It took longer than British Columbians were anticipating, but a provincial government is in place.
New premier John Horgan has restructured cabinet and named ministers. The BC NDP government needs to literally move in and set up and staff offices in Victoria.
Neither the NDP nor the B.C. Liberals can afford to see any dissension in the ranks when the confidence of the legislature is so perilous for the governing party. A minority government is a new experience for every one of B.C.’s MLAs; a minority of this nature is perhaps even more unpredictable.
If it’s hard to guess how this new B.C. government will work, then it’s just as difficult to envision how it will work for British Columbians.
We can expect a lot of “progressive” initiatives to pass because the NDP and Greens have a written agreement and the B.C. Liberals are supposedly in agreement, too, based on their throne speech.
We hope this B.C. NDP government will find the right balance. It already found common ground with the Greens and it should build bridges with the Liberals. At the same time, it will face, mathematically, the largest opposition possible and we should count that as a positive – there’s every reason why we can expect even debate and strong voices arguing all sides.
Potentially, it’s a balance that can create the right decision-making process for the province.
—Black Press
