Editor:
My first response to Mathew Wilson’s letter to the editor in last week’s paper (“Power and principles”) was – what is the motive? It appears to be another time-worn, partisan game. Second, I was surprised that Mr. Wilson did not know how the BC Green/NDP agreement differs from a coalition. Once Ms. Clark convenes the legislature and loses the confidence of the house, the BC Greens will remain a distinct party in opposition with the ability to vote independently, with the exception of the negotiated items noted in the agreement (many of which were directly from the BC Green Party platform).
The results of this election set the table for politics to be done in a different, more democratic manner with more cooperation across party lines than we have seen in over 65 years. All three parties acknowledged that the voters of B.C. made it abundantly clear that this is what they desire of their elected officials. This means that the BC Green MLAs can introduce their own unique legislation and can support, or not, BC Liberal bills and/or BC NDP bills on an issue-by-issue basis in an unwhipped manner. To put things into perspective, the agreement to support the BC NDP in supply and confidence motions generally amounts to two votes per year – the speech from the throne and a supply motion. Each and every elected MLA can either embrace this new, more democratic way of negotiating bills or they can wilfully sabotage the process. I hope they choose the former.
During the recent election, it was clear that the people in our riding are tired of political mudslinging. They want their elected officials and “want-to-be” elected officials to concentrate on finding solutions to issues affecting our riding, province and country.
Seeing there was no abandonment of principles as Mr. Wilson fabricated, I won’t hold you in suspense – I still plan to run for the BC Greens again in the next election.
Kim Darwin, Sechelt
