As B.C. Premier David Eby prepares to swear in his cabinet Monday, he says the public should expect a roster of ministers who will focus on the issues British Columbians are struggling with, including affordability, health care and public safety.
“They want us to be focused on the basics — the issues that they’re thinking about around the kitchen table, affordability, the cost of daily life,” Eby said Wednesday after his 47 MLAs were sworn into the legislature.
The cabinet will include many rookie MLAs, as just 14 of the 27 cabinet ministers from Eby’s previous roster are returning to government.
“What they’re shorter [on] than they were before is experienced cabinet hands who can play a role in some of those heavy-hitting ministries,” said Geoff Meggs, the former chief of staff for premier John Horgan.
Complicated portfolios like housing, health and finance are some of the biggest jobs in government. And Premier David Eby will have his work cut out for him filling those positions along with the rest of his cabinet when the new government is formed. As Katie DeRosa reports, political watchers say Eby’s picks will offer a preview of his key priorities.
Eby also faces a challenge in representing the entire province, particularly rural B.C.
Only five of the 47 elected NDP MLAs are in ridings outside the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
Those five include Harwinder Sandhu, who was re-elected in Vernon-Lumby and Brittny Anderson, who kept her seat in Kootenay Central.
Newcomers include Steve Morissette of Kootenay-Monashee, Tamara Davidson of North Coast-Haida Gwaii and Randene Neill of Powell River-Sunshine Coast.
Jobs Minister Brenda Bailey, a former tech executive, is a likely contender for the role of finance minister.
Many are watching to see whether Adrian Dix, who has served as health minister for almost eight years, will be shuffled to another ministry.
“Eight years is a long time in any job,” says Meggs, a friend of Dix. “No one works harder, but he could be very useful to the premier in another role.”
Meggs says the public expects a health minister who will keep emergency rooms open all the time, an issue that has plagued rural and remote communities as they continue to struggle with persistent emergency room closures due to short staffing.
High-profile ministers in the previous government, like Bowinn Ma, Ravi Kahlon, Niki Sharma and Mike Farnworth, are expected to remain in prominent roles.
Eby sets limits
Eby acknowledged his party’s slim majority could require across-the-aisle co-operation to pass legislation. But he has set some limits on who he’ll work with.
“We’re already in conversation with the Greens,” the premier said on Wednesday.
“Our hands are outstretched to any MLA that wants to work with us on [our] key priorities with just one bright line exception: we will not tolerate hate, discrimination, conspiracy theory garbage.”
All 93 MLAs were sworn into the legislature this week. With the NDP holding a bare majority of 47 seats, the premier will need to co-operate with the opposition to pass legislation. But as Katie DeRosa reports, David Eby says there are “bright lines” he will not cross, particularly when it comes to working with those who would promote hate, racism and division.
Eby has repeatedly said he will not work with Brent Chapman, the B.C. Conservative MLA for Surrey South.
Chapman came under fire during the election campaign when old social media posts resurfaced, including a Facebook post where he called Palestinians “inbred walking, talking, breathing time bombs” and another post that appeared to cast doubt on mass shootings in the United States and Quebec. The MLA has since apologized for both posts.
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad was incensed by Eby’s moral line.
“To have the audacity to say that they will and will not work with someone, I’m sorry, that is not his choice,” Rustad said. “That is not something he has the authority to do.”
Rustad says he finds it hypocritical that Eby is trying to take the moral high ground when his NDP government has overseen policies, such as those on drugs, that Rustad says have harmed British Columbians.
“Quite frankly he really should look in the mirror when he brings out some other kind of line in the sand.”
Former B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver, who brokered a deal with the NDP to help them govern in 2017, says Eby’s so-called bright line could get in the way of cross-party alliances that help the legislature function.
“It’s really unfortunate that Mr. Eby is starting off his term by drawing lines in the sand and calling people out, when what he should be doing is erasing those lines and calling people in.”
The Early Edition10:23On the Ledge panel provides a debrief after a week in B.C. politics
Justine Hunter covers the Legislature for the Globe and Mail. Katie DeRosa is CBC’s legislative reporter. They spoke to Stephen Quinn about MLAs being sworn in after the 2024 election, and who could be in the B.C. NDP’s cabinet.
Weaver says Eby’s statement is particularly troubling following the recent death of former premier John Horgan, who was known for his across-the-aisle co-operation with MLAs he disagreed with.
“How would John have dealt with this? He doesn’t agree with those views but they’re elected representatives that one needs to work with,” Weaver said.
The premier’s office has since clarified that no Conservative MLA will be denied meetings with ministers or blocked from all-party committees.
Speaker’s role up in the air
The NDP also still has to choose a Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
Selecting one from the NDP ranks would bring their bare majority of 47 down to 46 when it comes to voting on legislation.
That could create a tie if the two Green MLAs vote alongside the 44 Conservative MLAs.
The Speaker is able to break ties, but that power is used sparingly to maintain the role’s neutrality.
The B.C. Conservatives and B.C. Greens have not indicated they will help the NDP by putting up one of their own for the Speaker’s job.