ABBOTT IN FROM COLD FOR FIRE, FLOOD REVIEW
NDP appoints former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister to co-lead panel
There was a whiff of vindication in the air Monday, when Premier John Horgan appointed former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister George Abbott as one of two reviewers of a disastrous year of wildfires and floods.
“George Abbott has a long and distinguished career in public service and a wealth of local and provincial government experience,” read the government press release, before detailing his dozen years at the cabinet table, five in opposition and 17 in local and regional government.
Inevitably, one was also reminded of the posting that never ended up on the resume — Abbott’s abortive selection as chief treaty commissioner of British Columbia.
Abbott was in the midst of briefings for the post when the then-B.C. Liberal government suddenly withdrew its support, mere days before he was scheduled to take up his duties on April 1, 2015.
The Liberals had recruited him for the post, and saw that he secured the support of the other partners to the treaty process, the federal government and participating First Nations.
Then at the last minute Premier Christy Clark and a committee of seven cabinet ministers decided to (as they put it) “go in a different direction on the treaty process.” Precisely what direction was never clear, other than that it did not include Abbott.
Days later, Clark would apologize to Abbott for what she characterized as “terrible communication” and insisted she had scads of respect for him.
She stopped well short of providing a reasonable explanation for the decision to recruit her former cabinet colleague for the prestigious post only to relegate him to the scrap heap at the last minute.
Abbott subsequently quit the Liberal party, and returned to his consulting business, while pursuing a doctorate in public policy at the University of Victoria in his spare time.
Then at the outset of this year, the Liberals quietly endorsed Celeste Haldane as chair of the treaty commission, with little evidence of the much-touted change of direction.
A month later, with the election approaching, thenforests minister Steve Thomson retained Abbott and the partners in his consulting firm to facilitate a better relationship between logging contractors and the holders of timber-cutting rights. Recommendations are due in the new year.
Meanwhile, this week’s appointment from the new government ensures a higher profile for Abbott in tackling a broad-brush review of a grim year in the woods as well as in communities inundated by the spring run-off.
Horgan, who endorsed Abbott for the treaty commission back in 2015 and came to his defence when the Liberals dumped him, insisted that shabby episode had nothing to do with the decision to recruit him for this review.
Rather it was Abbott’s experience in local and provincial government, service as MLA for the riding of Shuswap in the southern Interior, plus his sound reputation and quick wit.
The two men shared the occasional laugh across the floor of the house following the 2011 leadership race in their respective parties, when both finished third.
Apart from those affinities, I have to think it crossed the premier’s mind that the appointment of a former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister to such a sensitive review would be taken as a refreshing sign.
Joining Abbott in the review is Maureen Chapman, hereditary chief of the Skawahlook First Nation, one of 11 communities in the Sto:lo nation in the Fraser Valley.
“Chapman is recognized for bringing an honest, fair and practical approach to many difficult issues,” said the government statement.
Together they will preside over a strategic review of a wildfire season that saw 65,000 people displaced from their homes and 1.2 million hectares burned.
Direct fire suppression costs alone are expected to approach $600 million when the final tally is complete. Together with the spring floods, the year accounted for $400 million in claims for disaster financial assistance, the largest in provincial history. Terms of reference for Abbott and Chapman call for a review of the emergency-management system, response times, communications, resources, risk assessment and means to reduce hazards.
They are also expected to review the degree to which the province carried out the 42 recommendations in Firestorm 2003, the report by former Manitoba premier Gary Filmon into that year’s disastrous wildfire season in B.C.
“It would be prudent for British Columbians to prepare for the probability of more hot, dry summer weather,” wrote Filmon in a prescient closing passage of his report. “The time to prepare is now.”
For the current review, the NDP government maintains “the terms of reference are designed to be as comprehensive as possible.”
At the same time, “the reviewers have the discretion to consider other items that may be brought forward in the context of emergency preparedness, response and recovery.”
Delivery deadline is April 30 of next year, leaving time to begin implementation in advance of the 2018 season. In the event more time is needed, the New Democrats expect to at least get interim recommendations.
At a press conference at the legislature Monday, I asked Horgan if he would commit in advance to implement all of the recommendations that emerge from the budgetedat-$900,000 review.
He came back with a suggestion that I reflect on the reputations of the two independent reviewers.
Neither one would have taken the job if they thought they were producing a report that would be “gathering dust on the shelf,” he assured me.
I have to think it crossed the premier’s mind that the appointment of a former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister ... would be taken as a refreshing sign.