In the summer of 2017 the main question on the mind of British Columbians was “how long will this government last?” As we close out the fall sitting 18 months later, we have shown that minority governments can work and make a difference.
Success is based on a commitment to negotiate, communicate and compromise. It comes from looking through and past disagreement to find a solution.
Those whose focus is on winning every time, lose. Because, sometimes compromise is the win. It shows that you can bend without breaking and that perhaps we are driven by good public policy rather than politics. Or, maybe for once good public policy is also good politics.
Good luck/Tough luck
At the end of these sessions I feel pretty exhausted and worked over. Certainly, the diversity of subject matter makes my job very interesting.
In a caucus with only two other colleagues, the options are pretty limited for who is going to take a Bill through the legislative process, or who is going to be our representative on a committee.
How we end up where are, comes down to good luck or tough luck.
Perhaps I have interest in the subject, that is good luck. Maybe there is no one else available, that is tough luck. Either way between Andrew, Sonia and myself, we have all had an equal sampling of both.
Sometimes we need to be in two places at once. On the rare occasion we need to be in three places at the same time. I have even had to be in two different cities at once.
In the end, there are many who have spent a multi-term career in the Chamber that have not had the opportunities I have in just 18 months.
We are fully engaged. I look back at the number of times I have been honoured with participating in the debate and I am humbled.
I went for coffee with a constituent a few weeks back. He said to me, “Adam, sometimes I think you do yourself a disservice by the number of issues you take on.”
In one respect, I think he is correct. If I could spend the entire time working on salmon issues, maybe the salmon would benefit.
On the other hand, I enjoy the opportunity to be part of, and learn about, so many different issues.
Making a difference!
In this session alone I worked on some big issues! From lobbying reform, to amendments to the Agricultural Land Commission Act and leading the BC Green Caucus effort help a ride-hailing Bill across the finish line.
The latter is an example of the important role we have as a third party. Andrew has been advocating for ride-hailing services for years. In this, British Columbians can see how a minority government can be effective. Politicians working together, on full display.
So, the fourth sitting adjourns and the first full calendar year of this term nears an end. Every day as the provincial representative for Saanich North and the Islands is truly a blessing.
I look forward to spending time with my family over the next few weeks and to the hard work of developing and improving good public policy in 2019. In the meantime, the Constituency office in Sidney will be open until December 21, 2018. It will be closed from Monday, December 24, 2018 to Wednesday, January 2, 2019.
Finally, thank you for this opportunity!
Photo credit: “The Chamber of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia” by “Scazon” licensed under “CC BY 2.0“
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