January 28, 2002

The Real Opposition
77 to an incredible 2

There is one real opposition in BC and that is Joy MacPhail and Jenny Kwan. Their outstanding work in the aftermath of three draconian pieces of legislation shows that they have the intelligence and stamina to do the work of 20. To keep up that pace through the ugly weeks that will begin on February 12th, they need the help of everyone who can provide concise, factual information. 77 government MLAs make life hard for them as they heckle and jeer. Others can relieve some of their burden by providing support and by not putting any demands on their very limited time.

Read Hansard and see how MacPhail and Kwan have forced government to face up to errors it made in rushing through legislation that took everyone by surprise. No one would have imagined that government would introduce legislation changing the contracts of college faculty. No one would have imagined that government would introduce legislation to allow contracting out of health services from laundry to pharmacy. No one would have thought that government would have introduced legislation that would actually freeze and in some cases lower the wages of 6,000 teachers. With no opportunity to meet with those who have been affected, MacPhail and Kwan immediately responded with hard hitting questions.

MacPhail and Kwan are BC's only real opposition. There is an important role for community organization and pressure on the government but only members of the legislature can stand and demand answers from Ministers. No labour leader, no media commentator and no website can replace the real opposition of MacPhail and Kwan. Those other players in the public debate can help make government accountable, but only members of the legislative assembly can cause government to pause and respond to some debate.

If it were not for MacPhail and Kwan, legislation could go through in minutes rather than days. If MacPhail and Kwan had 20 more colleagues, it would take weeks to pass the contract breaking bills that were introduced on January 25th. Having even one week means that those who are affected can voice their concerns directly to government and they can initiate public debate before the legislation is passed. Even with just two opposition members that could be done if government weren't so sneaky as to introduce bills on a Friday afternoon and force the legislature to debate through Saturday and Sunday. Does the Campbell government fear daily newspapers, radio talk shows and public exposure that much?

In ten days BC has seen its public service devastated, not only through layoffs but through the release of "service plans" that radically change the nature of government. Now BC has seen some of the most extreme labour legislation that has ever been drafted. This is just the start. The WCB review, changes to the Residential Tenancy Act, the Labour Code, Labour Standards, "core reviews" of crown corporations and "administrative justice reviews" of over 50 quasi-judicial agencies are all on the verge of announcement. Then there is the rest of the Campbell legislative agenda, a budget and their answer to hundreds of unanswered questions about ministry "service plans". Reviewing the information overload resulting from such hasty radical change is an overwhelming burden.

Everyone has a job in holding the government and its 77 MLAs to account. Only two people have the grinding task of debating them face to face for over ten hours at a stretch with not so much as an hour long meal break. Jenny and Joy deserve high praise for the job they are doing. It is not too late for Premier Campbell to recognize them for the job they are doing.