March
19,2002
Breakneck
Speed
The
BC legislature is already in one of three scheduled one
week breaks before it recesses for the summer on May 30
not to sit again until October 7 through November 28. Highlights
from the Throne Speech delivered on February 12th are still
listed as one of the top news stories on the BC government
website. When the Throne Speech was delivered news reports
indicated that this legislative session would likely see
100 bills introduced. As of adjournment on March 14th, only
11 bills
had been introduced (12 actually, but Bill 1 is a formality
that only contains a title page).
Those
who think the Campbell government is moving at breakneck
speed are about to get whip lash when 90 more bills
are introduced. With less than 32 sitting days remaining
in the spring session, fulfilling expectations raised on
Throne Speech day will require an average of almost 3 bills
per day to be introduced!
Some
of those bills may sit on the order paper for debate in
the fall, but government indicated that the fall session
would be for debate of spring session bills, not for the
introduction of bills they couldn't get drafted in time
for the spring session. With two one week breaks, the fall
session is only 6 sitting weeks long. Even though there
are only two opposition members in the legislature, government
may run out of time and resort to all night sittings to
ram through its overly long legislative agenda.
Based
on the Throne Speech, the following 15 substantial commitments
remain on the agenda. Keep in mind this does not include
coming to grips with changes that have already been announced
or dealing with routine legislation that is introduced in
every session.
-
Changes
to the Employment Standards Act;
-
Changes
to the Workers Compensation Act;
-
Changes
to the Labour Relations Code;
-
Changes
to the Company Act;
-
Changes
will be made to establish equality for operating mines
in the coal and mineral sectors, and to provide more certainty
over access rights to Crown lands for coal tenures;
-
A
shift will be made towards market-based stumpage, and
the complex challenge of forest policy reform will be
tackled;
-
A
white paper on possible reforms to the Forest Practices
Code will be issued this spring, with the objective of
tabling legislation this fall;
-
The
Community Charter Council will table its report, including
draft legislation, in a white paper that will be released
during this session. Community charter legislation will
be introduced within the next year;
-
The
Community Care Facility Act will be improved to establish
a more responsive, results-based framework that provides
greater flexibility and consistent care standards;
-
New
legislation will be introduced to strengthen drinking
water and ground water protection;
-
Changes
to the School Act will be aimed at improving student achievement
through better system accountability and increased flexibility
and choice for parents and students;
-
Legislation
will be introduced to create more choice for post-secondary
students, to ensure the system serves them better. This
legislation will build on the new tools recently given
to post-secondary institutions to fully and properly utilize
their resources;
-
Employment
and assistance dollars will be focused first on those
who are most in need, under legislation that will replace
four existing acts and help create a culture of employment
and self-sufficiency;
-
Child
protection legislation will be amended to offer more options
to provide safe care for children within their extended
families; and
-
A
new Residential Tenancy Act will also be introduced.
Premier
Campbell should learn that it is better to do a few things
correctly than a lot of things wrong, or as some would put
it, "haste makes waste".
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