For a fragile minority government that could lose power if next springsa国际传媒檚 budget votes coincide with a bad flu season, the John Horgan sa国际传媒淕reeNDPsa国际传媒� folks certainly have a sweeping vision for your future.
Horgan and B.C. Green leader Andrew Weaver rolled up in an electric Kia Soul the other day to announce that British Columbia will allow only zero-emission vehicle sales for its union-made roads sa国际传媒� starting in 2040.
This proclamation came before General Motors used electric drivetrains as a pretext to rationalize its aging North American auto assembly operations by closing five plants. Perhaps our co-premiers will summon GM executives to set up a Volt plant here in carbon-free B.C. by, say, 2030?
The zero-emission car announcement was one of several events that didnsa国际传媒檛 get much attention, what with the Victoria cops visiting the legislature to perp-walk two senior administrators out, without a hint of a charge.
In October we had an announcement about B.C.sa国际传媒檚 Poverty Reduction Strategy, which isnsa国际传媒檛 done yet. The legislation wonsa国际传媒檛 be released until February. What we got were bold targets, a 25 per cent reduction in poverty within five years, 50 per cent for child poverty.
At least Ottawa has finally figured out how to define the sa国际传媒減overty line,sa国际传媒� after many years of public sector unions distorting cost-of-living statistics to paint B.C. in particular as a Third World hellhole.
The Justin Trudeau government needed a definition for its own Poverty Reduction Act, unveiled to national media fanfare in November. Itsa国际传媒檚 nowhere near done. So far itsa国际传媒檚 mostly targets, 20 per cent below 2015 levels by 2020 and 50 per cent by 2030.
You may notice that poverty targets sound like the last two decades of greenhouse gas targets, which have an unbroken record of failure not only in B.C. and Canada, but around the world.
And yes, the GreeNDP have new climate targets. They accepted that the bad old governmentsa国际传媒檚 2020 target wonsa国际传媒檛 be met, and they have a new one for 2030. Isa国际传媒檒l spare you the numbers, but itsa国际传媒檚 big, itsa国际传媒檚 bold and itsa国际传媒檚 off in the future. A new LNG-friendly B.C. Climate Action Strategy is imminent as well, or at least the announcement is.
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Horgan and Weaver inherited the highest carbon tax in North America, imposed during the now-ritually invoked 16 years of B.C. Liberal neglect. Finance Minister Carole James led an sa国际传媒渁xe the gas taxsa国际传媒� campaign in the 2009 election, but now the planetsa国际传媒檚 future depends on her devotion to sa国际传媒渇ightingsa国际传媒� sa国际传媒渃arbon pollutionsa国际传媒� with ever-increasing taxes diverted to things like giving away electricity for cars.
Horgansa国际传媒檚 latest proclamation, announced to hundreds of Indigenous leaders at their annual meeting with cabinet ministers in Vancouver, is that B.C. is about to be the first jurisdiction in North America to embrace the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Thatsa国际传媒檚 the one that guarantees sa国际传媒渇ree, prior and informed consentsa国际传媒� for any development affecting aboriginal territory, something politicians keep assuring us is not a veto.
And of course itsa国际传媒檚 nowhere near done, either in Ottawa or Victoria. Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould gave a speech to the same sa国际传媒渁ll chiefssa国际传媒� gathering in Vancouver two years ago, explaining this UN deal cansa国际传媒檛 simply be imposed on Canadian law.
Shesa国际传媒檚 a lawyer and member of the Kwagiulth people of the B.C. coast. Her father Hemas Kla-Lee-Lee-Kla (Bill Wilson) was one of the architects of aboriginal rights in Canadasa国际传媒檚 Constitution Act of 1982.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press Media. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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