Kootenay-Rockies MLA Pete Davis has been named the Conservative Party of B.C.'s shadow critic for critical minerals, mining and the Columbia River Treaty.
Davis will be shadowing BC NDP MLA Jagrup Brar, who was named the Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals when Premier David Eby announced the provincial cabinet on Nov. 18.
Davis said Rustad reached out to his caucus to see what kind of roles everyone might be interested in when building the shadow cabinet. Davis added he met with Rustad in-person to highlight the importance of mining to the East Kootenay economy, particularly from the Elk Valley Resources coal mines in the Elk Valley.
"We've got a lot of mining going on in this area; we produce almost one per cent of revenue for B.C. from mining alone," Davis said. "I told him that I think it'd be a disservice If I wasn't a part of that portfolio, and John agreed with that, so that was great."
Earlier in November, Davis was one of 56 newly-elected MLAs sworn into office following a tight election contest that saw the BC NDP capture 47 seats against the Conservative Party of BC's 44 seats, while the BC Green Party earned two seats.
"It's an honour," Davis said. "I'm honoured that the people of Kootenay Rockies elected to send me to Victoria to represent them and it's something I don't take likely and I want to make sure I do the best job I can to be a voice for Kootenay-Rockies in Victoria."
For now, one of the most pressing orders of business for the new government is to elect a House Speaker, however, there is no indication yet from Premier Eby when the legislature may sit to do so.
"Things seem to be starting off a bit slower than we were hoping," Davis said. "We're still waiting to hear back from the NDP if we're even going to sit before Christmas here, but we're excited to get to work and make sure we're holding them accountable for a lot of the promises that Eby made during the election."
