Canadians are often quite smug when casting their gaze south to the political instability plaguing our American neighbours, where Donald Trump still challenges the 2020 Presidential Election result.
After all, WE live in a real democracy, where our leaders rule/govern and impose ideas/beliefs/rules/taxes on the population ONLY under a mandate granted them and their party by the voters in an election.
Not in BC.
It has been almost six months since MLA David Eby became Premier of British Colombia on Nov. 18, 2022 … given the top job by members of the NDP Party … NOT chosen by the voters, NOR as the result of a subsequent public mandate granted in an election after his partisan accession to the job.
Having a Premier ruling without an electoral mandate, announcing government policy changes, bringing in new laws and levying taxes … without EVER submitting his agenda/platform for public approval is worse … much worse … than having a sore loser, who did seek a top office in a vote, question an election result.
At least in the Excited States, in seeking the top job, Trump had been the Leader and had submitted himself to the electorate as leadership candidate again … before trying to govern without a public mandate.
Eby has NOT still not done that as Premier and his dictatorship has gone on far too long.
Let’s keep it real: no NDP MLA, enjoying the pay, perks, privileges of office, has had the guts … nor the principles … to challenge Eby’s one-man-rule without a public mandate for him or his policies or to govern.
And most of BC’s media have become little more than compliant, complacent government messengers, who have accepted Eby’s rebuff to democracy.
In the glory days of BCTV’s Newshour (before it became what I see now as just a weak, crappy, ethnic community promo outlet), we would have been going after Eby EVERY WEEK, asking WHY he is governing WITHOUT a public mandate?? WHEN will he allow voters to accept or reject HIM as Premier, and WHY has he/NDP denied the public the right to approve/reject HIS agenda, that is now being autocratically imposed on the people???
Eby’s un-endorsed GRIP on power make a mockery of the word “Democratic” in the NDP moniker.
The result for BC: billions of public dollars are being spent and allocated by an MLA acting as “Premier-Pretender”: delivering major policy pronouncements from on high and imposing them without any public mandate; increasing/adding taxes without any public endorsement of any proposed platform; impacting the lives of five million British Columbians; and, still, no signs that Eby has any intention of submitting himself or his policies” for public approval as “Premier in the near future.
BC is basically living under a dictatorship, ruled by a Premier who has NO PUBLIC MANDATE to hold his office.
What makes all this even stranger is that I believe Eby would win a mandate if he sought one. In fact, the longer he waits, the more his personal failings, political blunders, weaknesses and errors could make that more of a challenge. (Maybe that’s why the BC Liberals (oops …BC United) aren’t making this a big issue right now.)
But respect for democracy … not just power … should be paramount in BC.
It’s time the public, the Opposition … and any un-co-opted members of the media … began to seriously challenge, protest, and question: How long will the unmandated Eby dictatorship and autocratic rule in BC go on?
Harv Oberfeld
(Follow @harveyoberfeld on Twitter for FREE First Alerts of all new postings on this Blog. No spam, just alerts to new topics up for discussion.)
Everybody loves an election … or not.
There is absolutely no constitutional requirement or precedent for Eby to resign. Sure we can make a case that the law should be changed but why.
Consider: In 1973, Agnew resigns and Ford is appointed VP by Nixon. No vote. Nixon resigns and Ford becomes President. No vote. Until the fixed election of 1976.
OK American system. What do they know?
1891. Macdonald dies just after the election. John Abbot takes over but retires after a year due to ill health. John Thompson takes over and dies two years later. Mackenzie Bowell takes over for two years and resigns. Tupper takes over for a couple of months until an election can be held five years after the one Macdonald won. Plenty of opportunity for one of those guys to call an election but none did.
Christy Clark. There was plenty of complaints that she was an unelected Premier, especially because, unlike Eby, she was not a MLA when she became leader. Still she did not call an election until it was required. In hindsight she made the right call.
How about the mother of our system of government. When Boris Johnson resigned Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, a couple of months before Eby became Premier. He has not called an election and it is unlikely that a British election will be called any time soon.
Our system requires us to elect a local representative. The leader of the party with the most local representivaes becomes Premier. That person c(whether they won the election or became leader due to resignation or death) can remain leader until the fixed election date or until a confidence vote defeats them.
And besides, wasn’t there an attempt to recall Eby. How did that turn out? Like you said, the NDP likely wins an election right now. So what’s the point?
