If you were looking for an example of the BC Liberal’s unfocused, some would say chaotic, approach to the recently concluded spring sitting of the provincial legislature then the Animal Health Act saga captures the scene.
Debate began on the legislation in early May.
The government said Bill 37 was their attempt to address “comprehensive disease management” for farmers, including fish farms.
Trying to improve our ability to respond to animal disease outbreak through updated provincial powers is commendable, as we in the Official Opposition made clear.
Public trust in food systems is critical for the economic viability of farms such as ones in the Bulkley and Kispiox Valleys.
This important and lengthy Bill was one of 14 crammed into the last 15 days of the legislative sitting that began in February.
In what turned out to be a fortunate set of circumstances, the Animal Health Act got lost in the shuffle of last-minute legislation which gave BC NDP MLAs a few more precious days to analyze its far-reaching implications.
And that is when it became apparent some serious oversights were made in drafting by the BC Liberals, or some other agenda was at work.
Section 16 of Bill 37 made it illegal for persons with knowledge of a reportable disease outbreak from communicating that information publicly or they would face serious punishment – up to $75,000 fines and two years in jail. People like journalists and independent scientists would be “gagged” from discussing details such as where the outbreak occurred and the type of disease.
Government employees, animal health inspectors and laboratory employees faced similar sanctions.
It still isn’t clear why the BC Liberals believe shutting down citizens’ abilities to publicly report serious disease outbreaks, or eliminating access to information rules regarding government employee’s decisions, assists with building trust and responding to outbreaks in a “comprehensive” manner.
And it certainly doesn’t support Premier Clark’s “open and transparent” government slogan.
Public outcry, combined with BC NDP agriculture critic Lana Popham’s efforts, caused the government to table an amendment to Section 16 just last week, two days before the legislature wrapped up. But it never came up for debate.
Interestingly, the Animal Health Act died on the legislature order papers last week and will have to be reintroduced by the BC Liberals at a future session, perhaps in the fall.
Whether that was by design or accident is unknown.
Just another sign of the chaos within the BC Liberals.
Doug Donaldson is the NDP MLA for Stikine.