Olga Sheean: Premier Christy Clark's downward-doggedness

A bridge too far?

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      B.C. premier Christy Clark would do well to take a deep breath, sigh it out, and reflect on the shelving of her yogathon (which was to be held on the Burrard Bridge on June 21), due to the overwhelmingly negative reaction from the public.

      While doing yoga on a bridge might have seemed like a healthy thing to do, it represented a serious disconnect from what the public wanted or needed. There are countless yoga studios in the city and no shortage of opportunities to commune with self, create union, and relinquish the grip of our egos. Yet, ironically, Premier Clark seemed oblivious to the yogic concepts of connectedness and non-attachment, given her strong resistance to honouring public opinion about her misuse of taxpayers’ money. And, although she claimed on CBC News that the event was intended to celebrate harmony, she did not plan on participating in it herself “because it was not about politics”.

      I’m confused. Isn’t yoga all about union? Wasn’t that the whole point of the exercise? Or were the plebs supposed to unite and create harmony among themselves, while she (the politician) stood off to the side, observing the effect of this supposedly non-political event? Either way, if it’s not about politics, why would she—a political figure—have organized it in the first place, using public funds rather than her own money?

      Spending $150,000 on a yoga class that few wanted or needed is an abuse of public funds and a violation of the trust placed in her to serve our best interests. If she could not see that the money could be better spent on other things (to put it mildly), then perhaps she shouldn’t be in office. And the fact that it required such a monumental public outcry for her to finally shelve the misguided gig would seem to indicate a lack of moral fibre and integrity. Of course, having two of the three sponsors withdraw their support might have had something to do with it.

      Some questions remain:

      • What about the $150,000? Had some of it already been spent on the subsequently-aborted yogathon?
      • Where is the accountability—not to mention the good grace and humility—that one would expect from a public servant who’s made an error in judgement?
      • What other misuse of taxpayers’ money might be occurring, without our knowledge?

      In any case, perhaps this serves as a reminder that we need to be more empowered in our own lives. After all, our representatives can only be as empowered as we are willing to be. In the meantime, Christy Clark might benefit from doing some yoga herself—and could try the plank, the bridge, the noose, the lunge, the reverse warrior, or maybe even the corpse pose. While I can’t presume to know what’s best for her (even though she seems to think she knows what’s best for us), I would like to respectfully suggest that she assume the child pose and go back to school for a refresher on the fundamentals of public service.

      Comments

      4 Comments

      SPY vs SPY

      Jun 15, 2015 at 8:08pm

      The Burrard Street Bridge was to be closed for 7 hours. Lets add 1.5 hours for barricades to be set up and dismantled - that would be 10 hours total at a cost of $150,000.00!!!!!!!!!

      THAT'S $15,000.00 PER HOUR

      HOW THE F**K DO YOU SPEND $15,000.00 PER HOUR TO CLOSE A BRIDGE???????????

      Off Duty Police charge about $120.00 / hour - so lets assume $1,500.00 per Officer for the day.

      So would there have been 100 Police Offices there to make sure someone doing Downward Facing Dog wasn't Rear Ended by someone doing Upward Facing D**K????

      I would like an accounting as just WHAT IN THE HELL WOULD HAVE COST $15,000.00 PER HOUR!

      Bob moulde

      Jun 15, 2015 at 9:02pm

      She has her head so far up her a**, that she was completely blind-sided by what people have expected from an elected public servant. One day maybe she will realise that she works for the people not the other way around. I only hope that her deception tactics won't fool the electorate in 2017.

      James Blatchford

      Jun 16, 2015 at 7:31am

      Maybe Christy should have talked to a few people...like her own Liberal caucus. This has all the hallmarks of a premier's office lurching out of control. Watch for the shake-up.

      If the public only really knew

      Jun 21, 2015 at 9:47am

      The wastefulness and incompactness of this government they would be down at the legislature banging on its doors.