On Tuesday, February 12th, the third session of British Columbia's 38th Parliament will begin with the reading of the Speech from the Throne. With rare exceptions, Throne Speeches are a waste of time and money. The Standing Orders for BC's Legislature provide that debate in Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne, and on any amendments and subamendments proposed thereto, shall not exceed 6 sitting days, comprising not less than 8 sittings. The Legislature doesn't sit on Fridays or on Wednesday mornings, but it sits morning and afternoon sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, so one week is devoted to speeches in "address in reply to the Speech from the Throne". That is when government backbenchers have their big opportunity to speak in the Legislature and mail their drivel out to constituents, after which they go back to behaving like trained seals, supporting whatever comes out of the Premier's Office.

It is hard to remember any past Throne Speech that blazed a trail for legislative progress. Some can remember speeches that set out "five great goals" or that laid out challenging questions for the conversation on health (soon forgotten by the Premier). The 2008 Throne Speech will no doubt reiterate Campbell's greenhouse gas commitments, his promise to make progress for First Nations, and it may refer to changes in health care supposedly motivated by what was heard in the conversation on health care. If business proceeds as usual, when the Legislature adjourns on May 29th, it will be difficult to relate what happens over its 47 sitting days to what is contained in the Throne Speech.

Budget Day, on February 19th, is far more important than the reading of the Speech from the Throne. Recession, fluctuating commodity prices and rising welfare roles are likely to make the 2008-2009 budget forecast less reliable than normal, with less certainty that the year will finish with a surplus more than $1 billion ahead of what is forecast in February, but no one will know for sure because the audited financial statements for 2008-2009 will not be publicly released until after the May 12, 2009 election. The next time British Columbians vote they'll have to take the government's word on how it did with respect to the most challenging fiscal year faced by the Campbell government.

Between the Speech from the Throne and Budget Day, the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission will submit its final report. The schedule calls for it to be submitted by February 15th. It will be interesting to see if the Commission bends to the bullying tactics of the Campbell government and modifies its proposals as if Bill 37 (2007) had passed. The Campbell government allowed that Bill to die on the order paper, but when it did so it announced that if the Commission proceeded to put forward recommendations to eliminate seats in the North, Cariboo-Thompson and Columbia-Kootenay, the government would not adopt its proposals. That could make the 2009 election subject to a Constitutional challenge. Watching what the Commission does at the end of the week will be far more interesting than listening to the Speech from the Throne.