The Reins of Power: Governing British Columbia

George Brandak was Curator of Manuscripts and the University of British Columbia Library.

Five professors of political science from the University of Victoria have banded together to write a primer on B.C.-style government. This is the first book-length publication of the B.C. Project — a research project funded under the negotiated grants program of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to study the significant structural changes in the governing of B.C. during the rapid turnover in government in the 1970s from that of W.A.C. Bennett to Dave Barrett to Bill Bennett. The electoral victory of the NDP in 1972 brought important shifts in policy directions by the Barrett government, such as the establishment of the Agricultural Land Commission, the Environment and Land Use Committee Secretariat, the office of rentalsman, the Islands Trust, the Police Commission, and the Vancouver Resources Board, as well as crown corporations such as the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and B.C. Buildings and B.C. Systems Corporations. Administration of these policy directives was left to a party with a significantly different ideology after the Social Credit election victories of 1975 and 1979.

There are specific chapters on various areas relating to the government of B.C. — “The Legislature,” “The Premier and the Cabinet,” “Political Parties,” “The Public Service,” “Managing the Public Service,” “Courts and Cops,” “The Provincial-Municipal Relationship,” and “British Columbia and Canadian Federalism.” Each chapter describes briefly the situation prior to 1972, the attitude of the Barrett government to that subject, and evolution of attitude during William Bennett’s period. Much of the text is straightforward and written in such a way that it will inform a person who has no familiarity with B.C. For example, the “Courts and Cops” chapter informs the readers that there are two kinds of police force in the province: municipal forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It also describes the three levels of law courts in the Province.

Other chapters, however, lend themselves to greater analysis. Young mentions that parties may have strong ideological differences, but, once they begin to tackle the burden of administration, much ideological fervor is lost. Ruff notes that B.C. has become more involved in Canadian federalism during this period. Provincial-municipal relations also changed markedly as the NDP government addressed issues such as the assessment of real property and public transportation and decentralized a relationship that its successor desired to reverse. Writing on the public service, Swainson observes that, in all three of these governments, the power of the premier’s office over decision-making generally and over the administrative process in particular seems to have been notably increased. Ruffs chapter on managing the public service is especially enlightening, as relatively few people are familiar with the procedures of budget building in B.C.

The book invites the reader to study further in this field by checking the extensive data collection compiled by the B.C. Project. The collection deals with a wide range of subjects relevant to the governing of B.C. In a sense, this publication is a tribute to the late Dr. Walter Young, who contributed enormously to the B.C. Project and provided much assistance to all persons interested in studying the art of politics in British Columbia.