McEwan moves on

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Tim McEwan hinted that something big might be coming his way when he announced last month that he was resigning at president of Initiatives Prince George.

That was certainly the case as he has now been named an associate deputy minister of the province’s Major Investments division. One thing is certain, it’s right up his alley. Actually, it’s probably more of where his heart really lies.

Don’t get me wrong, Tim worked hard for the city during his time at Initiatives Prince George, but one of the knocks against him is that he liked to step into provincial politics a little too much.

Coming from the Progress Board of B.C., set up by former premier Gordon Campbell and dismantled by current premier Christy Clark, McEwan definitely had some ties to the governing Liberals.

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There has been a couple of comments in the local media suggesting that government shouldn’t run like a business. I’d like to add my voice to that chorus. It’s one of my pet peeves. We hear it all the time “we have to run government like a business.” No, we have to run government like a government.

The mantra about running government like a business stems from the days of governments borrowing like there was no tomorrow. It became a battle cry against government running up debt. The fallacy, of course, that businesses can just as easily get themselves into financial trouble by living beyond their means.

But it is now pervasive. Governments don’t provide funding for projects anymore. They provide “investments.” Building a bridge with taxpayers’ money is hardly an investment, it’s doing the job.

Municipalities used to be run by administrators. Now they are run by CAOs (chief administrative officers) and CFOs (chief financial officers). Bring on the business jargon.

We’ve heard many mayors espouse that they are the chief executive officers of the corporation of the city. No, they’re the mayor. There’s a difference.

No one argues that governments – whether municipal, provincial, or federal – should operate within their means. However, they don’t have to be run like a business to do that.

The results, and we see it all levels, are politicians who feel they were elected to represent businesses rather than individuals.

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Watched Bryan Baemler all Saturday morning then spent the afternoon putting up some drywall in the basement. Is he coming back for the home show this year? I’m sure I’ve got enough fodder for several episodes of his show.