Find out what Beyer had to say
Election are always a hot topic
When is the Budget not a hot searchVICTORIA – Wilf Hanni, you’re a fool.
No sooner was Hanni elected leader of the B.C. Reform Party than he lashed out at the man who has consistently provided some of the best opposition in the legislature and assured the party’s standing at the top of public opinion polls.
If anyone can take the credit for Reform eclipsing both the Liberals and the NDP in the polls, no mean feat for a party that occupies only two seats in the legislature, it is Jack Weisgerber.
But rather than thanking him for a job well done, the political neophyte Hanni criticized Weisgerber and Reform’s other MLA, Richard Neufeld, for having supported the government’s legislation providing same-sex benefits.
Hanni said he plans to take action against Weisgerber and Neufeld for having supported the bill and demand that the legislation be withdrawn. The bill "conveys a vision of normalcy" on homosexual relations, he said.
Now, I admit homosexuality isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I believe in the old saw of live and let live. Just because you consider someone’s lifestyle, morals or whatever you want to call it inappropriate, you don’t deny them the basic protection offered anyone else.
If as a society we truly believe in equality, we must not exclude anyone from the benefits we bestow on each other. And that includes medical coverage for same-sex couples living together.
Responding to Hanni’s broadside, Weisgerber left no doubt where he stood and where the Reform Party of B.C. should stand. "Our party supports equality," he said.
Hanni might have reserved his homophobia for the proposed school program that is to inform students about homosexuality in order to stem the tide of gay-bashing in our schools.
The form of that program has not been established, but if anything could convey a sense of normalcy on homosexuality it might be such a course.
To bash Weisgerber and Neufeld for their support of the same-sex benefit legislation was outright stupid of Hanni.
The B.C. Reform Party has a good chance of making a better showing in the next election than it did in the last one, the poor results of which prompted Weisgerber to resign as party leader.
Since then, the polls have shown rather strange results. Despite the fact that it had no leader, Reform kept leading the polls, with the Liberals and the NDP trailing. That’s something to build on.
Hanni has never been elected to any public office. He’s a political babe in the woods, and instead of publicly crucifying Weisgerber, he should seek his counsel. He will need it. The September 15 byelection in Surrey-White Rock is going to be a make-or-break contest for both Liberal leader Gordon Campbell and the green Reform leader.
By all rights, Hanni should have contested that byelection, but his election as leader came too late. Instead, party president David Secord, a gillnetter, will carry the Reform banner, with Hanni standing on the sidelines until there is another byelection or the next general election.
Being a party leader and not an MLA has distinct drawbacks. Hanni will not be able to attack the government on the floor of the legislature. He will have to depend on his elected people, and even if Secord gets elected, he, too, will be green. That means Hanni will have to depend on Weisgerber, the man he just insulted.
In politics you often don’t even get three strikes, and Hanni has already one against him. Like I said, Hanni you’re a fool.
