Having read MLA Bennett’s letter (response to Alex Hanson’s ‘One of Us’, The Free Press, May 15) an acquaintance suggested that it was actually written by a BC Liberal hack.
But no; it had Mr. Bennett’s fingerprints all over it.
First of all, there was the characteristic double standard. He writes that mining is currently troubled in the province under the BC Liberals, “... as a result of a downturn in commodity prices.” But then he tells us that when mining was troubled in the naughty 90s it was... wait for it... the fault of the NDP government.
He knows that resource exploration, development and production in B.C. depend on global demand regardless of who is in power in Victoria. To insinuate or claim otherwise is to show either a wilful ignorance of economic fact or a well-developed capacity for avoiding the truth.
Secondly, there are the typical exaggerations, used as counter-arguments against the points raised by Mr. Hanson. Unfortunately, if Mr. Bennett cannot supply factual context for phrases such as “... preposterous and devoid of any fact,” or “... wildly inaccurate and reckless comments,” they are of little or no value.
Thirdly, there is the irrelevant distraction ploy. Mr. Bennett cannot answer Mr. Hanson’s assertion that BC Liberal public servants have parlayed taxpayer-funded careers into lucrative employment with a Chinese mining company, so he comes way out of left field, dragging with him the same old, lame old, dreary and disproven cliches about the NDP 90s.
Lastly, there is the insulting accusation that Mr. Hanson is “... out of touch... with working families.”
After all, it was Mr. Bennett who, during the 2013 election, adopted the contemptible political tactic of threatening Elk Valley mineworkers (and their families) that at the election they would be “... voting for their jobs.” His obvious intention was to advance his political self-interest by spreading fear of unemployment into the very homes of those families whose interests he claimed to represent.
I would suggest to Mr. Bennett that Mr. Hanson, as president of United Steelworkers’ Local 9346, by working for the interests of mineworkers on the Elkview claim, is very much in touch “... with working families.”
I wonder if Mr. Bennett can say the same.
JC Vallance
Fernie, B.C.