PETERS: Eby’s busy first week bolstered by unexpected surplus

A few days later, Eby unveiled changes to bail provisions and launched response teams to directly tackle repeat offenders.

Then, he tweaked rules on stratas in order to open up more housing options.

Finally, Eby announced $230-million to boost RCMP staffing.

Now, Eby also invoked time allocation to move some of these measures through the B.C. Legislature.

The opposition will complain about that, but close observers will realize it’s simply turnabout after the former B.C. Liberal government did the same thing — and others simply won’t care. It’s hard to get people to care about procedure.

A very valid concern the opposition has expressed this week is about why this is all coming up now.

Sure, Eby is premier now — but it’s the same government who, presumably, works together as a team.

Not only that, these announcements were largely about crime and about housing — two areas that Eby himself presided over in his former roles as attorney general and minister in charge of housing.

The answer to the timing finally came Friday morning.

A fiscal update from Finance Minister Selina Robinson showed a whopping $5.7 billion surplus for this year — a shocking turn of events just two years after the beginning of the pandemic.

When Eby said the province was in a good position to handle the price tags of all of these spending announcements, he wasn’t kidding.

While it seemed like the government was just holding off on all its announcements so the new guy would look good, perhaps it was just waiting for the bank account to look a little healthier.

Fair enough — but does that mean it would have sat on its hands without the unexpected revenue from income taxes and natural gas?

The political gods offered Eby a nice gift during his first week on the job.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by James Peters

PETERS: Eby’s busy first week bolstered by unexpected surplus

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