(Response: The “point” is preserving and protecting democracy. How long is it reasonable to have a provincial or federal “LEADER” who has not faced the voters for approval of himself/herself or their program/agenda? ANY leader, occupying the top political office in any jurisdiction, in my view, only holds office and governs legitimately AFTER giving the PEOPLE a chance to express themselves. And just because a poll or pundit or even those very reliable Chinese fortune cookies say any party would likely win is NO reason to suspend/ignore the PEOPLES’ RIGHT to say Aye or Nay! h.o)
Eby is a politcal coward who thinks he can buy his way to an election win. (Edited.. legal concerns…h.o).
Last September I sent then Attorney General David Eby a vetted letter indicating a need for a judicial inquiry into Translink and transit planning.
The letter contained issues, such as Bombardier and SNC Lavalin paying “success fees” to senior bureaucrats and politicians in Korea and Malaysia to build with ART (what we erroneously call SkyTrain) as reported in the Globe and Mail. I also included the fact that the American Government, upon a peer review of the Port Authority/JFK ART system and found that it was too expensive and very poorly designed that the US Federal government refused federal subsidies for the system and instead the project was funded by the Canadian Overseas Developement Bank to safe face for Bombardier inc.
There were several other issues such as the bogus claim that Broadway was the busiest transit corridor in North America. (Which I got a snarky letter back from TransLink which stated Broadway was their most congested transit corridor)
You get the drift and I had the letter vetted by some legal beagle types I know.
So, instead of the standard “We received your letter, yada, yada, yada, I got a very terse letter stating all further correspondence must go through a provincial barrister.
Coward.
Eby loves shoveling money off the back of a truck to politcal friends and insiders, yet doers little for those in need.
Eby and the NDP have shown themselves as having the same lack of morals as Christie Clark; the same arrogance as Gordon Campbell, and could not run a peanut stand.
I detest Kevin Falcon and what he stands for and what he did to the province.
This leaves me with two options, as the NDP is toxic and the BC United radio active, is voting Green provincially, or putting a big None of The Above on my ballot.
(Response: I can recall that when Christy Clark of the Liberals became designated Premier, there were many NDP supporters who demanded IMMIDIATELY that she go to the voters for validation. Where are those same great believers in democracy NOW??? Why the silence NOW?? h.o)
By the way, we no longer have a media anymore as what is called the media is nothing more than Fox News North.
Mr. Oberfeld: we elected a party to govern for a fixed period of time, not a premier.
Elections are expensive. And stability, to me, is more important than the frequent calling of elections. Just hang on, and we will have an election October of next year. The new BC United Party might have a chance then.
(Response: You are somewhat correct: under our system, it’s normally the party that gains the most seats, not necessarily votes, that gets to govern. However, when the the Premier or Prime Minister changes, British Parliamentary tradition strongly show that any new leader should seek the confidence of the House …and, within a reasonable time, the people. Surely after six months of governance and after billions of dollars in new spending being announced and spent by ANY new internally-promoted MLA to Premier … it’s time to give voters a chance to express support or rejection. As for your suggestion that “stability, to me, is more important”, sounds like something better coming from Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping or Mohammed bin Salman. h.o)
Let us not forget the former premier Horgan called an early election during the Covid pandemic, in 2020.
(Response: If I recall correctly, Horgan broke his agreement with the Greens because he calculated he would win an early election … which he did. And he was holding the Premier’s job …duly elected …when he did it. See, David Eby, Horgan wasn’t afraid of putting HIS fate in the hands of the people, even when he didn’t have to! 🙂 ho)
Would love to know the ratings for BCTV, I expect they are abysmal.
BCTV has become an infotainment platform. Makes me grit my teeth. With PVR in 10 MINUTES can zip through the mundane, (car accidents/house fires, missing dogs, RE “experts”, Commercials) The Irritating prattling banter between anchors and the Senior weather and or sports personality , Clearly designed to fill airtime between commercials before another feckless story. The precipitous fall has been spectacular.
It is obvious there is no budget or agenda/direction to perform investigative journalism. I’m done, tired of my intelligence being insulted. I could watch FOX if I wanted that….
(Response: They USED to provide them to staff … but apparently not anymore. LOL!! I heard a few months ago that on a good day, Global Newshour now draws 200,000 … compared to 500,000 to 600,000 (and even more) 17 years ago when I still worked there … and that’s despite our population growing substantially since! I don’t recall EVER seeing so much ethnic community news/propaganda crap on any “NEWS” show … and sure looks to me like the viewers don’t like it either. I just wonder how/why any “real” reporters or journalists working there stick around! h.o)
yep.
I just clicked off the 6pm “news” as another Residential blame session was about to be aired.
Tired of the endless colonialist blame session.
They can talk to themselves….I’m out.
