They're back to their desks or video studios today, with the first day of March heralding a resumption of the daily sessions for the forty second parliament of the Legislature.
Speaker Raj Chouhan will call the House to Order at 10AM and from that point a reduced number of MLA's in the Chamber in Victoria, and those participating online from their home constituencies will tackle a new session of government planning.
The return a welcome one for opposition members, who no doubt are anxious for the first question period later in the morning and an opportunity seek answers or raise issues of concern with Premier John Horgan and his cabinet.
The full agenda for first day back to work for the elected officials can be explored here.
The Liberals head into the Spring Session at the starting point of their own internal leadership contest, which should see those elected MLA's considering a run for the top job looking to make the most of their speaking times in the Legislature during the course of the weeks ahead.
So far, the only declared candidate for that post is Skeena MLA Ellis Ross, who announced his intention to seek the leadership on February 18th.
The BC Liberals plan to elect their leader on February 5th of 2022.
There are no shortage of issues for the opposition members to hold the NDP government to account on whether it's been the response to COVID issues, the cost over runs on Site C, or how they have decided to spend vast quantities of money on economic recovery programs, the debate should be lively as the MLA's get back into their Legislative groove.
The NDP government will be delivering their budget in the third week of April, a timeline that is close to two months later than is normally done and a decision that has been of some concern for both the BC Liberals and Greens, who suggest a proper opportunity for a full discussion is being sidelined.
As for government business to be introduced, House Leader Mike Farnoworth is expected to navigate legislation related to ICBC this Spring which should make for some interesting debate, the government also has plans towards real estate issues as well as gang related violence currently being seen in some BC communities.
Housing for the homeless will continue to be a theme for the spring session, that as high profile tent cities in some of the larger communities highlight the need for more affordable housing and spark concerns from residents over safety.
You can take in the first day of the Spring session from the Legislature website which features a live feed of the proceedings.
For more notes on the work of the MLA's at the Legislature follow our archive pages for the regional representatives below:
You can also explore provincial themes from our political blog D'Arcy McGee.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
No comments:
Post a Comment