The NDP government currently resembles that of a car that has hit a patch of ice and is frantically trying to stay on the road even though it looks more likely that it will skid into a ditch.
The hits keep coming, and who knows when they will stop?
First came a provincial budget that seems to be growing more unpopular by the day. As I noted in this space last week, the entire business community seems ready to launch an all-out offensive against the NDP, and there have been almost zero positive comments about the budget.
Then came word that Premier David Eby attended a signing ceremony for a deal between a First Nations band and the federal government without even knowing what was in the deal that he was celebrating.
Finally, in what surely had to be a desperate attempt to change the channel and get people talking about something else, the government reached deep into its bag of shiny new toys and pulled out, of all things, an announcement that most of the province (Golden being one of the exceptions) are now going to live with daylight savings time on a permanent basis.
Scientists and medical professionals agree this is an unwise and unhealthy move. There is a spike in heart attacks, strokes, fatal traffic accidents and mental health problems with DST.
While changing clocks twice a year is not desirable, science suggests we should be on permanent standard time, not DST.
Let’s circle back to that deal between Ottawa and the Musqueam Indian Band. The federal government did an abysmal job at explaining what it was about and allowed a map to circulate that opponents of First Nations land claims seized upon, saying it suggested all of Metro Vancouver was being turned over to the Musqueam (an absurd claim with no basis in fact).
All the agreement does is establish a framework for the incremental implementation of First Nations’ rights, which is not at all unusual and results from a series of court decisions.
Nevertheless, because of all the confusion and misinformation floating around, the B.C. Conservatives used the deal to bash Eby around in several question periods last week, and the premier’s response seemed somewhat flat and defensive.
One would think that after the Cowichan land claim court decision, which has inflamed the situation and led to all kinds of speculation that private property was suddenly at risk in this province, the provincial government would be on a constant alert basis when it came to any government “deals” with First Nations, even if it involved only the federal government.
The premier said he attended the signing ceremony as “an MLA” and not as the “premier” and did not seek out what was in the agreement because it did not involve the government he leads. That seems like a big political risk, given the current climate over First Nations’ land claims.
A poll out this week suggests all these controversies are having a big impact on the NDP’s standing with voters.
The poll, by the Innovative Research Group, shows the B.C. Conservatives have a significant lead over the NDP among decided voters (47 per cent to 39 per cent), and the budget may be the most unpopular one since then-Premier Gordon Campbell’s introduction of the HST in 2010.
Eby’s own rating has taken a hit as well because of the budget. His unfavourable rating is now higher than his favourable one.
That car Eby is driving is still skidding. Unless big changes are made to the budget, I’m not sure he can keep things on the road.
Keith Baldrey is Global TV’s legislature bureau chief.
Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca
