Mike Harcourt Against Carole James Environment Policies

You know you screwed up when former leader and Premier come out publicly in the final days of a tight election AGAINST a key compontent of your election platform. 
 
 
FORMER NDP PREMIER, MAYORS PAN CAROLE JAMES' CLIMATE PLAN

May 9, 2009

For Immediate Release

Carole James’ credibility and leadership sustained a further blow today with local mayors and former NDP Premier Mike Harcourt coming out against her climate plan in the critical, final days of the provincial election.

According to a letter led by Mike Harcourt and featured in the Globe and Mail today: “As citizens of this planet, it is our responsibility to put the planet before politics,” – a responsibility that they say includes both a carbon tax and a cap-and-trade system, as proposed by the BC Liberals, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and spur new green technologies.  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090508.wPOLbc_letter0509/BNStory/politics

This is another stage in the erosion of support for the NDP’s climate plan that has seen traditional supporters such as respected environmentalists David Suzuki and Tzeporah Berman, Noble-prize winning academics such as Dr. Andrew Weaver and Dr. Marc Jaccard, and provincial First Nations leaders all come out strongly against Carole James’ short sighted and irresponsible policies.

Yet this goes beyond her climate plan. As a leader who has campaigned on bringing people together to solve economic challenges, Carole James has done more to divide British Columbians than any NDP leader in B.C. history.

Not a single, credible employer group has thrown their support behind her NDP. After not being consulted by the NDP on their platform, the business community has in fact had to take unprecedented steps to come out publicly to fight her reckless, job-killing policy agenda.

First Nations and union leaders have also called into question Carole James’ economic plan, preferring a vision of stability, leadership and job creation in these challenges economic times.

Her politics of division has even reached the point where her candidates are accusing B.C. companies of breaking the law and encouraging U.S. companies to sue them, putting thousands of forest workers' jobs at risk.

British Columbia’s leaders from all corners are speaking out now because Carole James has neither consulted with nor listened to them before laying out the NDP’s reckless and irresponsible platform. Voters should consider the example those leaders are setting when they speak out with their vote on May 12.