What could happen if the B.C. legislature sits this fall — and if it doesn’t

Days away from being sworn in, the B.C. Conservatives have a choice to make: Do they call a shortened fall session of the legislature to get some of their signature election promises passed, even if it means leaving many of their new Cabinet ministers without much time to get settled into their new positions?

Or do they wait until spring to tackle those big-ticket items and focus instead on fulfilling promises in other areas that don’t require legislation, such as education and provincial finances.

Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson is still being coy about whether he plans to call legislators back to Victoria after his swearing-in next week, saying Thursday that he is still waiting on some information before making a final decision.

Observers are split on whether calling the house back would be a good idea or not, with the Cabinet set to be unveiled on Nov. 20.

Some say there are platform promises the new government could complete without legislation, while others would like to see the government show decisiveness and call a fall sitting and pass tax cuts the Conservatives promised during the campaign.

“There are a couple of things that I’m waiting for for next week, late next week, that will help me to make that decision. I do want to keep that option open,” said Doerkson of the possibility of a fall session.

“I know that staff, opposition, even my own MLAs, would like to know, but the reality is I don’t have a clear answer on that yet. So I’m asking people to please keep those weeks available for work.”

Former Conservative leader John Rustad said that if the government were to go back into the legislature, he would want to see the tax cuts, including the roll back of the expansion of the provincial sales tax to professional services the NDP put forward as part of February’s budget.

Originally set to be implemented on Oct. 1, NDP premier David Eby pushed the change back to Jan. 1, 2027 in the lead-up to the election.

In addition, the signature promise of the Conservative campaign is a tax cut that would raise the basic personal exemption on provincial income taxes from $13,216 to $32,000, saving British Columbians up to $1,000 a year.

Welcomed by some business groups, the tax cut has also been criticized by economists as it would reduce government revenue by up to $4 billion at the time of a $13.8 billion deficit.

Rustad said the government could pass the tax changes in the spring, but believes that trying to make them retroactive would be more difficult, particularly for the PST expansion.

“If you don’t pass legislation before the beginning of January, all the companies, everybody has to gear up for the changes to PST. And then if you reverse it, what do you do? Do you backdate it? Do they go back to the people that have been charged and refund them?” said Rustad.

Despite this, Rustad did voice some concerns about the lack of time new Cabinet ministers could have before being thrown back into the legislature.