So many bills, so little time
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There may be some understandable reasons, but the B.C. government acted irresponsibly in bringing in 10 new bills last week and expecting the legislature to pass them all in just over two weeks.
This disconnect between introduction of bills and the time needed to debate and pass them is an affront to democracy — particularly considering that several of these bills relate to the government’s climate change initiatives, which are a radical change in direction for both the BC Liberals and governments across Canada.
As of Tuesday, there were 23 bills remaining to be debated, with 11 scheduled days left in the spring session. Obviously, the only way these 23 bills will be passed into law is if they get just cursory attention from both government and opposition MLAs.
Government House Leader Mike de Jong has offered to forego a scheduled week-long break, which would add four more days to the legislative calendar. The NDP opposition is considering that offer.
Perhaps the government should also bring back Friday sittings of the legislature, at least for the balance of the spring session. That would add a few extra days as well.
What really needs to happen is a more even flow of bills to the legislature. It is silly to bring in 10 new bills just a few weeks before the session is supposed to end. Some of those bills should have been introduced much earlier. In the last few weeks, no bills of any consequence should be brought forward. That time should be an opportunity to clean up remaining business.
The government should perhaps consider tabling several of the bills until the fall session. and not abbreviate that session, as has been the recent practice. It also needs to work harder on the flow of bills, so that MLAs from both sides of the House have the proper amount of time to properly look over legislation such as the proposal for a carbon tax, which will dramatically change the way B.C. citizens and companies operate.
The government has done a good job in regularly scheduling sessions. It now needs to better regulate the flow of bills.
Frank Bucholtz is editor of the Langley Times
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