It’s a wrap on the spring session at the Legislature.
From now until September, B.C.’s 93 MLAs will be back in our home constituencies to attend to local issues. We’ll return to Victoria in the fall.
The stakes were high in that last week of May – the final week of the spring legislative session. Conservative MLAs were debating Bills 14 (the Renewable Energy Projects Act) and 15 (the Infrastructure Projects Act) until the very end. The BC NDP government imposed closure on those bills, which means the votes had to be held on the evening of May 28.
The result of the Bill 14 vote? 46 “Yeas” and 46 “Nays.” The 46 “Yeas” were cast by all of the NDP MLAs, with the exception of the Speaker of the House, who votes only to break a tie. The 46 “Nays” came from the 41 Conservative Party of BC members, as well as the three Independents and the two Green Party MLAs.
Alas, the Speaker had to break the tie. He voted “Yea,” which is why Bill 14 is now law in B.C.
The exact same scenario played out with Bill 15, which is also now provincial law.
Frustratingly, these bills were both introduced quite late in the session even though they have far-reaching implications. Bill 15, for instance, will allow cabinet ministers to approve infrastructure projects without consulting local governments. This is being done in the name of “fast-tracking,” but the bill doesn't specify what types of projects will be expedited. The mayors of municipalities such as Sooke and View Royal spoke out against Bill 15. So did many First Nations leaders.
I can't imagine ever violating public trust in this manner, but we've sadly come to expect this from the current government. I've written many times in the past about the need to cut red tape and improve permitting in this province, but that can't be done by handing over unchecked power to cabinet.
I have been shocked at how many inquiries my office has received over the last few weeks about the status of Bills 14 and 15. I’ve heard from many constituents who are irked by the way these bills came to be law – through the closure order that shut down debate on May 28th no matter whether or not we were done hashing out the bills’ flaws.
Those final votes in the Legislature left me frustrated, no doubt. But on the bright side, I get to return to Cariboo-Chilcotin for the summer and catch up on constituent meetings, attend local ceremonies and conferences, and of course take part in incredible events like the Williams Lake Stampede!
