Vaughn Palmer: Conservatives trip a trap they laid for B.C. United

Article content

VICTORIA — The B.C. legislature convened Tuesday morning with B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad setting a trap for his rivals in B.C. United. Before long, they walked right into it, while the governing New Democrats looked on with glee.

It started with an unusual procedural motion. The Conservatives called for a recorded vote on the introductory reading of a proposed clean energy bill from the B.C. Greens.

Article content

Article content

First reading, as it is known, is almost always automatic. The bill will be added to the legislative agenda on a voice vote as a courtesy, even though bills from the opposition parties almost never make it beyond that stage.

But in this case Bruce Banman, the house leader of the Conservatives, called “division,” obliging the legislature clerks to record the vote on a member-by-member basis.

Straightaway the division bells were rung, summoning all MLAs to the chamber for the recorded vote.

The reasoning behind the move was not readily apparent. Green leader Sonia Furstenau, who introduced the clean energy bill, threw up her hands in bewilderment.

The mystery was compounded when the vote itself was taken and the B.C. Conservatives joined the other members of the house in allowing the bill to proceed. “Nemine contradicente,” announced the clerk of the legislature, Kate Ryan-Lloyd, invoking the procedural Latin for “unanimous.”

So the B.C. Conservatives called for a rare, recorded vote on first reading, then joined the other members of the house to support passage. Looking on from my seat in the gallery behind the Speaker, damned if I could figure out what was up.

Article content

Article content

Then Mike Farnworth, veteran NDP MLA and cabinet minister, caught my eye from where he was sitting on the government side and mouthed the words: “Wait for the next move.”

Sure enough Rustad was on his feet straightaway, moving first reading on a bill of his own. As he explained later, the Conservatives called for a recorded vote on the Green bill so as to get all MLAs into the house to discover where they stood on his bill.

Rustad’s proposed Fairness in Women’s and Girls’ Sports Act was provocative and intended as such, seeing as it targeted transgendered athletes.

“This bill provides that sports and athletic teams, events and tournaments that are publicly funded must be classified by sex, and it limits participation to participants of the biological sex that corresponds to the sex classification,” said Rustad.

“The Conservative party finds that requiring the designation of separate sex, specific athlete teams or sports is vital in order to maintain the fairness for women and girls’ athletic opportunities in B.C.

“I would urge all members of this house to vote in support of this legislation,” Rustad concluded, knowing that was unlikely to happen.

Article content

His game was evident. He wanted B.C. United to declare itself for or against his bill. If for, they would be following in his wake as they have done other times recently. If against, they would be on the other side of a wedge dividing right-of-centre voters.

Again division was called, and snap went the trap.

The New Democrats were scarcely disinterested observers in this showdown. NDP house leader Ravi Kahlon strode up and down the government benches, advising his members to disregard the usual courtesy of approving first reading, and instead vote against the bill on principle.

The two Green MLAs briefly left the chamber for a consultation, then came back to vote against the Conservative bill as well. They were joined by Selina Robinson and Adam Walker, the two ex-NDP MLAs now sitting as independents.

The B.C. United members voted with the Conservatives, albeit looking somewhat glum at having been forced into this position.

The tally was 27 in favour of first reading, 51 against. It was the first time a bill had been denied the courtesy of approval on first reading since 2017, when the New Democrats and Greens joined in delivering a coup de grace to Christy Clark’s dying B.C. Liberal government.

Article content

For Clark, those votes were unavoidable, being preludes to the confidence vote that ended her days as premier. That wasn’t the case on Tuesday.

The B.C. United members could simply have walked out in protest, signalling they had no intention of participating in a charade orchestrated by the Conservatives with the help of the New Democrats.

However, they remained at their posts.

B.C. United House leader Todd Stone denied my suggestion that he and his members had walked into a trap set by Rustad. He said his members voted for first reading out of respect for standard procedure in the house.

Their vote to allow the bill to proceed to the next stage was no different from their acquiescence on any number of government bills that they have no intention of supporting in the later stages of debate.

Rustad, riding higher in the opinion polls than B.C. United, had another good day. His former colleagues appear to be spooked by him and he knows it.

As for the New Democrats, they are doubtless working up an attack ad that will portray B.C. United and the Conservatives as right-wing mirror images of each other.

Article content

vpalmer@postmedia.com

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.

Article content