Homeless in Vancouver: I saw the B.C. premier on a bus!

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      Some folks waiting for a westbound bus in the 1500 block of West Broadway at 5:58 p.m. during rush hour Tuesday (April 11) could only have been disappointed. Rather than the 9 Alma, or the 99 B-Line to the University of British Columbia, what they instead saw bearing down on them in the HOV lane was a B.C. Liberal party campaign bus.

      “Oh no,” I imagine they all groaned to themselves. “Not another out of service bus!”

      The 41st general election to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia takes place in less than four weeks, on May 9, 2017 and the governing centre-right B.C. Liberal Party, which has been in power since 2001, is campaigning hard for its fifth consecutive term in office.

      The B.C. Liberal campaign bus which I saw on West Broadway was eye-catchingly done up in blue, yellow and red—the colours of the British Columbia flag. On the driver side of the bus was a running-board-to-roof colour portrait of Premier Christy Clark smiling out at motorists and to the right of Clark’s portrait was the slogan: “Strong BC, Bright Future”.

      Don’t ask what the slogan means, just be moved by it, as we have all been moved over the years by the wit and wisdom of our premier.

      Though my personal sympathies rest more with the B.C. New Democratic Party and the B.C. Green party, I must compliment the B.C. Liberal party’s election campaign image team for the masterful job they have done dressing up the party’s campaign bus—particularly the bold decision to cover even the passenger windows with vinyl wrap in order to create the largest possible advertising canvas.

      On the one hand, this treatment effectively sacrifices any hint of openness and transparency in favour of putting everything into a superficial public relations message. And on the other hand, it leaves the strong impression that the people on the bus can have no possible idea what is happening around them in the real world.

      It’s downright witchy, frankly, how perfectly the campaign bus conveys the essential character of the governing B.C. Liberals.

      The party clearly has the resources and the wherewithal to hire the very best marketing people.

      Stanley Q. Woodvine is a homeless resident of Vancouver who has worked in the past as an illustrator, graphic designer, and writer. Follow Stanley on Twitter at @sqwabb.

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