This morning at 8 a.m., Premier John Horgan will hold his first cabinet meeting. He'll have been premier of British Columbia for less than 16 hours.
That's great that he's getting off to a running start but implementing the NDP agenda isn't the only thing on his plate.
The B.C. wildfires are burning in exclusively Liberal ridings. Not one of the nearly 40,000 evacuees lives in an NDP riding. The majority of the constituents throughout the Cariboo and North Thompson voted B.C. Liberal back in May.
That means Horgan should adjourn his meeting today by 3 p.m. at the latest, telling his new cabinet ministers to roll up their sleeves, get the job done and don't screw up. Then he should be on Pacific Coastal's 4:45 direct flight from Victoria to Prince George.
On his way to the airport, he should call Alberta premier Rachel Notley, asking for her advice based on what she learned last year from Fort McMurray.
Mayor Lyn Hall should be at the airport to greet the new premier when the plane lands at 6:25 to brief him on what's happening in a city that saw an unexpected 10 per cent growth in population in just one week.
Horgan should be immediately brought to the evacuation centre at CNC to meet the evacuees and hear their stories. He should reassure them that his government doesn't care who voted for whom back in May, just like wildfires don't care whose home and property they burn. The provincial government will be there now, to help them through this crisis, it will be there for them when they go home and it will be there to help them rebuild.
While still premier-designate, Horgan briefly visited Kamloops this week and took a quick air tour to survey the extent of the fires and the damage. He told the Vancouver Sun that he doesn't want to get in the way during the emergency and that his brother, a firefighter, told him to "not be that guy" that makes a crisis all about them.
Fair enough.
Prince George's elected officials - particularly Mayor Lyn Hall - have rolled up their sleeves over the last 10 days, helping out in any way they can, which includes talking to the provincial and national media. Most importantly, they have shut their mouths and opened their ears, patiently listening to the evacuees and their stories, their fears and their frustrations.
That's what Horgan can do. Along with the reassurances he can give Cariboo residents trapped in Prince George that they won't be forgotten, he can assure Hall, as well as CNC, UNBC and School District 57 that the province's emergency funds will cover their expenses when all of this is over.
Like the other politicians, he also needs to spend lots of time thanking individual volunteers for their hard work.
That's just the work he should do tonight.
Tomorrow morning, before he leaves for Quesnel, he should have breakfast with Alex Huber and the board of the B.C. Northern Exhibition, to assure them that if they need to cancel the annual fair that his government will help them get it back on its feet next summer.
Quesnel mayor Bob Simpson should drive up for breakfast and float his idea of a festival relief fund to Horgan directly. During the drive to Quesnel, Simpson can further brief Horgan on what it means to his community to cancel both Billy Barker Days and the Quesnel Skyfest, as well as the economic effect of decreased tourism traffic and closed area mines and mills.
If safe to do so, Horgan should then ride in a vehicle to Williams Lake with Mayor Walt Cobb and Cariboo Regional District Chair Al Richmond to fully brief him on what they've experienced, what they need now and what they will need going forward. While there, Horgan can personally thank firefighters and work crews from B.C. Hydro, Telus and Fortis for their efforts to battle the blazes and keep the power and communications running.
That's what he should do Thursday before returning to Prince George late in the day.
On Friday, before his return afternoon flight to Victoria, he should help serve breakfast to the evacuees at CNC, check in with Hall one last time and then personally thank Prince George MLAs Shirley Bond and Mike Morris, as well as Nechako Lakes MLA John Rustad, for both their public efforts and their behind-the-scenes work managing the crisis.
This isn't about politicking or public approval. Horgan's brother is right - he shouldn't be "that guy." This is about leadership and the new leader of the provincial government stepping up to say he's here to listen and he's here to help.
This region and its residents need their premier with them during their time of need, regardless of their political beliefs.
Which begs the question of where the prime minister is. Guaranteed that if 40,000 Ontario or Quebec residents had fled their homes from wildfires, Justin Trudeau would have been doing more this week than posting a tweet about his summer song list.
