Tough timber
Only the strong survive in a forestry stress test. Page A3
NEWS: Douglas Street eyed for bus lanes /A6 ARTS: Filmmaker risks it all to tell Malala’s story /A12 SPORTS: Tennis star carries school team /A19
OAK BAYNEWS Friday, April 26, 2013
www.vicnews.com
Candidates IRONY BY THE GLASS navigate stereotypes The challenge of overcoming generalization from voters and critics Daniel Palmer News staff
Stereotyping is the brain’s way of generalizing human behaviour, and whether we like it or not, we all do it. Nowhere is our ability to label, categorize and cast judgment as readily apparent as it is in politics, where cheerleaders and critics from all political stripes rely on misconceptions and simplifications to frame their opponents. As the B.C. election ramps up, each party fights against inevitable pigeonholing from the public, media and their opponents, said James Lawson, political scientist at the University of Victoria. “It’s an understated factor in recent Canadian history, the way parties in government have their agenda set by the opposition parties they face as much as by their own pressures,” he said. The B.C. Liberals face the challenges of any three-time incumbent government, but they have made some policy decisions to buck the Liberal stereotype of unabashed resource develop-
ment and expansion, Lawson said. “(Liberal leader) Christy Clark announced five conditions for the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline you could dismiss as theatre, but they were aggressively and publicly pursued,” he said. Announced in January 2012, the conditions include a complete environmental review of the pipeline project and greater First Nations engagement. “It would be hard to imagine her backing down from those.” As the B.C. NDP look to oust the Liberals from power for the first time in 13 years, leader Adrian Dix has been mediating concerns about his party’s ability to manage economic growth and keep spending contained, Lawson said. “We’ve seen Dix spending a lot of time attending business meetings, emphasizing transparency about what the NDP wanted to do and playing down radical change,” he said. The NDP’s ideological tightrope walk so far seems to be holding the support of new voters while not alienating its traditional support base. The most recent Angus Reid opinion poll gives the NDP a 20-point lead over the Liberals provincewide. PlEASE SEE: Parties suffer, Page A18
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Oak Bay artist Peggy Frank with her sculpture ‘This is not a cocktail party.’ She is driving the artwork across Canada on her way to a competition in New Brunswick. Along the way she will make stops to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. See the story on page A2.
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