BC NDP anxious to move on beyond pandemic, but will pandemic hold back their Legislature agenda plans?

Monday afternoon saw the Legislature return to its duties, coming back from an Easter Break with a blue print of ambition for the NDP government of John Horgan, that as Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin relayed the government's plans for the spring, summer and beyond.

The Speech from the Throne touched on many elements of the current pandemic times, but also charted a course ahead with many familiar  themes, with more work ahead on reconciliation, improvements to health care, supports for business, developing more inclusive communities and expanding engagement on the environment.

As part of the release of the NDP's plans for the future, Premier Horgan took note fo the path travelled so far and how the pandemic remains a priority for the government.

“We have come a long way by looking out for each other and we can finally see the finish line in sight. But in a marathon, the final push is the most difficult. The threat of new variants means we cannot let down our guard, not when we are this close to the end. Our top priority will continue to be on keeping British Columbians safe while we get more people vaccinated and plan for brighter days ahead.”

That may be a topic of some debate with the return of the Legislature, last week we made note of the concerns of the Green Party, which sees the government's approach to pandemic response lacking in a number of areas.

The Liberal Party as well has started to chart their own course on challenging some of the government's moves of late, expressing their own concerns over the spiralling numbers of COVID case counts in the last few months and the scattered approach of a vaccine program, focusing on what they call the NDP government's lack of clarity and mixed messages.

The third wave of COVID could certainly deliver a detour for the Horgan government for its ambitious agenda, with increasing commentary and some push back being made by the media as well, who are starting to ask some hard questions on whether the NDP have done enough to reduce the impact of the coronavirus on the province.

The litany of plans noted by the Lieutenant Governor on Monday will no doubt be part of the focus for the NDP's Budget delivery of next week, a financial plan delayed by a few month as the government navigated the COVID situation and the many twists and turns that story has taken so far.

Some of the elements of the budget preparation by Finance Minister Selina Robinson were noted on Monday, the government's review of the day's commentary staking out the territory to be covered on Budget Day next week.

The upcoming budget will make health care better, while creating new opportunities for people, target help to businesses so they can grow and hire, and make record investments in infrastructure to create jobs and strengthen local communities.

You can review the full overview of the Throne Speech here.

How the opposition views the blue print will be part of the week in the Legislature and the debate of the document through the sessions in the days ahead.

For a look at how the provincial media has portrayed the government's plans see our Victoria Viewpoints archive page from our political blog D'Arcy McGee.

A look at the work of our regional MLAs at the Legislature can be found here.