Global “News” panders to their biggest advertising dollar….the govt.
Federal, Provincial….it matters not.
The softball questions and political pundit pabulum opinions are nauseating.
They have earned their slow, painful, demise.
And if Global wants to see what happens when the govt funding stops……
The defunding of the sofarleftevenMarxwouldgrimace ……CBC …..
Will be epic.
Let the CBC
(Response: Of course, the problem is not just at Global: I am admittedly not very familiar with what’s going on in the media outside the Lower Mainland, but how seldom these days do we see/hear TOUGH, PERSISTENT questioning of Eby or provincial government Ministers by any “reporters” anymore? Commentators Mike Smyth and Vaughn Palmer still do press on issues, but my assessment is the bulk of the daily “working media” are now just government messengers, who are played like fiddles by those in power. It’s sad for journalism …and its a disservice to the public. h.o)
I’m confused, so I’ll leave the serious digging to Not Sure.
I count 24 BC Premiers who were appointed to office, including your best friend at the time Bill Vander Zalm, and Eby’s predecessor Christy Clark.
I can’t find any who were elected to the position by the voters.
(Response: Appointing an INTERIM Premier in the federal governmental system when an incumbent retires or dies is not new or unusual. However, with all the research you’ve done, why don’t you also tell us how long it traditionally has been before they do seek a public mandate for themselves and their agenda by going to the polls and giving the voters a chance to say Aye or Nay! That’s called democracy …and we should ALL support it …not make excuses or defend autocratic rule. h.o)
No. When the electorate go to the polls they usually vote for the party whose leader performed the best during debates and press conferences leading up to the election.
(Response: Very true. Elections in a democracy give the population the right to BOTH express themselves on a leader’s and/or party’s popularity and past record in government AND the right to accept/reject any new leader leader and the revamped party’s platform/promises/policies as well. It has approaching SIX MONTHS since Eby became Premier …not in an election, but through a partisan party decision: time to let the VOTERS have a say! h.o)
As another aside.
I think most of the “reporters” at Global are keeping their heads down….paying for their mortgages and the kids education…..
The rest?
Talking Heads.
Welcome back Harvey.
To start off I just want to mention that I am always amazed at the amount of knowledge, details and research always provided by Not Sure. I do wish to mention however that just because something has always been done in the past does not necessarily mean that it’s right or should continue forever. Maybe it’s time to take a stand?
Like previous comments about Global I too am pretty well disgusted how their news reporting has disintegrated. I no longer watch their newscasts except that I tune into their news channel 21 on my cable, on mute, and review the stories outlined on their ticker at the bottom of the screen to catch anything I feel is newsworthy to me. I can then follow up on my own online without listening to all those inane conversations.
A bit off topic but if anyone is interested about what the federal liberals are trying to legislate to try and control the media, I just read a very interesting piece this morning by John Ivison of the National Post.
(Response: Exactly! It’s not excuse … in fact, it’s quite preposterous … to defend the denial of the people’s democratic rights with a “the other guys did it as well” rationale. We MUST always take a stand when we see politicians of any persuasion ignoring/denying/delaying our democratic rights. As I stated in my piece, I think Eby would probably win an election held now. In fact, depending on the platforms, debates and leaders’ performances, I could even vote for him/NDP. But the longer he holds on to power without seeking a mandate … I, and I hope many other voters, will be less inclined to approve that kind of disrespect for the voters and democracy. h.o.)
Your response to Horace B. “However, when the the Premier or Prime Minister changes, British Parliamentary tradition strongly show that any new leader should seek the confidence of the House …and, within a reasonable time, the people.”
Could you give an example of this British Parliamentary tradition?
I googled Premiers who died in office to see what happened when a new party leader/premier took over. I got zero hits so I am not sure if we have ever had a premier die in office. The only example I found was from 1891 when Macdonald died. None of his successors called an election until 1896 when it was required. Christy Clark did not call an election after replacing Campbell who resigned. Rishi Sunak has not called an election and likely won’t until the fixed election date in 2025.
Do you want another British example. Tony Blair’s Labour Party won the election in 2005. Blair resigned in 2007. Gordon Brown took over. There was speculation that he might call a snap election because the polls were favourable. He decided not to. He stayed Prime Minister until 2010 (2.5 years) when the election was required. (He lost.)
OK what about Danielle Smith. She was elected leader of the UCP in October and there is now an election in Alberta. But the election is required in 2023 because the last election was in 2019. And that may be the reason for the confusion. Most of the time a Premier or PM will resign near the end of the party’s mandate, giving the party time to elect a new leader before the run up to the required election. Pierre Trudeau, John Turner and Kim Campbell are examples. As are Bill Vander Zalm and Rita Johnson.
