How do you like minority government so far? We have a range war with Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ottawa over our NDP government乌鸦传媒檚 theory that it can rewrite the Canadian constitution.
We have record-high gasoline prices, fuelled by an early increase in the carbon tax insisted on by the three-member B.C. Green Party.
And we乌鸦传媒檝e got a Green leader who throws tantrums, floats empty threats to bring down the NDP government he put into power, and tries to use most of his time in the legislature to attack the opposition.
If you like that, great, because Premier John Horgan is doing everything he can to make sure fringe parties are elevated permanently, through some formula of proportional representation that won乌鸦传媒檛 be disclosed until a month or so before a mail-in ballot this fall.
Press gallery reporters got one of our brief opportunities to question the premier before the legislature took a break last week. Horgan assured us that while the public will be told nothing until the fall, they乌鸦传媒檒l have more than enough information to answer the still-secret question (or questions) before the November deadline to mail in ballots.
乌鸦传媒淲e are months and months away,乌鸦传媒� Horgan said. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 fairly certain there won乌鸦传媒檛 be too many summer barbecues where the topic of conversation is proportional representation.乌鸦传媒�
He乌鸦传媒檚 made sure of that by keeping the preparations and the ballot question in the hands of Attorney General David Eby and his political staff. There乌鸦传媒檚 nothing to discuss yet.
For his part, Eby is so enthusiastic about the response to his slanted online survey on the subject that he can hardly stand it. He hasn乌鸦传媒檛 said anything about the results or the distribution of responses. They乌鸦传媒檙e still processing the 乌鸦传媒渕etadata乌鸦传媒� and stuff. But by golly, more than 88,000 people self-selected to respond to the survey, and that乌鸦传媒檚 the biggest consultation ever!
Indeed, 88,000 people is slightly more than the population of Chilliwack. Heck, it乌鸦传媒檚 enough people to vote in the referendum to reshape the voting system, since there is no minimum turnout this time.
Here乌鸦传媒檚 what the NDP乌鸦传媒檚 2017 election platform said: 乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檒l hold a referendum on changing our voting system so that every vote counts. We乌鸦传媒檒l ensure B.C.乌鸦传媒檚 regions are all represented fairly. And we乌鸦传媒檒l campaign for the yes side.乌鸦传媒�
I guess they could now argue that two out of three ain乌鸦传媒檛 bad. The 乌鸦传媒渞egions乌鸦传媒� are intentionally not represented fairly, as they were in two previous referendums. This time urban B.C. will decide the outcome, because that favours the NDP and Greens.
The B.C. Liberal opposition pressed the NDP government in the legislature in late April, and after Eby did most of the deflecting in a raucous question period, Horgan rose to mock the opposition乌鸦传媒檚 objections.
乌鸦传媒淗ow outrageous of us to join with the Green Party, who also campaigned on that commitment, to make sure that we get proportional representation in this house,乌鸦传媒� Horgan said. 乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 what we campaigned on; that乌鸦传媒檚 what we乌鸦传媒檙e going to deliver.乌鸦传媒�
So the fix is in, officially.
The government乌鸦传媒檚 going to fund a yes and no side, after barbecue season of course. But there are already two 乌鸦传媒測es乌鸦传媒� campaigns. One, VotePRBC, is fundraising. The other, YesPRBC, doesn乌鸦传媒檛 seem worried about money, almost as if it expects public funding.
Its directors include retired NDP MP Jean Crowder, a failed Family Coalition Party and B.C. Unity Party candidate, a failed Green candidate, and a former Green leader who resigned from the party in 2000. Oh, and a vice-president of the B.C. Government Employees Union.
Happy barbecuing.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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