There is nothing like a good scandal to take some of the bluster out of a government. BC's Legislature resumes sitting on February 10th (exactly 1,000 days since the election) when the Lieutenant Governor reads the Speech from the Throne, carefully written by staff in the Office of the Premier. The first question period of the 5th session of BC's 37th Parliament will occur on Wednesday, February 11th.

The Campbell government has shown amazing arrogance in question period, the fifteen minute period when cabinet ministers are questioned. The Auditor General has referred to question period as being one of the important mechanisms for holding government accountable. Although government backbenchers have daily caucus meetings where they can say anything they want to a cabinet minister, the Campbell government and its puppet-like Speaker allow half or more of question period to be wasted with soft lobs from government backbenchers. When Joy MacPhail and Jenny Kwan get their turn government Ministers pontificate and rarely touch the topic of the question. Since the entire process is viewed as theatre by many in the media, government's arrogance goes largely unreported, or at least it did when the Campbell Liberals were enjoying what seemed to be a never ending honeymoon.

Consider what the mood in the legislative chamber will be like when MacPhail and Kwan rise to ask their first questions following the RCMP raid on the legislature. Will Campbell and his gang rise once again and declare that they were given 77 of 79 seats so the opposition should shut up and sit down? Will they ignore the question and continue to pat themselves on the back? If they do, how will that look on the 6 PM news put side by side with the latest developments on the scandal? It is likely that ministers will have to wipe the smirk off their faces and make a serious attempt to answer questions on the role of ministerial assistants and the process for the sale of BC Rail. Look for them to initially hide, with claims that nothing can be said because of the ongoing investigation, but as the media is demonstrating and as it will argue in the application for the release of the search warrant, the information is in the public interest; stonewalling will increase the heat and the speculation.

The tide has turned; the 5th session of BC's 37th Parliament is going to be much different than what occurred in the first thousand days of the New Era.