But as far as I can tell there is no requirement for Eby to call an election for legal or traditional reasons. You may want there to be a requirement but it doesn’t exist. We elected the NDP to run the show for four years. That does not change because Horgan got sick. Democracy is working as it should and the people will have an opportunity to make a decision in the fall of 2024 at the latest.
(Response: EVERY money vote in a legislative parliamentary session is a vote of confidence ..and, when a leader changes (for any reason) the new leader and his/her policy and even Cabinet personnel changes undergo scrutiny and “confidence” decisions in the elected House. But we must never forget that, with a majority government in power, that is no big feat. The most important part of democracy is the vote of the PEOPLE … and they too MUST be given a chance to express their approval/rejection at the earliest possible opportunity of any newly “appointed” Premier or Prime Minister; you know, just like NDP MLAs and all their supporters demanded when Christy Clark replaced Gordon Campbell!!! Funny (or sad) how the NDP now sees nothing wrong with … six months after Eby became Premier by designation only … denying “the people” our democratic right to accept/reject Eby in that role … and the many changes he is now making in our lives. Ruling instead like an autocrat. h.o)
It’s highly doubtful the NDP would have won a majority during a past general election if Eby was the party leader. There’s still too many people with a bad taste in their mouths because of Eby’s time with the Pivot Legal Society. Chances are the NDP might not have won even a minority government. Eby doesn’t appeal to people the way Horgan did.
(Response: I have no doubt that a major contributor to the NDP winning a majority in the last election was John Horgan’s personal popularity …and achieving a majority under Eby would likely have faced a much harder task. But I doubt the reason for that would have been Eby’s “time with the Pivot Legal Society”: that’s a very local Vancouver issue … more likely it would have been the other reason you cite ..Eby doesn’t appeal to people the way Horgan did.” Maybe that’s the reason he and the NDP are denying “the people” the right to our democratic right to endorse/reject Eby and his policies/platform with a mandate, like other Canadian Premiers. h.o)
Though I’m a supporter of the Westminster System, I do have to concede that the lack of a written constitution with set rules for the terms of government and election dates (as they have in the US) is a drawback to it. I suppose another problem (or advantage, depending which side your on) is that we don’t directly elect the Head of Government, which can muddy the waters a bit.
This isn’t a problem confined to BC. Britain (the Mother of All Parliament’s) has had, since the December 2019 General Election, 3 different Conservative Prime Minister’s (Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and now Rishi Sunak). Sir Kier Starmer, the Labour Opposition Leader, has been loudly demanding a General Election be called for months now. But as ‘Not Sure’ pointed out above, Gordon Brown governed for 2 years without going to the country and the Tories are always quick to remind Starmer he had no objection to that. Other British PM’s have played the same game: John Major went 18 months before calling an election after Mrs Thatcher was ousted (after repealing her hated Poll Tax, he went on to win the 1992 election). Harold Wilson retired in March 1976 and Jim Callaghan carried on as PM for 3 years without an election! (Callaghan lost the May 1979 election, brought down by Public Sector Strikes in the Winter of 78/79).
I think Shakespeare’s King Lear had it right when he denounced those ‘scurvy politicians’ with ‘glass eyes’ that allow them ‘to see the things others do not’.
Mr. Eby doesn’t have a glass eye (and I doubt he has scurvy) but I agree that he should have called a Spring election to legitimize his Government and his policies (which are further to the Left than John Horgan’s and voters should have the chance to decide on a fundamental shift in the direction of the Government) At the very least, there should be an election in Autumn (that would make it 3 years since the last Provincial Election, and that would be in keeping with the Westminster Convention of 3 to 5 year terms for Governments).
(Response: Too many politicians believe in power, more than they believe in democracy. They are autocrats: disrespecting the people’s right to approve them or their governance/agenda. It may be legal (after all, laws are made by politicians!) but I don’t believe it respects democracy …and should be exposed and the voters’ right to endorse/reject must be advanced … especially by the media, which, in BC is mostly far too complacent and co-opted these days. So I’m happy to try to make the point. h.o)
Here is Eby’s problem for the next election and it is taxes.
I am in my late 60’s and with two kids still living at home because rental accommodation is both expensive and hard to find.
I am paying huge taxes with little or nothing to show for it. Luckily my wife still works and my pension is, well meagre to say the least and I do work part time. I know people, a lot worse off and they get little help from the government and are left with either paying the rent and utilities or eat. In the area which I live there is at least 4 informal soup kitchens making dinners for the elderly who cannot afford to eat and I live in an affluent area!
