Interim B.C. Liberal leader Rich Coleman was spitting venom after his former Liberal colleague Darryl Plecas went all Game of Thrones and grabbed the Speaker’s post, to the benefit of the NDP and Greens, who don’t have to worry as much about vote counts now that a Liberal is in the chair.
Coleman called it a betrayal and accused Plecas of double-crossing his party, which kicked him out the next day. So when the new-look legislature got down to business Monday, there was curiosity about how it was going to work, interpersonal relationships-wise.
The 41 NDP MLAs moved across the aisle and occupied the government side. The 41 Liberals decamped to the opposition side. (Former premier Christy Clark quit rather than make the trip.) The three Greens, whom the Liberals call the NDP’s “junior partners,” moved across to the government side as well, at the far end. And Plecas, now an independent, moved from a backbench seat to the Iron Throne, a.k.a. the Speaker’s chair.
Opening the first question period, Plecas gave Coleman the nod, recognizing “the Leader of the Official Opposition.”
Coleman said he never expected to be called that. He sounded rueful.
But after a couple of skirmishes with the NDP cabinet, he remarked: “This could be fun.”
Oddly enough, that’s just what an NDP cabinet minister said in the hallway a few days later, chatting with reporters about the difference between opposition and government.
“It’s just more fun.”
So at least a few people are having fun.
The week was a shakedown cruise for the new government, new opposition and new Speaker.
Some notes from the sea trials:
Liberals opened their run as critics by concentrating on easy pickings. That would be Jobs Minister Bruce Ralston. His firing of Liberal appointee Gordon Wilson on the spurious grounds he didn’t produce any reports has prompted a defamation suit that’s going to require some taxpayer money to make go away.
“He is not the first person to put the puck in his own net,” said Liberal critic Mike de Jong. “He might be the first person to do it on his first shift in his first game.”
The NDP, which has been rapped for continuing pay-for-access fundraisers even though they’ve promised to outlaw them, also took fire for the guest list at some of the events. Horgan posed for a group picture at a private event that included a man convicted of shooting someone outside a Sikh temple. Liberals said another man facing firearms charges was also at the event.
But Liberals have had their own problems with guest lists — in 2012, they inadvertently invited a man convicted years earlier of attempting to murder an Indian cabinet minister visiting Vancouver Island to a budget speech.
Green Leader Andrew Weaver started the balancing act that will characterize the current parliament. His caucus signed a pact to support the NDP, but only up to a point. Outside of the contract, he still has to delineate differences with the government to preserve a Green identity. “I’m sure they thought I was going to offer a softball,” he said during his first question.
Instead, it was a dig at Transportation Minister Claire Trevena. She promised that the NDP would clear the entire north Island of fish farms. Weaver said the promise was made specifically in Alert Bay to convince First Nations people not to vote for the Greens.
So when will the salmon pens be closed?
Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said: “We’re figuring out where we go next” and no tenures are being granted or renewed.
The dominant theme of the week, running through question period and all other parts of the agenda, was the wildfires of 2017. There were some arguments about laggard payments to suppliers, but there were also stories of courage and generosity and a lot of profound thanks expressed to everyone who contributed, and sympathy for all who endured.
The state of emergency has been rescinded, but there will be a full-scale debriefing about the crisis.
Hopefully the attention will continue. For all the damage, expense and upheaval this summer, it could have been worse. And the next fire season is only months away.
