Monday December 7, 2020 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated at 2:30 pm]
by Mary P Brooke, editor | Island Social Trends
On the broader scale of things, this Monday December 7 is a big day for British Columbians.
Most people will likely just be going about their day. But two key shifts will be officially set in motion.
The first is the opening of 1st session of 42nd Parliament at 2 pm, starting with the arrival at the BC Legislative chambers of Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin at 1:30. Austin will deliver a short Throne Speech (with a rebroadcast at 7 pm). The NDP cabinet is gender-balanced and Premier Horgan’s caucus has more women than men following the Fall 2020 election.
Premier Horgan has indicated that legislation will be passed this month to liberate a tax-free payment to all British Columbians by year-end or early in 2021 (means-tested to $1,000 per family, or $500 per individual).
As well, the speaker for the 42nd Parliament — Hon Raj Chouhan — will be the first South Asian person to take on this role anywhere in Canada; he is the first Punjabi Sikh anywhere in the world outside of the Indian subcontinent. A historical moment.
COVID decision:
Elsewhere in the BC Legislative building (in the basement, in fact) in the Legislative Press Theatre, at 3:30 pm Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry along with Health Minister Adrian Dix will deliver her regular COVID-19 update.
That will include an update from Dr Henry as to whether her present Public Health Officer’s orders restricting social gathering size (essentially sticking to one’s household bubble only) will remain in effect for another period of time. If extended, that could be another two weeks (based on the COVID incubation period), bringing us to December 21 and just days before Christmas.
Dr Henry’s assessment and ‘reflection’ (as Dix put it) as to whether present orders are to remain in effect will have an impact on the holiday season overall for both families and the business sector. And not just in the moment for plans around setting up virtual visits, but all the social, family and economic impacts that could last throughout 2021 and beyond.
With vaccines in the offing (test run being done today in terms of distribution logistics) — with perhaps the earliest doses available later this month (according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this morning in Ottawa) — Dr Henry may sensibly lean to caution and ask all of us to hold tight to her orders further still in this most unique of holiday seasons.
Pulling way back to the broader view:
The impacts of decisions made this month by the new NDP-majority legislative assembly and the likely continuation of public health orders to keep everyone safe, could be seen to be capped by the notable distinctiveness of some astronomical things going on.
This month Jupiter and Saturn (visible nightly in the southwest sky, when skies are clear) have been travelling pretty close to one another (conjunction). They will peak their dance on this COVID-year’s winter solstice on December 21, in a way that won’t be repeated again (in precise astronomical terms) — until March 15, 2080. Symbolically, the decisions our leaders make (and that we all make) this month have impact for decades.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the rare Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in the sky on December 21, 2020 is the closest it’s been since the Middle Ages. Minor but less visible versions will occur in 2040 and 2060, if you’re marking a future calendar.
