bcbusiNess.ca November 2014 BCBusiness 47
who had accused him of favouring big
game hunters over resident hunters.
Bennett wrote: "It is my understanding
that you are an American, so I don't give
a shit what your opinion is on Canada or
Canadian residents.... I will continue to
work for hunters and anglers in the East
Kootenay as I always have and you will
continue to be a self-infl ated, pompous,
American know-it-all." And he later had to
apologize after an email, sent in his name
by a junior staff er, referred to proponents
of a national park in the Flathead Valley as
"eco-fascists."
Calling for Gordon Campbell's resigna-
tion—and the consequences of mouthing
off —was much more consequential. "The
vast majority of cabinet ministers hated
my guts—because in politics, loyalty is
everything," he says. "Pat Bell and Shir-
ley Bond told Christy that if she let me
back in the caucus, they were quitting.
Rich Coleman wouldn't talk to me. He'd
turn around and walk
the other way in the
hallway when I was an
independent."
Sitting as an indepen-
dent, an outcast, for fi ve
long months, Bennett
contemplated his future.
"I could have been leader
of the BC Conservative
party"—he says they informally approached him—"or
I could have stayed as an independent like Vicki Hun-
tington and probably gotten re-elected." But Bennett
wanted to be in government, not in opposition. "I don't
want to be the guy that leads that populist movement
that's always being critical. I want to do stuff . I want to
get things done."
In the leadership race to replace Campbell, Bennett
supported his old friend Abbott: "It was mainly because
George was a rural guy and I thought he would bring
that perspective." When Clark won—with the support
of just one sitting
MLA, Harry Bloy—Bennett, still a
shunned independent, was among the fi rst people the new
leader took aside at her victory party.
"I felt it was important to bring Bill back into the fold
quickly because it was important that we repair our party,"
says Clark. "In 2011, after I became leader, the caucus was a
mess. We had to repair relationships, and Bill coming back into
FaMilY and Fishing
(Clockwise from top left)
Fishing in 1971; Bennett
with a pack mule; camp-
ing with Beth in 1973; their
wedding in 1974; a family
photo with their two sons,
Daniel (l) and Dylan.
