Vancouver-
Supporters of BC’s next premier admire him, while his rivals distrust him.
Both agree that David Eby’s mastermind is not to be taken lightly.
Eby earned a reputation for tackling some of the most complex and controversial portfolios in the BC government while in Cabinet and bringing fierce arguments to the table against his opponents.
Soon he will test that experience as the province’s leader in a time of overlapping crises in health care, housing, public safety and climate disasters.
“He is taking on big challenges and delivering on his promises, and I am confident that he will when he goes forward,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister for Jobs, Economic Recovery and of Innovation.
Eby became leader of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia on Friday, paving the way for his swearing in as premier on a date yet to be determined.
He will replace John Horgan, who announced in June that he would step down after beating cancer for the second time and said it left him with little energy for the work he loved.
Eby was first elected to the Legislative Assembly to represent the affluent neighborhood of Vancouver-Point Gray in 2013, when he defeated former premier Christy Clark, a deadly feat that forced Clark to seek a seat. in a by-election in Kelowna.
After gaining attention as a passionate critic in opposition, he joined the cabinet when the NDP took power in 2017. Some of his records as attorney general and minister responsible for housing have included a crackdown on the money laundering, leading a debate on housing policy reforms and overhauling the cash-strapped, British Columbia Crown Insurance Corporation, which he memorably called a ‘dumpster fire’.
He also inaugurated the creation of a Human Rights Commissioner for British Columbia.
Kahlon described Eby as a “natural leader” in the firm and on the committee who is caring and caring.
“You can see he is actively listening. You can often see him change his position, if he hears good arguments. These are signs of good leadership,” said Kahlon, who served as Eby’s leadership campaign co-chair.
Prior to entering politics, Eby worked as a human rights lawyer specializing in constitutional and administrative law. He worked as an assistant law professor at the University of British Columbia and headed the BC Civil Liberties Association, where he wrote “The Arrest Handbook,” a guide to what to expect from the police and how act if you are arrested.
He told a press conference on Friday that his work with the Pivot Legal Society as an advocate for people living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside was formative.
“It was very clear to the people in that neighborhood whether I was acting in their best interests by delivering for them or not, because if I did, they kept their house, they didn’t become homeless. But if I didn’t, then their life wasn’t better and they didn’t know why we were talking,” Eby said.
This job taught him the importance of focusing on listening to community members and paying attention to their priorities rather than his own, he said.
“If I wasn’t doing that, then I wasn’t doing my job. That’s what it’s all about for me and it’s still true in government.
Katrina Chen, minister of state for childcare, said Eby had played an encouraging role since joining the government, suggesting she had an important perspective to bring as an immigrant from Taiwan, single mother and person who learned English as a second language. .
“There were times when he would ask my opinion on issues, even on things like housing where he’s an expert,” Chen said, adding that he seemed interested in looking at the issue from a multicultural perspective.
She would give him her honest opinion on how a policy might affect him, and he would take it seriously, she said.
Sitting across the aisle from Eby’s legislature required a certain level of alertness.
“When you’re dealing with someone as smart and partisan as David Eby, you better be prepared,” said BC Liberal Mike de Jong, who served as Eby’s spokesman. in the Attorney General’s file before he left office.
De Jong, a former finance minister, was also regularly questioned by Eby when the Liberals were in power.
On a personal level, he described their relationship as “cordial and professional.”
However, the two traded blows over the years and de Jong took a more skeptical view of Eby’s approach to politics, describing him as an “ultra-partisan political fighter”.
By that, de Jong clarified, he meant that Eby could be “very accusatory, very dismissive of opponents.”
“For example, David Eby’s claim that his political opponents didn’t care is incorrect,” de Jong said.
He said when Horgan announced he would be stepping down, there wasn’t much of a surprise within the Liberal caucus when Eby quickly emerged as the favorite to succeed him.
“When our roles were reversed and I was in government and he was in opposition, I teased him once about being the dolphin, the chosen one to succeed,” said de Jong, referring to the historical French term for heir to the throne.
“I think I said that seven years ago. Turns out he was more the chosen one than I thought. So the dolphin has now taken his place.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 21, 2022.
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