Now that he’s been announced as the Conservative shadow minster for labour, Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Kiel Giddens vows he will fight for workers’ rights and will pressure the provincial government to create a business-friendly environment that makes it easier for entrepreneurs and small business owners to thrive.
It’s now the rookie MLA’s job to be the party’s critic to Labour Minister Jennifer Whiteside, the former advanced education minister and New Westminster-Coquitlam MLA who takes on a new role in the NDP government after two years as minister of mental health and addictions.
“Labour is a critical file both for workers and for employers so I’m going to be pushing for a labour-relations system that really makes sense,” said Giddens. “My job as a critic is to really dig into these files and to find solutions and also really question the government’s current policies, I think we can do much better than they are now.
“The NDP used to claim they were the workers’ party, but it really seems under the NDP that they’ve abandoned private sector workers with no private sector jobs to speak of. Really, they’re shutting down private sector jobs in favour of special interest groups and their own activists.
“I’ve talked to lots of private sector unions during the campaign and in my previous roles and they’re all worried about where their next paycheque is coming from these days. We need to get back to supporting workers and I want to go back to a private sector-led economy.”
Giddens says he intends to fight for employers and workers in BC struggling to survive the harsh economic climate and increasingly difficult working conditions brought on by labour shortages, especially in the healthcare sector.
“During the campaign I heard from many groups, including nurses, firefighters and paramedics about how working conditions are so unsafe right now,” said Giddens.
“That’s something within the WorkSafe BC program that we really need to look at how to make things more safe for our workplaces.”
The two other Prince George MLA’s, Sheldon Clare (Prince George-North Cariboo) and Rosalyn Bird (Prince George Valemount) were also named to shadow cabinet posts. Clare becomes the deputy whip, while Bird is shadow minister for citizen’s services.
John Rustad’s Conservatives came out of the Oct. 19 election with 44 seats, the strongest opposition representation in BC history. With 47 seats, the NDP has the slimmest of majorities and Giddens says that will make for interesting times at the Legislature.
It’s expected Premier David Eby will announce that Raj Chouhan will remain the speaker of the Legislative assembly and Giddens says the election results will put the government in a precarious position.
“They will rely on (Chouhan) to break tie votes, unless they have some other arrangement with the Green Party,” said Giddens. “This parliament is going to be pretty challenging for them. It is the largest opposition caucus in BC history. They really gave everybody in our caucus a critic role to make sure that every aspect of government was being properly scrutinized.”
