Before being the sole MLA to endorse winning provincial Liberal leadership candidate Christy Clark, Burnaby-Lougheed legislator Harry Bloy was perhaps best known among the media for wearing his Boy Scout uniform into the legislature and taking international trips that were paid for by foreign governments and private businesses.
But now that Clark is premier, Bloy – who was first elected in 2001 and has been a backbencher for the past 10 years – is the new minister of social development and minister responsible for multiculturalism.
Asked whether that cabinet appointment was a reward for his support, Bloy told reporters, “Today is a day to celebrate the appointment of Christy Clark as leader and premier of the province of British Columbia.”
And how about those free trips? Would he continue jetting around the world on other people’s dime as a cabinet minister?
“I look forward to my new portfolio and the challenges that it brings. Multiculturalism is something I’ve always worked on,” Bloy responded. “I’ve travelled to many Asian countries and I look forward to the challenges in the future.”
As such, it looks like he might soon be known for something other than his travel habits and Boy Scout uniform.
Until recently, Clark was a member of the media – hosting a CKNW talk show. But, as premier, it doesn’t look as if she’ll pay any more attention to the media’s advice than her predecessor Gordon Campbell did.
For example, consider the case of Moira Stilwell, who ran against her for the provincial Liberal leadership. Stilwell was a long-shot candidate. But she got positive reviews from the press. Indeed, the consensus media opinion seemed to be that “former advanced education minister Moira Stilwell gave a textbook demonstration of how to run a losing campaign and come out a winner. She raised her profile and will likely return (to cabinet).”
But Clark thwarted those predictions last Monday, excluding Stilwell from her executive council.
In 2004, Liberal MLA Blair Lekstrom chaired a bi-partisan legislative committee that recommended measures that would have dramatically improved government openness and accountability. Those measures have been gathering dust since then.
But, on Tuesday, Lekstrom seemed hesitant to commit to dusting them off now that he’s been appointed vice-chairman of a more powerful cabinet committee responsible for open government and engagement under the new Clark administration.
Asked about the matter by Public Eye, he took refuge in the fact many of his old legislative committee’s lesser recommendations were acted on by the Campbell administration.
Fort Langley-Aldergrove MLA Rich Coleman has been responsible for the government’s gambling and booze files for most of his cabinet career. But, under the new Clark administration, he’s been shuffled to head up the ministry of energy and mines.
Speaking with Public Eye, Coleman said he felt “fine” about losing those files, describing them as being a “bit like whack-a-moles at the PNE. One things goes down, another thing pops up.” As such, he said, “It’s probably time someone else had that portfolio” – specifically Shirley Bond, the province’s new solicitor general.