sa国际传媒 is on the cusp of changing its government for the first time since 2001, as the province scrambles to contain scores of wildfires that have forced tens of thousands of residents from their homes.
The sa国际传媒 New Democrats will inherit not only the keys to power from the sa国际传媒 Liberals at today鈥檚 swearing-in ceremony, but also responsibility for a provincewide state of emergency 鈥� the first to be declared in 14 years.
New Democrat Carole James, MLA for Victoria-Beacon Hill and spokeswoman for the party鈥檚 transition team, said a major priority for Leader John Horgan is to ensure a smooth transfer of power in dealing with the wildfire crisis.
鈥淭hat was a commitment that John made when the fires first began, to make sure that it was a seamless transition,鈥� she said.
Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley, said while firefighting efforts on the ground are unlikely to be affected by the transfer of power, Horgan must be careful about optics.
鈥淭omorrow is not really a moment for triumphalism, celebration or anything like that,鈥� Telford said Monday.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e obviously going to be ecstatic about forming a government after 16 years in Opposition, but they鈥檙e going to have to contain that enthusiasm and show up 鈥� ready to get down to work, given the situation that鈥檚 happening in much of the province.鈥�
Departing Transportation Minister Todd Stone said that the people of sa国际传媒 are counting on politicians to work together regardless of their partisan loyalties. 鈥淭ogether is how we鈥檙e going to get through this crisis,鈥� Stone said.
NDP politicians weren鈥檛 elected in fire-affected areas, so the onus will be on the new government to make sure information reaches the people affected by the emergency, he said.
鈥淛ust as we have been very straightforward and forthcoming with John Horgan and his transition team with all of that information for the last couple [of] weeks, we would hope that he would be as forthcoming in return,鈥� Stone said, adding he sees no reason why collaboration would not continue.
Asked about potential pitfalls that could mar the transition, departing Forests Minister John Rustad expressed concern about the flow of information, from daily updates to details about evacuation centres.
James said an NDP government is committed to keeping all politicians in fire-affected areas, including Liberals, as up to date as possible. 鈥淣o question,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 a time for politics. This is a time for community to pull together.鈥�
The NDP won 41 of the 87 legislature seats in the May election, but reached a deal with the sa国际传媒聽Greens, who won three seats, which will allow them to form a narrow minority government.
Green Leader Andrew Weaver said he does not think the transfer of power will affect the wildfire response. Weaver, whose background is in climate science, said people need to take climate change more seriously and recognize humanity鈥檚 role in the increase in both the number and intensity of these types of natural disasters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like a bunch of frogs in a boiling pot,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sitting there pretending that the world isn鈥檛 warming. We just move on as business as usual. We cannot continue to do so and I鈥檓 just hoping that people will wake up.鈥�
The invitation-only swearing-in of Horgan and his cabinet will be at Government House today, beginning at 2 p.m.
It will be followed by an open house at the legislature, from 5 to 7 p.m., where the public can meet with the new premier and his cabinet.
