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NDP poised to take power

Greens back New Democrats to oust Liberals

Powell River-Sunshine Coast New Democrat MLA Nicholas Simons is ready to take his place on the government side after a major upset this week for the B.C. Liberals.

On Monday, Green Party leader Andrew Weaver and NDP leader John Horgan announced they had reached a power-sharing agreement that paves the way for a minority NDP government. Under the deal, the three Green MLAs elected May 9 would support the NDP’s 41 members on all confidence votes for a period of four years, giving the two parties a 44-43 margin over the Liberals.

“I wouldn’t say it’s fragile, but it’s a thin margin, that’s for sure,” Simons said from Victoria the next day. “Obviously you can’t get any thinner than that. But the agreement states pretty clearly that the members of the Green caucus and the NDP caucus will do everything they can to ensure that there is stability in the legislature and that a government has a chance to put forward and pass important policy decisions and legislation.”

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Premier Christy Clark. - Photo by Dan Toulgoet/Vancouver Courier

Responding to the NDP-Green alliance Tuesday, Premier Christy Clark ended speculation that she would step down immediately, saying she would continue as premier and recall the legislature this month to test the confidence of the house. Her government, she admitted repeatedly, would likely fall as a result.

“If there is going to be a transfer of power in this province, and it certainly seems like there will be, it shouldn’t be done behind closed doors – it should happen in public,” Clark said. “It should happen in the people’s house with 87 members elected by British Columbians to our legislature making that decision.”

Minutes after Clark spoke to reporters, celebratory NDP and Green MLAs formed up behind their leaders in the legislature for the public unveiling of their 10-page agreement, contingent on “the principle of good faith and no surprises.”

The deal would see the new government:

• Ban union and corporate political donations and contributions from non-residents while placing limits on individual contributions.

• Hold a referendum on proportional representation in the fall of 2018 concurrent with local government elections and, if approved, enact the new system for the next provincial election.

• Extend the current term to four and a half years in order to shift the fixed election date from May to a date in the fall so that a budget is passed prior to an election.

• Increase the carbon tax by $5 per tonne per year starting April 1, 2018; expand the tax to fugitive emissions and slash-pile burning; and deliver rebate cheques “to ensure the majority of British Colum-bians are better off financially than under the current carbon tax formula.”

• Refer the Site C dam project to the BC Utilities Commission for a full economic review.

• Employ “every tool available” to stop the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

• Establish a path to a minimum wage of at least $15 per hour.

• Eliminate MSP premiums.

The document also pledges to improve health care, education, child care and child protection services; address the housing shortage and addictions crisis; implement a poverty reduction strategy; support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and establish an emerging economy task force and innovation commission.

“I believe that the public wants change as quickly as possible,” Horgan told the media, adding that he was hopeful that Clark would recall the legislature “in a timely manner.”

Explaining why the Greens chose to support the NDP over the Liberals, Weaver said it ultimately came down to climate leadership.

“There’s many shared values that we have with the B.C. NDP, but most importantly, I go back to what got us into politics in the first place,” Weaver said. “When I entered in politics back in 2013, I did so because I could not stand by and watch the dismantling of our climate leadership… I could not stand by and watch the dismantling of an economy that was growing in the new 21st century fashion. With the B.C. NDP I find a partner that will actually position British Columbia in the new economy.”

While acknowledging that goal, Horgan said he would be focusing on investing in and revitalizing the forestry sector and was “committed to making sure that rural British Columbia is represented in our government.”

Simons said he had met with his rural caucus colleagues “and we’re well aware of the need to ensure that the message that we have is one that reflects the rural needs.”

On issues specific to the Sunshine Coast, Simons said long-term care facilities and ferries would be high priorities.

“But I think really the most critical issue for the Sunshine Coast right now is housing and homelessness,” he said. “It’s a housing crisis… It’s ongoing and persistent and affects everybody… The lack of affordable housing has a lot of downstream consequences to our economy. My hope is that our plan will be robust and one that can address the issue as quickly as possible.”