BC Politics with Hubert Beyer

Archives of British Columbia's most well read Political Columnist

 

 

 

Hubert Beyer, Biography

Hubert Beyer was widely known as one of Canada's most read journalists. His columns were published regularly in most BC Community Newspapers, and his perspective sought on the Federal level as well as by NORAD in the US, Beyer lived up to his reputation as the "Fairest of them All."

Born in a small village in West Germany, Beyer immigrated to Canada in his 20s where he married and had 4 children.

A German Language publication in Winnipeg was Beyer's first foray into writing in Canada, it was soon followed with work at the Winnipeg Free Press as a Reporter covering many different beats. more

Click to read the Eulogy for Hubert Beyer

Top Search: Forestry

Find out what Beyer had to say about Forestry in BC through the years. With the forestry industry supporting a large segment of employment and opportunity in British Columbia, it's no surprise that it's a top search.

Top Search: Elections

Election are always a hot topicAnytime the faintest hint of a provincial or federal election announcement draws near, the search for quotes and history on past British Columbia elections starts to climb.

Top Search: Budget Release

When is the Budget not a hot searchProvincial Bugets are introduced with fanfare and fraught with talk from pundits, experts and critics. Take a few minutes to see how BC Budgets of the past were often projections of the future. 

MORFITT TO SHED LIGHT ON BUDGET DARKNESS

VICTORIA Auditor General George Morfitt is walking through a political minefield these days. He’s conducting an independent inquiry into last year’s budget fiasco.

Morfitt’s path is fraught with obstacles you usually find only in a war zone, but if he succeeds in rooting out the culprits that derailed the process which normally should lead to a responsible and fairly accurate fiscal forecast, then, in the parlance of his profession, he will have delivered value for the money..

When Clark was one of the pitbulls in opposition, he very much wanted Morfitt to become auditor general, which he eventually did. That was in 1988. In 1994, Morfitt was re-appointed for another six-year term.

And just about now, Clark probably wishes Morfitt was fine-tuning his golf game instead of fishing in murky political waters.

What Morfitt intends to find out is how a budget that, before the last election, according to the government, would deliver a surplus, ended up deeply in red ink. And the outcome could be very embarrassing for the government and a handful of top bureaucrats.

The way in which Morfitt proceeds signals a tough inquiry. He is placing witnesses under oath, a procedure employed very effectively by former Conflict of Interest Commissioner Ted Hughes. Remember, Hughes got the ball rolling that eventually bowled over former premier Bill Vander Zalm.

If Morfitt simply interviewed the key players in the budget fiasco, chances are they would color their accounts to protect themselves. Under oath, they are compelled to tell the truth to the best of their recollections.

Placing senior finance ministry officials under oath also protects them against possible retaliation from their political masters. In short, under oath, witnesses tend to run for cover.

There has been much speculation how a budget forecast can promise a surplus during an election campaign and turn out to be deep in deficit right after the election.

The government has steadfastly maintained the discrepancy was due to economic fluctuations and a flawed forecast procedure. Critics says the government knew damned well before the election that the budget was headed for a deficit, but hid that fact from voters to win the election.

I agree with the critics. Since the controversy first flared up, a lot of finance ministry documents and memos have surfaced, many of which warned the government at the time that its budget forecast was too optimistic.

But the premier knew that the forecast of a budget deficit would severely hamper his chances of squeezing another mandate out of the voters. So he stuck with the optimistic forecast.

Both critics and defenders of the government agree that any budget forecast is somewhat flawed, particularly in a province that relies so heavily on revenue from natural resources, which can fluctuate wildly and without notice. But even that doesn’t account for the fiasco of last year’s budget projections.

Morfitt’s inquiry may produce two beneficial results: the forecast procedure may be changed to reflect the vagaries of economic forecasts, and governments may in future be less inclined to hoodwink the public.

At times like this, it becomes obvious why we have agencies, independent of government, to keep the system on the straight and narrow. Can you imagine the results of an internal finance ministry investigation into this or any other matter, the results of which may or may not be released to the public?

Morfitt has shown in the past that he’s no patsy. If he finds dirt, he’ll expose it, albeit in somewhat more diplomatic language than your average newspaper columnist would use. But that’s alright. I’ll translate Morfitt’s findings into very plain English.

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