CKNW Editorial
for June 13, 2001

As Norman Spector pointed out yesterday, Premier Campbell was dead wrong to say that to recognize the NDP as Official Opposition would be contrary to the BC Constitution. He should have known better.

The confusion comes because under the Legislature rules, parties with four or more members are recognized as official parties. This came about in the days when there were four parties in the House, the governing NDP under Dave Barrett, the opposition led by Bill Bennett, the Liberals and the Conservatives. Recognition as an official party meant certain privileges in Question Period and research money. As Mr Spector so rightly points out, that is irrelevant on the question as to whether or not the NDP are the Official Opposition and, presumably, Joy McPhail is Leader of the Opposition. This is a matter of convention or tradition and goes back several hundred years. It has always been the practice in British Columbia that the second largest party in the Legislature, however small, has been the Official Opposition and its leader the Leader of the Opposition. In fact on two other occasions in BC’s history the Official Opposition has been but two members.

Now, having said all that, it’s still a convention not the written law. But it should be no less binding for that. For as Mr Spector so rightly points out, neither the Canadian Constitution nor the BC Constitution recognize the office of Prime Minister or Premier (which terms are interchangeable – indeed WAC Bennett called himself Prime Minister and so does the premier of Quebec) – but this position has been recognized in British Parliamentary tradition since the time of Walpole. This means, then, that the status of Official Opposition and the Leader thereof are part of our unwritten constitution and must be honoured.

Having said that, there is nothing in writing stopping Mr Campbell in putting the leader of the NDP on half pay and giving them short rations in research money. But if he does that he violates the unwritten constitution and he must understand that.

There are other reasons why the NDP must be accorded Official Opposition status. The Liberals did not get 97% of the popular vote even though they have 97% of the seats. In fact, in probably the most polarized election in BC’s history, 42% of British Columbians rejected the Liberal option. That’s a lot of British Columbians, folks, and represents a whole lot of decent people who are entitled to a voice in how the province is run.

I have never seen anything like the venom from those who voted Liberal. To them, giving Official Opposition status to the NDP somehow violates the election result. It does no such thing.

I voted Liberal. I have no use for the NDP against whom I successfully ran in 1975 and 1979. But I have a great deal of respect for the notion that, in a democracy, you must have an opposition voice. It is true that the majority rules but it is equally true that the opposition has a right to be heard ... and not to be trampled on. We simply cannot say to the 42% who didn’t vote Liberal – too bad but you will not be permitted full opposition representation in the House because 58% of us so decree.

If the opposition to the government has no voice in the legislature it will make its presence felt on the streets. That is the history of such matters.

Now that the election is behind us, let’s examine this dispassionately. Governments are no less prone to error than any other person or institution. Premier Campbell has already demonstrated that by insisting that he was constitutionally bound to reject the NDP as Official Opposition he was in error. He and his government will make many other mistakes before they’re done. But ask yourself this – do you want to leave the government in the position where they can do whatever they damn well please – advertising their virtues at our expense as has been the tradition – without anyone asking any questions? Are you so trusting of this government – most of whom have never governed before – that you will take whatever they say and do at face value?

Is it, perhaps, that you want the media to be the opposition? If so, that’s a pretty dangerous route to go. While it may be our moral duty to hold authority’s feet to the fire, that’s not our primary responsibility. The primary responsibility is on Members of the Legislature Assembly. Because 77 of them wouldn’t dream of asking an embarrassing question we leave that to two MLAs who, if Mr Campbell has his way, will be grossly under-funded for their duties.

I make no case for the NDP. They got thrashed and they damn well deserved to be. I make the case for not only the 42% of the population that voted other than Liberal but, more importantly, all British Columbia who will be very badly served by the Legislature indeed if that body is made up of one leader, 76 obedient toadies and two under-funded, unrecognized opposition members.

Churchill had, as part of his personal motto, in Victory, Magnanimity. This wasn’t some sort of bleeding heart, soft headed notion but one which was both practically and morally right.

We, the 58%, have taken out or victory over the NDP. But we cut off our noses to spite our face if we use that victory to mute dissent and opposition.

Mr Campbell must do the right thing. He must admit he was wrong on the constitutional question … this will be good practice for future days when he’ll be wrong again … and admit that the NDP is the Official Opposition, that its leader is Leader of the Opposition, and pay them accordingly.

To do otherwise is morally, practically and constitutionally wrong.