My sources tell me it’s only a matter of time before the BC Liberals unveil their star candidate, Jas Johal.
The former Global BC TV reporter quit journalism to become the spokesman for the B.C. LNG Alliance. He left the lobby group last week.
Did he get the itch to get into politics because the global gas glut and resulting development delays made him feel like the Maytag Man?
While he was a well-respected reporter, Johal broke stories about BC Liberal misconduct and corruption under the leadership of Premier Christy Clark. You may remember two of them: The Ken Boessenkool “incident of concern” and the leak of the Basi-Virk indemnity agreement that shut down the B.C. Rail trial. Now he wants to be part of the Clark Clique, apparently in the new Richmond-Queensborough riding.
Johal has not responded to my numerous calls and emails.
Another LNG cheerleader keeping her plans to herself is ResourceWorks advisory board member Puneet Sandhar. I’m told that she could be appointed a candidate as soon as a BC Liberal “Women Empowering Women” event on Oct. 5 at the Crystal at York Conference and Event Centre. Sandhar is listed as the contact for the event, but she didn’t respond for comment.
The Surrey real estate lawyer was a 2015 Clark appointee to the Legal Services Society and is married to Jatinder Sandhar, a supporter of controversial Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal.
Neither BC Liberal president Sharon White (who is also a real estate lawyer) nor spokeswoman Jillian Stead responded for comment.
The party is in campaign mode. The fall sitting of the Legislature was supposed to begin Oct. 3, but it was cancelled instead. The party has nine, count ’em, nine fundraisers scheduled for October alone. The BC Liberal government also launched a new wave of those Our Opportunity is Here ads that we’re all paying for. Before the 2013 election, they spent more than $16 million of taxpayers’ funds. In July, they reported they were halfway there.
That’s “controlling spending,” BC Liberal-style.
Should he run as a candidate, it will be fair to ask him why he dropped his good work on the Basi/Virk file long before he decided to quit journalism. Something made him quit pursuing obvious and legitimate questions.
“Something made him quit pursuing obvious and legitimate questions.”
Hmmm…I wonder if greed, ambition, and situational ethics had anything to do with it? Expectations of reciprocity, maybe? Many knew this was coming when he screamed at Dix and gave Clark a pass when it mattered. It was a facile charade. I forecast a *long* career ahead for him in a party where he fits perfectly. Similarly, I look for big things to come for Sara and Smyth; promotions, titles, awards, etc.
I am no prophet, but I understand the dynamics of profit.