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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

ADAM OLSEN -- When we were first elected there was a lot of speculation that the minority government was weak and under constant threat of falling. That opinion has proven incorrect


We are at the end of our second Spring Legislative session.  It has been an interesting few months. There have been range of emotional issues and a few legislative firsts.

While we were disappointed that the B.C. NDP government and B.C. Liberal official opposition partnered up to pass a massive subsidy for the fossil fuel industry, I am very happy that the government’s update to the labour code passed unanimously.

Balancing interests
During the debate of the latter, the B.C. Green Caucus supported an opposition amendment to align the Bill with the B.C. NDP government’s expert panel.

My colleagues and I spent a lot of time considering the implications of this amendment. In the end, we believe the expert panel did a good job balancing the interests on both sides of this historically divisive issue and we are consistent in our support of their work and recommendations.


To that end, I want to highlight that a central feature of the advice of the panel was to stop the pendulum swings, or policy lurch, that characterizes labour policy in British Columbia. So, not only did the B.C. Green Caucus support a B.C. Liberal amendment for the first time to maintain the spirit of the government panel’s advice, the labour code amendment bill got unanimous support from all parties in the House.

Private Members Bills
There were a couple of other firsts we should celebrate. For the first time in modern history in British Columbia a private members Bill became law. This happened not once, but twice.

My colleague Andrew Weaver had two Bills pass - Bill M209 Business Corporations Amendment Act and Bill M206 Residential Tenancy Amendment Act. You can find details of these Bill's through the links directing you to Andrew's website.

When we were first elected there was a lot of speculation that the minority government was weak and under constant threat of falling. That opinion has proven incorrect. British Columbians are growing comfortable with our minority government. We have shown ourselves to be productive and far more stable than was initially thought.

Working together
This is how a legislature should work. Private members' legislation and opposition amendments should be part of governing a jurisdiction. For too long we have seen the impact of majority governments pushing their agenda through with no opportunity to amend, and even less opportunity for members of the opposition to have their initiatives heard.

Additionally, it's been evident that while there are different opinions on numerous issues, we have found a way to work together.

It's important to embrace diversity and a commitment to work through difficulties -- the people of British Columbia deserve a stable, mature and thoughtful government.



If you have been following along you might be wondering where my podcast went.

Well, one of the realities I am learning about this job is that by the end of the session there are many loose ends. My podcast is one of those loose ends. I'm sure when I get back into my constituency office more often, I will learn of others as well.

I have a handful of great conversations on sitting my computer. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to produce them yet. So, in the next week or two I will return to publishing my Sunday podcasts.

Thank you for following along.

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