Cheques in the mail by Christmas if NDP wins majority
One-time payments of $1,000 in COVID benefits per family top NDP'S to-do list
If the B.C. NDP wins a majority in the election, John Horgan intends to recall the legislature as soon as possible to begin implementing some of his party's campaign promises.
At the top of the list would be getting legislation passed so the government could send out COVID-19 recovery benefits — one-time payments of up to $1,000 for families and up to $500 for individuals — by Christmas.
“I would want to move as expeditiously as possible to ensure that we're keeping people healthy and whole as we come through the pandemic,” Horgan told a Postmedia editorial board during an online meeting on Friday.
However, the timing of a fall legislative session would depend on when the election results are finalized.
With hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots to verify and count, it could be weeks before those results are available. More than 700,000 vote-by-mail packages have been requested.
Horgan also said that while he would like to revisit a change to B.C.'S Labour Code that was not supported by the B.C. Greens last spring — forgoing secret ballots for union certifications in favour of having workers sign union cards — it's not something that would be addressed during a fall session.
Instead, it would be dealt with “as the mandate proceeds, given the need.”
“For me, right now, the priority is the pandemic and making sure that we can protect British Columbians,” Horgan said.
The premier has taken criticism from all sides by those who considered his early election call opportunistic because the campaign is taking place in the midst of the pandemic, a decision he said he wrestled with.
Horgan said he accepts the criticism, but thought it was important to offer the choice to the public about who they wanted to lead them through the rest of the pandemic, which will be with us for the foreseeable future.
“I try and improve myself every day,” he said.
“I take criticism as constructive and if people are characterizing me that way I'll absorb that and try to be better tomorrow.”
Horgan emphasized the government's pandemic response has not been interrupted in any way because of the election.
The $6 billion in spending that was approved by the legislature, the Treasury Board and the cabinet has not been interrupted, he said, and although the legislature was dissolved, a caretaker government is in place, led by the deputy premier, Carole James, doing the business of government.
“I don't believe that there will be any misstep in terms of the delivery of services as a result of the election,” Horgan said.
He also believes that if the NDP forms government, it shouldn't be an issue that a wealth of experience will be lost because some MLAS decided not to run again and there will be new, and in some cases inexperienced, cabinet ministers learning their jobs in the midst of a health crisis.
They will rely on a “strong core” of veteran MLAS — for instance, Horgan is confident that Adrian Dix, the health minister, will be re-elected in Vancouver-kingsway — and the public service to guide them.
“We have a very solid team and more to come. There are new candidates that I'm hopeful will
be elected that will bring a great deal of new experience to the legislature, new energy, new ideas,” Horgan said, “and my expectation is that if the people of British Columbia choose to put their support behind my team we will hit the ground running. I am very confident of that.”
Horgan said it's also important to draw on the knowledge of other members of the legislature, whatever their political stripe.
He said he'd be absolutely prepared to consult and work with the Greens or any other party if it advanced the interests of British Columbians.
“My approach has been where I have gaps in my knowledge or my ability to meet the needs of British Columbians, I seek out that knowledge,” he said. “I want to be as informed as I can be, to make the best decisions possible. And that's how I will operate after the 24th
of October, that's how I've been operating up to this point in time.”
It's the same in the broader community, Horgan said, whether it's working with businesses, labour groups, Indigenous communities, not-for-profits or environmental organizations.
“If there's a good idea, I don't care where it comes from. It's a good idea,” Horgan said.