Both of B.C's major provincial parties are going through a time of enormous change, and it's fitting that we stop to recognize the contributions Carole James and Gordon Campbell have made to the public life of this province. Regardless of one's political orientation we need to acknowledge the dedication and commitment it takes to lead a political party and run for elected office.
Having said that, however: in my estimation, Ms. James and the NDP made a critical mistake during the last provincial election when they decided to oppose run-of-river power projects. They bought into the anti-private-sector propaganda pounded into their heads by the province's public sector union leaders and as a result they lost the support of many well informed B.C. environmentalists who knew the real facts.
Anyone familiar with run-of-river projects knows they have a negligible environmental impact compared to other forms of energy production. Run-of-river projects are a perfect fit for B.C.'s mountainous, snow-covered terrain and wet coastal climate, and other places in the world would give their eye teeth to have access to the clean hydro resources we have. We can only hope that the NDP will don their 20/20 hindsight goggles next time around, learn from their past mistake, and start supporting renewable energy projects again instead of maligning them.
Mike Taylor
Coquitlam
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