Vaughn Palmer: David Eby says next time around, NDP will do better job of gaining the 'confidence' of all British Columbians

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VICTORIA — Premier David Eby says a re-elected NDP government will not reintroduce changes to the Land Act that would have established co-management of public land in B.C. with more than 200 First Nations.

“No, we won’t,” Eby said, when asked during the TV leaders’ debate if the New Democrats would revisit the amendments that were shelved earlier this year.

“The reason is that we need to make sure that we have the confidence of British Columbians in doing this critically important work.”

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Public confidence in the NDP’s intentions was, indeed, shaken by the way the government handled the move to Indigenous co-management of the 95 per cent of the province that is considered public land.

Back in January, New Democrats launched what was billed as a “public consultation” on the necessary changes in the Act — without actually telling the public what it was doing.

There was no announcement, no news release, just the quiet launch of an engagement with selected groups and individuals, and a low-key invitation to submit comments on a government website.

Moreover, the NDP put the whole process on a fast track.

The stated intention was to begin implementing........

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