| Bill Vander Zalm | |
|---|---|
| Hon. Bill Vander Zalm | |
| 28th Premier of British Columbia | |
| In office August 6, 1986 – April 2, 1991 |
|
| Preceded by | Bill Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Rita Johnston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 29, 1934 Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands |
| Political party | Social Credit Party |
| Spouse(s) | Lillian Vander Zalm |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Wilhelmus Nicholaas Theodore Marie "Bill" Vander Zalm (born May 29, 1934) is a politician and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. He was the 28th Premier of British Columbia from 1986 to 1991.
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Vander Zalm was born and raised in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands.[1] He immigrated to Canada after World War II, settling in the Fraser Valley in 1947. After completing high school, he sold tulip bulbs and ultimately established himself in the nursery and gardening business.
Vander Zalm was elected alderman of Surrey in 1965, and served as the city's mayor from 1969 to 1975. His tenure was marked by his crackdown on welfare "deadbeats" (up to the early 1970s, welfare in BC was a municipal responsibility).
Vander Zalm was originally a supporter of both the Liberal Party of Canada and the BC Liberal Party. He sought election to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1968 federal election as a Liberal in Surrey. He lost by 5,000 votes. He was also a candidate at the 1972 provincial Liberal leadership convention, where he lost to David Anderson. He joined the BC Social Credit Party in 1974.
He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 1975 election, in which Social Credit won back power after a three-year hiatus.
He immediately served in the cabinet of Premier Bill Bennett as Minister of Human Resources from 1975 to 1978, where he continued his crusade against welfare fraud. After the swearing in ceremony, the media asked him to comment on what the public could expect from him regarding welfare people to which Vander Zalm replied "If people are truly in need, they can expect and will be treated fairly and compassionately. If people are elderly we will treat them with respect and when in need reward them for their lifelong contributions. If people are handicapped they will be treated generously, hopefully even more so than in the past. But if someone is able to work and refuses to do so, they had best pick up a shovel or I'll give them a shovel." He became widely known overnight when the media reported his last off the cuff remark with the following day headlines reading: "Vander Zalm Says Give Them a Shovel".
On June 22, 1978, the Victoria Daily Times published a political cartoon by cartoonist Bob Bierman that portrayed the then-Minister of Human Resources as a grinning sadist deliberately snapping the wings off five helpless flies. Vander Zalm launched legal action for libel, Vander Zalm v. Times Publishers. Justice Craig Munroe of the B.C. Supreme Court awarded Vander Zalm $3,500 in damages. The decision was later overturned by the BC Court of Appeal in 1980, a decision praised by journalists as a victory for free speech. The original cartoon was purchased by the National Archives of Canada for $350.[2][3]
He also served as Minister of Municipal Affairs & Transit from 1978 to 1981 and as Minister of Education from 1981 to 1983.
In 1984, he bought Fantasy Garden World, a theme park. The same year, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Vancouver, as the candidate for the Non-Partisan Association. He lost to Mike Harcourt, who was later the provincial NDP leader during most of Vander Zalm's tenure as premier.
In 1986, Premier Bennett announced he was retiring. Vander Zalm attracted considerable attention as he considered whether he would run for the leadership of the Social Credit Party. He generated more press out of the race than the other candidates did in it. At the party's convention in Whistler, British Columbia, he prevailed over 11 other candidates by winning on the fourth ballot.
He was sworn in as premier just a month before the 1986 election.
During the subsequent provincial election campaign, "Vandermania" swept BC, and the Socreds easily won another term over the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP). Bill and his wife, Lillian, attracted public adoration with their high-voltage smiles, positivity and charisma.
The party and its leader had no public plan for when they were elected for the long term. However, the main clear goal was to have a "fresh start" after the confrontational Bennett years.
Once elected with a majority, Vander Zalm selected his cabinet, mostly backbenchers who had languished under Bill Bennett. Oddly, Vander Zalm decided to release the normally secret list of cabinet appointments to two Vancouver Sun reporters hours before the official announcement was to be made.
The Social Credit Party had been a tenuous alliance between urban fiscal conservatives and Christian conservatives in the province's Bible Belt. Fiscal conservatives had dominated the party for over a decade, but under Vander Zalm social conservatives took control. Vander Zalm himself was a social conservative, and his government once tried to cut public funding for abortions that were not medically necessary. The resulting uproar forced Vander Zalm to drop the program. His government also had a confrontational relationship with labour unions.
