BC's new leaders have very different visions

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BC's new leaders have very different visions
Premier Clark is emphasizing families first; NDP leader Dix wants to save schools
Dan Burritt Apr 18, 2011 15:13:55 PM
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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - BC's new premier and new opposition leader plan to present very different visions to voters.

On his first day as NDP leader, Adrian Dix says he's preparing to roll out a clear alternative. "Alternatives on public health care where the differences between myself and Premier Clark could not be more stark, like public education. She wanted to close more schools and I wanted to keep them open. I won that fight," he notes, referring to the fight last year to save five schools in Vancouver that the school board was considering closing. In the end, the board decided to put a moratorium on those closures.

As an education minister, Christy Clark oversaw cuts in the education budget, and prevented teachers from negotiating class size, a move which has since been struck down by the courts.

For her part, Premier Clark acknowledges there will be challenges, once she calls a provincial election. "I don't underestimate how hard this campaign is going to be. It's going to be tough. We are going to have to prove ourselves. We all benefit from the fact there is a clear choice in front of us. There is a clear choice about change that puts families first," she insists.

Clark wouldn't say if she would call an early election but it's unlikely before the HST referendum

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