Christy Clark reiterated that she doesn't expect to be B.C. premier much longer, while addressing media at today's Liberal MLA swearing-in ceremony. <\/p>\n
\"There is a very strong likelihood that the government will be defeated on a confidence motion, and I think that's a fair assumption to make,\" she said. <\/p>\n
\"We are in an unusual place in the province,\" she said. \"It's an unusual situation when the party that gets the most seats does not govern.\" <\/p>\n
The NDP and Greens won a combined 44 seats in last month's election and have agreed to work together to unseat the Liberals and form a minority government. The Liberals won 43 seats. <\/p>\n
With the legislature set to berecalled June 22, there is growing intrigue over who will be elected Speakerand whether or not it will throw the legislature into gridlock. <\/p>\n
Normally, the Speaker comes from the party forming government, which would have the effect of reducing the combined NDP-Green seat total to 43, tied with the Liberals. <\/p>\n
Parliamentary convention has it that in the event of a tievote, the Speaker would continue debate and maintain the status quo. However, in the matter of a confidence vote, the speaker could cast the tie-breaking vote. <\/p>\n
LiberalGovernment House Leader Mike deJongcautioned it would be dangerous to go against custom and politicizethe Speaker's position. <\/p>\n
NDP leader John Horgan is introduced to his caucus in advance of the NDP swearing-in ceremony. (Mike McArthur\/CBC) <\/p>\n
\"Whoever that person ends up being, there are parliamentary conventions in place for the approach the Speaker takes when called upon to cast a deciding vote,\" he said. <\/p>\n
\"To begin to amend the rules simply to buttress or make life easier in a precarious minoritysituation isfraught with problems.\" <\/p>\n
The 41-member NDP caucus was sworn in this afternoon, one day after thethree elected members from theB.C. Green Party. <\/p>\n
Clark said her party would be willing to support the NDP-Greens on issues they agree on, but that major decisions on Liberal-backed Kinder Morgan and Site C need to be pushed forward. <\/p>\n
Clark and NDP Leader John Horganhave been waging a public letter-writing battle over the massive Site C hydroelectric dam, sparked by Horganadvising BC Hydro to not sign any new contracts related to the $8.8 billion project. <\/p>\n
And the NDP-Green alliance has said it will attempt to stop the twinning of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, which has federal approval and is slated to begin work in September. <\/p>\n
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Liberal, NDP MLAs take part in swearing-in ceremony - CBC.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christy Clark reiterated that she doesn't expect to be B.C. premier much longer, while addressing media at today's Liberal MLA swearing-in ceremony Continue reading