As well, he appointed David Poole, a close friend, to be his "Principal Secretary". Before resigning in 1989, Poole had allegedly become the second most powerful person in the province despite never having been elected. This naturally attracted the anger of numerous cabinet ministers, such as Grace McCarthy, an influential Socred MLA who resigned in protest from Vander Zalm's cabinet in 1988.
Vander Zalm became embroiled in a conflict of interest controversy over the sale of his Fantasy Gardens flower garden and theme park. The conflict of interest arose because the Taiwanese buyer, Tan Yu, was provided VIP treatment and lunch with the Lieutenant-Governor prior to the sale. Vander Zalm claimed that control over the theme park was his wife's responsibility. Adding fuel to the fire, Faye Leung, a colourful Chinese-Canadian entrepreneur and the woman who brokered the deal, thought that Vander Zalm was a "bad man" since the day she first met him and secretly recorded conversations she had with him, and was happily willing to speak to the media and provide copies of her audio tapes.
Vander Zalm resigned as premier in 1991 when a provincial conflict of interest report by Ted Hughes found he had mixed private business with his public office in the sale of the gardens. He was charged with criminal breach of trust, but found not guilty in B.C. Supreme Court in 1992. The court ruled that while Vander Zalm had put himself in a conflict of interest, he had not done anything illegal. He was succeeded as Premier of BC by Rita Johnston. In the 1991 provincial election, the Social Credit Party was reduced to seven seats, and has not won a seat in any election since.
After many years out of the spotlight, Vander Zalm again took a stab at office by running in Delta South in a by-election in 1999 for the Reform Party of British Columbia. This by-election was notable for many reasons, including the incredibly low support the governing NDP received (coming in fourth), and marking the absolute low point for the NDP's electoral support. NDP candidate Richard Tones received just 2.44% of the vote. Vander Zalm finished second with 32.91% of the vote to Liberal Val Roddick who received 59.63%. Vander Zalm retired from politics and now resides in Ladner.
Vander Zalm returned to the political spotlight in 2009 as a recurring critic of the provincial government's conversion of the Provincial Sales Tax to the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). A series of populist rallies led to him becoming the official proponent, in accordance with the Recall and Initiative Act, of a petition seeking a referendum to cancel the HST. Vander Zalm established a website, FightHST, to promote the initiative.[4] The provincial Liberal government has countered Vander Zalm's campaign and devoted a section of their website to the positive aspects of the HST.[5]
For the petition to be certified, there is a requirement to secure the signatures of a minimum of 10% of all registered voters on the provincial voters list in each riding in the province, no later than June 30, 2010.[6]
On June 30, 2010, Vander Zalm delivered 85 boxes containing 705,643 signatures from voters in every riding across the province. Those signatures represent some 45% of those who voted in the 2009 provincial election. [7]
On August 11, 2010, Elections BC verified the official anti-HST petition submitted by the province's Fight HST campaign. According to former premier Bill Vander Zalm, the province's chief electoral officer has decided not to act on the petition pending the outcome of a case before the courts.[8]
Vander Zalm said he was pleased with the result, but "very disappointed" to learn the province's chief electoral officer will not act on the petition until all court proceedings involving the tax are complete—a process which could take two or three years. That means beginning in November, the anti-HST campaign will turn its attention to a recall campaign for Liberal MLAs, Vander Zalm told reporters. "We will recall every Liberal MLA in the province, if that's what it takes," he said.[9] Fellow Fight HST organizer Bill Tieleman says they will seek a court injunction to force Elections BC to comply with the rules. He says it's shameful they have decided to wait until after the court proceedings have been settled.[10]
On August 20, 2010, Chief Justice Robert J. Bauman ruled a petition opposing British Columbia's controversial harmonized sales tax was valid. This decision could result in sending the issue back to the provincial legislature or to a public referendum. Bauman said Elections BC was correct when it approved the petition on August 11.[11]
On September 14, 2010, it was announced a referendum would be held September 24, 2011 on repealing the HST. Premier Gordon Campbell stated a simple majority (50%+1) of those eligible and casting ballots would be sufficient for the government to cancel the HST if the referendum went against the government. “If people decide they want to get rid of the HST next September, then I guess we’re going to get rid of the HST next September,” Campbell stated. “There’s no point in going to the people if you’re not going to listen to them.”[12]
Since his retirement, he has appeared in advertisements, including TV spots for Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and "Way to Grow" garden supplements.
Vander Zalm is Dutch for "of the salmon".
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