NDP leader John Hogan, Green Party leader Andrew Weaver
The Council of Canadians is calling on Green Party leader Andrew Weaver to work with NDP leader John Horgan to stop Liberal premier Christy Clark’s extreme energy agenda in British Columbia.
While the final results will not be confirmed until May 24, at this point it would appear the Liberals won 43 seats, John Horgan’s NDP won 41 seats, and Weaver’s Green Party won 3 seats in the May 9 provincial election.
AM730 reports, “[With 170,000] yet-to-be counted absentee ballots — all eyes are on a few tight races that could still decide the election. UBC economist Kevin Milligan says there’s no way to know for sure what will happen when Elections BC opens absentee ballots on May 22nd, but he says a look at the 2013 election could provide some insight. Milligan analyzed the absentee vote in these tight ridings from 2013, then plugged the numbers into a simulation that he ran one million times.”
According to Milligan, there’s a 60 per cent chance the outcome will remain the same (Liberals 43, NDP 41), a 25 per cent chance it could be a tie (Liberals 42, NDP 42), a 20 per cent chance the NDP could win two extra seats (NDP 43, Liberals 41), and a 10 per cent chance the Liberals could win one more seat (Liberals 44, NDP 40).
In the meantime, The Globe and Mail reports, “The Premier’s office intends to appoint a cabinet in June and then to recall the legislature quickly. Her government would need to introduce a Throne Speech which would require a vote of confidence from the House.” The article adds that Clark intends to quickly introduce a new budget as well.
The newspaper notes that Clark could include these (relatively modest) measures in that budget to win Green Party support: new spending on education, free daycare for working parents with children under the age of 3, restoring a high-income tax bracket for those earning more than $108,460 a year, a 1 per cent increase in the corporate tax rate, a carbon tax increase of $10 a year for each tonne of carbon emitted, and an end to the freeze on welfare rates in the province.
But 24 Hours columnist Bill Tieleman (formerly an NDP strategist and communications director at the B.C. Federation of Labour) says, “It’s time to talk about a ‘red-green alliance’ – between the BC New Democrats and Greens – common in Europe between social democrats and environmentalists – to defeat the BC Liberals. Clark – unless final vote counts give her one more seat – cannot govern without the Greens.”
Tieleman highlights, “Comparing the BC NDP, Green and BC Liberal election platforms makes it obvious Clark’s party is way out of step with the other two. The BC NDP and Greens would end corporate and union political donations; want a proportional representation electoral system; oppose the Kinder Morgan oil pipeline; want significant action on housing affordability; have serious concerns about BC Hydro’s Site C dam, the $3 billion George Massey bridge and liquefied natural gas projects; support for universal child care and increased public transit funding; boosting both disability and social assistance benefits and a lot more.”
Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May notes, “The B.C. election cliff-hanger will continue to fascinate Canadians. This is, to put it mildly, an interesting result. But it is also offers an important education in the benefits of minority governments, the potential for proportional representation [under which the Greens would have won 15 seats, not 3] and the truth that you can get what you want, when you vote for what you want. At its best, May 9 gives oxygen to a debilitated democracy.”
To date, we have generated 1,250 letters to Horgan and Weaver that says, “NDP and Green Party voters have clearly expressed opposition to Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline, Site C and the expansion of the LNG and fracking industry. They want B.C. to embark on a just energy transition process and ensure Indigenous rights are respected. The time for action and collaboration is now. Working together to address these pressing issues would be an earnest step in that direction.”
To add your voice to this demand, please click here.
The Council of Canadians is a non-partisan organization that endorses no political party, but rather is committed to building a peoples’ movement capable of holding any government accountable to the public interest.
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