Passing of Grace McCarthy symbolic as B.C. political uncertainty continues

Grace McCarthy was one of the most influential B.C. politicians from 1966 to 1994, and a trailblazer for women in politics. Her death Wednesday comes at a time when B.C. politics is in turmoil. She was one of the last living persons to have served in the cabinet of Premier W.A.C. Bennett, who first came to power the last time B.C. voters elected a minority government - in 1952.

It is symbolic that results of the closest election in B.C. history were finally confirmed on Wednesday, just hours before news of the death of Grace McCarthy became public.

A younger generation won’t know McCarthy’s name, but she played a key role in B.C. politics for many years and almost certainly blazed the trail for the current generation of female politicians. Her work in uniting the right after the NDP were elected in 1972 under Dave Barrett was absolutely critical to the future of the Social Credit Party and its ideological successor, the BC Liberals. She served as deputy premier under Bill Bennett. If (as party leader) she had defeated BC Liberal Mike de Jong in the crucial 1994 Matsqui byelection, the Socreds would likely still be around.

What makes the timing of her death so symbolic is that she was one of the last living people to have served in the cabinet of Premier W.A.C. Bennett, whose 20-year reign as premier began in 1952. That was the last time B.C. voters elected a minority government. He took the 19 seats voters gave to his upstart party (which had never before elected an MLA) and built that tentative result into six consecutive majority governments and a political dynasty which played a massive role in shaping modern B.C.

As of today, we still don’t know which party will form the next B.C. government. The BC Liberals won 43 seats in the May 9 election, final vote counts have now confirmed. The NDP won 41, the Green Party won three. The BC Liberals were just 1,566 votes ahead of the NDP in the province-wide vote, with 796,672 votes to the NDP’s 795,106. The Green Party picked up 332,387 votes.

No one knows for sure how discussions between the various parties will turn out. The Greens hold the balance of power; have built an impressive structure with plenty of innovative policy ideas, a highly-respected leader in Andrew Weaver and two other well-rounded MLAs; and are very open to talking to both of the other parties, seeing what they are willing to offer.

One thing they will get for sure – official party status, which gives them a bigger legislative budget. While the official number of MLAs technically required for such status is four, neither of the other parties will deny the Greens that status now. Longtime observers will remember that Gordon Campbell denied the NDP that status after the 2001 election, when the BC Liberals won 77 seats. The two NDP MLAs, Jenny Kwan and Joy MacPhail, were left scrambling to do their work as the lone members of the opposition with minimal resources.

The Greens will also get support for ridding B.C. politics of corporate and union donations. To be completely fair, and remove all big money from B.C. politics, they should also push for a complete ban on foreign money being used during and prior to elections, through third parties such as The Tides Foundation and Leadnow.ca. The effect of this money in the 2015 federal election has just become more public. Leadnow.ca in particular spent a large amount on third-party ads during the provincial election.

Both the NDP and BC Liberals are likely to agree with swift changes to electoral donation rules. A close look at just how much third-party money has come into the campaigns (and particularly the pre-campaign period) would also be worthwhile, to ensure that B.C. elections are fought with money which is raised in B.C., or perhaps other parts of Canada – but not funds from the U.S., China or other parts of the world.

The Greens also want proportional representation. The NDP are not opposed to that, but NDP leader John Horgan has correctly said that any change to the electoral system must be approved by voters in a referendum. The reasons why were outlined very well by longtime NDP consultant and strategist Bill Tieleman in a recent Tyee article, which is well worth reading.

BC Liberal leader Christy Clark says she also favours some form of electoral reform, although the BC Liberals never did anything to advance that cause under her watch as premier. When Campbell was premier, he did establish a Citizens’ Assembly to look at other forms of representation, and its recommendation for a form of transferable voting was endorsed by 57 per cent of voters in a 2005 referendum, but fell short of a required 60 per cent majority. A second vote on STV in 2009 was soundly defeated, in part due to a campaign against it which Tieleman was a key part of.

The Greens will also want to see action on climate change policies (notably boosting the carbon tax), affordable housing, child care and expanding the education system.

I expect the Greens will not join a formal coalition with either party. The party may sign an agreement not to defeat one of the other two parties on confidence and budget matters for a set term (likely 18 months to two years), thus confirming which party will take over as government. Other than that, I think they will proceed in the legislature on a vote-by-vote basis. This will give the party maximum strength and plenty of exposure. Given its small number of MLAs, it will consolidate its key position in the corridors of power.

A few other thoughts on the election:
 The BC Conservatives were very much paid back for the destruction the BC Liberals wrought on their party in 2012. While the BC Conservatives were in the midst of a convention under new leader John Cummins, and doing well in the polls, the BC Liberals poached John Martin, who had done very well in a recent Chilliwack byelection, from their ranks and sowed other dissent. The Conservatives ran many candidates in 2013 but got nowhere. This time, they ran fewer candidates in just a handful of ridings, and had no leader. However, in at least two of them – Courtenay-Comox and Maple Ridge-Mission – their candidates took enough votes to deny the BC Liberals victory. That proved to have a resounding effect provincially.

·         I loved hearing Weaver’s comments outside the legislature in Victoria, just after the final results were announced on Wednesday. I caught a radio version of his comments. The lack of visuals meant one had to concentrate on the words, and while he was speaking the birds were cheerfully singing in the background. It was a classic B.C. moment.