KAMLOOPS — All the bargaining and deal-making in Victoria is good entertainment but, in the end, what difference will it really make to us way up here in the hinterlands?
The answer is, quite a lot.
Think about it. Kamloops has enjoyed having one or more MLAs at the cabinet table for most of the past 65 years. It was only during the short-lived Dave Barrett NDP government of the early 1970s that Kamloops hasn’t had a presence on the executive council, and even then, our MLAs were at least members of the governing party.
Names like Phil Gaglardi, Cathy McGregor, Art Charbonneau, Rafe Mair, Claude Richmond, Kevin Krueger, Todd Stone and Terry Lake have been there for Kamloops. They served in just about every portfolio going — environment, municipal affairs, social services, lands and parks, education, forests, highways, health, tourism, speaker of the House.
If NDP leader John Horgan becomes premier — and it’s looking more and more as if that will happen, if not sooner, then a little later — the streak is over. (So, by the way, is our record as the B.C. bellwether.)
Had the BC Liberals won a majority, it’s almost certain both Todd Stone and Peter Milobar could have looked forward to the next four years in cabinet. As it is, the backbenches beckon.
In an ideal world, it shouldn’t make any difference whether a riding’s MLA is in cabinet, or even whether the MLA is a member of the governing party.
But in the real world, having somebody who has the ear of the premier on a daily basis, knows every cabinet minister by first name, and is at the table for all the big decisions…. Well, let’s just say it can’t hurt.
Sure, when the dust settles, our MLAs will be able to stand on the other side of the House and rant and rave about the alleged failings of the government, but Kamloops is about to lose a lot of influence.
