NDP CAN ONLY KICK FUNDING CANS SO FAR
Cabinet minister David Eby provided an advance look at the challenges ahead for the New Democrats in 2018, during a daylong debate this week over the current budget for his Ministry of Justice and attorney general.
Eby was handed a heavy workload from Premier John Horgan, with responsibility for his own portfolio as well as liquor licensing and the financially troubled Insurance Corp. of B.C.
He was also in charge of seven of the 15 pieces of legislation on the agenda for the fall session, including campaign finance reform, lobbyist registration and the enabling bill for the referendum on proportional representation.
But like many of his cabinet colleagues, he’s just getting started, particularly in terms of funding for his share of the new government’s ambitious agenda.
The funding gap emerged as Eby was questioned Tuesday by Andrew Wilkinson, a cabinet minister in the last B.C. Liberal government and current candidate for the party leadership.
Though Wilkinson served only briefly as attorney general after the election, he delivered a master class in how to handle an estimates debate. Eby, to his credit, responded respectfully and in detail.
Their back and forth focused on Eby’s mandate letter from the premier and the half-dozen or so major assignments therein. By the end of it, Eby acknowledged that the $11-million boost his ministry received in September had funded only one item on the list — a much-needed top-up for sheriffs and other court services.
“There is money allocated for the increase in sheriff staffing, which is quite a desperate situation,” advised Eby. “We’re currently flying sheriffs around the province and requiring huge levels of overtime in order to ensure that our courts stay open.”
The shortage is blamed for 19 courtroom closures and 20 delayed openings over the past 18 months. It was also a contributing factor — though far from the only one — in the two-and-a-half dozen cases that were stayed this year for having exceeded courtmandated guidelines for unacceptable delay.
As for the other items on the A-G’s list, the executive summary went as follows.
Wilkinson: “Apart from increasing the number of sheriffs and increasing the staff in the court services branch, there is no money whatsoever for the items in the mandate letter. Is that correct?”
Eby: “The member is correct.”
The other items have gone the route of many other NDP promises — ticketed for review and/or consultation with stakeholders and/or the public, like so many cans kicked down the road.
Take the promised referendum to change the electoral system. There’s no money in the budget for implementation because, as Eby explained: “The key to that legislation is a consultation process that will be rolling out over the next couple of weeks asking British Columbians what the question should be, whether proponent groups should be funded, whether in favour of the existing firstpast-the-post system or in favour of reform, electoral finance rules around that referendum.”
Re-establish the human rights commission? “There is no budget item,” agreed Eby. “The parliamentary secretary (MLA Ravi Kahlon) is travelling across the province to hear from the people about the shape and structure of that organization. We don’t actually know what that organization is going to look like yet until we finish our consultation.”
Improve justice for First Nations? “We signed a memorandum of understanding with the First Nations justice council and committed to work with them to identify their priorities … to make sure we weren’t working at odds with their priorities.”
Fixing ICBC? “We’ve already initiated the comprehensive operating review.”
Even where the New Democrats broke a promise to consult the public — the legislation to fund political parties directly from the provincial treasury — there is no line item in the budget to cover the cheques.
Rather, the $1-million first instalment for the NDP and $415,000 for the Greens, due Jan. 1, will be paid out of “contingencies” according to Eby. (The B.C. Liberals would be in line for $1 million as well, but the party has not yet decided if it will take the money.)
For the rest, as new governments often discover, that which is kicked down the road will be back in your path soon enough. But Eby expects to be able to show progress in dollar terms on most of the items on his list in the provincial budget due Feb. 20.
“The member should look forward to our February budget,” he advised Wilkinson. “It will include funding for many of these priorities, based on the consultation and feedback we receive from British Columbians.”
Eby is far from the only minister with high expectations for that budget.
Unfunded promises from the NDP platform include $10-a-day child care (needs $1 billion in the first three years), phasing out MSP premiums (ditto), eliminating school portables in Surrey ($500 million) and so on.
But in the September update, the New Democrats implemented the three tax increases that were promised in their election platform and locked in the money for measures included in the update. Barring more tax increases or deficit financing, there would appear to be less spending room next year.
The serious number crunching starts next week before the Treasury Board, the cabinet committee in charge of vetting ministry budgets.
And if past practice is any guide, it will be a process of lowering expectations, not least for many cabinet ministers themselves.
That which is kicked down the road will be back in your path soon enough. But (Attorney General David) Eby expects to be able to show progress in dollar terms on most of the items on his list.