If Eby Has Nothing to Hide, Rule Out the Snap Election
A fall sitting is on the Legislature calendar. A by-election is already underway. The premier still would not give a yes-or-no answer.
David Eby was given the cleanest question in politics: yes or no, does he plan to call a snap election as early as this fall?
He did not answer yes or no. Sitka Media reported that at a Burnaby press conference on September 1, the premier was asked directly about an early election. His response was that the government is preparing for the fall session, that the Conservatives are in “significant chaos,” and that his focus remains on delivering for British Columbians. When pressed to state unequivocally that he would not call a fall election, Sitka reported that he sidestepped again.
That matters because this is not a normal calendar gap. The Legislative Assembly’s own parliamentary calendar shows October sitting days beginning October 5, with more sitting days later in the month. The same calendar cautions that it is informational and subject to change by order of the Legislative Assembly. In plain English: the House is scheduled to come back, but the political door is not bolted shut.
B.C. law also leaves room for an early dissolution. Section 23 of the Constitution Act says the lieutenant governor may dissolve the Legislative Assembly when the lieutenant governor sees fit. Subject to that power, the fixed-date rule says final voting day must occur on the third Saturday in October in the fourth calendar year after the most recent general election.
Meanwhile, British Columbians are already being asked to vote in Abbotsford-Mission. The premier called that by-election on August 29 after Reann Gasper resigned as MLA on August 22. Final voting day is September 26. The BC NDP has nominated former MLA Pam Alexis for the race.
So the accountability question is fair: is Eby preparing to face MLAs in the House, or preserving the option to turn Conservative disarray into a campaign advantage?
A premier has the legal ability to seek an early election. But legal power is not the same as a public mandate. Voters were told B.C. has fixed-election expectations for a reason. They deserve budgets, question period, committee scrutiny and answers on housing, health care, debt, public safety and secrecy before any opportunistic campaign button gets pushed.
If Eby has no intention of calling a fall snap election, he can say so in one sentence. That is the basic test of trust. If he will not say it, British Columbians should ask what accountability session he is trying to keep optional.