I was so busy spending money in the commercial tents at the Saanich Fair that it took a while to notice something significant.
I鈥檓 a sucker for all the marmalades, preserves, chutneys and spice mixes on offer. They represent all the home food projects I resolve to take on every summer and never do. And the more expensive they are, the more delicious they look.
So I was down $80, loaded up with haute cuisine goodies, planning to make it all back at the crown and anchor booth, when the novelty of this year鈥檚 layout dawned.
It鈥檚 the first fall fair in 146 years to feature not one, but two, elected Green party representatives.
Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Andrew Weaver made his debut in the fair鈥檚 Meeting and Greeting division of the Politicians Display.
It鈥檚 not a judged category, like Best Bloom in Show, or Six Vegetables on a Plate (Junior). But it should be.
Weaver seemed to acquit himself well. He was alongside federal Green MP Elizabeth May, who works the fair now like a veteran carny, lining up people for various upcoming town hall meetings. The pair are making another joint appearance this morning about the Northern Gateway pipeline, where they will take turns beating what鈥檚 starting to look like a dead horse.
sa国际传媒 Liberals were doing a fairly brisk trade at the fair, offering people a chance to vote with tickets on which issues matter to them. They offered six choices, and health and education topped the weekend poll.
Oddly enough, jobs and the economy wasn鈥檛 offered as a choice at the start. It may have dawned on them halfway through the fair that they won the election based on that issue. So they added it midway through, and it won a good share of votes.
The sa国际传媒 New Democratic Party booth close by seemed a bit quieter, although most New Democrats were at the party鈥檚 Labour Day picnic downtown.
The booth offered a petition against closing the visitors centre at the Centre of the Universe observatory, and another to do with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people鈥檚 rights in Russia.
They drew a steady trickle of visitors over the course of the day. But the Greens seemed to be drawing slightly heavier traffic. A spy told me the difference was more noticeable the previous day.
It suggests what many have observed 鈥� the NDP鈥檚 devastating loss to the Liberals in May is only part of their problem.
The toehold Weaver gained for the Greens is the other part. The four-month-old Green presence in the legislature may turn out to be a short-lived phenomenon, like the sa国际传媒 Reform caucus in the 1990s. But if it survives and thrives, it spells nothing but long-term trouble for the NDP.
That鈥檚 a problem that鈥檚 further out on the horizon than the party鈥檚 immediate crisis. The bigger issue revolves around that fatal political phrase, 鈥渄o the right thing.鈥� As in, will leader Adrian Dix?
Every time that phrase is used in politics, it involves a lot of angst. As it applies to the NDP leadership, it鈥檚 almost universally expected to mean Dix should step down. But after the loss, he gave himself until this month to make his intentions known. He鈥檚 sent no signals since then, despite a steady drumbeat from party personalities through the summer urging him to pack it in. But the time is drawing near.
This week, push has the potential to come to shove, as all 85 constituency groups start selecting delegates to go to the Nov. 15 convention. There鈥檚 a constitutional requirement for what amounts to a confidence vote on Dix at that convention. And there鈥檚 no expectation that he would survive such a vote.
With no signals yet that 鈥渢he right thing鈥� is going to be done, there鈥檚 concern that delegate-selection meetings will start to revolve around how prospective attendees should vote on Dix鈥檚 leadership. That could make things even more awkward for Dix than they already are. There鈥檚 also the party鈥檚 provincial council meeting set for Sept. 21 that could factor in the mix.
My hunch is that Dix knew he was toast about one hour into the vote count on May 14 and will eventually act on that realization. But he鈥檚 surprised me and others before.
