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Local Liberal representatives waiting in limbo

B.C.’s political landscape is starting to take shape, almost three weeks after voters went to the polls.
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B.C.’s political landscape is starting to take shape, almost three weeks after voters went to the polls.

On Monday the BC Greens and BC NDP announced they plan to work together to form a minority government combining the NDP’s 41 seats with the Greens’ three seats to have one more than the Liberals’ 43 seats, with the real possibility of NDP leader John Horgan becoming premier.

Members of both parties signed a detailed agreement Tuesday afternoon outlining policy issues.

The signing of the agreement did not stop Christy Clark from announcing Tuesday she plans to stay on as premier.

She admitted she would likely lose a confidence vote in the legislature, and if she did, said she would resign as premier and be content to be the leader of the opposition.

Rather than resigning initially, Clark said it was her duty under constitutional convention to face a vote.

“We have a duty to meet the house and test its confidence,” Clark told reporters.

Cariboo-Chilcotin incumbent Donna Barnett, who has served as the Minister of State for Rural Economic Development under Clark for the past two years, told the Tribune Monday she had “no comment” while Cariboo North incumbent Coralee Oakes who served as the province’s Minister of Small Business, did not return calls for comment.

Meanwhile Cariboo-Chilcotin candidates Rita Giesbrecht (Green) and Sally Waston (NDP) were very happy with the news.

“I’m very excited,” Giesbrecht said. “Of course it’s unpredictable what Christy and the Liberals will do, but the long-term outcome is that there is going to be an NDP/Green Party moving forward and we will have principled decision making in B.C. which we haven’t seen.”

Watson said forming the minority government was “the right thing to do” and she could not imagine going back to an election.

The NDP and Green party platforms were close enough they could work together, she added.

“Because our Liberal MLA could be part of the opposition, it could be very interesting,” Watson said.

Horgan told his caucus Tuesday the split votes between the BC Liberals and the NDP during the election is a message to all parties to work together.

In the original version of this article Barnett had no comment but she contacted the Tribune Wednesday morning.

“We are going to form government and the premier will be putting together a throne speech, and after that we will see what happens,” Barnett said, noting the throne speech will be delivered some time in June.

No matter what happens, Barnett said she will representing the Cariboo-Chilcotin and will be “working harder than ever” for the region and rural B.C.



Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
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