There’s been a lot of head-scratching and confusion at the mixed messages sent by BC Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay in her first reorganization of caucus this week.
On the one hand, she appointed all nine MLAs who endorsed her to senior leadership roles (such as interim Opposition leader and house leader) in a show of loyalty over experience.
But on the other, she left unchanged most of the major shadow critic portfolios.
Findlay kept leadership rival Peter Milobar as finance critic, despite accusing him of being in an untenable conflict of interest for having an Indigenous wife. Yet she demoted interim leader Trevor Halford to an obscure critic portfolio to languish on the backbench.
She named Sheldon Clare as house leader, with no experience in the role, while removing two-year veteran Á’a:líya Warbus (the first Indigenous house leader in B.C. history) from caucus leadership entirely.
The moves reshape the power structure of caucus (and redistributes salary top-ups to key supporters), while at the same time leaving the day-to-day critic work of MLAs largely untouched.
“The B.C. Conservative team is more united than ever, and I am proud to have the support of the other leadership contestants, including Peter Milobar,” Findlay said in a statement.
Undercurrent of insecurity
Findlay won the BC Conservative leadership race May 30 with 51 per cent of the vote. She has made few attempts since then to appeal to the 49 per cent of party members who voted for a more moderate path to her more extreme approach.
Her first moves as leader have suggested an undercurrent of insecurity.
For example, Findlay named herself the critic for land and property jurisdiction — the top issue in B.C. politics today with the clash between Aboriginal title and private property.
It’s unusual for an Opposition leader to give themself a critic role, when they can speak about any issue at any time as leader.
But it’s doubly odd because Findlay doesn’t even have a seat yet. Which means the Conservatives may end up in the legislature in October with their top critic file tied to a leader who can’t debate the issue in question period or take advantage of the public platform of the house.
The decision also knocks out at the knees Scott McInnis, who excelled as Indigenous relations critic in the spring by holding the government to account on DRIPA, the Cowichan Nation court ruling and other controversial First Nations’ files.
Findlay let McInnis keep the portfolio on paper, but hived off the most important aspects—Aboriginal title and land ownership. It’s akin to being finance critic without the provincial budget, or solicitor general critic without policing.
McInnis endorsed Milobar in the leadership race, which may have something to do with it. Or the leader perhaps simply wanted to ensure all comments on the top issue go through her.
The latter would make more sense if Findlay was a sitting MLA or making the rounds doing numerous media interviews and public speaking engagements. But she is not.
Besides to a scheduled press conference in Penticton late this week, for the better part of three weeks, she’s kept a low profile and refused almost all interview requests. The ones she did do shortly after winning the leadership race May 30 were framed by her supporters as hostile encounters with legacy mainstream media outlets, like the CBC.
Halford demotion perplexing
Other choices by Findlay are just as perplexing.
She could have kept Halford as interim Opposition leader in the house, ensuring his strong performance and momentum from the spring continued this fall until she secured a seat.
But his steep demotion suggests an element of concern about more centrist Conservatives. Instead, Findlay named Heather Maahs to the role, an MLA whose social values on sexuality, gender identity and abortion more clearly align with her leader.
Halford, meanwhile, was sent out to pasture with the obscure Transit and ICBC portfolio.
That’s not to be confused with the Transportation critic role retained by Langley-Abbotsford MLA Harman Bhangu, which covers the entire ministry, major projects like the Massey tunnel replacement, and all the roads, bridges and other hot-topic issues.
Halford will be relegated to customer complaints about TransLink bus crowding, SkyTrain construction and ICBC’s no-fault insurance system. It’s hardly a front-bench appointment for an MLA who stabilized the party after the ouster of John Rustad in December, and has shown himself to be among the best performers the Conservatives have in the legislature.
Findlay did base her campaign on protecting the party from a supposed BC Liberal takeover. She remains deeply suspicious of anyone who worked for, was a member of, or has history with the Liberals. And her Conservative purity test has already bled into the hiring and firing of caucus staff.
But her first round of changes sends confusing signals.
Findlay will have to work in the days ahead to not only explain them to her caucus, but to the public as well.