It's astounding, the knack that B.C.'s political leaders have traditionally demonstrated for inventing new ways to astound us all. Right now we're ponder-
ing the possible rationales for firing auditor general John Doyle.
Serious questions have never been raised over Doyle's competency as the official independent watchdog over the province's finances. By all accounts, in fact, he's done a fine job.
Politics aside (the selection process for the job was actually designed to sideline politics), it's hard to comprehend the B.C. Liberals' decision to bump him off the roster.
Indeed, the decision to replace Doyle appears to make little sense from even a political perspective. His contract doesn't run out for months - several months, in fact, beyond the election set for May. The B.C. Liberals could have delayed their vengeful act against an auditor general who has pointed out their goofs until after the election, when it may not be their problem anymore. Or, if they win in May, they could take out their knives then, when it would no longer be another dark pothole for the NDP to point out along the election trail.
Doyle's displacement will certainly be another entry on a list of questionable B.C. Liberal decisions too long to detail in this small space.
But revenge is a recurring theme in B.C. politics. Voters' revenge over the HST deception continues to hound the B.C. Liberals. And with the Port Mann Bridge boondoggle beginning to make the NDP's fast ferries fiasco seem like a spending spree at Value Village by comparison, we're hoping a premier Adrian Dix would think harder than former premier Gordon Campbell did before selling it for scrap at pennies on the dollar.
The B.C. Liberals have forgotten that "revenge is a dish best served cold."
Doyle's dismissal has only heated things up more.
