By Don Hauka
Political Reporter
It's dueling endorsements as the NDP and the Greens slug it out for second place in B.C.'s increasingly bitter election.
With the campaign clock ticking. Premier Ujjal Dosanjh tried to woo Green supporters yesterday by promoting the endorsement of environmental activist David Cadman.
Cadman, head of the Society Promoting Environmental Conservation, said the NDP has a remarkable record of environmental achievement.
And he urged would-be Green voters to come home to the NDP.
"If people who are Green who are environmentalists don't vote strategically, we will find ourselves with an overwhelming majority of Liberals sitting in the legislature," he said.
Green Party Leader Adriane Carr was buoyed by an ad in the newspaper in her Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding which carried the endorsement of a number of prominent local citizens, including former federal justice minister Ron Basford.
Basford, a heavyweight in the Trudeau administration, held five portfolios.
Basford said Carr is the right choice.
"She's a very able candidate and she represents a point of view that should be heard in the legislature."
Meanwhile, Dosanjh continued a riding-by-riding blitz that began Sunday, with 11 stops on Vancouver Island.
He was scheduled to make stops at several NDP campaign offices yesterday, appealing to voters to elect some NDP MLAs and avoid a 79-0 sweep for the Liberals.
Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell stayed close to Vancouver and urged voters to reject NDP candidates when they vote tomorrow.
While some polls have consistently indicated an NDP shutout, others suggested the NDP could win two to six seats.
But Carr was not interested in supporting the NDP.
"It's like Dosanjh is saying, 'Hold your nose and vote for us. We know you're not happy with our policies.' I'm saying hold your head up high and vote Green," said Carr, who spent the day campaigning in Vancouver.
At a North Vancouver stop, before heading to his Vancouver-Point Grey riding. Campbell urged voters to keep the party's platform handy following the election, and keep track of whether the promises are kept.
"I believe after fours years, one of the most important things people could say in B.C. is, 'We may not like everything that happened, but at least they did what they said they'd do.' That's what that platform is there for."
(article accompanied by photograph of David Cadman, captioned:
CADMAN)
(article accompanied by photograph of Ron Basford, captioned:
BASFORD)
(article accompanied by [The Province] photograph of Svend Robinson, Joy McPhail, and Libby Davies, captioned:
NDP federal MPs Svend Robinson (left) and Libby Davies (right) lend support to NDP provincial candidates, including Joy McPhail, at a Commercial Street cafe in Vancouver.)
(text of May 15, 2001 The Province article)