The B.C. legislature closed the spring session on Thursday with two of the same items dominating the conversation as at the start in mid-February: the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) and a provincial budget that seems to have pleased nobody in the province.
The budget squeaked by with the Speaker casting a tie-breaking vote. DRIPA reared back into the spotlight on the last day of the session after Premier David Eby revealed details about two of the 20 court cases that have reportedly been amended to rely on the law since a decision in the Gitxaala case used it to invalidate parts of the Mineral Tenure Act.
Those cases include an ICBC claim related to enhanced-care benefits (Eby did not reveal the case itself) and the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of girls incarcerated at the historical Vancouver Willingdon School for Girls, known as the “house of horrors” for the alleged atrocities meted out by staff.
DRIPA is a B.C. law that requires all the other provincial laws to align with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which affirms the right of self-determination for Indigenous peoples worldwide. Eby says the law is meant to be implemented by the government, not the courts, and has appealed the Gitxaala judgment.
Canada’s Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal shortly before the end of the session — to the B.C. government’s relief — but has not yet revealed when it will take up the case.
Eby had begun the session promising changes to DRIPA, arguing these 20 cases illustrate the legal jeopardy facing the province. This effort was scuttled by First Nations opposition.
B.C. Conservatives took him to task, demanding he reveal the remaining 18 cases.
“It’s incumbent on the premier if he’s going to disclose one of them, he should disclose all of them,” Interim B.C. Conservative Leader Trevor Halford said, suggesting other Crown corporations, such as BC Hydro, could be facing legal action and that Eby is not being transparent.
It seemed at a few stages during the session that Eby’s government could fall over the DRIPA issue if he kept pressing it, as he had lost support for the bill from at least one party member, Vancouver—Strathcona MLA Joan Phillip. With the bill deemed a confidence measure to allow the speaker to break a tie, it didn’t look good.
And the Green Party was not going to swoop in and save the NDP — not on this issue.
In previous sessions, the government could rely on the B.C. Greens for support on some legislation due to a deal between the parties. But that party is now led by Emily Lowan, and the Greens ripped up the deal before the session began.
Lowan said she is glad the party stood up for “Green values” in light of the DRIPA situation.
She suggested that the government’s position on DRIPA has led to a “racist culture war.”
“They’ve lost their way, and they’re just chasing moderate voters,” Lowan said.
Eby backed down on DRIPA in April, punting it to the fall.
The rest of the spring session puttered along without many other major pieces of legislation, save for a couple of First Nations treaty ratification bills.
Government House Leader Mike Farnworth said the goal for the spring session was to pass the budget and to expect more legislation in the fall.
“The key aspect of the spring session is the budget,” he said. “That’s always the main focus, and that’s been the focus, and that’s the job of the legislature.”
Several bills were introduced this spring that did not pass, something Farnworth brushed off as a part of the plan. This includes the Kitselas treaty bill, which he says will be the first brought back in the fall, as well as the municipal code of conduct bill and one providing 26 weeks of guaranteed parental leave for municipal councillors.
Farnworth sought to tamp down talk of division within the NDP caucus, calling it a “big tent party” that has “robust discussions.” He says the members stand behind the premier.
“I’ve sat in a lot of caucuses, and I know when there’s a problem in a caucus, and this is not that,” he said.
The budget — with cuts to program funding and a deficit of $9.6 billion this year and $13.3 billion next — passed with a bit more ease than it should have, due to an absent member.
Because the government only has a one-seat majority, Speaker Raj Chouhan must break ties on contentious issues and confidence votes.
This is symbolic — he cannot vote against the government on a confidence measure — but it is meaningful for the opposition to force the government into this public admission of their slim margin of support.
But, Dallas Brodie, the Independent MLA representing Vancouver-Quilchena, did not show up for the vote.
She took to social media to apologize, citing technical difficulties.
“I had planned to log in from outside the building and had trouble logging in,” she wrote. “When I finally got on I was 20 seconds late. I should never have left the building and I apologize unreservedly to those who rely on me. This will not happen again.”
And with that, the legislature broke for the summer.