British Columbia's legislative session opens today amid what Premier David Eby describes as a time of "extraordinary change and uncertainty."
Lt.-Gov. Wendy Cocchia is scheduled to deliver the speech from the throne this afternoon, laying out the B.C. government's plan as looming U.S. tariffs threaten the Canadian economy.
One of the first orders of business for the legislature is to elect a Speaker, and Raj Chouhan was the only person to put up his name.
Chouhan was the previous Speaker in the last NDP government and the New Democrat MLA for Burnaby-New Westminster is expected to remain neutral except to vote in breaking a tie.
The NDP holds 47 seats and faces a large Opposition party for the next four years with the B.C. Conservative Party holding 44 seats.
The BC Greens elected two members who have agreed to support the NDP on confidence votes.
Eby said in a Family Day statement that today's speech from the throne will lay out the government's plan to defend British Columbians in these uncertain times and secure a brighter future for residents.
Colin Hansen, a former finance minister in the B.C. Liberal government and a member of the legislature from 1996 to 2013, says now should be a time for politicians to "park" partisanship.
Hansen says that the magnitude of the potential impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on B.C. means that members of the legislature need to put aside their differences and work together.
Opposition Leader John Rustad says key issues for his members during this session will be fentanyl, the borders and "what's going on with Trump."
House Leader Mike Farnworth told reporters last week the U.S. tariff threats are the "number 1 priority" facing the government, which clung to power with a one-seat majority in the fall election.
Hansen says the New Democrat government has been "saying some of the right things" but there needs to be an action plan.
“To give credit, I think there are some signals, like the energy projects that have been earmarked for fast tracking and possibly more to come, is a step in the right direction," Hansen said.
However, the current level of government spending is a "recipe for disaster," so getting the province back to a balanced budget should be a top priority, he said.
"The new Forests minister, I think, has been saying some of the right things about working with the private sector to ensure that we don't totally lose our forest sector in B.C."
The legislative assembly enters the first session in nine months, just days after the government cancelled the $1,000 grocery rebate, one of the NDP's flagship promises in last year's election.
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said Thursday that the government will also have to "revisit" its election vow for a middle-income tax cut in future budgets at a time that B.C. faces an "unpredictable" future.
The impact of Trump's threatened tariffs were impossible to predict, Bailey said.
Rustad has said that had the Conservatives won the election, he would have been in Washington back in November.
Canadian premiers visited Washington, D.C., last week to meet with U.S. lawmakers shortly after Trump delayed his plans for a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods and a 10 per cent levy on energy.
