A rare procedural confrontation unfolded in the British Columbia legislature Thursday morning, marking what has become an increasingly common spectacle during the fall session that began on October 6.
Controversial Bill Sparks Outrage
The trigger for Thursday's showdown was the introduction of provocative legislation from OneBC, the political startup launched by MLA Dallas Brodie after she and Tara Armstrong left John Rustad's Conservatives last spring. Brodie introduced a bill to repeal the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a provincial holiday in B.C.
"Why?" Brodie challenged during the session. "Because it doesn't deserve to be one. The idea that we need to reconcile presumes an act of wrongdoing and regret. But we have no regrets, nothing to reconcile for and no apologies to give, because we did nothing wrong."
These comments and others from Brodie offended not only the governing New Democrats but also numerous MLAs on the Opposition side of the legislature.
Unprecedented Procedural Move
Despite the controversial nature of the bill, the standing orders of the legislature state that "it is an indisputable right for all members of the legislative assembly to have their views put before the assembly in the form of a bill."
By long-standing practice, such private member's bills typically receive perfunctory first reading—without debate or recorded vote—before being added to the legislative order paper, where they usually languish in obscurity. Most parliamentary authorities emphasize that granting first reading doesn't indicate house approval of the legislation's contents but merely ensures the measure will be printed and added to the order paper.
However, when Speaker Raj Chouhan called the question on first reading for the Brodie bill Thursday, a call for "division" was heard, demanding a recorded vote.
Overwhelming Rejection
The result was a decisive vote of 86 nays to just 3 yeas. Voting in favor were Brodie, Armstrong, and independent MLA Jordan Kealy. Voting to consign the bill to procedural oblivion were every New Democrat, Conservative, Green, and independent MLA present in the chamber.
Recorded votes on first reading are exceptionally rare in the B.C. legislature. In Vaughn Palmer's 41 years covering the institution, the journals of the house have recorded only about three dozen such cases. Rarer still is for a bill to be denied passage at this initial stage, making Thursday's events particularly noteworthy in the province's parliamentary history.
The procedural twist represents another example of the changing dynamics within the B.C. legislature, where previously uncommon confrontations have become more frequent during the current session.