I am not the only one with financial issues, while premier Eby, well paid with all the perks of office resides in a bubble of sorts. Eby is literally shoveling money to NDP friends and insiders, especially the First nations, which are slowly turning into professional victims, always looking for a handout.
God knows, if I hear “Colonialism” one more time I will stroke out because don’t these fools know if it was not for colonists, we would not be here debating the issue and the First Nations would have been usurped by another foreign power and probably treated far worse.
The big problem for the NDP is that their base is aging and thinning. The NDP do not resonate with those under 30 and those over 60 remember the Clark/McPhail era with no great love.
So Eby delays, waiting for better polling numbers, but waiting too long has many pitfalls, such as the recent devastating BC Housing report. There will more to come, the longer Eby waits.
For my neighbours, there is no great love for Falcon, but will vote United because Falcon is seen as a 3, while Eby is a 2.
As for real news, it has gone the way of the Dodo bird and is almost unwatchable. The newspapers, both print and on line offer only what their financial backers tells them to print. The Sun is yesterday’s news and even the Tyee has turned into a babble of the left’s extremism and god help you if you question the Cycle lobby because no one dares questions the cycle lobby or bike lanes or you will be banned from commenting, as I have found out.
Such is life.
So Eby is playing a Canadian version of a Putin, afraid to face the people, waiting for a masterstroke that probably will not happen. Afraid of debate, afraid of the electorate is not a good way to win an election. More and more Eby looks like a “Bob Skelly”.
I think people should read again Animal Farm or 1984 because it is the direction this province and country is going.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
That all being said, I will vote Green, unless they to succumb to the electoral stupid that both the NDP and Liberals have fallen into. I guess I just love tilting at windmills.
Daniel I am not arguing that things can’t be changed. I have advocated for years for electoral reform. And Harvey I am not arguing that it’s OK for Eby to do this because the other guys did it. That seems to be your argument. You indicated that Eby was breaking some kind of tradition. You claim that he is “denying the people the right to endorse /reject Eby and his policy/platforms”. My argument is that there is no such right and never has been.
We vote for local representatives who belong to political parties. The party with the most seats becomes the government. The leader of that party becomes PM or Premier. When we vote we are endorsing a party’s platform. The leader while important is secondary.
A change in leader doesn’t necessarily mean a change in policy. In fact I would argue that Trudeau especially with his arrangement with the NDP is far different from what we voted for than anything Eby is doing.
You can be outraged at Eby if you want but your time may be better spent bashing whatever policy or spending decisions the NDP is making rather than quibbling over the timing of an election.
( And for the record I strongly disagreed with Horgan’s decision to call an early election. Complete political expediency and unnecessary. The same argument could be made if Eby were to call one now as well.)
Hi Harvey, it is good you are back.
I don’t know a lot about Mr. Eby other than the fact, he seems quite decisive on some things, and wishy washy on others. He acted decisive on ICBC and so far seems to have stumbled badly with the housing ministry he was in charge of before becoming premier. I have a feeling, there could be a lot more fallout regarding the housing societies and conflicts of interest etc., than what we are privy to today.
In general Mr. Eby seems arrogant to a fault, and always considers himself to be the smartest person in the room. He may be, but it always is prudent to not show you think it is so.
I tend to agree with some of the other posters, let him run with it until the end of the year or next spring, see how he performs and then have an election, we should be able to judge him better by then.
(Response: The one thing that humbles politicians …especially party leaders in power ..is the imminent approach of an election! Very easy to be arrogant when you don’t have to face the voters more another year and a half. For example, I can’t help but wonder whether, if an election was soon approaching, Eby might have acted or at least reacted differently on BC United allegations that NDP MLA Spencer Herbert has been mostly “living” in Victoria …not in his Vancouver riding …for three years …and had run up “a $70,000-dollar bill at the taxpayers’ expense” to travel back and forth. (You can read about that, and Herbert’s explanation here: https://globalnews.ca/news/9674517/spencer-chandra-herbert-expense-questions/.) If Eby were not holding on to power without seeking a public mandate, the voters in Herbert’s riding could have a say on both the charges and their MLAs defence. h.o)
Well welcome back Harvey. You certainly have started your return with a “hot topic”. It was rather boring while you were gone.
I vote with Not Sure. Agree with his opinion as out lined in the opening statement.
I’m fine with Eby being Premier until the next election date. Voted for my MLA in the last election and just because the NDP has a new leader, doesn’t mean I should have to go vote for a new MLA. Whomever is the leader of a political party, turns into the Premier.
