Heartland Heartburn!

Premier Gordon Cambpell is finding that the backbenches are getting a little restive, the result of being given as large a mandate as he was. The latest departure from his caucus and the party, Elayne Brenzinger left the premier with a scathing indictment of his hands on governance. An outburst that had many BC residents going "we figured as much". Needless to say the remainder of his acolytes are circling the wagon and trying to shoot the messenger. But the damage will have been done, no matter what dirt they can dig up on the MLA from Surrey/Whalley. In a province where trust of their premier never really rises very high to begin with, the blast from Brenzniger will ring with resonance. Confirming for many the worst fears of how the Cambpell government really works.

However, the rumbling out of the heartland may solve him of any such dilemmas in the future. Some of those pesky backbenchers may not be a problem come next year. Once you're past the Fraser Valley there's a whole lot of hurt out in the premier's much championed heartland areas, collapse of local industries, population exodus, reduction of services and a general feeling of abandonment. Outside of the larger centers, the people are getting nervous about their situations and there will have to be someone made to answer. The many, many Liberal MLA's in the non urban areas may be the first ones at the Unemployment line come the next Provincial election. The current situation involving BC Rail is the perfect example of the sense of panic in the heartland.

When it was first announced, much of the province that was served by BC Rail services expressed their outrage at the sell off of the Crown Corporation to CN Rail. The billion dollar sale was championed by the Premier as an economic engine, that would revitalize the province especially in it's hardest hit areas from Prince George to Prince Rupert. Now that the spotlight of scandal has fallen upon the project, people are not so sure if the deal will make it to the completion phase. And that has some of Campbell's MLA's just a little nervous.

A case in point is Bill Belsey, who represents the North Coast riding of the province, the main centre of the riding Prince Rupert has been hit by a number of economic storms of late, battering the town's economy to the core. The main employer Skeena Cellulose has been shut for over two years with no real sign of rebirth imminent, the fishing industry has been restructured to the state of merely part time summer employment for the most part now. Grain shipments last year were running nowhere near the capacity of the state of the art elevator, the town's sawmill was sold off for scrap, the vultures tearing the structure down board by board, the main machinery off to China, Taiwian wherever a buyer can be found. The retail sector declares it's distress, with vacant store after store after store in the downtown core.

It's by the far the worst situation the town has faced since the Depression. The population voting with their feet, by reducing the town's population from 18,000 five years ago to just around 12,000 maybe less this year. The housing market is a glut of sellers with few buyers. Things at the moment, are not particularly good in this part of the heartland.

Into this mix came the big announcement, CN buying BC Rail would be a great boost to the economy, bringing to the North coast, jobs, jobs, jobs. Infrastructure would boom on the coast, the sense of despair would finally lift. No wonder Belsey and Campbell were such boosters for the billion dollar sale, it was the key ingredient to their economic revival plan for the Northern Heartland. But now, the deal is under suspicion, many calling for it to be scrapped completely. A situation that has turned Belsey from the booster he was, to a harbinger of doom for all. Claiming that the BC Rail sale must go through, to SAVE the economy.

Now the blame for the ills of the Prince Rupert and North Coast economy can be equally shared at all levels. For far too many years the city council lived in a self imposed fantasy land of steady taxes coming in from a pulp mill with a troubled reputation. When the good times were rolling no one gave thought to the future, now that the gravy train has stopped, there's nothing much to fall back on. Generally perceived in the past, as an unfriendly place to do business, the growth here has been minimal for years. A combination of bureaucratic roadblocks, high cost of development and less than sincere investors, have left far too many projects in dusty file folders. It's forever next year country. Port redevlopment, Oil and Gas, Tourism, those that can hang on wait to see what becomes of all these dreams.

Which is what the BC Rail project now is, the latest dream that will turn things around. An anxious public waits for the resolution of the situation. For Belsey it's probably his only hope for re-election, the North Coast has never been a bastion of the Right Wing, at least in recent history. Former home of Dan Miller, the heavy union base, traditionally would return NDP members to the legislature. Belsey rode the wave of the anti Clark backlash into Victoria. Indeed, perhaps even Campbell must think that of all the ridings that will turn their back on his vision, the North Coast is a most likely candidate. In his recent cabinet shuffle, the Terrace area MLA Roger Harris, was rewarded with a cabinet slot, Belsey once again left on the sidelines, given the consolation prize of chair of the Northern Caucus. The thinkers in the party office probably thinking that Harris has a better shot at re-election than Belsey. Bill better hope that his train comes in, if the economy on the North Coast remains as moribund as it presently is, he may find his time in Victoria shortened.

For the Premier the trouble is more widespread, all along the BC Rail corridor communities that suffer will be looking for answers. If it becomes a province of two economies, a booming growing one of the major cities and a declining, unsettled one of the Heartland he will feel the heat. For Campbell, the closer the election gets the more worreid the populace is getting. That's not a good thing for his backbenchers who can sense a backlash when they see one. Expect more incidents like the Brenzinger letter as the Liberals read the tea leaves.

Eventually even a disorganized group such as the NDP, should begin to reap the rewards of the Liberal discord. If they can get their act together, the NDP has a good opportunity to make some gains in the Heartland, the people there are hurting and looking for answers and just a little bit of hope. The Heartland is feeling a little ill these days, Dr. Cambpell had best stock up on the Zantac, his backbench members may be asking for it by the fistful.