David Parkins for The Globe and Mail
Four is a magic figure in B.C.'s Legislature.
It's the minimum number required to get party status in the House. Four MLAs united under a single banner will land money for extra staff and hefty pay raises for all kinds of positions like party leader and caucus whip. It means seating on legislative committees and recognition in Question Period.
Since the election of May of 2009, Vicki Huntington was the only Independent MLA, sitting by herself in a back-row seat in the House, relegated to near-spectator status most days while the governing Liberals and the opposition New Democrats dominated the business of the legislature.
In recent weeks, however, the number of Independent MLAs has grown. Thanks to Liberal and NDP unrest, the threshold for a third party has been reached.
It is not unthinkable that Ms. Huntington, once a B.C. Liberal Party member, could find common ground with ex-Liberals Bill Bennett and Blair Lekstrom. Not a stretch either that ex-New Democrat Bob Simpson, himself a former Liberal riding president, might see eye to eye on issues. All four are mavericks, united in rebelling against the conformity demanded by the party system.
So even as the Speaker of the House, Bill Barisoff, was busy this week with a shoehorn, trying to find office space for the new Independents in the precincts, he was dusting off the arcane rules that govern the establishment of a party inside the legislature.
"If they chose to, as a group of four they could come to me with justification to be recognized as a party," he said. Legitimacy means common principles − something that wouldn't look like a simple cash and power grab.
But the Bloc Maverick is not ready to take off.
Mr. Lekstrom, who quit cabinet over his government's handling of the harmonized sales tax, said he is waiting to see who takes over the B.C. Liberals from Premier Gordon Campbell in case he can go home again. It's not as simple for Mr. Bennett, after his tirade against Mr. Campbell got him kicked out of cabinet and caucus, but he may also want to keep his options open.
Mr. Simpson has been out in the cold since being fired in October for voicing dissent against NDP Leader Carole James. This week, he gave up on the idea of returning and moved into his new office. "I have to get on with my life now as an Independent."
He has done his research on the grounds for forming a new party, but he wasn't optimistic that the four could go beyond pooling their resources as a loose collective. Each of the current Independents has been outspoken against the "trap" of party discipline, he noted.
Ms. Huntington is delighted to have the company nonetheless. "I'm sure each of us is thinking it's time for us to have a chat, to see whether any of our interests will align," she said in an interview. "Maybe something will come of it," she said.
However, she is no fan of the party system, and she points to the fractures in the Liberals and the NDP as vindication of her decision to run as an Independent.
"To me, it is proof that the party structure isn't answering the needs of the public." And until the party system can accommodate the public's increasing insistence that their MLAs have a voice, she predicted, "these parties are going to continue to fracture. It's inevitable."
On Wednesday afternoon, her prediction hit the mark.
Jenny Kwan, the de facto leader of the Baker's Dozen − the 13 NDP MLAs who have carried on a muted rebellion against Ms. James − went public with a call for a change in leadership. At least seven other members of caucus now publicly back Ms. Kwan.
Mr. Simpson was fired from caucus for less. The showdown could end with an entire bloc of disaffected New Democrats − the Anybody But Carole James party. (Not to be confused with the Liberals Who Won't Sit With Gordon Campbell party.)
A balkanized legislature − even for a few short months while the two parties resolve their leadership issues − might not be a bad thing. If B.C. voters want a legislature where MLAs can actually represent their constituents, they'll get to see what that looks like in the next few months.