As we head into the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears the relationship between the BC NDP government and the BC Liberals is returning to its traditional cantankerous level.
The days of the two parties working together in non-partisan ways went goodbye when the provincial election was held last fall.
However, the opening week of the B.C. legislature session revealed a BC Liberal opposition that is more aggressive in its attacks and more questioning of public health policy. Whether this is a good move on their part remains to be seen.
Question period last week occasionally sounded like the ones we experienced before the pandemic shut down so much political debate and theatre.
At one point, every BC Liberal MLA who stood up to ask questions ensured they slipped the word “incompetent” at least once into every question, attaching it to the government’s performance in general and to whichever cabinet minister was being asked something.
Speaker Raj Chouhan took the opposition to task after question period, voicing his displeasure at these vocal orchestrations. We shall see whether his pleas for calmer and nicer discourse will be heeded.
But considering the heckling that went on when the tables were reversed and the NDP was on the attacking opposition side, I don’t expect things to cool down much.
And the BC Liberals seemed to score some points by attacking the NDP government’s lack of response when it comes out to helping such public institutions as the PNE and various markets, fairs and rodeos.
The BC Liberals are navigating some trickier terrain in their increasing attacks or criticism of various public health measures.
Under former party leader Andrew Wilkinson, the BC Liberals worked closely with the government and health officials during the pandemic and rarely voiced any criticism of health protocols.
Recently, though, the BC Liberals have criticized the low rapid-testing numbers for COVID-19, the safe school re-start plan, the time it is taking to determine who is designated an essential service worker in order to get an earlier vaccine, as well as the communications associated with moving the second vaccine dose to four months after the first.
None of these measures was dreamt up by the NDP government. Instead, all are policies devised by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and her team. It is not as if Health Minister Adrian Dix or his cabinet colleagues are setting the public health rules.
As the vaccination plan begins to roll out, it will be interesting to see how often the BC Liberals pounce on the inevitable mistakes, hiccups and genuine screw-ups that will surely occur as we try to jab needles in the arms of more than four million British Columbians in a little more than four months.
Henry and her team – or public health officials anywhere – are certainly not immune from criticism on some issues. However, political parties walk a narrow tightrope when it comes to critiquing policies based on science and the experts in a medical specialty such as public health.
We shall see whether the BC Liberals continue to walk that tightrope and, if so, whether they can keep walking it without falling off.
Keith Baldrey is chief political reporter for Global BC.
