Vancouver Centre Conservative Jennifer Clarke risks reputation by running with Stephen Harper

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      I just noticed a tweet by former Vancouver NPA councillor Jennifer Clarke: "I am thrilled & honoured to be the #CPC candidate for #Vancouver Centre. Stay tuned for info on our campaign office launch #elxn41"

      She's running against incumbent Liberal MP Hedy Fry, deputy Green leader Adriane Carr, and the likely New Democratic Party candidate, Karen Shillington.

      I'm baffled why Clarke would put her reputation on the line by running on Stephen Harper's team in Vancouver Centre.

      During her nine years on council, I always considered Clarke to be more of a progessive conservative than a neocon.

      But by lining up with Harper, she is basically endorsing the Conservative government's attack on Insite, which is Vancouver's supervised-injection site.

      Harper has backed costly, publicly funded court appeals to try to shut down Insite, even though it has been endorsed by health officials and the Vancouver Police Department.

      Clarke is also buffing up a government utterly dominated by politicians who have gone on the record opposing same-sex marriage. The Conservative caucus's steadfast opposition to same-sex marriage in 2005 (James Moore was the only exception in B.C.) speaks volumes about their respect for basic human rights.

      Moreover, the Harperites distributed a book explaining how Conservative MPs could disrupt the work of Commons committees. Is this what Clarke will do if she gets to Ottawa as the Conservative MP for Vancouver Centre?

      In addition, the Conservative government is appealing an Ontario court ruling striking down Canada's prostitution laws. You would think that after the Pickton trial and the evidence put forth by SFU criminologist John Lowman, Vancouver politicians would recognize that criminalizing the sex trade only increases the vulnerability of women. Clarke apparently doesn't get it.

      Moreover, the Harper government is prosecuting the war on drugs as fervently as ever, passing legislation to ensure that marijuana growers spend many years in prison. This hardly seems like a sensible use of tax dollars, and many of those costs will be downloaded to the provinces.

      It's fair for Vancouver Centre voters to assume that Clarke endorses this as well. Otherwise, why would she carry the party's flag in the election?

      Then there are those CF-35 fighter jets. Harper claims they'll cost no more than $16 billion, including maintenance. Parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page has pegged the price at more than $29 billion.

      Clarke used to be considered a bit of a tightwad with taxpayers' dollars when she served on Vancouver city council. How does she square that image with running for a party that wants to spend so much money on military hardware—and not, if you believe Page, tell the public the truth about the cost?

      If she's truly "thrilled & honoured", maybe I've misread her for all these years.

      Related article: Affordable housing among key issues for Vancouver Centre candidates

      Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.

      Comments

      31 Comments

      greggron

      Apr 1, 2011 at 12:49am

      She's got my vote. Conservative majority on May 2!

      kathyg

      Apr 1, 2011 at 5:24am

      Alas, there appear to be a lot of Canadians that hold those views and polls still show Harper heading for a majority and that base energized to vote. There are also a lot of Canadians who want a more compassionate, open and respectful government. It remains to be seen whether they will similarly be energized to vote in sufficient numbers and with sufficient purpose to achieve what they want.

      0 0Rating: 0

      politics101

      Apr 1, 2011 at 6:48am

      She won`t get mine and I live in the riding but I really wonder if she is running to get her name out there once again and then consider a run in the Vancouver Point- Grey by-election for the BC Conservaties as part of John Cummings plan to beat the BC Liberals a step at a time.

      0 0Rating: 0

      Bruno15

      Apr 1, 2011 at 7:18am

      Stephen Harper's positions are not fiscally conservative (see the largest capital purchase in Canadian history fo fighter jets) but they are certainly socially conservative. Don't be confused by his dance around abortion and gay marriage which are the two highest on the Canadian public's radar. Nobody should be surprised (least of all Ms. Clarke) by these positions as they are entirely consistent with his Evangelical Christian viewpoint, the same viewpoint which is held by most of his cabinet and MPs. To me the real surprise here is the complete lack of press coverage or discussion of any kind by this seeming Evangelicization of a sitting government and its effect on public policy positions. http://christiangovernance.ca/news/a-list-of-evangelical-christian-mps-t...

      Also note that John Cummins, our new provincial Conservative leader also has a similar moral compass.

      0 0Rating: 0

      BMacfad

      Apr 1, 2011 at 7:32am

      Another hypocrite to join the Conservatives.

      0 0Rating: 0

      RonS

      Apr 1, 2011 at 7:37am

      She'll get her ass kicked. I'm not a hedy fry supporter, after all, look at the commotion she caused in Prince George with her "hate crime" accusuations. She's a loose cannon. The Greens, never. Go NDP!

      0 0Rating: 0

      monty/that's me

      Apr 1, 2011 at 8:37am

      Politicians will say/do/pretend/playdeaf/dumb/and stupid if they think it will get them elected. Van der Zalm won his election by doing the smile/smile/smile routine. Those days are long gone. Thank goodness!

      Perhaps Ms. Clarke is "thrilled and honoured" because somebody paid some attention to her.

      0 0Rating: 0

      Jose

      Apr 1, 2011 at 9:19am

      It seems that premise of this post is that anybody who supports the Conservative party deserves to be ripped in public, regardless of their personal ethics and contributions to society. I think it is fine for Charlie Smith to want to have an opinion on the Conservatives, but to so unfairly criticize someone who has such an outstanding public service record is really lame. Jennifer Clarke would be an amazing MP for Vancouver Centre in Ottawa. She is head and shoulders above the rest of the fray, particularly Ms. Fry who has done nothing for the riding. Hedy Fry is not and never will be taken seriously in Ottawa, and as long as she is MP, neither will the riding.

      0 0Rating: 0

      vancity

      Apr 1, 2011 at 10:12am

      I'll vote for her. I think she will be good voice for these issues in government.

      0 0Rating: 0

      Centerite

      Apr 1, 2011 at 10:41am

      It's sad to see people of merit get swayed by power. The Conservatives may be socially conservative, but their moral compass is grounded in the dark ages. Everything good about Canada is failing under this regime of fundamentalists, notably human rights (see Amnesty International). Ms Clarke may not yet see herself as one of the Taliban, but alignment with their policies makes her just as culpable.
      I don't know what's wrong with Canadians now. There are so many who seem petty, mean, delusional, xenophobic, bigoted, ignorant...and they all support the Conservatives. Although born Canadian and appreciative of growing up here, I am no longer proud of my country. Oh Canada, I cry for thee...

      0 0Rating: 0