Tuesday November 19, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted 2 pm | Last update November 20, 2024]
Political analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Every MLA gets a salary, but in Eby’s new cabinet in the 43rd Parliament every MLA gets an additional post.
This reflects the more nuanced political work and ministerial interplay that was made clear yesterday during the cabinet swearing-in and announcement of portfolios.
The complexity to which Eby has re-organized the flow of information to his office and the cabinet table reveals Eby’s inclination for control at the top, leaving no MLA loose to do their own thing.
Also, having additional responsibilities for each MLA is a structural way to keep them close to Victoria for the necessary majority votes in the Legislature. It’s a move of self-preservation for the 47-seat BC NDP government (the slimmest of majorities that will depend as well on support from the two BC Green MLAs).
Short-sighted complaints about salaries:
The payroll increase that results from all the appointments is not large in the broad scope of things. But it likely will buy loyalty and smooth over any new MlAs who might feel disgruntled at not being included in the 28-member cabinet.
It also reflects the additional depth and breadth of responsibility that he seems to be expecting from cabinet in this 43rd Parliament. Eby is going to work them hard, and said so during their swearing-in as MLA’s on November 13 in the BC legislative chamber and again in the cabinet-swearing-in process on November 18 at Government House.
The complexities and nuance of Eby’s cabinet-plus may just pay dividends for British Columbians, which is rightly the ultimate goal of his (or any) government.
Eby’s long-game:
While negative critique about the additional cabinet and secretary positions rolls in from many quarters — including the opposing political parties and a variety of pundits — Eby may just be onto something useful here. He has weighed the inevitable criticism (that will last a few days) against the need for more detail, cohesion and control the workflow and progress of the ministries.
So long as Eby has a plan on how to manage the additional layers of bureaucracy and detail, his renewed mandate to the people may just meet with success. This team approach might prove to be as productive as it is innovative. The proof will be in results.
Now that work is laid at the feet of MLAs who sought election to this 43rd Parliament.
Appointments now, with mandate letters still to come:
For now, Eby’s 23 cabinet minister, four ministers of state and 14 parliamentary secretaries have been appointed to their roles. See full list of BC cabinet ministers, ministers of state, and parliamentary secretaries.
Mandate letters usually are given to ministers at the same time they are appointed to the role. But with the slim majority of the October 19, 2024 election Eby is taking his time to realign the necessary political response with the work of running the province to the level of excellence that he seeks to achieve for people, leaving no one behind.
During the election Eby learned that his 2022-2024 government fell short in areas of health-care, public safety, and affordability. And the budget deficit grew larger. He will be reining in and reguiding these areas of public service.
There hasn’t been much mention of affordability, per se, by Eby. The mission on that will be left to the Finance Minister.
Combo-appointments:
Here are some combo-appointments that might actually help with the level of detail and sub-management of bigger files and more nuanced ministerial responsibilities.
These pairings also provide the opportunity for new MLAs to learn the ministerial ropes from more experienced long-time cabinet ministers.
- Agriculture & Food: The Minister of Agriculture and Food is once again for Lana Popham to lead (first elected 2009); she led that ministry under Premier Horgan during 2017-2022, before being shifted to Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport under new Premier Eby in 2022). Popham will have support from new Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture Harwinder Sandhu (first elected 2020). Popham is one of the remaining Vancouver Island MLAs from the early Horgan era, while Sandhu was a later-era Horgan pick and can bring some lower mainland connections.
- Education and Child Care: The Minister of Education and Child Care is now Lisa Beare. The Parliamentary Secretary for Child Care and Children and Youth with Support Needs is Jodie Wickens.
- Energy and Climate Solutions: The Minister is Adrian Dix (first elected in 2005) with a new portfolio called Energy and Climate Solutions. There is no Parliamentary Secretary directly named in the Energy and Climate Solutions area but there is a Climate Action Secretariat that will be part of the new ministry.
- Dix held the energy critic file when in opposition 2014 to 2017; he also wa NDP leader and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011-2014. He will have fellow cabinet minister Josie Osborne (former minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, and before that Municipal Affairs) to confer with as needed. Dix’s work is to fulfill these ministerial responsibilities:
- * Responsible for British Columbia’s electricity, alternative energy and petroleum resource sectors.
- * Increase and expand electricity and low-carbon energy projects in the province.
- * Responsible for energy policies to ensure they align with climate goals.
- * Oversight of the North Coast Transmission Line and BC Hydro’s Capital Plan.
- Health: The new Health Minister is Josie Osborne (first elected 2020). No longer a full ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, there is now a Parliamentary Secretary position for that: new MLA Amna Shah (elected 2024) is the new Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Addictions. Bringing the mental health and addictions aspect back within Health is a common sense reflection of the synergy between physical health and mental health.
- Housing and Municipal Affairs: The Minister is Ravi Kahlon (first elected in 2017). He was Housing Minister during 2022-2024 under Premier Eby, during which time he nearly entirely reshaped the provincial legislation that will now provide more options for housing across the provinces. It was evident during that work how much the municipal realm impacts housing; this is a smart alignment by Eby. There is no parliamentary secretary in the housing/municipal area. Kahlon’s new ministry will likely be working hand in hand, where necessary, with the new Infrastructure Ministry led by Bowinn Ma.
- Kahlon’s work is to fulfill these ministerial responsibilities:
- Oversight of housing policy and municipal infrastructure needs.
- * Responsibility for community charters and other local government policy and legislation.
