Economic survival will dominate B.C.'s fall legislative session
B.C. members of the legislature are returning to Victoria for a brief fall sitting and there's likely to be just one big issue on the minds of politicians: how to brace the provincial economy for the impact of the global financial crisis.
According to Premier Gordon Campbell, the global crisis requires an immediate local response, and his government will table legislation to enact its 10-point plan including accelerated cuts in personal income taxes and small business taxes.
"Tomorrow, we want to provide families the certainty of their income tax cut," said Campbell.
"This is not going to be a business as usual time. It's a business that calls on us to recognize the world has changed and to protect the things that are important to families in British Columbia: that's why we are coming to the legislature," he said.
Reaction too slow, says NDP
The full scope of the fiscal outlook won't be fully revealed until Monday, when Finance Minister Colin Hansen tables the latest economic figures.
But NDP Leader Carole James said that information should have been presented before the MLA's sit down to debate the tax cuts.
"The fact that the Finance Minister had not come clean with what the fiscal update was like in British Columbia, what the economic conditions were like, when we are going into the legislature to debate a bill about spending taxpayer dollars, was completely irresponsible," said James on Thursday.
The legislature should have been recalled months ago, according to James. "The government only comes in when they decide they want to put something forward, when it's their agenda, not British Columbians' agenda. It shows their arrogance. They're out of touch," said James.
The legislature was originally scheduled to sit in October, but Campbell cancelled that sitting in early September, when his government announced it had no plans to pass new legislation this fall.
But that all changed when the global financial crisis hit, and the premier rolled out his 10-point plan on Oct. 23 and recalled the legislature for the short fall session.
James has also been critical of the time for debate the premier has allowed in the fall session. The house is only scheduled to sit for five days.
Two new NDP MLAs who won seats in the October byelections were swore into the legislature on Wednesday.