Park Board Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon is playing politics with an issue that is supposed to be close to his heart.
I read with interest Park Board Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon’s blog post from last Friday, which levied criticism at an article published in the Vancouver Courier on the same day, entitled “Green commissioner opposes Beaver Lake plan”.
In his rant, Mackinnon accuses the Courier of getting the details of his political machinations wrong, and goes on to advocate for an overall stewardship plan for Stanley Park.
Well, I have done a little digging about the specifics of what exactly happened, and it is clear that Mackinnon is playing politics with an issue area that a) is a huge component of the core principles he campaigns upon and b) is one that he and his political higher-ups feel as though has been fumbled.
Mackinnon’s rebuttal to the Courier is not only inaccurate, but is also without the proper context regarding priorities and motivations. Here is a clearer account of this whole affair.
On April 8th, the Planning and Environment Committee held a meeting where the Stanley Park Ecology Society presented information on a report entitled “State of the Park Report for the Ecological Integrity of Stanley Park.” In attendance that evening was Commissioners Loretta Woodcock, Sarah Blyth and Stuart Mackinnon.
After hearing information in the report detailing the disturbing trend for aquatic ecosystems when compared to other aspects of the Stanley Park environment, Woodcock asked staff to send the report to the Board and suggest potential action plans for the ecological issues specifically at Beaver Lake by September. Beaver Lake, it must be noted, is renowned as being one of the most diverse ecosystems in terms of species in all of Stanley Park.
At this meeting, while Mackinnon did ask some questions about broad stewardship within the entire park (where he was informed about a potential price tag of around $1 million that had to be forwarded as part of the next capital planning process), he voiced no specific opposition to Woodcock’s request to focus in on Beaver Lake.
The report was put on the agenda of last week’s May 3 board meeting for formal acceptance. Now here is where Mackinnon’s political posturing begins.
In attendance at the meeting was Adriane Carr, former leader of the BC Green Party and now a deputy leader in the Green Party of Canada. Carr was clearly trying to get some play from the media in attendance, strategically positioning herself for a seamless interview if the opportunity ever presented itself. It never did.
My suspicion is that she was there because many within the Green movement were looking at the issue of Stanley Park stewardship slip away from them, with Woodcock and even the Vision caucus moving in on that particular plank of Stuart and the Green Party’s public profile.
Stuart raised a point of order against Woodcock’s amendment to forward the issues associated with Beaver Lake to staff for research and recommendations because he claimed that he had not been given any advance notice (which is procedurally correct, but in reality false because of his attendance at the aforementioned April 8th meeting).
As a result, the report and associated amendments were then thrown back to the Planning and Environment Committee for further discussion last Thursday, May 6. All Commissioners with the exception of Constance Barnes were in attendance.
Ian Robertson made a request that staff forward recommendations on other issues besides Beaver Lake that are worthy of action. Everyone agreed in principle. Woodcock’s amendment was supported by the Vision Vancouver caucus, as they argued that Beaver Lake was the most sensitive aspect of Stanley Park arising from the report.
Mackinnon, however, seemed a little confused. When asked by Raj Hundal what the difference between a master plan and a stewardship plan was, he was unable to answer, and passed on the question to staff to deal with.
So let me get this straight…you claim on your blog that “We must understand that what we do to one part of the park affects all parts. A stewardship plan will help with future planning as it will look at the park as a whole,” and yet you don’t even know the proper definition of what a stewardship plan constitutes or entails?
Thus, in addition to Robertson and Woodcock’s requests, Mackinnon has now asked staff to come back with an answer on something he should clearly be aware of.
The politics behind Mackinnon’s fuzzy and evolving viewpoints have to do with his insecurity about his spot on the Park Board, particuarly as all parties begin to look at the second half of this term, which will eventually lead into an election in November, 2011.
If Woodcock from COPE, the Commisioners from Vision Vancouver, and even Robertson when he takes his Mayoral-aspirational head out of the sand, can usurp Mackinnon’s core of ideology and purpose, it is understandable why he is beginning to become a little worried.
On the other hand, on issues that he supposedly feels passionately about, I find it surprising that he is so ill-informed and nebulous when it comes to his positioning.
Obviously, Adriane Carr and others in the Green Party feel the same way.
I understand the political game as well as anyone, and know that getting re-elected is something that is populating the thoughts of all Commissioners as we move further into the calendar year. But on issues where everyone is clearly on the same page about the priorities advanced in the report by the Ecology Society, politics needs to be put aside.
As the Courier article clearly pointed out, Mackinnon has been caught with his political pants around his ankles, and is now scrambling to get back some relevance within the debate.
To do that, he would be well advised to think about his responsibilities more broadly than the parameters of achieving his own personal political advantage.
Great piece. Stuart seems to forget that he was elected on the coat tails of Vision Vancouver. From the sounds of it……he would much rather be an NPA candidate in the next election.
It makes me wonder. Stuart needs to get off his high horse. He has run as an MLA in the past against powerhouse Adrian Dix and he also ran for COPE before and lost there too. Since being elected as a Park Board Commissioner, its gone to his head.