How about a fall election, eh?
This week in the legislature the Green party tried to make political hay over the government’s decision to give $4.7 million to Cavendish Farms to ensure the company kept processing Island potatoes.
The government was worried that because restaurants across North America were closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, Cavendish would stop processing potatoes if there was no market for them. The government feared this would mean much of the 2019 potato crop would be sitting in warehouses and the farmers wouldn’t get paid for them.
Politically, the government might have faced less criticism if it had simply paid the potato farmers to bury their potatoes. While there are many Islanders who dislike the government paying money to Irving corporate interests, there are also people who dislike the idea of perfectly good food going to waste and being destroyed.
Rightly or wrongly, the Conservatives decided the money was better spent providing storage for frozen french fries that may eventually find a market when the COVID-19 pandemic eases off.
Generally speaking, the actions of the King government during the crisis have been well received and the premier has been given credit for following the advice of Dr. Heather Morrison, the public health officer, and treating the matter seriously.
More than 115,000 Americans have died. A pandemic is a deadly business; the P.E.I. government, and Islanders took it seriously. As a result, the Island has faired better than any jurisdiction in the country. Denis King has been given a lot of credit for this and he is possibly the most popular premier this province has had in the last 50 years.
The Conservatives came into government at a time when the financial affairs of the province had never been in better shape. They didn’t face much opposition during their first legislative session. The Liberals were shell-shocked at the level of their defeat. Most of the official opposition, the Greens, were just learning the ropes, and so was the cabinet. Co-operative collaboration seemed like a good idea.
But, that was then and this is now. While the Greens’ questioning of the $4.7-million potato deal likely hasn’t caused the premier, or any other Tory, a great deal of concern, this session of the legislature could be an indication that the days of warm, fuzzy, cooperative governance are over. And by this time next year, given the money shortages the Tories will face, being in government will be a lot tougher.
Thanks to COVID-19 the days of budget surpluses are over, and as the money dries up, governing gets harder. Decisions are easy when there’s lots of money. But when there isn’t, the Opposition doesn’t care about your money problems. The Tories should know that, it was only a little over a year ago that they were sitting on the other side of the house.
The Tories should also remember that they are a minority government. They’ve had it so easy lately, they just might have forgotten that.
But, being a minority is something they can correct. They can hold an election. It would be somewhat surprising if there aren’t Tories thinking it’s better to call an election now when things are good for them, rather than wait and be forced into an election when times are bad.
The Liberal party is broke. They wouldn’t be able to run the advertising-heavy campaign they traditionally do. And despite having eight MLAs instead of just two, the Greens seem to have faded. The Green party doesn’t have the same high profile it had going into the last election. In fact, the Greens are now looking very much like all the other politicians.
Also, as governing becomes more difficult, Denis King could benefit from some new talent in his caucus, and the only way to do that is to elect some more members.
Besides, there’s not much else happening on the Island in late October or early November, so why not have an election?