Horgan glad to accentuate the positive
Premier John Horgan says he knows the decisions he’s made so far won’t please everyone — and he’s OK with that.
Despite some harsh criticism from all sides — from Liberals who say he’s wasting time and money on a growing list of consultations to fellow New Democrats disillusioned with the move forward on Site C — Horgan seems at ease.
It’s a sharp contrast to the hot temper he was known for before becoming premier — think of his biting “Don’t touch me” rebuke to Christy Clark during a televised leaders’ debate.
“People have asked me why I seem so changed. It’s the change in responsibility,” Horgan said in a year-end interview.
“I was obliged as an opposition critic to be negative every day, and it was counter to who I am as a person. I’ve always considered myself positive and upbeat. And I get an opportunity now in this new role as premier to lead a government and be positive and upbeat about the extraordinary place where we live.”
His government’s first legislative session was a significant one for Vancouver Island.
Horgan is the first Island premier in six decades and he made decisions alongside five Island cabinet ministers. It was also through a power-sharing pact with the Green Party’s three MLAs — all representing Island districts — that the NDP formed a minority government.
In a series of interviews, Island cabinet ministers acknowledged the transition from opposition to government hasn’t always been smooth.
“It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be,” said Saanich South MLA Lana Popham, who served as an opposition critic for eight years before becoming agriculture minister.
“I was used to lighting my hair on fire and then all of a sudden I was in the line of fire.”
The most difficult decision for her in cabinet was the one to go ahead with the Site C hydroelectic project in northern B.C., a controversial initiative she had spoken out against long before she was elected.
“I’ve spent time up in that area. I’ve gotten to know the farmers in that area. So it was a heartbreaking decision, not just for me, it was a difficult decision to make as a cabinet,” she said.
As agriculture minister, Popham was regularly targeted in question period for her handling of the aquaculture file: First, for warning a fish-farm company that its tenure might not be renewed and then for saying she would investigate conflict-of-interest allegations against a provincial animal-health lab that tests farmed salmon for disease.
In the new year, she says, the province will move forward in talks with First Nations who say the farms are in their traditional territories without permission.
“I can say, probably by the end of January, we’ll be sitting at the table together: The federal government, First Nations and provincial government. So I’m really proud of that work because that will be a very historic meeting. But in between, I mean, the complications show up daily on that file,” Popham said.
Popham said consultation on the revitalization of the Agricultural Land Reserve will occur over the next four months.
“We’ll be able to address things with the ALR that have probably been shied away from, like farmworker housing on agricultural land, re-assessing whether we should have two zones in the ALR or one and the way the agricultural land commission works,” she said.
Mid-Island Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser moved into the role of minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation after 12 years in opposition.
Greater Victoria cabinet ministers — including Popham, Education Minister Rob Fleming and Finance Minister Carole James — have the benefit of having their constituency offices near the legislature. Fraser doesn’t. “One of the changes I’ve seen, which I’m not entirely comfortable with, being a cabinet minister, is that you don’t get as much time to spend in the riding or constituency.
“There are two jobs now: MLA and minister,” Fraser said. “At least initially, the minister position has taken up an awful lot of that time.”
Much of his focus last session was engaging with First Nations communities, many of whom were reconnecting with the province for the first time in years because of the change in government, he said.
“We’ve spent most of this first five or six months meeting with as many of those nations as possible.”
But he has also had to deal with reaction to decisions beyond his control.
Fraser met with seven of the eight Treaty 8 First Nations in the vicinity of the Site C dam. Two of those nations say they will launch a court challenge against the project, for infringing on their treaty rights.
“We know the decision was not what some of the First Nations wanted, but their voices were heard and their perspectives were an important part of our deliberations,” Fraser said.
He said 2018 should bring announcements regarding agreements with First Nations on clean energy projects, forestry, reconciliation and treaty negotiations.
He said he has meetings with his federal counterparts in the next two months to discuss the protection and promotion of First Nation languages.
As education minister, Fleming, the Victoria-Swan Lake MLA, inherited the job of hiring enough teachers to meet class-size and composition requirements following the 2016 Supreme Court of Canada ruling in favour of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation.
“The disappointing part for me was to find out how underfunded the Supreme Court agreement was with the teachers’ federation. That had to be adjusted to the tune of over $600 million over three years, in our budget update in the fall,” Fleming said.
About 3,700 teachers have been hired, although there are still shortages in some districts, particularly rural ones.
There is a shortage of teachers with specialty skills such as French, math and science. A recruitment drive for those positions is planned.
Much of Fleming’s attention has been focused on fast-growing school districts, such as the one encompassing Sooke and the West Shore, and their capital limitations.
Fleming announced the province will pay for land for a new elementary and middle school in Langford. Colwood’s Royal Bay Secondary School is already bursting at the seams.
The new year will bring more capital spending announcements. A review of the Education Ministry’s funding formula will be completed by the fall.
“It’s an aggressive timeline, but one that will allow us to consult all of the stakeholders that have expertise and ideas about how we can make our education funding sustainable, predictable and wellresourced,” Fleming said.
“There will be lots more announcements between now and the next budget, good news on learning resources for the kids, capital projects that will enhance communities,” he said.
He also plans to work with the Representative of Children and Youth to improve graduation rates for at-risk youth.
“It’s been a crazy 150 days. Very busy, but very rewarding,” he said.