Behold, I say, in keeping with the season, the government of Louis XIV aka Gordon Campbell (l’etat c’est moi) has once more given out a list of favoured corporations.

First, the press release (in part).

“Construction Dream Team Volunteers to Advise Government and Organizers on Olympic Projects

The 2010 Construction Leaders Taskforce was recently formed to provide expert advice to the government and Olympic organizers on the cost-efficient and timely construction of games and related infrastructure projects. The taskforce comprises twenty top-level BC construction industry executives with over 400 years of collective industry experience. The companies represented completed over $1.1 billion of construction projects in BC in 2002, including road and transportation infrastructure, sporting facilities, high-density housing and large-scale public facilities.” (Why 2002 one might ask? Isn’t this the end of 2007? Have these companies been idle for half a decade?)

Here are the companies..

 Bird Construction, Dominion Fairmile Construction, EllisDon Corporation, Emil Anderson Construction,Graham Construction & Engineering, Intertech Construction Group, JJM Construction, Kinetic Construction, Knappett Construction,Ledcor Construction, Metro-Can Construction, Norson Construction, PCL Constructors Canada, Peter Kiewit Sons’,RAM Construction, Scott Construction, Stuart Olson Constructors, TASK Construction Management.

The heads of these construction companies will be under the chair Philip Hochstein, Executive Vice President Independent Contractors and Businesses Association. The Independent Contractors and Business Association has long been the umbrella for non union companies so one wonders whether these companies are indeed all non union. That is not of my concern today since Unions, one supposes, can look after their own affairs.

What does concern me is the “jobs for the boys” odour. Can you imagine any of these stout hearted executives seeing a job go to someone outside the group?

Since any one of these chaps would always be delighted to advise King Louis XIV and Prince Kevin his Transportation Minister the only purpose of this release must be to make a statement and if that statement isn’t pals of the government get first dibs, what the devil could it be?

You might have noticed another little gap in the advice HM will get – none of these good ol’ boys would pass for an environmentalist.

No big deal, I guess but can you imagine the screams from a Liberal opposition had this been the NDP setting up an “advisory” committee?