The circus is coming back to town next week, which means B.C.’s MLAs will have to wrench themselves from the barbecue circuit and spend at least a few days arguing excitedly with each other.
Yes, the legislature (i.e. the circus) is being recalled for at least a few days to debate and eventually pass legislation that will give the City of Vancouver the power to place a special tax on vacant homes and that will implement sweeping regulatory changes regarding the real estate industry.
But while dealing with that legislation will take up the bulk of the legislature sitting’s daily business, much of the public and media focus will be on the half-hour daily question period, which should serve as a warm-up venue for the various themes the political parties will be stressing come next spring’s election campaign. As such, expect the NDP Opposition to hammer away on two themes important to them: affordability and ethical government.
The party has just recently started to apply some details to two key policies that may arise during QP debates.
One of them is a promise to raise the minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour, a level similar to where places like Alberta and Seattle are headed. Metro Vancouver is fast becoming unaffordable in many areas, and a significant rise in the minimum wage would no doubt have a significant impact on those who earn it.
As well, the NDP is starting to flesh out its promise to get rid of Medical Service Plan premiums, and replace it with new tax that will see those on higher incomes pay more than those on lower ones.
Both ideas have considerable merit, but they don’t necessarily translate into a boost in popularity for the NDP, which like all parties is something it’s searching for as the election approaches.
For one thing, there are not a lot of voters earning the minimum wage. While there are potentially more than three million voters, less than 100,000 of them earn the minimum wage and most of those are young people who don’t vote in significant numbers (and the small business community would undoubtedly strongly campaign against the NDP).
Getting rid of the MSP premium structure is a good idea (as has been noted in this space several times) but there may be some political risk from what replaces it. Many people (particularly those in unions) don’t pay the MSP monthly premium because their employer does, so replacing it with a new tax — even though it will likely be lower than existing MSP rates — may not prove to be a popular move.
The NDP will try to keep the so-called “triple delete” email controversy alive, and perhaps the issue of political financial donations as well. They clearly think the B.C. Liberals are vulnerable on these issues, but they thought that about a few similar scandals prior to the 2013 election and the voting results showed their assumptions to be wrong.
As for the B.C. Liberals, look for them to respond to every question with an answer tied, however tenuously, to the B.C. economy, which leads the country in performance. And they will continue to taunt the NDP as being a party of internal contradictions and uncertain leadership.
And Premier Christy Clark will likely face taunting herself by New Democrats over the fact that yet another proposed LNG project is standing down indefinitely. But last week Clark provided the retort she’ll be sending all next week when the subject arises: “I’m not giving up” on getting the industry off the ground she told a cheering crowd in the Okanagan.
It’s likely going to be a hot time inside the legislature chamber for this short, unusual summer gathering. The two sides were starting to get on each other’s nerves when the spring session ended two months ago, and with an election approaching tempers will probably be short. The session will likely only last four days, unless the New Democrats want to return after the B.C. Day long weekend for further practise at fine-tuning their messaging. But I suspect that returning to the barbecue circuit will win out instead.
Global TV's political correspondent Keith Baldrey writes every Friday on provincial issues. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
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