Formal governing arrangement 'very close,' says B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver
Weaver says meetings with Liberals and NDP have been productive, plans to have something to announce Wednesday
B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver says his party is "very, very close" to announcing a more formal governing arrangement, following the final results of the election earlier this week.
Weaver wouldn't speculate on what it might look like, but said the party is on track to be able to make an announcement by Wednesday, when the writ is officially returned.
"I wanted to emphasize: this is incredibly complex," Weaver told reporters at a news conference on Friday.
"It's not just about picking the B.C. NDP or picking the B.C. Liberals. It's about trying to ensure that we have stability, trying to ensure that we're able to get legislation in place [and] trying to ensure that a speaker can function, so we're really working through the nitty-gritties with both political parties."
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Weaver said meetings with both the B.C. Liberals and NDP have been productive, and that more are scheduled in the coming days. He said there is more commonality between the three parties than public discourse might lead one to believe.
Weaver said he is focused less on picking one party over the other and more on ensuring stability. The Green Party leader has said before that he doesn't want a coalition, something he reiterated Friday.
"A coalition would undermine our ability to be who we are [as] B.C. Greens, and we would feel our process was co-opted by another political party, potentially," Weaver said.
The final results of the election were announced earlier this week, with the Liberals taking 43 seats, the NDP 41 and the Greens three, with the Liberals falling short of the 44 required to form a majority government.