While Premier David Eby is no doubt taking some satisfaction from all the troubles dogging B.C Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay these days (more on those in a future column), his own leadership has taken a bit of a beating as well.
It’s not just sagging approval ratings that have raised questions about Eby’s leadership, but more revealing perhaps was his inability to stare down a junior cabinet minister who refused to adhere to cabinet solidarity.
In unprecedented fashion, Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene publicly voiced her displeasure at the NDP cabinet’s decision to allow Fortis to proceed with the so-called $1 billion expansion project of its Tilbury LNG facility.
It is a $2 billion project designed to replace dirty bunker oil in container ships and cruise ships with much cleaner LNG.
Greene has opposed the project over safety concerns since before she became an MLA, let alone a cabinet minister.
When speaking to reporters, Eby seemed to indicate her long-held opposition to the project gave her an out when it came to publicly breaking with her cabinet colleagues.
Sorry, that is not how this key parliamentary tradition works.
If you are in cabinet, you are supposed to be 100 per cent onside with all cabinet decisions – or you are 100 per cent “out” of cabinet.
The decision to build the Site C dam (now called the John Horgan Dam) is a great example of how that tradition works.
For years, while in Opposition, NDP MLAs Lana Popham and Michelle Mungall strongly opposed the dam project. They both “paddled the Peace” River in protest of its construction.
However, one of the first major decisions of the fledgling NDP government in 2017 was to complete the dam’s construction.
By that time, Popham had become agriculture minister, and Mungall had been named, ironically, energy minister. Neither of them ever publicly criticized the decision while they were in cabinet.
That is the way cabinet solidarity is supposed to work.
I have a hard time believing former Premier John Horgan would have tolerated such brazen defiance from one of his ministers, even though his was a minority government propped up into power by the three Green Party MLAs, who opposed the dam as well.
Eby also has a tiny majority, yet he seems clearly reluctant to wield the discipline necessary to keep cabinet solidarity intact.
Greene represents the Richmond-Steveston riding, which she won by less than 500 votes in 2024, and the NDP would dearly love to hang onto its toehold in Richmond. This, combined with the government’s tiny majority, appears to have given Greene some leverage here.
Will Greene’s defiance embolden other ministers who may disagree with other cabinet decisions to speak out against them? Certain natural resource projects historically have seen prominent New Democrats opposing them.
We shall see, but Eby has opened the door to future breaks in cabinet solidarity.
Lucky for him, his chief political opponent – Findlay – is creating one negative controversy after another for herself and her party, and that pattern shows no sign of ending.
But relying heavily on your opponent’s stumbles is not a long-term political strategy. The path to remaining in power begins in the premier’s office, and it’s an office that is not looking particularly strong right now.
Keith Baldrey is Global BC’s legislature bureau chief.
Keith.Baldrey@globalnews.ca
