With just two days on the job, the Tri-Cities' two new cabinet ministers are already busy.
Today (Thursday), Port Coquitlam MLA Mike Farnworth was in Kamloops to meet with evacuees and emergency officials responding to the wildfires in the Interior and north. On Tuesday, Premier John Horgan named Farnworth the minister public safety and the solicitor general as well as the government house leader.
The next day, Horgan announced a new cabinet committee to lead the government’s wildfire efforts, including Farnworth and Forests Minister Doug Donaldson and the parliamentary secretary for emergency preparedness, Jennifer Rice.
"We are ensuring everything that's being done is being done," Farnworth told The Tri-City News Thursday after landing in Kamloops and announcing the federal government will provide another 150 soldiers to help with services such as road checks.
Coquitlam-Maillardville MLA Selina Robinson, who was appointed minster of municipal affairs and housing — a portfolio that includes TransLink — said she's been in cabinet meetings and taking charge of her new files since Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony.
Much of the discussion around the table centres on battling the 150 blazes around the province and ensuring the displaced residents are accommodated, she said.
Robinson said she was honoured to receive the call from Horgan on Monday to take on her new portfolio. "It's a lot of responsibility but I wanted it," she said, noting she got involved in Coquitlam civic politics in 2007 with the cold/wet weather mat program in the Tri-Cities. "Now, here I am 10 years later and I'm still doing the same work. It's come full circle."
Speaking from the legislature, Robinson said her goal is to deliver her party's commitment to making housing affordable for British Columbians as well as growing the economy.
Asked about BC Housing, which is overseeing the Riverview Hospital site and is in her constituency, and whether she would be removing the BC Liberals' break-even mandate for any work on the lands, Robinson said it's too early to tell. Under former premier Christy Clark, the agency was told redevelopment of the 244-acre Coquitlam site could not come at a cost to taxpayers and would have to follow a strict budget.
"That's all in the mix. It's something we will have to look at. We can't do everything in 24 hours," she joked.
Also high on her priority list is a province-wide pesticide ban — an issue she pressed while on Coquitlam city council.
As for her constituents, Robinson said, "I'm committed to making life more affordable for people in the Tri-Cities. There are lots of things that need to happen."
Farnworth also said Tri-City residents will benefit from him being solicitor general as "I will be at the decision-making table."
Meanwhile, rookie NDP MLA Rick Glumac of Port Moody-Coquitlam was named parliamentary secretary for technology. The former PoMo councillor, who used to chair the city's economic development committee, said his new position — which falls under the jobs ministry — "aligns really well with my tech background…. Certainly, there will be opportunities to find ways to bring [high-tech companies] to the community."
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
