Friday, September 27, 2019 ~ BC
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
The Premier’s address is the final activity of the annual convention of the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM), on the Friday of a full week of meetings and speeches during September 23 to 27 in Vancouver.
This year, after numerous meetings (including workshops, clinics, forums and plenary sessions at which the 2,000 or so delegates are mayors and councillors of municipalities and leaders of regional districts, with their senior staff often in tow), to explore the many topics that concern communities around the province — Premier John Horgan said he would not roll out any major funding announcements as had been the tradition in years prior to the current NDP government. Horgan played the same soft-pedal approach in his 2017 and 2018 UBCM speeches, but with more motivational name-dropping than this year.
Except for one thing … the premier did say that the provincial government would try to find more revenues for local municipal governments from the newest tax-generating industry in BC — the sale of legalized cannabis products.
Otherwise, his nearly 40-minute speech covered a number of platitudes of his government about supporting communities in need — not just in emergency scenarios such as floods and forest fires, but also in those sectors of society and the economy that require shoring up and a way forward (which would include programs on housing affordability, supports for mental health and disabilities, and the expansion of schools and hospitals). He eluded to a time when he or the NDP might not lead government, saying he hopes the changes put in place by his government would remain in place for years to come, and make a difference.
Horgan appealed to municipal leaders to focus on “things that bring us together”, saying issues will always be divisive but that “differences can be overcome when values shine through”. Being a bit instructive, he said that “if orders of government don’t talk down to each other (they) will meet with success.”
Quipping about District of Sooke Mayor Maja Tait now being the president of UBCM for 2019-2020, Horgan wrapped up his speech with saying he would “make Sooke the capital of BC before the end of this term”. There’s no better plug for tourism buoyancy than to suggest people visit Sooke if they haven’t already been there.
Sooke and the adjacent Juan de Fuca area have been Horgan’s core base in the riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca on Vancouver Island’s west shore since he first got elected in 2005. He seemed to have made a pact with Mayor Tait in 2013 (at that time she was still a Sooke Councillor) in their brief ride in the sky-high bucket of a fire truck on a parade through Sooke, that she would have his back if he could have hers.
By comparison, this year there was very little mention of the City of Langford, which is also in his riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca, where actually in the past two years Horgan has tipped much favour in terms of support for stadium expansion, housing and land for schools.
There was no mention of transportation infrastructure which is key to most communities — especially on south Vancouver Island — or money-laundering or ICBC financial restructuring which are issues that have produced controversy in the news in the past year or so. He did promote the benefits of taking care of the environment (notably salmon) and how financially beneficially the LNG project revenues will be when that endeavour comes on stream in the years ahead.
Overall the speech was that of a premier in mid-term who has already put into place the direction, flavour and goals of his primary intentions as a leader for social change. Horgan did not stick out his neck in any way on any issue. His government is still quietly in a precarious political position being propped up by the goodwill of three Green MLAs.
While no government stays in power forever, it does seem a bit soon to not be gunning for a strong second term. The next provincial election comes up in two years, in 2021.
Implying continued support from the Greens, Horgan made a ‘slip’ in referring to BC Green Leader Andrew Weaver as ‘Minister Weaver’. That could be seen as an expression of appreciation for the Greens standing by the NDP over the past two years in the cobbled-together legislative assembly, but on a political level could needlessly inject a bit of ire into Green enthusiasm for participating in good governance. Weaver addressed the delegates earlier this week.
Horgan gave a shout-out to Minister Selina Robinson who is Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. Those are two hefty portfolios that could arguably be seen as the most influential combo of municipal governance in terms of affecting the lives of most British Columbians. Robinson did announce more housing initiatives in her speech earlier this week, encouraging municipalities to get on board with the opportunities.
Horgan also gave high praise to Health Minister Adrian Dix who has rolled out numerous hospitals and primary care centers around the province in just two years.
Finance Minister Carole James was given brief mention by Horgan, by way of a faux-apology for asking her to find ways to direct more of those cannabis revenues toward communities around the province.
Overall it was a speech light on substantive goodies and rollouts, because afterall, most of that is now already in place, which is a lot in two years. Horgan seems to have felt the fire of his governance composition in the legislature and the constant political nipping at heels by the BC Liberals in ways that are rarely substantive but do can a cumulative effect…. it’s driven him to do a lot in a short period of time, kind of ‘just in case’ in a fast-paced world where things can change in a flash.