B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver stepped up his symbolic protest against the NDP governmentB次元官网网址檚 tax breaks for natural gas exports, walking out of the legislature with his fellow MLAs to let the opposition win a vote.

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 three Green MLAs intentionally skipped the vote Tuesday evening. 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�

My caucus colleagues and I have abstained from voting on the LNG amendment brought forward by the BC Liberals. We will play no part in debating, passing or defeating an amendment on a piece of legislation we fundamentally oppose. 

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

The vote on an amendment was a tie, 41 to 41, after Weaver and the Greens left the chamber. B.C. Liberal MLA Joan Isaacs, the assistant deputy speaker who was presiding over debate, cast the deciding vote with the opposition. The result was to force the NDP government to keep a provision to make its project agreement with LNG Canada public.

While the outcome doesnB次元官网网址檛 change the provinceB次元官网网址檚 deal to support LNG CanadaB次元官网网址檚 $40 billion investment in a pipeline and gas export facilities at Kitimat, it demonstrates the tension in the minority government as the B.C. Greens continue to keep the NDP in power.

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B.C. Liberal MLA Ellis Ross, a former Haisla Nation chief and long-time backer of LNG projects for the Kitimat area, was scornful of the Green protest.

B次元官网网址淢an this is shameful,B次元官网网址� Ross tweeted after the vote. B次元官网网址淭he Green Party left the house so they wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have to vote against the NDP on accountability. Then they come back in after the vote is over to vote no on LNG.B次元官网网址�

That was an embarrassing day for the BCGREENS. They DID NOT abstain. They ran out of the house so they wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have to vote on BCNDP accountability

B次元官网网址� Ellis Ross (@ellisbross)

The votes came after a long debate on the LNG tax breaks, which repeal the Christy Clark governmentB次元官网网址檚 LNG income tax, extend the commercial rate for electricity to LNG Canada, and defer provincial sales tax payment until the project begins shipping liquefied gas to Asia.

B.C. Liberal MLA Mike de Jong spent much of the day Tuesday pressing Finance Minister Carole James on making the project agreement public, and on the lack of a formal agreement on how many temporary foreign workers would be used in construction.

LNG Canada is a consortium of Shell, Korea Gas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi of Japan and Petronas, a Malaysian-based energy giant.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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