Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Politics will never be easy .  There are seemingly countless layers of personal, public and private interests to understand and respect in even the simplest issue. Politics is people work .  It's emotional and so it comes with peaks and valleys. Everything we do will impact someone, or everyone, and so each and every decision is important. How we relate to each other is critical. Unfortunately, scoring points is often seen as more important than personal relationships in the divided, aggressive political culture found in North America. We are collecting points rather than connecting points. As a result, we are undermining the good work we could be doing with each other. Political debates are emotional .  My speeches to the LNG tax bill are the most tense and urgent of any of my speeches in Hansard so far. I use strong language; pose serious challenges and I call my colleagues out. While I remain committed to do more calling in th...

Budget Estimates is an oft-overlooked aspect of our work in the legislature. Once legislators have passed the budget the debate moves to Estimates. This is an opportunity for members of the opposition to ask direct questions to the Minister about their budget. In reality, the questions are wide ranging and rarely stick to just the current budget cycle. This opportunity gives members of the opposition time to dig in and ask about the philosophical approach of the Minister and government. During Estimates the Minister has the full support of their senior staff. The Estimates schedule is up to the government, but the annual budget cycle is not complete until these votes pass for each Ministry. These debates are extremely slow moving. A Member asks a question, the Minister convenes with senior staff, then the Minister answers the question, and a Member asks the next question. Needless to say, it is not as exciting as the theatre of Question Period, so fe...

Retiring Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington There will be no Vicki Huntington in the BC Legislature after the May 9th general election.   The Delta South MLA , who won victory twice as an Independent, announced several weeks back this will be her last term John Twigg, a former journalist who specialized in covering the BC legislature, came to appreciate Ms Huntington's insightful comments, and pointed questions, whenever she had an opportunity to make them, as well as her excellent responsiveness to constituents' concerns. " I've been watching the B.C. Legislature for about 50 years now and Vicki is by far the best Independent MLA I've ever seen ," said Twigg, comparing her constructive contributions to the work of Oak Bay Conservative MLA Dr. Scott Wallace in the 1970s. The great value of Huntington's service also was noted in the Legislature by veteran NDP MLA Leonard Krog, who stood spontaneously and broke some rules to give her a glo...