Prime Minister Trudeau, Premier Clark Pay Tribute to Bill Bennett
Prince George, B.C. – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier Christy Clark have issued statements regarding the death of former British Columbia Premier Bill Bennett.
Prime Minister Trudeau says “On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends and colleagues of former British Columbia Premier Bill
“A savvy politician and businessman, the former Premier did a great deal to build the province of British Columbia and its reputation. His many contributions to the province included Expo 86, the SkyTrain, the Coquihalla Highway and Canada Place.
“He received the Order of British Columbia in 2007 for his many accomplishments.
“He was a very capable and hard working British Columbian who contributed enormously to his province and to our country. He will be remembered and honoured.”
Premier Christy Clark says “as the son of one of British Columbia’s most iconic leaders, Bill Bennett not only emerged from his father’s shadow – he built his own legacy.”
“What made him stand out was his focus, commitment to fiscal discipline and vision for B.C.’s future.”
“Perhaps no other premier did more to modernize our province. He brought the SkyTrain, Canada Place and BC Place to Vancouver, began the Coquihalla Highway project and expanded our mining and hydro industries. It was only fitting that one of his final acts as premier was to open Expo 86.”
“For any and all British Columbians who wish to pay tribute, details will be forthcoming in the near future.”
Comments
My younger Brother was 14 when he partied with the Bennetts in Kelowna back in the 70’s. Remember the whiskey and cornflakes comments back then? Not to far from the truth.
WAC and Bill did wonders to get this province moving. But you have to remember Social Credit = BC Liberal Campbell and Clark. Condolences to the Bennet family.
That’s what it became under Bill Bennett, which was, despite his many other achievements, undoubtedly his greatest failing. There was a world of difference in philosophy between Social Credit under WAC Bennett and what operated under that name when it was (ostensibly) led by his son. To be fair to Bill, when he came into office he was not an experienced politician leading a green caucus, as his father had been. Rather just the opposite, and the Vancouver big money boy’s that controlled the then (and now) BC Liberal Party and its caucus of experienced, professional politicians, and merged that group, (which could never have won government under its own moniker) into the BC Social Credit ‘Party’, (not ‘League’, as it had been under WAC), were more than willing to provide all the ‘advice’ the new leader needed. That he managed to reject ANY of it was a great credit to him, and probably, aside from fear of the NDP, the main reason Social Credit stayed in office as long as it was able to.
With all the against everything special interests groups we have today wonder if the Bennett’s would have gotten anything done.
I don’t think so, seamutt. This country would never have been allowed to develop anything if those kind of groups had existed then, or even back beyond then. We’d probably still be debating whether the effects of Red River wagon ruts on prairie dog habitat was worth the risk of opening the west, and such like. Seems like now being against development of industry has become a bigger industry in many cases than the industry they’re against, financially speaking, that is.
One of the big, but probably most overlooked, differences between the BC Social Credit League led by WAC Bennett and the BC Social Credit Party led by his son, Bill, was that WAC never lost sight that the only sane, primary purpose of ‘production’ is ‘consumption’.
Bill Bennett, maybe not himself, personally, or maybe so, but certainly the group he led, was beguiled into thinking that it was ’employment’ instead. That thinking still pervades the BC Liberal Party, and is going to ultimately be its undoing.
‘Employment’ is merely a MEANS to an end. Not an END in and of itself. There was never, in Bill Bennett’s tenure in office, nor in that of ANY of the Premiers who’ve followed him, the same emphasis on what WAC Bennett called on realising ” the Good Life”, one he hoped to move the province steadily towards. Rather all who have come after have focussed entirely on ‘work’, and ever more of it, as being the great nirvana we should all aspire to. Making an ‘end’ out of a ‘means’, all down through history, has proven disastrous.
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