Eby addresses reporters for first time after NDP clinches majority

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Premier David Eby cast a relieved figure Tuesday when he addressed reporters at the legislature, acknowledging the NDP faced an incredibly tough election challenge that resulted in the race not being called until nine days after final voting day on October 19.

Eby said he would be happy to work with the Greens as well as any Conservative MLAs on passing legislation, restating his comments on election night that the Conservatives were clearly able to speak to concerns held by British Columbians on affordability and public safety.

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He also commended the Greens for putting forward strong ideas on health care such as community health centres and the need to reduce bureaucracy within the system.

“When you have a close election like this, where the vote was often split between us and the Greens and the Conservatives very tightly in different communities across the province, I think the message for us is to hear that,” he said.

“To both be appreciative of the opportunity British Columbians are presenting us to deliver on that message that they sent to us, but also recognize that we’re going to need to work across the aisle on different initiatives.”

Eby said he would be speaking with the Greens Tuesday and hoped to be able to form a cabinet and either elect or acclaim a Speaker before the end of the year as part of a fall sitting. He clarified that he misspoke when saying earlier that there would be a fall session.

In terms of when that process will be completed, the premier said he is at the mercy of Elections B.C. and the length of time it takes to conduct mandatory recounts in Surrey-Guildford and Kelowna Centre.

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The flipping of Surrey-Guildford to the NDP on the final day of ballot counting Monday is what allowed the party to form a majority government. If it flips again to the Conservatives during the recount, Eby will be forced to make a deal with the Greens on either a vote-by-vote basis or through a confidence-and-supply agreement.

Asked about whether there is the possibility of a Conservative crossing the floor to serve as Speaker, which happened with B.C. Liberal MLA Darryl Plecas in 2017, Eby said he has been reaching out to Conservatives and even the two Green MLAs about the possibility.

“It’s an open invitation to any MLA to work with us. There are a number of ways that MLAs could work with us, to work for British Columbians. One of those ways is certainly as Speaker,” he said.

As for the cabinet, the premier faces a lack of rural representation in his caucus coming out of the election. Vernon-Lumby, two ridings in the Kootenays and North Coast-Haida Gwaii are the NDP’s only footing outside of the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.

Eby recognized this poses a challenge for his government and also is indicative of a growing rural-urban divide in B.C.

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“We need to govern for the entire province. We need to represent the entire province, and that’s what we’re going to do,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that we’re finding ways to reach out to and engage rural communities and make sure that they’re seeing themselves in the legislature as well.”

When questioned about policies, the premier repeated his commitments to get rid of the carbon tax if Ottawa removes the federal backstop and to expand the use of involuntary treatment for people with severe addictions.

He also said that there are no plans to bring back Land Act amendments at the present time and the government would be working hard to ensure communities are included in discussions around agreements with Indigenous nations.

One policy put forward by the Conservatives Eby said will be a non-starter is any change to the sexual orientation and gender identity modules used by teachers to help foster a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth.

“What I saw in the election was a number of people using an anti-bullying program to try to get political advantage using misinformation,” he said.

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“I do think there’s a responsibility on us to communicate and to work with parents, to address this misinformation and to make sure students are supported in schools.”

More to come

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