Politics seem to be everywhere these days. The federal Liberal caucus met in Vancouver this week, trying to score some political points by journeying west to listen to the great unwashed in the hinterland. The feds’ spent most of the time exchanging barbs, through the media, with Quebec MNAs and new premier Lucien Bouchard, but they did have time to sit down with provincial Liberal leader Gordon Campbell — who wasn’t quite as anti-Ottawa as Bouchard, but more than a few people drew a comparison between the Quebec premier and the B.C. Liberal boss. Meanwhile, B.C.’s undeclared provincial election campaign moves into its second month. The campaign won’t become official until Glen Clark assumes the throne, but one has to wonder how much thicker the rhetoric can get, or how much faster the press releases will fly, once the writ has been dropped. There’s also the small matter of trying to get 75 school boards to agree to water down their authority by merging with at least one other district, while at the same time trimming their budgets even though they don’t know what their budgets will be this year. The regional health care boards, who are also being told to realign themselves, are watching the limited success the school boards are having. Even the decision of where ski races should be in Canada — a no-brainer if there ever was one — is knee-deep in political smegma. Yet despite this wall of political greyness, there was a little light escaping through the cracks. Independent MLA David Mitchell and Ted Nebbeling, the man who wants his West Vancouver-Garibaldi seat, found enough common ground to agree on something. That common ground is Canada. Nebbeling and Mitchell agreed in principal to work toward a youth exchange program that will help young people learn more about our country and perhaps even spur them on to take part in shaping its future. It’s not a new idea, but the timing — looking at what British Columbia, Quebec and Ottawa are doing and saying right now — seems particularly opportune. Such a program might also be a fitting tribute to two of the more astute politicians municipal elections
