MacDiarmid gets right portfolio

B.C. Premier Christy Clark announced a cabinet shuffle yesterday that included appointing some new faces to ministerial positions. SFU political science professor Marjorie Griffin Cohen says it’s worth noting that Vancouver-Fairview MLA Margaret MacDiarmid, former head of the B.C. Medical Association, finally got the ministry that seemed appropriate for her. “Premier Clark punished her by not giving her a ministry originally and this was a big mistake,” Cohen says. “Clark is making the best of what she has left.”

Marjorie Cohen, SFU Political Science, 604.294.2134, mcohen@sfu.ca

Metro Vancouver’s transit future uncertain

After a dozen years in the B.C. Legislature, Peace River South MLA Blair Lekstrom revealed yesterday he is not running in the next provincial election. The former Minister of Transportation leaves behind some unfinished business, says Gordon Price, director of SFU’s The City Program. Lekstrom was unable to follow through on a commitment made to the Mayors’ Council to provide a sustainable source of funding for TransLink in return for a property-tax agreement to fund the Evergreen Line. “What was once a promising transportation future for Metro Vancouver has turned into an unsatisfying debacle until new leadership emerges,” Price says. “Hopefully, that will be a major issue leading up to next May’s provincial election.”

Gordon Price, The City Program, 778.782.5081, price@sfu.ca