Yes, Horgan is much preferred by most people because he was not only good at his job but he was personable and it came through when you saw him on t.v.
Eby appears to have the support of the NDP MLAs so he is good to go for the remainder of the term. If they weren’t they could always pull a “B.C. Lieberal”, when a number of MLAs presented Gordon Campbell with a letter asking him to move along, which he did.
any how its fun to watch Falcon up on his pins in the leg. carrying on about Eby and the NDP. Most of the problems Falcon is complaining about all started while his party, B.C. Lieberals were in office and they didn’t do much. (The provincial health officer declared a medical emergency due to the fent. crisis what did Christy Clark do? Nothing. business as usual.) Some may not like Eby’s “solutions” but the NDP has the majority and is government. Its no reason to call an election nor is it legally required.
(Response: Of course, it’s very easy to accept a designated new leader (Premier or Prime Minister) who fails to allow voters to endorse or reject him/her IF you like them, their party and their policies. Those who support autocratic rulers and dictators around the world would understand and agree. But democracy demands more: a MANDATE from the voters … especially when a new leader introduces/adopts NEW policies …as Eby has clearly done …without EVER putting his leadership ideas to the people. I doubt you felt so magnanimous with your patience to wait “until the next election date” when Christy Clark became leader and Premier under the Liberals! h.o)
If David Eby would win an election now, I’d like to wait a little longer so that BC can get rid of the overly ideological and big government socialists. Am I a big fan of Kevin Falcon? No, I’m not, but he’s better than David Eby.
John Horgan was an ineffective premier. He lacked a real vision for the province and didn’t represent the province well. Yes, he got along with the incompetent Justin Trudeau, but that certainly did not make him a good premier.
(Response: That’s why I think BC United have not made a really big deal about Eby hanging on to power …although the voters have NEVER given him a mandate as Premier: Falcon and party strategists probably know Eby would win a vote now …but the longer he rules, the more mistakes he might make and thereby increase their own chances. But I don’t base my stance on those same calculations: mine are based on the peoples’ RIGHT to accept/reject a mandate for any new elected leader, regardless of party. h.o)
I don’t agree with your position, “democracy demands more……”. As out lined by others here, there are plenty of e.g.s of new people taking over as a leader of a country, state, province, etc. without a vote. The U.S.A. has the most famous one, of Gerald Ford becoming President. There are countries in Europe which are democracies which has switched leaders without going to the ballot box.
one could argue these are not new policies but rather simply extensions of exsisting policies. If a government decides there is a problem and goes to the polls with a “solution” but it does’t work, and they change leaders and the new leader has another approach is it really such a big shift that we need an election. No, its simply another approach, same problem which the party campaigned on to solve.
When Clark became “premier” I didn’t expect an election. Wasn’t happy she was leader and new premier, but that was simply because I didn’t think she would be any good at the job. Thought of her as just another Campbell with another “look”
If Eby was doing everything you have suggested in your posts would you then have a different opinion?
(Response: The US electoral system is quite different from the Parliamentary system: in the US, people vote DIRECTLY for the President and his successor in the case of death or resignation is quite clear right from the start; under our system, the leader is chosen by the party. I believe that makes it all the more important for ANY new leader (even if they are terrific and have done everything I suggest in the Blog) still need to seek a PUBLIC mandate at an early date. I also find it somewhat curious when anyone who thinks Eby should serve out the NDP’s term … and yet, defended Horgan’s decision to BREAK an agreement he would do exactly that …and called an EARLY election! h.o)
The first order of business for any government is to stay in office. Eby is doing that.
Would Eby win an election? don’t know, haven’t seen any polls but Falcon was part of the B.C. Lieberal government when there were a lot of “fun and games”.
Some may still be pissed about Eby’s years with the Pivot Legal Society, but that was years ago and there is a whole new demographic in the province who is voting. I think his years at Pivot is old news. Some didn’t like what he did, but there were principles of law at stake and some one has to defend that, even if it is unpopular.
(Response: You are correct: “The first order of business for any government is to stay in office.” BUT, the first order of the citizens (and the media!!!) is to ensure those in office respect our democratic principles and ensure that they seek a mandate for their leadership, their policies, their agenda. It’s too dangerous to just hand ANY leader power without a public mandate! h.o)
you are so correct there Harvey.
we all have a role to play in this “game” of politics and rights.
If we follow your logic, then the bad taste of the Campbell Liberal regime is long ago forgotten as well.
Eby is simply a technocrat doing what technocrats do best, retain power and Falcon is a yesterday’s politician and many have forgotten BC Rail and other misadventures.
