Goldfish Swimming in a Fishbowl

More sex, less work in British Columbia politics
B.C. politics have always been a bit peculiar. After all, it's the province that shortly after Confederation elected a premier who had changed his name to Amor De Cosmos, a loose Latin translation of "lover of the universe."

20/03/2009 11:17:17 PM

Kesten Broughton is the candidate for The Work Less Party in Kamloops.

Parminder Parmar

"Amor's" eccentricity wasn't an impediment for votes back then, and it likely wouldn't be a drawback for him today. He would probably find a home among the more than two dozen registered parties that could end up fielding candidates in B.C.'s upcoming election. The mushrooming of political parties in recent years appears to be drawing on a wider populist tradition that's now fostering an array of parties outside the mainstream.

The parties fall across the social and political spectrum, many of them being concerned about little more than a single issue, if that. Take, for example, the Work Less Party of B.C. It wants a shorter work week, more leisure time, and a more relaxed citizenry. It's a party that takes its platform so seriously that in the last election its candidates didn't have enough energy, time or inclination to file the papers necessary to run.

"We're hoping to this time," one of its potential candidates says.

Voters will be forgiven if they don't miss the party's name on the ballot box because there will be plenty of others to choose from. While some voters may want to work less others could opt for a more politically pensive agenda like that of the "Party Of Citizens Who Have Decided To Think For Themselves And Be Their Own Politicians."

Those who believe B.C. needs more foliage may cast their ballot for the province's "Planting Seeds Party." Like sex? There's now the "Sex Party of B.C." And the "Herb Party" may fill the void left by the B.C. Marijuana Party, which, according to its website, has decided to back the Greens this time.

Finding the right party is hard work in B.C., says Kesten Broughton. The Work Less Party's candidate in Kamloops doesn't like that at all. But luckily, he says, when the right party came around it hit him like a bolt of lightening -- or rather more like a slow moving turtle. The turtle was part of a party protest telling Vancouverites to slow down their pace when they walk to work.

"(Work Less) seemed to have a different approach to politics that I found refreshing," he says in a phone interview from Kamloops.

He admits it may sound counter intuitive to run as a candidate when what he really wants to do is spend his life working as little as possible. But he adds the party has assured him it will try to work around his naps.

"I'm going to get a good ten hours of sleep every day during the campaign," Broughton says.

"One of our party platforms is to have fun while you're having elections -- and in politics."

He admits his party's slower pace may cost it some votes.

"(Will we) form government? No. I hope to win some nodding heads, some laughs and maybe to win a lot of points during the debates."

Not your typical sex party

While Broughton believes British Columbians are working too long, too hard, and too often, John Ince of the Sex Party of B.C. says what they really need is better sex and more of it. Ince tells CTV.ca his party is hoping to help voters get over their hang-ups.

The organization was started by sexually adventurous British Columbians who just didn't get a good vibe from mainstream politics, he says.

"That would be swingers (and) kinksters who realized there was a lot of social prejudice against them. There was no site for advocating changes in government policies regarding sexuality," Ince says.

A lawyer by training and an entrepreneur, Ince says his party shouldn't be dismissed just because of its name. Its platform, he says, is serious. The Sex Party of B.C. wants to legalize prostitution, end discrimination against businesses that sell sex toys, and improve sex education in schools.

Ince doesn't mind that the current sex education focus is on harm reduction - saying that's a good thing. But what about the fun part of sex, he asks. He says that's like teaching home economics by talking only about safety issues rather than recipes and food.

He points out that the Sex Party is not a spoof party. The candidates - three so far - are serious about the democratic process and want to highlight an important societal issue.

"By running in these elections we can actually educate the other candidates (and voters) about these issues ... We see the electoral process as much more important to democracy than just electing members to the assembly," Ince says.

"But, no, we will never win a riding."

Norman Ruff has kept a close eye on B.C. politics for decades. Now a professor emeritus in the University of Victoria's political science department, Ruff says he's seen a proliferation of fringe and single-issue parties pop up in recent elections.

He says there is no shortage of political egos in B.C. That, along with a relatively easy system allowing anyone with a few signatures to run, explains the rise of what Ruff describes jokingly as "third, third, third, third parties."

He says there is also a long history of such candidates in B.C.

There's the idea that individuals can make a difference. It falls back on that populist culture -- that (candidates') voices will be heard if they put their names forward," he says.

Ruff points to the unprecedented numbers of politically disaffected soldiers running for office after coming back from the First World War.

"I hate to dignify the Work Less Party in the same context, but the roots are there," he says.

Ruff also notes that some parties that are considered on the fringe today could one day end up in the mainstream and vice versa. He points to the Green Party, which was once in the political wilderness but is now a serious contender for seats. The governing Liberals also came out of nowhere in the late 1980s and swooped in as the official opposition. And Social Credit, the party that had held the reins of power in the province since the 1950s has been virtually shut out of the legislature for about two decades.

Ruff says B.C.'s politics are no stranger than those in other parts of the country. But he notes he understands that Canadians from outside the province may find the political culture slightly odd.

"People would tell me about how wacky B.C. politics is," he says.

"We don't have a monopoly on it, but we do have a reputation."