As the B.C. legislature prepares to resume sitting in June after the disruption caused by COVID-19, former B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver has roasted his former party colleagues for caring more about their own re-election prospects than the environment-focused partyB次元官网网址檚 principles.

Weaver has vowed to continue supporting the B.C. NDP minority government since announcing in January he was leaving the B.C. Green Party as well as its leadership. But in a weekend comment on social media, he said that wasnB次元官网网址檛 the case after Premier John Horgan granted tax concessions for the development of the LNG Canada export project.

B次元官网网址淢y former colleagues Adam Olsen and Sonia Furstenau were afraid to stand up to the B.C. NDP with regard to the LNG development,B次元官网网址� Weaver wrote on Twitter May 23. B次元官网网址淚 was ready to go to election, but in my opinion, they were more interested in re-election than they were about standing up for B.C. Green principles.B次元官网网址�

Weaver was responding to FurstenauB次元官网网址檚 endorsement of a four-day work week proposal considered by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. B次元官网网址淭his is an absolutely kooky idea,B次元官网网址� Weaver told Furstenau, who is seeking the B.C. Green leadership in a contest that has been stalled by the coronavirus pandemic. B次元官网网址淚t is far more complicated than just a few sound bites and a tweet.B次元官网网址�

My former colleagues & were afraid to stand up to the BC NDP wrt to the LNG development. I was ready to go to election, but in my opinion, they were more interested in re-election than they were about standing up for principles.

B次元官网网址� Andrew Weaver (@AJWVictoriaBC)

Weaver led a B.C. Greens protest after Horgan helped secure the LNG Canada and Coastal Gaslink pipeline project by removing an LNG income tax imposed by former premier Christy Clark. Horgan also extended B.C. HydroB次元官网网址檚 commercial electricity rate to LNG CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Kitimat-based project and deferred provincial sales tax payment until it begins shipping liquefied natural gas to Asia.

A walkout of all three B.C. Green MLAs in April 2019 resulted in the opposition B.C. Liberals winning a vote to keep the project agreement with LNG Canada public.

B次元官网网址淭his is the B.C. NDP and B.C. LiberalsB次元官网网址� legislation,B次元官网网址� Weaver wrote on Twitter after the walkout. B次元官网网址淭hey now walk hand in hand in giving handouts to a fossil fuel project that will be CanadaB次元官网网址檚 largest source of emissions.B次元官网网址�

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But the protest was symbolic, since the B.C. Liberals supported LNG Canada along with the NDP, resulting in support of 84 MLAs to three. And as Weaver quit the Green leadership and the party in January 2020, he to Horgan that reiterated his support for the minority government and the NDPB次元官网网址檚 CleanBC plan for reducing greenhouse gases that Weaver co-authored.

CleanBC includes such far-off goals as restricting new vehicle sales to zero-emission models by 2040. Before it was agreed to, Weaver argued that the LNG Canada project would reverse any greenhouse gas gains the province could make.

Weaver and the two remaining B.C. Green MLAs have supported the NDP minority in votes, including crucial B次元官网网址渃onfidenceB次元官网网址� votes on spending that could result in the defeat of the government and an election call. Green MLAs were part of a one-day emergency session of the legislature March 25 that gave the Horgan government $50 billion in temporary spending authority to keep the B.C. government in operation, including a $5 billion contingency fund to cover cash payments to individuals that plunged the province into deficit.

The $40 billion LNG Canada project is considered the largest private sector investment in Canadian history, linking northeast B.C. and Alberta shale gas deposits with customers in China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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