In this first must-watch video installment of “Politicians in Cars Getting Coffee,” Green Party candidate (and former meteorologist for CBC's The National) Claire Martin took the National Observer for a spin on Vancouver’s North Shore to talk up her candidacy and the federal election. The video style is not unlike Jerry Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
Driving an electric Nissan Leaf, the impossibly cheerful candidate pokes fun at Stephen Harper, Justin Trudeau and Tom Mulcair — and counters arguments that Greens are vote-splitters in tight races against Conservatives.
She also reveals why her national CBC weather broadcasting job became “so frustrating.”
“You learn on TV that a lot of what you’re doing is self-editing, because you can’t say what you really want to say,” she confessed.
"When it comes to daily weather, the climate is a massive issue…. [And] it’s not purely scientific. Because the ramifications of dealing with climate change are political.”
“And I didn’t really have the time, and it’s not the vehicle either to talk about the climate. And not being able to became so frustrating," she said.
"That was one of those ‘Oprah a-ha’ moments."
Martin faces off against three others in the riding: incumbent Conservative MP Andrew Saxton, Liberal Jonathan Wilkinson and New Democrat Carleen Thomas. All have been invited to do episodes for this election coverage video series (an homage to the hugely popular Jerry Seinfeld show "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee").
The North Vancouver riding has traditionally swung Conservative or Liberal—but with Kinder Morgan tanker issues taking centre stage, the NDP now leading tight three-way national polls, and Claire Martin surfacing as a star Green candidate, it has become a hot race to watch.
And now that Martin, who declared her candidacy in April, has lifted her non-partisan CBC muzzle ("Boy, as a politician —the gag is off,” she said) she's become sharply critical of the Conservative regime, especially in the areas of science.
"I don’t think Stephen Harper understands nor cares for the science,” she stormed.
“In 2012, they tabled C-38, which was supposed to be a bill to deal with budgetary matters, and it ended up being an omnibus bill where they basically dismantled the environmental impact assessment act."
She said the omnibus bill resulted in the wholesale “gutting” of environmental laws that “gagged” federal scientists from protecting Canadians’ health, water, land and climate.
The accomplished meteorologist, who studied Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta, sees herself pushing a return of science to parliament. She certainly has the oratory skills. In her farewell CBC TV broadcast last year, a sorry-to-see-you-go Peter Mansbridge reminded audiences that Martin had won "Best Weather Presenter in the World" three times.
One of the Greens' biggest pitches to voters right now, she says, is that a minority parliament is expected— so a vote for the Greens could drive important bargains on climate, economic and social policy. Greens are not whipped, so can vote for their conscience.
“But having that means I can pass bills that other parties will table, because they’re good for Canada and they’re good for North Vancouver. As opposed to being completely handcuffed by how my party tells me to vote.”
With meteorological jest, she says Elizabeth May is a “fast moving warm front… that [will] generally bring much better than what has happened.”
Stephen Harper is a “cold low,” she joked, “which is deep and darkly depressing, and lingers too long.”
Justin Trudeau is a “building ridge of high pressure —because on the horizon it looks great, but women especially tend to get headaches.”
And Tom Mulcair is an "EF-zero tornado — which can be incredibly destructive, but in a highly localized areas,” she added with a laugh.
Stay tuned for more. Next up: Liberal candidate Jonathan Wilkinson.
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