* Immigration settlement services from Municipal Affairs will move to Post Secondary Education and Future Skills (where Sunita Dhir is the new Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials). - * Union of British Columbia Municipalities and local government relationships will move to the Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat in the Office of the Premier.
- Infrastructure: The Minister of this new ministry is Bowinn Ma (first elected 2017). She previously ran the Emergency Preparedness and Climate Readiness ministry under Eby during 2022-2024. Her work will have some interplay with that of Ravi Kahlon’s new Housing and Municipal Affairs Ministry. Ma’s work is to fulfill these ministerial responsibilities:
- * Bringing capital planning and procurement into a single ministry will allow for better co-ordination at a time when government is building schools, hospitals and other infrastructure to support growing communities.
- * Responsible for major capital project planning, procurement and delivery for things such as schools, post-secondary institutions, court houses, correctional facilities and health facilities.
- * Infrastructure BC and BC Infrastructure Benefits Inc. will be part of this ministry.
- Mining and Critical Minerals: This Ministry will be headed up by Jagrup Brar (first elected in 2004). For an MLA that has been re-elected so many times, this is finally a career highlight for Brar. The new Mining and Critical Minerals portfolio could have some interplay with the Parliamentary Secretary for Asia Pacific Trade Paul Choi, given the global competition in critical minerals development. There will be a national flavour to the work of this ministry, given the federal government’s interest in being competitive in the critical minerals sector (which underscores electric vehicle and battery production). There could be some cross-ministry work with Bowinn Ma‘s Infrastructure Ministry. Brar’s work is to fulfill these ministerial responsibilities:
- * Responsible for advancing the provincial strategy for mining and critical mineral projects.
- * Provide oversight and support for 17 new critical minerals projects working toward starting construction in the coming years.
- * Responsible for overseeing the ongoing Mineral Tenure Act reform and other regulatory processes and timelines.
- Rural issues: There is no standalone ministry for rural issues but there is one Minister of State for Local Governments and Rural Communities – Brittny Anderson (first elected 2020) and two Parliamentary Secretary positions to support the attention to rural things: Steve Morrisette (new MLA 2024) as Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Development and Debra Toporoski as Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health. There is also a new position called Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-profits which Eby gave to Joan Phillip (first elected 2023) which may help cover some of the Indigenous components of rural areas.
- The October 19, 2024 BC Election results showed a clear urban-rural divide in the final MLA seats. Most of the rural seats are held by BC Conservatives. Eby needs to address the many angles and complexities of serving rural communities.
- Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport: This cobbled-together ministry has been a thing since Horgan was premier. Lisa Beare first filled the role (2017-2020 and again in 2022 after Melanie Mark quit), and Lana Popham had a shot at it 2022-2024. Now the ministry goes to Spencer Chandra Herbert (his first ministerial post despite having been elected in 2017), who will have support from Parliamentary Secretary for Arts and Film Nina Krieger.
- Transportation & Transit: The Minister is Mike Farnworth (first elected 1991) with a new portfolio called Transportation and Transit. The Parliamentary Secretary for Transit is George Anderson (new in 2024). Their work is to fulfill these ministerial responsibilities:
- Focus on the ways in which people move around the province, including transportation networks.
- Continue delivering on major projects such as the widening of the Highway 1, Surrey to Langley SkyTrain, George Massey Tunnel replacement and new Patullo Bridge.
Covering the basics:
A few of yesterday’s ministerial appointments are obviously of lesser priority for this start of Eby’s first full government (by election mandate), or do not require a spotlight.
Many of these portfolios went to brand new or nearly new MLAs:
- Accessibility: A new Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility has been assigned to new MLA Dana Lajeunesse (elected 2024).
- Anti-Racism: A new position of Parlaimentary Secretary for Anit-Racism Initiatives has been given to Jessie Sunner (newsly elected 2024).
- Forests: The Ministry name is simply that, without nuance as to the jobs, technical aspects or climate-related aspects of that sector. The new Minister of Forests is Ravi Parmar (first elected in 2023, and previously the Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials under Eby during 2024). Eby is likely allowing this ministry to run ‘steady as she goes’ despite the longstanding issues of softwood lumber tariffs (with a US-political edge but that is really nothing new). Being given a historically important BC ministry flat-out to a relatively new MLA is a statement of confidence by Eby, as is giving the role of Deputy Government House Leader to the young Ravi Parmar (Langford-Highlands) who just turned 30 years of age last week.
- Labour: The new Minister of Labour is Jennifer Whiteside (first elected 2020) who is a long-time trade union leader. This is another ministry that Eby is likely allowing to run ‘steady as she goes’. Whiteside will have support from new Parliamentary Secretary for Labour Darlene Rotchford (elected 2024).
- Seniors: There is a new Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors’ Services and Long-Term Care position, given to Susie Chant (first elected in 2020). There may be some input to the Health ministry through this position (regarding long-term care). There is also an independent BC Seniors Advocate, Dan Levitt (who began in that job in April 2024).
- Women: Now that the BC NDP caucus has a majority of women (65%) and many of the top ministerial roles are held by women, Eby hasn’t separated out a separate ministry for women’s issues, but did continue with the Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity which he’s given to Jennifer Blatherwick (newly elected 2024). Traditionally this has been pinned under the Finance Ministry, where the emphasis was evidently pay equity but there are many other aspects to gender equity in society.
===== RELATED:
- BC Executive Council (link to come)
- Education Ministry now led by Lisa Beare (November 20, 2024)
- Premier Eby appoints his cabinet for the 43rd BC Parliament (November 18, 2024)
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