Premier John Horgan鈥檚 explanation of why he hasn鈥檛 got around to calling a byelection in Kelowna West brought to mind the farewell remarks by the previous MLA from Kelowna West.
Former premier Christy Clark鈥檚 throne speech last summer was short on logic, a touch self-absorbed and disintegrated under scrutiny. Horgan鈥檚 justification for subsequently shutting those Okanagan constituents out of his crucial first legislative sitting falls just as short as she did.
Her speech failed, and she quit the seat Aug. 4 after her government fell. Horgan has let the matter of letting people pick a successor slide since then.
His rationale in a media scrum this week was just like the Okanagan weather 鈥� cold and cloudy. He said he鈥檚 鈥渃ommitted to holding a byelection within the time the Constitution Act provides [six months].鈥�
So he鈥檚 promising to obey the law. Reassuring, but widely assumed to be a given.
He said his minority government means 鈥渨e have additional responsibilities in the legislature than we would have normally.鈥�
Sounds as if he could use a hand. Why not call the byelection and see if they can win the seat?
鈥淲e鈥檝e been pretty busy.鈥�
All he has to do is dictate a one-line cabinet order and sign it. No one expects him to campaign extensively.
Also offered was the excuse that Christmas is coming.
It鈥檚 a valid point, but he鈥檚 the one who ran the clock right into the Christmas season.
It can鈥檛 possibly be called until early January now, which would produce an MLA for the riding by mid-February.
But waiting until the last possible day on Feb. 4 isn鈥檛 out of the question. That would leave the riding unrepresented through the first few weeks of the next session, when confidence votes come up.
It鈥檚 pretty clear that in a 41-41 house with his government hanging on the support of the three Greens, the political arithmetic is a lot more important than the principles of fair representation the NDP is going on about while debating the bill for a referendum on a new voting system.
No premier would admit that publicly. But Horgan goes further and denies there鈥檚 even a problem.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檙e being cut out at all. We鈥檙e having a referendum next November and there鈥檒l be plenty of time to debate that. What we鈥檙e debating in the legislature now is the process to bring that forward.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe that citizens are being denied representation 鈥� I鈥檓 confident the people of Kelowna West will feel represented by the outcome and they will be full participants next October, November.鈥�
But they have no one representing their views on the process for the referendum. So of course they鈥檙e shut out.
Citing the lumber dispute, the fires and the Site C decision, he said: 鈥淚鈥檝e got a lot on my plate right now. I think the citizens of Kelowna West will cut me some slack if I get to calling a byelection in the next few weeks rather than today.鈥�
Calling byelections is the premier鈥檚 prerogative, and he鈥檚 intent on abusing it as much as Clark did. As noted here this week, she delayed some byelections almost to the maximum extent for no good reason. But when she needed a seat, she called them much more quickly.
It would be just another example of gamesmanship, except for one thing: The crucial bill on which Kelowna West is shut out is about a referendum on proportional representation.
It鈥檚 the most important political change in more than 60 years, and while the NDP is harping on the importance of fair representation, it is shutting one riding out of the debate on how to conduct it. It鈥檚 simply because they presume a vote would reduce their slim edge in the house by one.
Green Leader Andrew Weaver was asked about the delay and made it clear he doesn鈥檛 think it鈥檚 an issue.
Driving toward proportional representation 鈥� a dream come true for the Greens 鈥� is the key part of the confidence agreement, and that comes before all else.
Whatever the NDP and Greens come up with next year on the matter of fair representation, keep in mind they set the groundwork while deliberately denying 45,000 voters any representation at all.
That鈥檚 the way it looks from here.
But as the premier invited reporters to do: 鈥淒raw your own conclusions.鈥�
