The BC Liberal government has been defeated in a non-confidence vote, and it is now up to Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon to decide whether to call an election or let the NDP form a minority government.
Guichon's decision could come down in a matter of hours, or days.
If an election is called, Premier Christy Clark said the Liberals will run on the throne speech delivered last week -- a speech that she said was an admission that her party had failed to listen some of the concerns of British Columbians.
"It's an acknowledgement -- a sincere acknowledgement -- that we didn't get it all right," she said.
The throne speech has been criticized as a cynical ploy by the Liberals to adopt a number of key NDP and Green Party planks and then defy them to vote against it. It is a platform that might not be supported by the business community, filled as it is with massive increases in government spending.
"I've heard a lot of people say we've change," Clark said, in her final speech as premier. "But I know that leaders don't lead by refusing to adapt. Leaders do not lead by refusing to hear and refusing to listen."
As expected, the throne speech presented last week was voted down Thursday, June 29 in a non-confidence vote put forward by NDP Leader John Horgan and seconded by Green MLA Sonia Furstenau. The non-confidence motion passed 44 to 42.
Since Clark no longer commands the confidence of the house, the procedure now is for her to visit the lieutenant governor and offer her resignation, or ask for a dissolution and election.
One thing Clark said she will not offer Guichon is her advice on what the lieutenant governor should do now, although she will give it, if asked.
The premier has the right (some pundits have described it as an obligation) to give the lieutenant governor advice on what to do next, including possibly advising her to call an election.
But at a press conference Wednesday, Clark took what might be called a passive-aggressive position, saying she said she would not advise the lieutenant governor on whether or not to call an election, but would give her opinion, if Guichon asks her.
And Clark made it clear at the press conference what her opinion is: a minority NDP government would not be functional.
“I haven’t seen any evidence that it could work,” Clark said. “I know that they have the numbers to topple the government and to take power, but I haven’t seen any evidence that they have the numbers that they need to actually govern.”
The NDP have 41 seats, the Greens three and the Liberals 43.
Combined, the NDP and Greens have one seat more than the Liberals, but since Liberal MLA Steve Thomson has already resigned as Speaker, a Green or NDP MLA will have to become Speaker, unless they can convince a Liberal MLA to take the job, which pays a premium.
For confidence motions to pass – budgets and throne speeches – the new Speaker would need to defy convention and cast deciding votes. And an NDP or Green MLA need only miss one critical vote to bring the new government down.
For that reason, Clark said she thought the NDP and Green arrangement is too tenuous to provide a properly functioning government.
The B.C. business community has expressed concern over the uncertainty that now marks the B.C. political landscape. They are also concerned about major infrastructure projects like the George Massey Tunnel replacement project and Site C dam being scrapped by a minority NDP government.
In Thursday’s debate on a non-confidence motion put forward by the NDP, one Liberal MLA also warned that a nascent liquefied natural gas industry will "die on the vine" under a Green-backed NDP government.
The NDP has been lukewarm towards the LNG industry, while Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver has been outright dismissive of it.
Clark’s promise of several multi-billion dollar LNG projects being built in B.C. have failed to manifest. Only one small LNG project – the Woodfibre LNG project in Squamish – is moving forward.
Major players like Petronas and Shell put their projects – which combined would represent investments of close to $80 billion – on the back burner, waiting for a recovery in oil and gas prices.
It is expected they might still make final investment decisions, but would need to time their projects for a rebalancing of supply and demand – the market being oversupplied.
“It’s an industry with a potential for dozens of billions of dollars in new investment, thousands of jobs for a generation, and billions in income to support the social programs we all value,” said Liberal MLA Laurie Throness (Chilliwack-Kent).
“Will any proponent make a final investment decision with the NDP and Greens in power? I highly doubt it, Mr. Speaker. This growing industry is going to whither and die on the vine, thanks to NDP-Green coalition.”