The next election will be about taxes and the government’s lavish spending because many of us, due to inflation, are seeing our annual incomes shrink, while politicians and friends of the NDP (Unions) are getting generous wage hikes.
The longer Eby waits, the block that tends to vote (those over 50) will vote with their wallets and from my experience, those 30 and under will not vote or may opt for Green because they do not see any redeeming features of both the NDP and Falcons United.
Just as an aside, as someone fast approaching 70, I am seeing scenes from the “dirty thirties” which my parents described to me when I was growing up.
We have tent cities and lawlessness all around, murder is now almost a daily event; taking transit is more and more like a game of Russian Roulette, and we have soup kitchens to feed those who are so poor they cannot afford food. Yet I see no policy from any politcal party to address this. I am call this generation of kids the “Lost” generation because they are lost in an era where politicians ruled by dictatorship, ignoring the oppressed. The NDP or Liberals in BC are tarnished with this and do not get me started on the federal scene, but the next provincial election may start a new age of very unhappy events, where protesting will become violent simply because the government is deaf to all, except their narrow base.
Eby is just following the old NDP meme, you can fix anything by increasing taxes.
It is all going to end badly.
This is actually an interesting topic on an academic level. On a practical level, most British Columbians likely don’t care.
First of all, there is no legal obligation, either written or based on tradition or precedent that requires Eby to call an election after some set number of days so your use of autocratic, anti-democratic, and dictatorship is a bit hyperbolic.
But, SHOULD the law be changed to ensure that in the future a similar Christy Clark or David Eby would be required to call an election. How exciting would a referendum on this topic be? If the law were changed I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. But if you were to ask me if Eby, Clark, Sunak etc should be required to call an election I would say no. I don’t see the need for an election. So we disagree. No big deal. Happens all the time. (lol) And to be clear my reason is that we vote primarily for a political party. We will have a chance to judge Eby (the NDP specifically) in October of 2024 – at the latest. I think an election before that date is unnecessary. But that is just me.
Great discussion for a political science class though so with the help of google.
Ford being president for over two years without ever receiving a single vote is weird enough, but how did Nancy Pelosi or Kevin McCarthy get selected as House Leader. How did Chuck Schumer or Mitch McConnel get selected as senate leader. They are voted in after the election by the elected members of the house or senate. When someone votes Republican they might assume that McCarthy would be leader if Republicans won the house but there was no guarantee. Rishi Sunak was selected as PM not by a vote of thousands of members of the Conservative Party at some convention like Clark and Eby were, but by the 650 members of the House of Commons. After Johnson lost the confidence of the House, Truss was selected and she in turn lost the confidence of the House. In both cases, the Conservatives held a majority and still Conservatives were dumped. Note that the Conservatives were not defeated on a confidence vote just the leaders.
Just for fun, I googled France. As I understand it Macron, as President selects the Prime Minister. He can select anyone he wants, (even someone who has not won a seat) but that person must have the confidence of the French National Assembly. Sometimes a President has had to select a person from a rival party.
Technically our head of state is the King (weird saying that) represented by a governor general or in the provinces a lieutenant governor. That person picks the PM or premier, by tradition the leader of the party with the most seats in the House or Legislature. As long as the person can maintain the confidence of the parliament, they are good to go until the next required election. Some people may not like it but do you think there is any overwhelming support to change this by the general public.
Fun discussion though.
(Response: This is rare: I agree completely with your entire first paragraph; last one too. And, as I said, I believe Eby would win any election held now …and I would not even rule out voting NDP (although I am really looking for better treatment, benefits and considerations for working middle class taxpayers and retired seniors. ) And when I was working, I personally liked Eby and always enjoyed interviewing him. But it really bothers me to see ANY politician holding a TOP office anf introducing policy changes and even new taxes etc. without seeking/receiving a public mandate for his or her platform, ideas or personal ascension. h.o)
From my knowledge from many years ago and some frank discussions with politicians, some time ago, the problem may rest with the tradition that Parliamentary law was by convention or by common use over a long period of time.
In Canada, convention has been usurped for the Americanization of law which means there must be a law to hold politicians to account and not convention.
I believe Gordon Campbell used this excuse when refused to recognize the 2 NDP MLA’s as an official opposition. parliamentary convention would have deed the two NDP members as an official opposition because a parliamentary government must have an opposition to work, but Campbell got his way and I think has set the course that Eby is following today.
That being said, Eby is just buying votes and everywhere he goes he drops a couple of million here and a couple a million there for photo-ops and 10 second sound bites, yet the milque-toast media say very little. That Whrrrrr I here in the distance is the likes of Rafe Mair and Jack Webster spinning in their graves.
