Over the last few months, the political spotlight has been focused on northern British Columbia, as candidates in the BC Liberal leadership race have attempted to curry favour with northern party members and constituents.
The party changed the leadership selection rules to over-represent rural and northern ridings. Leadership candidate, Kevin Falcon, floated the idea of a regional premier's office, as part of his "northern prosperity agenda." Christy Clark, the eventual winner and new premier, hailed northern BC's resources as an important driver of the provincial economy.
What should northerners make of these changes? Is there a shift taking place in the way (mostly southern-based) politicians view the north?
I would argue that Mr. Falcon's idea of a regional premier's office is a step in the right direction. But politicians need to go much further if they truly want to represent northern interests in the halls of power. To use a popular turn of phrase, they need to "think outside the box" when it comes to institutional reforms that will reflect the interests of northern British Columbia.
Here are three ideas for representing northern British Columbia that I have been discussing with the students in my Comparative Northern Development course at UNBC. First, the new premier could create a northern ministry.
Such a ministry could be responsible for a set suite of programs and services, or it could serve as a co-ordinating ministry, making sure that other "line" ministries are properly and fairly serving northern interests. Those of you who have lived in British Columbia longer than me are aware that the idea of a northern ministry has been tried before, with varying degrees of success.
Despite the problems that were encountered, I think it would be worthwhile to reconsider the idea, especially in light of the important changes that have taken place in the northern economy during the last decade.
The second idea that I would like to propose is an upper chamber that has representation from the different regions of the province, including the north.
The members of this British Columbia Senate (for want of a better term) would be elected to represent the interests of their respective regions, not a political party. Each region would have equal representation in the Senate, regardless of population.
This body could review and even vote on all legislation passed by the lower chamber (the existing legislature) in order to make sure that regional voices are being heard. At the very least, such a body could play an advisory role in the political process.
Lastly (but certainly not least), the most groundbreaking type of institutional reform would be to create an autonomous region of northern British Columbia within the province, of British Columbia.
This region would have its own elected legislature and government, which would be responsible for programs and services that would be devolved from the province.
Sounds far-fetched? Well, it's happening in other parts of Canada, such as Nunavik in northern Quebec. Indeed, Aboriginal peoples such as the Inuit are leading the way in terms of developing new and innovative ways to represent regional interests without challenging the territorial integrity of the provinces and territories in which they live. Maybe northern British Columbia should do the same.
Obviously, this short article does not go into great detail about the benefits and shortcomings of the institutional reforms it has proposed.
What it does do, however, is challenge our political leaders to think creatively when it comes to representing the interests of the north in the political structures that govern this province.
Gary N. Wilson holds a Ph.D. in political science and is an associate professor at the University of Northern British Columbia.
