Horgan keeping the heck out of the way by not going to Prince George right now?

Where accommodations and resources are stretched to the limit? Someone wants Horgan to run up there and be in the frakking way?

Horgan in Prince George <-----------detractors, "this is totally an unnecessary photo op and use of time and resources."

Horgan in Victoria <-------------------detractors, "Why isn't this dude in Prince George? He must not CARE! He doesn't CARE!"

If this is how politcal discourse is going to go until the new NDP govt collapses or succeeds, then your arguments are invalid.

INVALID.

[Urbane]

Do you want him to go pick up a hose and start fighting it or something? Right now he's best to stay out of the way and let the professionals do their jobs. He extended the state of emergency, that was a good decision and how he fits in best.

The two extremes are:

1. Picking up a hose and fighting the fire.
2. Sitting at a desk in Victoria.

Neither is the right choice.

[flamingfingers]

Horgan extends provincial state of emergency, announces more funds for wildfire evacuees
Additional $600 available to evacuee households for every 14-day period they are forced out of their homes
By Karin Larsen, CBC News Posted: Jul 19, 2017 9:48 AM PT Last Updated: Jul 19, 2017 11:36 AM PT

'Where there's smoke, there's fire': not always true, says expert
Lake Country resident defies wildfire evacuation order to protect art collection
British Columbians impacted by wildfires will have access to additional funding through the Red Cross, while the state of emergency in the province has been extended by two weeks.

The announcement was made by John Horgan, one day after he was sworn in at the 36th premier of B.C.

Horgan called the wildfire emergency in B.C. "unprecedented."

"It's clear to me that we need to do more," he said.

Horgan said an additional $600 will now be available for every 14 day period people are evacuated from their homes. Evacuees initially had a one-time payment of $600 available to each household.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.4212348

I think the help he provided is a heck of a lot more compassionate than flogging his physog around the evacuees!!

[Hurtlander]

Christy probably was up in Prince George to help Shirly Bond with some paper shredding

As for Horgan not traveling around to visit areas affected by the fires....most folks actually prefer it if *bleep* grinning politicians stay away and not get underfoot for a senseless photo-op while there's important work going on.

[Queen K]

I see no less than five people have liked the OPs post.

Okay then WHERE should John Horgan be right now, getting a handle on government operations or being up in the evacuee zones?

[Hurtlander]

Further more, the evacuees are spread all over Kamloops and Prince George and absolutely every town in between along hwy 5 north and hwy16 from Valemount to PG...There's literally hundreds of evacuees right here in my area, the leader of the official opposition nor the new premier has shown up here, and nobody cares.....

[BeingHuman]

Gone_fishing's comment is comical considering one of the last things Crusty Clark did was issue a mining permit in the Tsilhqot'in territory while that First Nation was battling a forest fire that threatened their community. A real POS move by the BC Liberals!!!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.4215429

[Urbane]

Further more, the evacuees are spread all over Kamloops and Prince George and absolutely every town in between along hwy 5 north and hwy16 from Valemount to PG...There's literally hundreds of evacuees right here in my area, the leader of the official opposition nor the new premier has shown up here, and nobody cares.....

Did you read the editorial?? It laid out the rationale very well for the premier getting away from his desk in Victoria. Being an NDP'er and not being Christy Clark are enough for some of you to defend whatever Horgan does but the editorial gets it right.

[JLives]

He's not in Victoria golfing, he's doing his job. The experts are dealing with this. We don't need the Premier getting in the way of things for a photo, there's no benefit to it.

[mr.bandaid]

I would rather have my fire fighters concentrating on their jobs than posing for the camera's so that Christy.....ooopsy, I mean Horgan can get a picture of how supportive he is. He is where he belongs until things settle down. They will need him and the government far more after the fires are out.