Close X
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
ADVT 
National

The hallways look the same and where are the bathrooms, say B.C.'s newly elected MLAs

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Nov, 2024 11:19 AM
  • The hallways look the same and where are the bathrooms, say B.C.'s newly elected MLAs

A record number of first-time provincial politicians are about to descend on British Columbia's legislature, looking to make positive contributions for the province and trying to find the washrooms in the 127-year-old building.

Fifty-seven new members from three parties, New Democrats, B.C. Conservatives and Greens, were elected to serve first terms in the 93-seat legislature in B.C. last month. 

The number of new faces could be 56 if New Democrat Jodie Wickens isn't counted. She was elected in a 2016 byelection but subsequently defeated in the 2017 provincial election.

Voters in British Columbia elected 49 women, the first majority female legislature in provincial history.

The legislature's hallways exuded a first-day-of-school atmosphere last week as Premier David Eby's New Democrats, including his cast of newly elected MLAs, gathered for their first caucus meeting just hours after final counts from Elections BC confirmed a one-seat majority government for the NDP, pending two judicial recounts.

There were smiles, handshakes and hugs as the 47 elected New Democrats, including 18 new members, congratulated each other.

"It was definitely a really great feeling to be in the room with our caucus partners meeting everybody," said rookie MLA Diana Gibson, who won the Oak Bay-Gordon Head riding previously held by retired New Democrat Murray Rankin.

"It's certainly different coming in on your first day of work as an MLA," said Gibson, acknowledging there was a first day of school feeling "except with an incredible amount of honour and responsibility."

Of the NDP's new caucus, 29 are returning members of the legislature and 18 are newly elected, while 31 of them are women and 16 are men. 

Gibson, an entrepreneur, business leader and social planning advocate who has never held elected office, said the mix of new and experienced caucus members can produce results.

"That balance does create a new kind of energy," she said. "The new caucus coming in has some incredible bench strength and really great skills."

Debra Toporowski, the newly elected New Democrat for Cowichan Valley, who has previously been elected to local councils for Cowichan Tribes and the community of North Cowichan, said going to the legislature made everything "more real."

"I felt at home," she said. "I felt very comfortable. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work."

But the layout of the legislature building will take some getting used to, said Toporowski who needed directions to the washroom.

"Yes, I felt very welcomed by the staff," she said.

Gibson said navigating the legislature's halls will require some practice.

"Every hallway looks just like the last hallway. But the staff have been fantastic about giving directions," she said.

B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad said he expects his party's caucus to be sworn in on Nov. 12, days after the last of the ballot recounts. 

Elections BC said it would hold judicial recounts in the ridings of Surrey-Guildford and Kelowna Centre on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8. 

The B.C. Conservatives elected 44 members, 26 men and 18 women, pending the recounts.

"A year and a half ago we had, what, two per cent in the polls, and no MLAs," said Rustad. "It's quite an accomplishment for our party. I'm very proud of the team that has been elected and put together."

MLAs and party staff have been participating in virtual orientation sessions over the past week.

The legislature has also scheduled two days of in-person orientation sessions for Nov. 14 and 15, which will involve having all 93 MLAs from the three parties gathered together in the legislative chamber to take part in a mock sitting.

"It's an exciting time for us," said Legislature Clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd. "We're happy to help the members with all their needs as they establish their new offices and take on their new responsibilities."

But while many new MLAs are preparing to settle in at the legislature, others are packing up and moving out.

Staff and members of the former Official Opposition BC United were expected to vacate their offices by Friday evening to make room for the B.C. Conservatives.

"It feels surreal," said former BC United press secretary Andrew Reeve. "I've been part of this building for almost eight years of my life. Next week it's a place that's not my home anymore."

BC United Leader Kevin Falcon suspended the party's campaign in late August and urged party members and candidates to support the B.C. Conservatives in a move to prevent a split vote on the centre right that would benefit the NDP.

Eby said his early priorities involve swearing in a new cabinet, recalling the legislature for a brief sitting and electing a Speaker.

He said the date for the sitting has not yet been set.

MORE National ARTICLES

30 tonnes of chemicals seized in B.C. destined for drug production: RCMP

30 tonnes of chemicals seized in B.C. destined for drug production: RCMP
Mounties in British Columbia say they've seized more than 30 tonnes of chemicals that investigators believe were to be used in the production of methamphetamine. A statement says the Clandestine Laboratory Enforcement and Response Team executed a search warrant on a rural property in Enderby, B.C., in the North Okanagan region, on Sept. 11, and found a Bobcat loader that was reported stolen in Kelowna in 2021, as well as the chemicals.

30 tonnes of chemicals seized in B.C. destined for drug production: RCMP

B.C. NDP unveils election platform, focusing on 'tough challenges' and John Rustad

B.C. NDP unveils election platform, focusing on 'tough challenges' and John Rustad
The platform launch on Thursday also prompted Eby to reject the ideological concerns of another critic: multibillionaire Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, who has posted a sign outside his home in Eby's Vancouver-Point Grey constituency saying "the NDP is 'Communist.'"

B.C. NDP unveils election platform, focusing on 'tough challenges' and John Rustad

B.C. court rejects attempt to stop thousands of trees from being cut in Stanley Park

B.C. court rejects attempt to stop thousands of trees from being cut in Stanley Park
The B.C. Supreme Court will not grant an injunction to stop tree removal in Vancouver's Stanley Park after a group claimed the work was doing more harm than good.  The court ruled this week that the challenge raised "novel" issues about whether park users were owed a duty of care by the city and park board, but it would be "unlikely" that a trial would establish such a duty. 

B.C. court rejects attempt to stop thousands of trees from being cut in Stanley Park

Woman arrested after 34-year-old man stabbed to death in Vancouver

Woman arrested after 34-year-old man stabbed to death in Vancouver
Police in Vancouver say they're investigating a homicide after a man was stabbed at a residential building in the city's Eastside. A statement from investigators says officers responded shortly after midnight Thursday. 

Woman arrested after 34-year-old man stabbed to death in Vancouver

Five arrested, released on 'strict conditions' after B.C. youth assault: RCMP

Five arrested, released on 'strict conditions' after B.C. youth assault: RCMP
Police say they have now arrested and subsequently released all five primary aggressors in a violent youth swarming captured on video in Kelowna. The Mounties say the attackers were among about 30 youth who were at Gyro Beach on Okanagan Lake during the attack on a girl, who sustained injuries.

Five arrested, released on 'strict conditions' after B.C. youth assault: RCMP

One dead in float plane crash in remote area of B.C.'s central coast

One dead in float plane crash in remote area of B.C.'s central coast
Police say one person is dead after a float plane crashed in a remote area along British Columbia's central coast. Mounties in the Vancouver Island community of Port Hardy, southwest of the crash site, say the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria notified the detachment of the crash on Wednesday night. 

One dead in float plane crash in remote area of B.C.'s central coast