The B.C. legislature is taking a two-week break but I am not sure the public is even paying attention to what has been going on there since it resumed sitting a month ago.
Nine pieces of legislation have been passed so far - none of them particularly controversial, except, perhaps, the supply act that was passed last week only after the NDP government brought in a form of closure on debate.
Supply bills are routine business and give the government the legal ability to spend tax dollars even though the specifics of the spending (i.e. the budget) have not been debated and passed by the legislature - that comes after the expiry of the fiscal year on March 31.
This year’s supply bill was unusual in that it arrived before the actual budget itself was tabled. That is because the NDP government changed the timing of the budget’s introduction, pushing it out to April 20, instead of the usual early February date.
The bill gives the government the legal authority to spend $13.5 billion, which should cover the bills until the budget is approved by the legislature in mid-June.
An unprecedented situation, but again I ask: is the public even paying attention?
The endless pandemic and all that it has become continues to overshadow everything.
With dire warnings from various infectious disease experts that the variants of COVID-19 may yet overwhelm our hospitals and ICU wards – not to mention more deaths – it is easy to see how the virus tops politics in gaining the public’s interest.
The daily Question Period at the legislature has largely been a non-event. The legislative chamber is nearly empty because of social distancing rules and MLAs tell me the atmosphere in a virtual setting – with most folks engaged via Zoom – is almost lifeless.
This is no one’s fault, of course. The BC Liberals and the BC Greens are trying their best, but it is hard for opposition parties anywhere in Canada to make many dents in a government (with the possible situation in Alberta) right now.
In normal times, such issues as the huge cost overruns on the Site C dam, the disappearance of the tourism sector and the ongoing cratering of the provincial economy would put considerably more heat on a government.
Instead, the daily COVID-19 case numbers, various public health restrictions, and the rollout of the vaccines continue to dominate public discourse. As our case numbers steadily climb, one has to wonder whether more and more people are choosing to ignore some of these restrictions and raises the possibility we may see even more restrictions.
Of course, public interest in legislative proceedings will eventually return, but not until this all-encompassing, pandemic ends or enough of use are vaccinated to bring more and more normalcy back into our lives.
We likely will not be in that situation until late summer at the earliest. Perhaps the legislature’s scheduled fall sitting will signal a return to old times to the legislative precincts.
Between now and then, however, there is a throne speech (April 12) and a provincial budget. If our COVID-19 situation continues to deteriorate, neither will rank as a major event with a public understandably distracted by something else.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC.
