Reactions pour in following Falcon’s resignation

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Premier Christy Clark says her now-former finance minister was a hard worker for her party.

“His commitment since 2001 and before that has been to make sure we have a free-enterprise coalition governing our province. That’s been his number one concern,” notes Clark.

She says she expects more resignations soon, but still has solid bench and plans to roll out some new faces.

“You’ll see, I hope, people that you’ll think are really exciting new candidates that are going to bring some of those fresh eyes to the table.”

Clark won’t say yet, but insists she has bench strength for a new cabinet.

“This is an opportunity for renewal. We need to go into the next election campaign with a new team.”

Clark has appointed Shirley Bond acting finance minister, following Falcon’s resignation.

Other political reaction to Falcon’s resignation

Political analyst John Redekop with Trinity Western University tells News1130 Falcon’s resignation will likely hurt public perception of the BC Liberals; many might see it as MLAs jumping ship.

“I think much of the public dissatisfaction focuses not primarily on Christy Clark, who has done her very best, I think, but on the total record of the Liberals in the last decade,” explains Redekop.

“The fact that quite a few Liberals have stepped down, or have announced that they will not run again, is, I think, partly a reflection on Premier Clark’s leadership,” he adds.

“I think it’s a political blow for the government,” says NDP Finance Critic Bruce Ralston.

“[Falcon is], from the Liberal perspective, a capable finance minister. It’s important to remind people that Mr. Falcon did say at the leadership convention that he would run again, win or lose. So, he’s obviously changed his mind,” he notes.

Conservative Leader John Cummins believes this signals a big change on the horizon in BC politics; he believes it’s further evidence the Liberals are in turmoil.

“Mr. Falcon has indicated that his political days are not done but he doesn’t want to be tainted with the loss that the Liberal party, I think, is going to experience in next May’s election,” he says.

Mayor hopes shift in Cabinet won’t hurt Surrey

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts says the MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale was good to her city. But with Falcon gone, she doesn’t want the province to forget about all of the transportation infrastructure plans in her community.

“[I] don’t know what’s going to be put on hold, those conversations of course I haven’t had with Victoria,” she explains. “I hope the provincial government is well aware of the shift in the needs south of the Fraser.”

“When you look at the second-largest border crossing in the country, you look at the amount of people and the amount of growth that we’re experiencing; the infrastructure absolutely needs to be there,” adds Watts.

Chamber of Commerce/CTF reaction

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation points out Falcon leaves behind two important legacies for British Columbians.

BC Director Jordan Bateman says the now former finance minister was a big on deregulation. “He’s a guy who cut a bunch of red tape and was passionate about trying to make life easier for taxpayers and businesses. We definitely appreciated that and BC’s been recognized as a leader in the country in that regard.”

Falcon is also getting high praise for his tough negotiating stance with public sector unions.

“As Finance Minister, [he] stared into the face of some of the toughest public sector unions in the country, he didn’t blink, he held the line on net zero, and that alone saved taxpayers about three billion dollars,” adds Bateman.

“It’s that only reason why next year that the government has even a sniff of a chance being able to balance the budget,” he says, pointing out Falcon will enjoy a more than generous pension when he hits his golden years.

Based on his 12 years of service, in his first year of retirement, Falcon will make about $63,000 in his pensions and his lifetime totals, if he lives to be 80 years old, will be $1.09 million.

John Winter with the BC Chamber of Commerce also praises Falcon’s efforts.

“It could withstand a lot of the pressures that economies are having difficulty with right now; he deserves a lot of credit for that,” he tells us.