VICTORIA — Let it be noted that Premier-
elect Mike Harcourt’s first item of business was to
mock the rights and duties of parliament.

The same man who used to lecture the Socreds
on the sanctity of parliamentary tradition has
decided to thumb his nose at the supremacy of
parliament.

He will not calla session until spring, Harcourt
said the day after his NDP was swept to power in
one of the most dramatic elections in British
Columbia history.
~ Instead, his government will use special war-
rants to spend its way through the next few
months, A new budget will be ready for the spring
session.

Harcourt’s flimsy excuse is that British Colum-
bia hasn’t really had a government for the last six
months, ever since Bill Vander Zalm resigned as
premier. A preliminary look at the books, he said,
showed that the province’s finances are in a mess.

“We are two or three months behind on the

budget process. So we have to catch up on that.

We will take time to do it right,” he said.

By resorting to special warrants to finance
government operations, Harcourt is continuing the
odious precedent established by Bill Bennett in
the early eighties and continued by Bill Vander
Zalm and Rita Johnston.

What exactly are special warrants? Here’s how
the Financial Administration Act defines them:

“Tf, while the Legislature is not in session, a
matter arises for which an expenditure not
foreseen or provided for is urgently and immedi-
ately required for the public good, the Lieutenant
Governor in Council (cabinet)...may order a
special warrant to be prepared for the Lieutenant
Governor authorizing the payment of an amount
the Lieutenant Governor considers necessary out
of the consolidated revenue fund.”

Notice the words “unforeseen and urgently
required for the public good.” The need for a
special warrant could, for instance, arise if a
sudden recession caused a huge swelling of
welfare rolls, exhausting the funds provided for
that purpose in a budget that has already been
approved by the legislature.

That clearly isn’t the case here. The Socreds
introduced their budget last spring, but the
legislature didn’t approve all expenditures pro-

Disdain in first decision

Fora while, the government had the authority to
spend money in accordance with an Interim
Supply Bill which was duly passed by the
legislature.

That source of revenue was exhausted some
time ago, however, and the Socreds have been
financing the government's day-to-day operations
with special warrants until they were defeated.

And now, Harcourt proposes to do the same
thing. He wants to use special warrants until his
government introduces its first budget in a spring
session:

It’s not good enough, not by a long shot.
Harcourt knows damned well that the use of
special warrants constitutes a circumvention of
parliament.

Parliament, and not the premier, parliament and
not the cabinet, parliament and not the NDP, is
supposed to determine how much money the
government spends. :

Harcourt’s excuse doesn’t hold up to even the
most cursory examination. Just because the books
are in a mess, if indeed they are, doesn’t mean the
legislature shouldn’t debate the spending of this
government during the next four or five months.

In the contrary, I couldn’t think of a better body
to examine the books than the legislature.

Harcourt also failed to mention or worse, he.
doesn’t know, that he doesn’t need to have his
own budget ready to call a session as early as
December. ?

All he has to do is appoint a Speaker who will
summon all newly-elected MLAs to Victoria. The
Throne Speech, a pre-requisite for a new session,
can consist of one line to be read by the
Lieutenant Governor: “We are here to approve the
remainder of the estimates introduced in the last
budget.”

The Socreds aren’t very likely to make a big
fuss over the budget they introduced before they
were reduced to the Magnificent Seven. Neither
will the Liberals.

Approving the remainder of the budget also
doesn’t mean the money will have to be spent, but
at least, the authority of parliament over the king
in financial matters has been reaffirmed.

By not calling a session almost immediately,
Harcourt is showing a sad disdain for parliament,
a disturbing trait so soon in his mandate.

TheReview Wednesday, October 30,1991 — A7

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posed in the budget before the session folded.

Christmas Seals start with snow

IT SEEMED LIKE the campaign was starting
early, until several centimeters of snow hit
Monday, Victoria-area residents are being asked
to meet a goal of $186,000 for the British
Columbia Lung Association’s annual Christ-
mas Seal campaign, which got under way last
week. The goal is up four per cent from last year
and is part of the province’s $1.4 million target.
Watch the mail for a package of brightly-colored
Christmas Seals, perfect for holiday mail or
packages. The package includes a reply card for
donations. Proceeds go to B.C. medical research,

educational programs and community activities.
kk *

-TT MUST HAVE BEEN AN oversight. Last
week Tourism Victoria thanked Greater Victoria
police departments for “keeping Victoria safe for
our visitors,” including Esquimalt, Oak Bay,
Colwood RCMP and CFB Esquimalt military
police. Yet, Central Saanich municipal police
and Sidney RCMP were ignored, despite the

Peninsula’s outstanding contributions to tourism.
* * * z

THE ANNUAL FIREWOOD SALE in support
of Sea and Navy League Cadets is under way,
the Saanich Peninsula branch of the Navy League
of Canada said. A cord costs $125, and delivery
can be arranged by calling Don Coutts at
652-1568. The league is also selling calenders for
1992 at $3 apiece. Cadets are busy youngsters

throughout the year. Earlier this month, the Navy ~

League Admiral Martin Corp engaged in a joint
exercise at Albert Head with a core from
Colwood. In total, 45 cadets and eight officers

attended the successful taining weekend.
kK O*

OK OK

WINNERS HAVE BEEN announced in the
rejuvenated Sidney Garden Contest. The contest
used to be a fixture in the town, but it withered
away. This year it was revived under the sponsor-
ship of the Town and the Saanich Peninsula
Garden Club. In the flower category, the winner
was Elizabeth Doll, of 2349 Amherst. Second
went to K. and D. Hutchin, of 2113 Redwing
Place, while Bill Luft, at 2411 Amherst, was
third.

‘There were also winners in the vegetable garden
category. First went to Russel Kerr, of 2333
Malaview. The Hutchins took another second,
and Richard Besler of 2057 Piercy was third.

x * *

THERE’S BEEN A WINNER of The Review’ s
NEL Football Contest. Picking up a cash prize of
$700 was Barry E. Read of Third Street in
Sidney after he correctly guessed the winners of
11 games and the Monday night tie breaker
number 24, for the Oct. 13 and 14 games.

* OK OK

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