Dear Editor,
[RE: LETTER – Human rights attack ‘shameful,’ March 3, www.mapleridgenews.com]
I would like to clarify some information surrounding the vote on first reading for the Human Rights Code Repeal Act.
To begin, the first reading vote on MLA Tara Armstrong’s Human Rights Bill is not a vote to support the substance or intent of the legislation. Our party and caucus support human rights.
At first reading, MLAs do not see the bill’s contents until after it is introduced in the legislative assembly.
Under our new leadership, caucus policy is to vote yes at first reading on all legislation. This includes bills presented by the government and all private members.
We want to see the bill.
We want to have the ability to make our views known in the legislative assembly. This is how government is supposed to function. In Ottawa, London, and in Alberta, the first reading of the bill does not get voted on.
Second reading is the time to debate a bill’s contents. That is when MLAs can put their views, and any objections, on the public record. This is when members have the chance to challenge each other’s ideas directly, no matter how offensive or objectionable they may be.
Playing political games at first reading undermines the assembly’s core function and is undemocratic.
British Columbians deserve more than media clips and partisan social media attacks. Our caucus believes these issues should be debated in the legislative assembly, on the record.
That’s what our communities elected us to do, and it is what the legislative assembly is for.
Dr. Lawrence Mok, MLA Maple Ridge East