It’s the presentation by the Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver that starts you wondering about the budget consultation process B.C. follows.
In theory, it’s an inclusive, democratic-sounding idea.
Every year, a committee of MLAs tours B.C. holding public hearings where anyone can provide ideas on what should be in next year’s budget.
You can’t argue with the concept that regular folks have as much right — if not more — to talk economic and fiscal policy as the politicians and government officials do.
That’s what was envisioned when the annual consultation rounds were started by a New Democratic Party government years ago. But over the years, it has gradually turned into something different.
It’s now an established forum for any interest group to make pitches to politicians that revolve around protecting their own turf.
It has turned into an opportunity to lobby MLAs without having to register as lobbyists. People line up all over B.C. to advance their causes. But there’s not nearly as much big-picture thinking about the overall future of B.C. as is encouraged in the group’s terms of reference.
They’re supposed to be hearing from people about “proposals and recommendations regarding the provincial budget and fiscal policy for the coming fiscal year.”
Some of the presentations they get fit that description, and more power to the people who make them. But many of them are narrowly focused to the point of dealing with just one or two pixels of the big picture.
The invasive-species council presentation to the finance committee this week was about the importance of invasive species remaining a priority budget item.
The presenter at one point asked: “Why are we talking about this today?” Good question.
The answer provided was that European fire ants have taken over some people’s backyards, giant hogweed is popping up in parks, knotweed is threatening property values, and zebra and quagga mussels are an imminent danger.
Not to mention snakehead fish and Asian carp, to which the media devoted a few weeks.
The council will appear before the committee again to specify the dollar amount it wants in the budget to fight the threats. It might be better off making its case to the appropriate ministry, where it would get the focus it deserves.
About all the invasive-species watchdogs got out of the committee this week was a burst of sympathy from a Liberal MLA who was bitten by fire ants in Palm Springs. “Oh my God, they’re worse than a bee sting,” said Scott Hamilton. “It surprises me that they’re here. That scares the hell out of me.”
Also this week, the MLAs heard from the B.C. Chiropractic Association. Members are doing a number of worthwhile things and want, among other things, some encouragement for a school in B.C.
There’s a pretty minimal record of any finance committee report ever having a direct influence on a budget. And the smaller the scale of the discussion at all these hearings, the less likely the concerns will find their way into next year’s budget.
So you have to admire the B.C. Association of Artist Run Centres and the B.C. Association of Farmers’ Markets for standing up and advancing their causes. But you wonder whether they’ve picked the right forum to do it.
MLAs also heard the umpteenth plea from the real-estate industry for a break on the property-transfer tax. Here’s a tip for real estate associations and chambers of commerce that beg for this every year: Give up.
That tax is more than a quarter-century old. It has survived eight premiers. Everybody hates it, but it’s not going anywhere.
Similarly, the Cement Association of Canada noted at one hearing this week it has now made 103 presentations to officials on the inequity of the carbon tax. The track record speaks for itself.
The politicians do get valuable insights into a lot of education issues, social-service problems, long-term energy requirements and various other ideas that go into planning a provincial budget.
But there are a lot of presentations that are so specific to the small groups making them that they will get lost in the shuffle between now and next February.
