The Members of the British Columbia Legislature will answer the call back to work today, as the Fall Session, short as it will be gets underway, the 10 AM start to the fall tour is set to bring no shortage of sub plots to the NDP government's formal agenda of work.
The Legislature resumes with the Speaker's Office still under somewhat of a cloud of controversy, we last left the MLA's in May with those on the Liberal side rising one by one to proclaim their lack of confidence in the stewardship of Speaker Darryl Plecas.
And with the Speaker's office still the focus of any number of investigations and reviews, the word that the Auditor General resigned her position shortly after delivering her report on spending in the office, has certainly caught a few eyes, even if as she notes her departure was for personal reason.
Add in the retirement of one of the principles of the drama of last year around Speaker Plecas and it's a safe bet that the Liberals will be returning to their view of the Speaker's precinct as that of one of some chaos.
Premier Horgan has other problems as well, Friday brought the surprising announcement that Citizens' Services Minister Jinny Sims has stepped down from her position, that while her office is under investigation by the RCMP along with the appointment of a Special Prosecutor.
The announcement of her departure was handled in true take out the trash style, released by the government shortly after 5 PM on a Friday; wedged in between a string of celebratory notices about Excellence in Education in the province, with the NDP no doubt hoping that the Sims notes would be lost by the time Monday came around.
Also of intrigue this morning will be an announcement from BC Green Party leader Andrew Weaver, who noted on Saturday that he would be making a "major announcement" prior to the start of the Fall session, with the Globe and Mail suggesting that he will be stepping down as leader of the party, but retaining his seat in the legislature, which should stave off any fears of the government falling for now.
Even with all of that to contend with, the news cycle of the summer months will set some of the narrative for Mr. Horgan, his cabinet and backbenchers.
Expect the Liberals to take aim at the NDP's handling of the forestry crisis, as well as the NDP's redirection of rural dividend funding to support their forestry rescue package.
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| It's back to her Legislature office and Desk in the chamber today for North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice |
Then there's the long, stumbling roll out of Uber and Lyft, which are major issues for the urban areas of the province; add on a growing swell of opposition towards the new ICBC premium pricing plans and the Fall session may be as stormy in the Legislature as the BC coast is outside.
All of that comes as Finance Minister Carole James begins her work towards crafting a new budget for delivery in 2020; with Ms. James already telegraphing some of the challenges that the province be facing as we head towards the February budget time.
Those are just a few of the items that once on the back burner, will now move towards a boil as the debates, discussions and photo ops of the Fall session get underway.
It all gets underway this morning at 10, you can view the opening round from the Legislature website.
The Fall session will see the MLA's back to their desks until November 28th, with two week long breaks over the Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day periods
For more items of note on the political scene out of Victoria see our archive page here, as well we offer a wider overview of events from Victoria through our political blog D'Arcy McGee.
You can catch up on all the off season action from that archive here.
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