Skip to content

OPINION: Looking for a breakout issue

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.

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 is being recalled for at least a few days to debate 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 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.

One of them is a promise to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, a level similar to where places like Alberta and Seattle are headed.

As well, the NDP is starting to flesh out its promise to get rid of Medical Service Plan premiums, and replace them with a 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.

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 anyways and most of those are young people who don’t vote in any significant numbers.

Getting rid of the MSP premium structure is a good idea, 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 the most popular of moves.

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. 

The session will likely only last four days, unless the New Democrats want to return after the B.C. Day long weekend for further  practice at fine-tuning their messaging. But I suspect returning to the barbecue circuit will win out instead.

Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global B.C.