British Columbia's MLA's have returned to Victoria, with the formal end of the last session and the launch of the upcoming Spring Session set to take place today.
The Lieutenant Governor will provide for the NDP government's blue print for the session ahead with a Speech from the Throne today, followed by the provincial Budget to come on Thursday.
Those will set the narrative for the next three months, with the Government set to move a significant volume of Legislation forwards before the Spring Session wraps on May 16th.
Both the Budget and the parliamentary calendar will be framed with an eye towards the fall election period, with all three opposition parties set to put forward their views as to how they would make for a better government than the current incumbents.
For Northwest MLA's this Spring session brings it's own sideline themes,
For MLA Ellis Ross in Skeena, it's for the most part his farewell tour for the Legislature, Mr. Ross recently was named the Conservative candidate for the next federal election, with plans to relinquish his provincial seat when the BC election period arrives.
Nathan Cullen will find that the Spring session starts off with his ministry of Water, Lands and Resources stewardship making news for perceptions of a less than transparent approach to Land Management planning.
The Stikine MLA can anticipate his Ministry being among the talking points for the Opposition members once the debating of issues resumes in Question Period.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice noted on the opening of the Legislature with a note to her Social Media Stream over the weekend.
Ms. Rice does not mention her own duties as Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Health and what that may hold for her own workload.
Health care is a topic that may gain some increased notice in the legislature this spring, that as a growing number of issues continue to make for some important debate in rural communities.
The MLA may even receive some feedback from her home constituency, with the City of Prince Rupert looking to lead a collective of stakeholders looking to address growing health care concerns for the Prince Rupert area.
The Speech from the Throne will be delivered at 2 PM today.
You can follow the proceedings from the Legislature through the Legislature website and Social media stream.
The Pre Game show if you will, towards the Spring Session was relayed over the weekend, some of the notes on what to expect can be reviewed below:
BC Legislature braces for short session ahead of election
BC Premier lays out priorities ahead of Budget
More notes on the three Northwest members of the Legislature can be reviewed here.
You can also explore provincial government themes through our political blog D'Arcy McGee.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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