Skeena MLA on Trust, Accountability and Transparency of NDP government as pre budget discussion gets underway

Skeena MLA Ellis Ross was back in the Legislature this week
speaking to the NDP government's Budget of Supply bill
(Image from the Legislature video of Monday session)

The process of approval of how the British Columbia moves forward with governance and delivery of it's range of COVID programs is making for the topic of the week in the British Columbia Legislature. 

With Skeena MLA Ellis Ross taking some of the lead on Monday in at the discussion towards the Bill of Supply as it is known, the document that will authorize the extensive spending plans for the NDP government of Premier John Horgan.

"We're talking about $13.4 billion of B.C. taxpayers' money, and government wants us to believe that this is just routine. Well, I am a sophomore. I'm not a rookie anymore, but I do know this is not routine. 

Even where I come from, back in my chief and council days, this was not routine. Council was never given hundreds of millions of dollars with no justification. We had to present a budget. We had to debate the budget  ...  

I've got to go back and tell my constituents in Skeena, who actually re-elected me, and tell them I have no idea what the government is going to spend $13.4 billion on. 

I don't have a clue. I'm sorry. 

I can tell you they talk about agricultural support, affordable housing, but they're not going to prove it."

Speaking in the Legislature, Mr. Ross explored themes of trust of government by British Columbians and how he has concerns over how the current government is approaching the goals of transparency and accountability that are vital for the province.

Recounting the early days of LNG, the Skeena MLA outlined how even as his days as a chief Councillor with the Haisla Nation, it impacted on his decision to seek elected office and how he views the role of government.

I went to report to all my community members in Terrace, Kitimat, Vancouver, Prince Rupert. Every message I got back was: "We trust you." 

And I pleaded with them. I begged them. I told them in public: "Please don't trust me. Verify what I'm telling you. Ask me questions. Ask me the tough questions. Write to me. This is your money. This is your future. I do appreciate the trust, but I'm not going to be here forever." 

The problem I had as chief and council ... I did not have the continuity or the corporate memory to leave behind me when I left. I tried as much as I could to build that structure, to duplicate what I saw here in the B.C. Legislature, but I couldn't do it. I didn't have enough time. 

You've got the structure. B.C.'s citizens and taxpayers, you have the structure, the continuity, the corporate memory. You also have the principles of transparency and accountability built into this place. And now we're talking about throwing it all away. 

This might be minor. But in the grand scheme of things, if this keeps going the way it's going, this is not going to be a very good province to live in, if you can't trust your government. And I do question how this government actually doesn't like the principles of transparency and accountability. 

The MLA used the negotiations with LNG Canada as a reference point towards his theme and how the then NDP opposition approached the topic of development of the project and how those times have framed their current experiences as government.

"The NDP are always claiming that the Liberals only appeal to the elite and the rich people of B.C., yet they give the biggest tax breaks to one of the biggest projects in B.C. That, to me, wasn't looking out for the little guy. 

But anyway, that's the first time that I saw the NDP government actually try to override the principle of transparency and accountability — when they tried to slip in a clause that said no longer would major agreements have to be brought to this Legislature. 

Thankfully, we beat the NDP government on the vote. Thankfully, the Green Party, just before the vote, left the room, and we won that vote. 

I don't think British Columbians understand the bullet that they dodged when you're talking about a government that negotiates a $40 billion agreement, gives all kinds of tax breaks, and they did not want to bring it to this Legislature. There's more projects coming down the pike. 

Chevron has still got to come through — another multi-billion-dollar project. Nisga'a has just recently announced that they're putting their multi-billion-dollar project back on the table again. 

I think the citizens of B.C. have a right to see what their government is negotiating when they're talking about multi-billion-dollar projects and the tax breaks that come out of it. 

That was the first time I saw this NDP government try to thumb its nose at transparency and accountability. 

The other one was proportional representation — just recent history. 

The NDP government and the Green Party really wanted it so badly. They throw this information out there to the B.C. citizens, but they can't explain it. They can't describe it. 

That is scary, til you start to add this all up, and you're starting to see a government that actually just wants free rein on the finances of British Columbia."

Towards the budget process and the Bill of Supply under discussion in the Legislature the Skeena MLA observed that the government bill in the end still leaves many questions and how the government's presentation of the financial plan is trying to over-ride the principles of governance.

I've heard the criticism. I've read the criticism of my colleague from Vancouver-Quilchena — that he didn't do enough to criticize government, that he didn't hold them accountable enough for COVID. 

But it was under his recommendation that I decided: "That , yes, I'm going to listen to my leader and just say yes. I've got to put down my political ammunition, and I've got to vote in favour of what the government is proposing." 

Given what we were going through back then, I'd probably do it again, because we have never seen anything like this in our lifetime. The last time when we saw something on a worldwide scale was probably World War II. 

In fact, in ten years, we'll all be asking ourselves, hopefully: "Where were you when the COVID crisis happened?" 

It's historic. I don't blame my party. So I don't blame my leader for us agreeing to work together with the government, because at the time, it was the right thing to do. 

This is not the right thing to do right here: what we're doing right here, right now. 

We've had enough time to assess the damage done by COVID, not only to our economy but to our society. We know that people are suffering in care homes and dying. 

We know there are certain ethnic minorities that are suffering more than others, certain age groups that are suffering more than others. We know how hard it is now to roll out a vaccine plan. We know it. 

So, the government can't keep hiding behind that excuse ... 

For the record, I do support the government doing more to address COVID coming out of this. I do support that. Without a doubt, I do support the idea of making sure that the lights are left on until the full budget is presented and then voted on and approved. 

But I don't support the government just giving out a one piece of paper, saying: "Give us $13.4 billion, and we're not going to tell you how we're going to spend it." I don't support that; I can't. 

That's not what the people of Skeena elected me for. They wanted me to come down here and understand the process,  go back and report. 

And normally, I don't even report on supply acts. I don't report that, because I understand it's the normal course of what we do down here. 

There's nothing really extravagant or controversial in supply acts. And we've done four of them, together in this House since I've been here, and I've never reported once to my constituents, because it's normal, routine business. 

This today, Bill 10, Supply Act, 2021, is not routine business. 

You've given us nothing to debate, except for the idea that you're trying to override the principles of governance."

You can review the full presentation in the Legislature from the minutes of Monday's session here, as well as through the Legislature Video archive starting at 540PM of the afternoon session.

For more notes on the work of the Skeena MLA at the Legislature see our archive page here.