Critics roast NDP over recovery plan
Liberals back business demand to extend temporary layoff rules
VICTORIA B.C.’s New Democrat government reopened the legislature on Monday to criticism of a COVID-19 recovery plan opponents say isn’t up to the task of resuscitating the provincial economy.
Opposition Liberals took advantage of their first opportunity since March to chastise the government for its planned six-week public consultation on how to spend $1.5 billion earmarked for recovery efforts, when businesses and workers are in immediate crisis.
At the same time, much of B.C.’s business sector united in a letter on Monday to demand the extension of temporary provisions that allow businesses struggling from the pandemic to furlough workers without having to lay them off permanently and pay severance. That’s set to expire in early July, but businesses want it extended until the end of August, saying paying out severances will drive them into bankruptcy.
Both topics kept Premier John Horgan busy during his first question period in two months.
“This is not a delay in restart,” he said of the consultations. “We have been going since the middle of May ... but action doesn’t mean precluding British Columbians.”
He promised to meet with business leaders on Thursday to discuss extending temporary layoff provisions, but suggested any attempt to undercut severances owed to workers would be unacceptable. When Liberal critic Jane Thornthwaite described the severances as “unnecessary costs,” Horgan counterattacked, saying the Liberals and businesses want to claw back worker entitlements.
Labour Minister Harry Bains said he thinks the current system, which allows employers and employees to jointly approach the labour relations board for temporary layoffs, works well.
But that process has a backlog of more than 3,000 applications, said Val Litwin, CEO of the B.C. Chamber of Commerce. An extension would be better, he said.
“Nothing about this solution takes the severance away from workers,” said Litwin.
Litwin said the government has already recognized the wisdom of the temporary layoff provision because it created the program in the first place, and then extended it in May from 13 to 16 weeks.
The Opposition accused the government of placing businesses in a spot where they have no other choice but to permanently cut jobs.
“British Columbians are gravely concerned about whether they’re going to have a job later this year, and there are hundred of thousands of people in tourism and hospitality unemployed right now, and today the premier showed he doesn’t really care if they are permanently severed,” said Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson.
Liberal critic Jas Johal pointed to an event planning business in his riding that has laid off five of its six staff temporarily due to the pandemic, but will have to permanently fire them without an extension. The resulting severance payments will bankrupt its operations, he said.
“This small business survived the pandemic, but won’t be able to survive NDP policies,” said Johal.
Liberal critics also took shots at the province for riding the coattails of federal aid programs, while failing to enact more than 60 economic stimulus ideas — such as a three-month suspension of the provincial sales tax — contained in seven letters the Opposition sent to the premier.
Monday’s resumption of the legislature employed a new hybrid model of MLAs that attended in person, and more than 40 politicians who used video conferencing software to appear remotely on four television screens hung from the chamber.
MLAs not physically present were able to vote by holding up “voting cards” to their cameras. Although there were a handful of technological snafus, NDP house leader Mike Farnworth declared the overall effort a success and said the system of virtual MLAs could be used in the future with another outbreak or emergency. Inside, the building was largely empty and operating with a reduced staff.
The legislature has remained closed to the public since Feb. 11, when protesters supporting Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs blocked the building’s entrances in an attempt to disrupt the Horgan government’s speech from the throne.
Hand sanitizers were installed at the entrance to the chamber, and new signs have been placed throughout the building to remind MLAs to keep at least six feet apart.
The government introduced four new bills on Monday, including regulatory changes to mining, changes to licence plate insurance decals, electronic signatures for wills, and provisions to give cabinet the power to continue emergency orders issued during the pandemic, even when the state of provincial emergency is cancelled.
Current emergency orders cover such things as a ban on reselling personal protective equipment, virtual strata meetings, a ban on residential tenancy evictions during the crisis, and a ban on commercial tenancy evictions unless landlords attempt to obtain federal aid first. The new legislation, introduced Monday by Attorney General David Eby, would allow cabinet to extend existing orders for up to a year, instead of having them become null once the state of emergency is cancelled.
The legislation would also give cabinet the power to extend liability protection to daycare operators and amateur sports organizations, which have been protected from civil lawsuits by the province during the pandemic.
A separate part of the bill is intended to resolve an issue raised on Monday in a report by B.C.’s ombudsman, which said two emergency orders issued by government — to suspend time limits on court cases and to give local governments the power for virtual meetings — were potentially not lawful or proportional to the emergency.
One of the orders was subsequently redrafted by government. Eby said the legislation on Monday is intended to address the rest of the ombudman’s concerns.