On the B.C. Liberals' bigger, more ideological cabinet...

On the B.C. Liberals' bigger, more ideological cabinet..._Parliamentary secretaries take note: restraint is for little people, notLiberal premiers_"For a cabinet that's supposed to cut the fat out of government, you'd thinkPremier Gordon Campbell would have led by example yesterday and unveiled alean, mean A-Team to get the job done. Instead, Campbell appointed a fattercabinet -- the club went from 22 members to 24 -- in a hotly anticipatedshuffle. He also appointed half-a-dozen ‘parliamentary secretaries' -- abackbencher perk Campbell used to sneer at -- who each bag nearly $15,000 ayear in bonus bucks for doing little work."_- Michael Smyth (the Province), June 11, 2009__Campbell's cabinet: an expanded wasteline_"With his government in deficit and looking to make cuts, the Premier isbeing criticized for fattening his Cabinet, and it's going to costtaxpayers... Add it all up and Gordon Campbell's expanded team will costtaxpayers more than $300,000 every year."And those are just the extra costs for salaries. There are additional costslike extra travel expenses, office costs, even printing up new letterhead.No one really knows how much extra it will cost to expand Cabinet... Sothere are now more jobs for politicians. Unemployed British Columbians canonly hope the opportunities extend beyond the legislature."_- Jim Beatty (CTV News), June 11, 2009__Ideological pot, meet kettle_That wild and crazy mountain-bike daredevil Kevin Falcon, who had been a‘take-no-prisoners' transportation minister, is taking over Health. Twentyminutes into his new job, Mr. Falcon seemed to know all about it, blaming'silly ideological positions' for getting in the way of change. It seemed anodd observation from one of the most consistently ideological ministers inthe Liberal cabinet, with a record of steamrolling over opponents like ahighway paving crew."_- Rod Mickleburgh (Globe and Mail), June 12, 2009__The Campbell Liberals have a pretty foggy commitment to ‘openness'_"[The BC Rail Corruption Trial] is a major criminal case that has cast acloud over government and the three accused and consumed millions oftaxpayers' dollars. More delays are not in the public interest. Campbellpromised complete openness. He should ensure all members of the governmentcomply."- Editorial (Times Colonist), June 8, 2009_Um, how much ‘vision' does it take to scoop up insiders from the Premier'soffice?_"Plutonic Power Corporation has donated $99,781 to the B.C. Liberals since2006, including 2009 donations released to The Province by spokespersonElisha McCallum. Individuals from Plutonic have also made donations, withCEO Donald McInnes handing at least $30,000 to the Liberals since 2001. Buthefty donations and legions of former Liberals don't equal governmentfavouritism for Plutonic, McCallum says. 'Our CEO had the vision to find thepeople with the best skills,' McCallum says."_- Sam Cooper (the Province), June 7, 2009 _