PREMIER Christy Clark is nothing if not adept at reading public sentiment, so her throne speech announcement of a new stat holiday and her suggestion that the province's courts broadcast the trials of the Stanley Cup rioters are likely to be popular.
But political popularity is not more important than judicial process, which brings us to two key questions: why is a throne speech the appropriate communication tool between government and the courts, and why is discussion being limited to riot-related charges?
The concept of open courts suggests that the broadcast of trials should be supported. If that is the case, however, should the choice not be applied to all court proceedings? Philosophically, that may be true, but practically there would still need to be some controls in terms of protected identities and minors.
Then there is the question of unwanted publicity and witnesses who may be reluctant to testify knowing they might feature on Trial TV.
One other thorny issue is how the media might make selective use of such recordings.
There is a lot to discuss here - and that's all the throne speech should have said.
As for the new February stat, hereafter to be known as Christy Day, we don't subscribe to the negative sniffing about lost productivity. We suspect employees who track sick days and absenteeism may see those figures decline because of the newly legislated sliver of sunshine in the long dark, drag between Christmas and Easter.
We've long advocated for such a move and welcome it.
