Terry Lake disappointed me today

Kamloops North MLA Terry Lake disappointed me this morning.

I don’t usually manage to catch Jim Harrison’s interview show but since Lake was going to be on talking about the Aboriginal Cogeneration Corp. gasification plant, I decided to tune in.

I knew he’d take some heat, and was curious about whether he’d get ticked and exhibit some of his famous red-headed temper. Such things make for good entertainment.

But no. Calm, cool, collected, despite being lambasted by a couple of callers. Lake did acknowledge that he’s been known to get emotional from time to time, and he understands the emotional aspect of this issue.

Nevertheless, he said, environmental issues shouldn’t be decided by politics, and he was confident the MOE had researched the project thoroughly before approving the permit.

One thing that didn’t surprise — or disappoint — me was that Terry was well-prepared to talk about technical issues around the project. He’s never been one to go into a discussion without studying up, and he obviously has been doing his own analysis. He can talk particulates and nano particles with the best of them, so environmentalists thinking they can flummox him with technical questions are in for their own disappointment.

Best question of the segment, though, was not about inversions and all that kind of stuff. It was from a listener who asked him if he’d be taking the same stand if he was still the mayor.

The current City council, of course, opposes the plant. His answer?

“I think so.” But he acknowledged that a hundred people in a room telling you what they want you to do, as was the case with City council, can affect how a politician acts.

My impression is that Lake has matured as a politician and I still say he’s cabinet material — something that will likely happen in the next shuffle.

Aside from his refusal to get rattled, the other disappointment in the show was that Lake was given a scant 15 minutes out of the hour to discuss what is definitely the hot topic in town. Harrison should be setting aside at least a couple of hours — the phone lines would be full the whole time.