Thursday May 11, 2023 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Yesterday at this tail end of the spring session of the BC Legislative Assembly, some of the Ministers got to slap pies in the faces of some of the longest-serving BC Press Gallery members during BC Beef Day… all in good fun as a fundraiser for the BC Cancer Foundation.
Legislative reporters take aim at Ministers with their news reporting through the year. Taking cream pies in the face yesterday included Richard Zussman (Global TV) at the hand of Finance Minister Katrine Conroy; Keith Baldrey (Global TV) at the hand of Attorney General Niki Sharma; Rob Shaw (CHEK-TV) at the hand of Minister of Post-Secondary and Future Skills Selina Robinson; and Katie DeRosa (Times Colonist).
The last day of the session is today May 11. The Fall session starts October 3.
In recent weeks, Minister of Post-Secondary and Future Skills Selina Robinson announced in the legislative assembly that due to treatment by the BC health care system that her cancer tumour has been reduced in size by 40%. Her energy on the job seems unflagged.
Reporting continues during summer:
Legislative reporters will still be keeping an eye on newsmakers and news issues over the summer. MLAs will be in their constituencies and the work of government will continue over the summer months. The BC Legislative Press Gallery office space will be renovated over the summer.
In two ridings there will be plenty of action for the upcoming by-elections in 2023 to replace MLA seats left vacant in Langford-Juan de Fuca (John Horgan’s last day as MLA was March 31, 2023) and Vancouver-Mount Pleasant (where Melanie Mark resigned after many years as an MLA).
In accordance with legislation, Premier David Eby needs to call the by-election by September 30, 2023.
Candidates in Langford-Juan de Fuca (for voters in Langford, Sooke, and Juan de Fuca) so far include Ravi Parmar (BC NDP), Camille Currie (BC Green), and Elena Lawson (BC United).
Other things to watch in provincial news are how well extreme heat and other weather emergencies are handled this year and how the overall response to random crime is dealt with.
During the summer the office area for the BC Legislative Press Gallery will be renovated.
===== RELATED:
By-Election News Archive (Island Social Trends)
Press gallery renovation in summer 2023 (May 11, 2023)
Replacing Horgan & Mark: two key BC by-elections this year (February 24, 2023)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends is a professional news portal at islandsocialtrends.ca . Fully online as a daily news portal since mid-2020, Island Social Trends emerged from previous print publications in the west shore: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), and West Shore Voice News (2014-2020).
Since 2008, journalist and editor Mary P Brooke has taken a socioeconomic lens to reporting and analyzing the news of the west shore and south Vancouver Island region, including BC and national news impacts. [See Island Social Trends Politics Archive]. As of 2023 she reports with the BC Legislative Press Gallery.
Mary P Brooke has also focused on news of School District 62 at the board level since 2014 [see Island Social Trends Education archive]. During 2020 to 2021 she reported daily to build a COVID pandemic archive.