If B.C. politics in 2018 were a book, it would be a page-turner. You’d close it this week thinking: “We haven’t even got to the good part yet.”
Several of the major news events that emerged — or erupted — were beginnings or continuations of dramas that still have a long way to run.
Want to pick a theme song for 2018? We’ve Only Just Begun.
The one major story on which people can firmly close the book is electoral reform. It fell off the agenda and smashed on the floor after the referendum loss. The pieces will lie there for a long time. The proportional-representation camp will never disband — they’re already talking about trying a different route without a vote. But there aren’t nearly as many of them as the NDP and the Greens thought.
On most other issues that dominated the political scene, it’s a case of “stay tuned.”
• The national legalization of cannabis was an internationally historic moment on Oct. 17.
But it’s steadily turning into a farce. You can’t load all the blame onto the B.C. government, but there is mounting absurdity over the near-total absence of legal retail stores, the national shortages, and the “not in stock” and “limited quantity” cautions at the government’s online site.
There were a lot of evils associated with organized crime’s control of the black market. But at least they were organized.
• Two NDP tax measures will have strong carry-over effects. The government committed to the staged abolition of Medical Services Plan premiums in February. But the offset to the loss of billions in revenue is the employer health tax on many businesses.
It’s an awkward transition to the premium-free world, because many employers will pay the last reduced year of premiums for their employees and the new payroll tax at the same time. 2019 is the year of the double-whammy for them. Business resentment is obvious, and will continue.
Also, after much tinkering and dickering with the B.C. Greens, the speculation tax on specified regions and a tax hike on high-end homes were enacted.
Apart from gauging the impact on affordability, one specific political side-effect is being monitored — the possibility of a recall effort against Attorney General David Eby in Vancouver-Point Grey. Aggrieved property owners have been laying the groundwork for such an effort.
Coincidentally or otherwise, the NDP government amended the recall rules just as the time period for the petition drive opened.
• On another issue, after years of waiting, there was a major move on ride-hailing in 2018 that will lead to … another year of waiting.
Transportation Minister Claire Trevena oozed sympathy for everyone standing in the rain waiting for a cab and finally legislated a regime for the service. But it’s still most of a year away, and the NDP version of ride-hailing is going to take a lot of work inside government to bring off.
Pedestrians frustrated by years of bipartisan dithering will have to walk it off.
• B.C. and Alberta got into a pitched battle over the Trans Mountain pipeline early in the year. It simmered down and was overtaken by other events after a few weeks, but is still a flashpoint that could flare up again in 2019.
B.C.’s threat to regulate oil movements across the province prompted Alberta to retaliate with a law allowing that government to “turn off the tap” at B.C. gas pumps.
There is increasing resentment in Alberta about its lack of access to ports, and an upcoming election campaign will intensify that.
B.C. stepped back from the original threat and is seeking a court reference on whether it’s legal. The answer will shape the outcome of the western part of a huge national argument.
• The next move in the astonishing story about the suspension of the two senior officers of the legislature is scheduled for Jan. 21.
That’s when Speaker Darryl Plecas promised to put his career on the line with explosive revelations about long-standing mismanagement. Whether that moment will arrive is anyone’s guess, since the planned exposé runs counter to most inclinations to await the police investigation.
Regardless, all three parties in the minority house now consider Plecas a wild card. That attitude will have ramifications throughout next year.
