Friday, March 5, 2010

Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh

I have noticed that these past few days Ujjal Dosanjh seems to be getting as much face time on television as the leader of the Opposition. I suppose he was chosen to lead the charge on the Afghan detainee issue because as he likes to brag he was the former BC Premier and Attorney General. Let's be clear, he was never elected Premier. He slipped into the chair after a departing disgraced corrupt politician was vacating the office. When Ujjal went to the people of British Columbia for a mandate to lead on May 16 2001, he was crushed 77-2 by the upstart Gordon Campbell. Under his banner, the NDP lost nearly half of their votes and Ujjal was unable to win his own seat. He was Premier for a whole 14 months. By contrast, in 2003 Ernie Eves won his own seat by the largest margin of any PC candidate.

According to Ujjal's own Wikipedia page:


"In early 1999, a special prosecutor under the RCMP opened an investigation into possible influence peddling by Premier Glen Clark concerning casino licensing. On March 4, after the RCMP raided the Premier's house, they briefed Attorney General Dosanjh, whose office had to assist, and placed him under a gag order. The order was lifted on August 13, he informed Clark, and called a press conference, after which Clark resigned as Premier. Dosanjh's actions were variously criticized for not informing his party caucus and not going public sooner, and applauded for avoiding perceptions of conflict of interest despite his power to intervene.


Dosanjh became Premier on February 24, 2000"
For more on the Afghan detainee issue, this is where I left off on December 13. Because the opposition is just picking up there they left off in December, with the added allegation that prorogation is decisive evidence of a government cover up.  Here are two of my polls from early December.

WHAT IS THE MOST INFORMATIVE STATEMENT IN THE COLVIN TESTIMONY?

"I have to say that I've never seen a prisoner in a cell" (39%)
"I didn't witness any acts of torture" (35%)
"I wasn't really following this quite as closely as I should have." (7%)
"That's a good question, Mr. Rae" (7%)
"it took me a while to really understand the nature of our detainee system" (5%)


WHO CREATED THE PRISONER TRANSFER AGREEMENT THAT ALLEGEDLY LED TO TORTURE?

the Martin Government (100%)

8 comments:

  1. What was Ujjal's margin of victory in 2008? Less than 100 votes?

    Interesting how the office of the attorney general had to assist in the investigation of Glen Clark, leading to his forced resignation. Then less than a year later, AG Ujjal becomes Premier? An interesting sequence of events.

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  2. Bob Rae may want to elicit Ujjal's experience for overthrowing a sitting leader.

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  3. As I recall, Dosanjh won by a mere 22 and it also involved a recount.
    As Anony @ 4:11 implies, the guy appears to be an expert at accession. Is it a DNA flaw among entitled Liberals?
    And what is up with Dipper Premiers anyway?

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  4. How dare you speak ill of my idol!!! Being unable to win your own riding as a sitting Premier is no measure of the effectiveness of that government's policy.

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  5. I'm looking for historical precedence of a sitting Premier being unable to retain his seat. Even Bob Rae won his seat in 1995.

    "Rae's popularity had recovered somewhat by 1995, but by the time the writs were dropped for that year's provincial election it was obvious that the NDP would not be re-elected.

    Rae himself was reelected in his own riding by over 3,000 votes. However, on February 29, 1996; he resigned as NDP leader and MPP for York South and moved to positions in the private sector. He was eventually succeeded as party leader by Howard Hampton, who was formerly Natural Resources Minister in Rae's cabinet and a longtime left-wing rival. Liberal Gerard Kennedy succeeded Rae as MPP for York South."

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  6. Check out Don Getty, former Premier of AB, who had to run in a by-election to regain a seat.

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  7. wasn't Glen Clark eventually exonerated and acquitted of all criminal charges?

    Well yes indeedy, pilgrim:

    on August 29, 2002. Justice Elizabeth Bennett of the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that "there is nothing in his conduct that crosses the line from an act of folly to behaviour calling for criminal sanctions."

    et tu librano Brutus Dosanj?

    TangoJuliette

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  8. That's an excellent point. The investigation Dosanjh was involved in was unable to find any evidence of criminal wrong doing by Clark. Thus Ujjal was able to use a faux investigation to overthrow Clark. Personally I consider Glen Clark's decisions on the Fast Ferries to be criminal.

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