Dogged by a series of unpopular decisions, and facing grumbling from within his own party, Premier David Eby attempted a reset of sorts Thursday. Not with his cabinet shuffle, which was a tepid affair. But later in the evening, when his health minister backed down from months of mean-spirited stubbornness to restore drug coverage to a dying 10-year-old girl.
Josie Osborne phoned the family of Charleigh Pollock to say her medicine will be reinstated and “available to them for as long as the treating physician and the family deem it appropriate.”
The minister was apparently quite apologetic on the call. She should be. Her government put Charleigh and her family through hell the last five months, cutting off the only treatment for the only girl in B.C. with this terminal brain disease. It was bureaucratic cruelty disguised as process.
The NDP government’s decision was based on unclear science, muddled policy and witless political spin. It took national headlines, a GoFundMe to raise more than $70,000 to buy the drug privately, and a letter signed by 13 of the world’s leading researchers in the disease, to finally shame the New Democrats into a reversal.
It would have made more sense for the government to pivot before the cabinet shuffle, allowing Eby to extol the virtues of his new ministerial lineup unencumbered by one of the many scandals his government is facing.
Not that the new cabinet lineup justified much extolling. It consisted only of two significant moves: Ravi Kahlon from housing to the jobs and economy development ministry, and Nina Krieger from the backbench into the role of solicitor general.
Kahlon will now oversee B.C.’s cabinet committee on the U.S. tariff response, while also directing the province’s measures to save jobs and diversify the economy, all in one streamlined portfolio. He’s arguably Eby’s top-performing cabinet minister. “I needed Ravi,” Eby said simply.
Krieger vaulted from the backbench as rookie MLA for Victoria-Swan Lake to public safety minister, in a surprise move. Eby cited her work fighting racism, including running a Holocaust museum.
“We are in a moment in our province where significant cultural and religious communities feel under profound threat, because of rising racism,” he said.
The rest of the eight changes were mostly a ripple effect caused by the first two.
Krieger’s ascension required the demotion of former RCMP officer Garry Begg. He appeared too slow, and too inarticulate for the job. Begg has gone from being celebrated for his “landslide” 22-vote victory in Surrey-Guildford, which gave the NDP its one-seat majority government, to booted from cabinet entirely — all within eight months.
Kahlon’s move required Diana Gibson to be demoted from the jobs portfolio into the relatively obscure post of citizens’ services. Gibson had developed friction with the business community, as well as some cabinet colleagues.
From there, it’s hard to make much sense of the other changes.
Christine Boyle from Indigenous relations to housing? Perhaps because Eby needed a trusted ally in the role — though Boyle is not known to be developer-friendly at a time the province is trying to bail out housing developments from market pressures.
Spencer Chandra-Herbert from tourism to Indigenous relations, and Anne Kang from post-secondary to tourism, both appear neutral moves. Labour lawyer Jesse Sunner’s rise to advanced education is notable only because she has the potential to be a star performer.
Eby pinned the shuffle on the continued tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The world has changed since we formed government,” he said. But only one change could even be tangentially linked to that issue.
Opposition Conservative leader John Rustad questioned why Eby didn’t appoint a dedicated minister to trade if he’s so concerned about tariffs and diversifying the economy.
And Rustad asked why the premier is also not backing away from its unpopular decision to allow BC Ferries to contract with the government of China to build new ships — a move that has infuriated labour allies inside the New Democratic party.
“It seems very odd how he’s running this government,” said Rustad.
Indeed.
The NDP’s preoccupation with denying drugs to a dying girl over the last five months, and then vigorously defending it to the point it hijacked its own political agenda, is just one example of oddly misplaced priorities.
Even more surprising is the depths this administration has shown it will go in stubbornness and cruelty. Just ask the family of Charleigh Pollock.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 17 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for The Orca/BIV. He is the co-author of the national bestselling book A Matter of Confidence, host of the weekly podcast Political Capital, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
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