That was quite the election. So, what happened in Richmond?
Change happened. But, just how much change?
Despite the loss in Steveston-Richmond East, the Conservatives still fared favourably in Richmond with 41 per cent of the overall popular vote, above the national Conservative support of 32 per cent.
The numbers tell us Richmond should have Conservative representation amidst this “red wave,” and it does.
Ergo, incumbent MP Alice Wong’s job becomes even more important (and difficult) — she must now fight through politics to deliver services to the city, and she must be more vocal in the House of Commons.
For the 56 per cent who did not vote for Wong, questions have been raised as to whether she is up to the task. Indeed, Wong will need to “change” in order to be successful.
In electing Liberal Joe Peschisolido, Richmondites have an MP on the winning side.
Peschisolido overcame renewed water cooler chuckles of “Jumpin’ Joe” — for his crossing of the House floor in 2002 — an embarrassing defeat to Wong in 2011, and a more recent, highly publicized party nomination squabble that saw fellow nominee Wendy Yuan accuse Liberal insiders of meddling in their so-called democratic process during candidate nominations.
What should we expect from Peschisolido?
For one, I would expect Peschisolido to be more available to media to answer the “tough questions.” After all, it was prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau, on the campaign trail, who stated: “Here in Canada, we respect journalists. They ask tough questions, as they should.”
The day after the election, Trudeau also opened up the press gallery room for, reportedly, the first time in seven years.
We can also expect Peschisolido to be front and centre in restoring environmental protection laws so potentially hazardous industrial projects — such as jet fuel being barged up the Fraser River — are independently reviewed in a holistic manner, as promised.
On a personal level, Peschisolido echoed his party’s message of change. The divorced lawyer found a new partner and also became a vegan, as he noted in one public forum. So, we can expect Peschisolido to champion for improved standards for the treatment of farm animals, as promised.
Now, as for Trudeau, his platform has a number of promises that can easily be achieved in the first two years, if not immediately. It should not be difficult to remove the muzzles from federal scientists (whilst reducing the ballooning “information services” bureaucracy Stephen Harper built), respect the Supreme Court of Canada, invest money immediately to ensure First Nations people have potable water, reinstate the long-form census, and eliminate omnibus bills whilst opening up debate in Parliament.
Here in Richmond, he has promised federal money for more Canada Line trains — an achievable gesture by 2019.
Trudeau’s biggest task will be to improve the economy. For the most part, his financial commitments are not particularly drastic, unless he were to truly commit to fossil fuel divestment.
Perhaps equally interesting will be whether Trudeau keeps his promise for electoral reform when he just benefitted from the status quo (54 per cent of seats with 40 per cent of the vote). This cannot be done in a year or two, but he can get the ball rolling.
Whether Trudeau keeps his promise on this will be a telling sign of whether the party has truly shed itself of the ugly internal politics that defined it 10 years ago.
If one were to look at Richmond as a lens into the party, one could argue we may not see such a drastic “change.”
Graeme Wood is a reporter at the Richmond News. He can be reached at [email protected]
