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VICTORIA Premier Christy Clark was still working on ways to cling to power following the 2017 election when her longtime rival Kevin Falcon volunteered his take on why her B.C. Liberals had squandered their legislative majority in that year’s campaign.
“The B.C. Liberals really got hammered, particularly in the Lower Mainland,” the former cabinet ministertold Rob Shaw of The Vancouver Sun two days after the May 9 election. “I think that reflects frustration over a number of issues campaign finance, lack of progress over transportation projects, and just a little too much politics and not quite enough policy initiatives.”
Payette’s resignation was almost certainly at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s request, although neither Trudeau nor LeBlanc would confirm that. (File photo: GG Julie Payette/Facebook)
Governor General Julie Payette’s 21 January 2021 resignation ends a problem-plagued tenure and offers an opportunity for reflection on the role. The denouement came after the completion of a third-party review examining the workplace culture at Rideau Hall after allegations that Payette and her secretary, Assunta Di Lorenzo, a close personal friend, consistently bullied and harassed staff. Payette expressed concerns amid summer media reports by CBC’s Ashley Burke of verbal abuse of staff, but did not offer her resignation until she had seen the independent review, which has not yet been publicly released.