In an April 14 televised film Christy Clark is depicted officially opening the 2012 Williams Lake Stampede.
She’s seen greeting people, square dancing, and riding a horse next to Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price.
“We went up to Williams Lake to open up the rodeo,” Clark said in the film. “I’m sitting on my horse and waving to everybody and my horse suddenly turns around and starts galloping.”
She hadn’t been on a horse for 15 years, and said it was the scariest moment she’s had since she became premier.
“Seriously, I sit in the legislature and listen to those guys yak yak yak and yelling at me and I think, ‘you’re not as scary as that horse.’”
The 30-minute video, Strong Economy. Secure Tomorrow, was paid for ($100,000) by the Liberals, and featured various Liberal spokespersons and supporters.
Under the BC Jobs Plan, Clark said Asia trade was up by 21.5 per cent, mineral expansion by 47 per cent and that forestry manufacturing sales were up by 23 per cent.
Reacting to the film, Cariboo Chilcotin Liberal Constituency Association president Bill Carruthers said he is pleased with Clark as a speaker.
“I like the way she comes across communication wise. She’s trying to be folksy, obviously there’s an issue in terms of people warming up to her.”
He said he goes back to whether or not Clark has what it takes to run a province with a $40 billion budget.
“Let’s not focus on whether she’s pretty, nice or kind. Does she have what it takes to run this province?”
In his estimation Clark does.
“The B.C. Liberals are trying to come up with a balanced budget and trying to stimulate future business opportunities so we don’t lose people so we’ll have an inflow into the province not an outflow,” Carruthers said, adding Clark’s on the right track.
Carruthers is also the financial agent for the election.
Cariboo Chilcotin NDP candidate Charlie Wyse contested Clark’s claim for job creation in B.C.
“Since she has been premier there have been 34,800 jobs lost in the private sector and since the Liberals have been in government, 30,000 jobs have been lost in the forest industry while the Liberals continue to export raw logs.”
He also questioned Clark’s claim the NDP saddled the province’s children with debt.
“There’s absolutely no question that under the NDP it was the first time that B.C. received federal funds,” Wyse said, adding he also observed it was the only time that funding was received from Ottawa.
“It’s interesting to note that under the Liberals, the province has received money from Ottawa five times.”
Under the Liberal government, $27 billion has been added to the debt, Wyse added. “The estimated $800 million deficit for this year would add close to $1 billion more to that debt.”
Cariboo North Independent MLA candidate Bob Simpson said the video politicized issues opposed to being straight with British Columbians.
“I think political parties of any stripe should be compelled to use the government’s own statistics because the B.C. statistics taxpayer funded statistical arm then most of what the premier claimed is simply not true.”
Simpson said B.C. is not the number one job creator, not the lowest tax regime and not the safe haven. “Statistics B.C. show that B.C. is a mid-pack province that is only fourth in job generation and fourth in terms of tax per capita,” Simpson said. “Under the last three months, B.C. is once again seeing a net migration out of B.C.
Cariboo Chilcotin Independent Gary Young said Clark’s video was a continuation of the “lies, deception, and hollow promises we’ve heard before.”