Maybe it’s time for David Eby to show some chutzpah and find out what really happened with this BC housing situation.
I’m not talking about the politically expedient solution where everything is glossed over but the one where maybe some heads roll and concrete steps are taken to make sure our tax dollars are definitely being put to good use.
Maybe everything has been above board but it seems to smell a bit right now, from my perspective.
Maybe then it would show that he’s worthy of the position, at least until the next election. Who knows, it may even help out some seniors and/or the less fortunate with their own living situations in the meantime.
This is off topic, Daniel has a point there. The mess with the housing is awful. Its one of the reasons I don’t like non profits or for that matter, profit driven entities, delivering government services. If its government money it ought to be administered by the government and its employees. Those S.R.O.s are disgusting and it was our taxpayer dollars which continued to go to Attira????? That is frequently the problem with the contracting out of government services, not enough over sight and egos. The non profits all are defending their turf and some take that very seriously. there needs to be a coheisive strategy in the province and a standard for all of this type of housing.
given some of these SROs are sitting on incredibily expensive land, perhaps it is time it is sold and new housing built elsewhere or the buildings gutted and rebuilt, but to continue in this manner, yikes! There also needs to be better management of the tennents in the SROs. Seniors with disabilities ought not to be housed in areas with a high crime rate.
Eby wont go to the polls anytime soon. He was the guy in control of BC Housing, that scandal is just about to egg his face. Harry Lali is now in Falcon’s camp due to the massive disconnect seen by rural residents, province wide. The open air drug bazaar in downtown Vancouver is about to explode due to the legalization of possession of small amounts of cocaine & other drugs. Just wait til fall when the junkies nationwide finally realize they can winter in a hotel in BC and get high without worrying about getting possession charges, just wait. Now the FN leaders have ejected the past head of BC Housing from their development group redeveloping the land SW of the Burrard bridge (a suspect project from conception and not remotely one in the interests of the general public whatsoever).
These issues which all compound the concerns of the urban, voting taxpayers are threatening the urban support of today’s, Eby ran government!
Eby should have gone to the polls the second he was anointed by his party, his fortunes are plummeting by the second, it’ll be tough to put any lustre on this turd going forward.
(Response: The longer Eby rules (not under an elected mandate as Premier) the the more vulnerable he will become to criticism, questions, scandals and doubts … and the longer Falcon and BC United will have to take advantage of his/NDP vulnerabilities and establish credibility as an alternative. h.o)
BC should have kept the fixed election dates that the NDP decided to ignore. The NDP are the party of climate change hysteria, historical revisionism that praises the natives and criticizes everything the Europeans did, punitive taxes for those who are successful, policies that are very soft on crime and legalization of drugs that makes the government look like a drug cartel.
If Kevin Falcon highlights all the disastrous policies of the NDP, he has a chance. With any luck, he might read my free advice here. Remind voters that the NDP is the party of big government and the radical left. BC needs a change.
It’s important to mention that John Horgan, David Eby’s predecessor, showed little respect for democracy when he invented a weak reason for tearing up the agreement he had with the Green Party and called a vote. The public made it clear to pollsters that it didn’t want an election, but John Horgan didn’t care. Once the election was called, though, most British Columbians decided they didn’t want to change governments in the middle of a pandemic. According to Vaugh Palmer, the Liberals ran an incompetent campaign under a weak leader.
Also significant is that the cabinet of John Horgan was informed of a serious geotechnical problem with the multi-billion-dollar site C project, but John Horgan decided to start a review that covered up the problem until after the election. Let me be clear. He wasted taxpayer dollars with a review that accomplished nothing. It merely delayed the bad news connected to the site C project until after the election because he was much more concerned with his own interests than those of the people of British Columbia.
Unfortunately, his self-centred decisions set a precedent for future governments to completely ignore the fixed election dates if the conditions are optimal for an act of political self-interest. Of course David Eby could return to fixed election dates, but I doubt he will. He’s a politician, and like most politicians, his number one goal is to remain in power. Maybe the NDP should change its name because it’s not very new and it’s not very democratic.
This is an uniformed comment, like many in here.
He fired the entire Board, and Atira gets no more new contracts.
What more do you want him to do, for goodness stakes?
This is very proactive compared to the quiescence previously shown for complete incompetence.
Maybe something is really going to start getting done on the “missing middle”, and maybe housing for some of the hopeless cases as well. (Look out if you are in a nice SFD like me in prime location on 12,000+ sf)