BC Lieutenant Governor responds in one day!

All I can say is WOW!  Yesterday I sent an email to the Lieutenant Governor of BC and I have received a reply in just one day. 

Last Spring / early summer I contacted my MLA’s office with regards to the HST and he never did get back to me.  I also tried the Ministry of Finance, and it took them 2 and a half months to send me a ‘cookie cutter’ response.

I have never had any kind of dealings with the office of the Lieutenant Governor before so I have nothing to compare this too – however I think it’s wonderful they responded that quickly.

I posted my question to the Lieutenant Govenor in a blog story earlier today entitled, What requirements are there for someone to be called / declared the Premier of BC?  If you are interested in the response I received then read on …  

Dear Mr. Forseth:

Your email of April 13, 2011, addressed to the Lieutenant Governor has been directed to me for attention and response.

The swearing in of Ms. Clark as the Premier is legal and while the circumstances are not usual, they have occurred in our Canadian democratic history on other occasions such as the federal case with John Turner.  The convention has been established before in other jurisdictions.

The Lieutenant Governor can legally and constitutionally, swear whomever s/he deems most appropriate for the role and they do not have to hold a seat, nor do they have to (technically) belong to a political party.  The responsibility of the Lieutenant Governor is to appoint someone who can “hold the confidence of the legislature” which means that the majority of the elected members will follow the direction and advice of that person in such a way that government can continue to function properly.  It only makes sense then that the person selected as Premier is usually the “leader” of the party governing the legislature, i.e., Ms. Clark in this case, otherwise, government would fall apart very quickly the first time the Premier attempted to move in a political direction about which the rest of the government members had no confidence (a vote of non-confidence).

The Lieutenant Governor must make his/her decisions based on the constitution of the Province, conventions within our democratic system and past practices.  These are not political decisions.  The fate of any elected person including the Premier will be a political one that will be decided either by those sitting in the legislature or by the general public in the election process. 

You will note that the new Premier has just announced her intention to gain a seat in the legislature soon, through a by-election.

Please note that this is a very cursory explanation and for a more in-depth understanding I encourage you to research the writings of some of our Canadian experts on the subject such as the late Eugene Forsey, Peter Hogg or Ron Cheffins.  By the way, Wikipedia has it right.

I hope that you find this information of assistance.

Yours very truly,

Herb A. LeRoy

Private Secretary

Office of the Lieutenant Governor

I do think they were concerned I had questions regarding the legality of this – which I was not – I simply wondered how it worked.  That’s why I sent Mr. LeRoy the following reply:

Dear Mr. LeRoy,

Thank you for your prompt, and detailed, answer regarding the appointed of a person as Premier of British Columbia ...

I am aware that Ms. Clark has called a by-election for Vancouver Point Grey, and has declared she intends to run as a candidate.  As mentioned however in my initial email, while she is the leader of the BC Liberal Party, as of this moment she is not an elected official of the legislature.  This is what caused me to wonder and ask my question what the tradition and / or circumstances would be in this type of situation.

Please note that I was not questioning the legality of Ms. Clark being appointed Premier, I was simply asking for clarity when someone is not yet elected as an MLA.

Again I wish to thank you for your prompt response ... it was appreciated!

Sincerely,
Alan Forseth
 

Now we’ll wait and see how well she does in the by-election for Vancouver Point Grey, and who she will be running against, but BC Conservative John Cummins has already indicated that he will not be a candidate.  There may be a member of the BC Conservative Party living in the riding of Vancouver Point Grey, that may have an interest in seeking the nomination, but we’ll have to wait and see on that as well. 

I for one think she may have a tight race -- we'll find out early next month.