B.C. Green Leader says the B.C. Liberal government's progressive throne speech has not altered his position that most of the province's residents want regime change.

Andrew Weaver noted, however, that the "astonishing about-face" demonstrates the difference that his party made in the election. But he cautioned that a confidence vote is a matter of trust.

"We cannot have confidence in a government that for sixteen years has argued against these policies, and in the last few days has suddenly recognized that they are in the best interests of British Columbians," Weaver said in a statement. "We will look to the Liberals to demonstrate a genuine willingness to follow through on these commitments regardless of where they sit in the legislature."

Speaking for the B.C. Liberal government, Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon talked about banning union, corporate, and third-party political donations, as well as banning loans to parties by any organization other than chartered banks or credit unions. Even federal parties would be prohibited from lending to their provincial counterparts.

This would preclude the NDP, for example, from borrowing from organized labour or the federal New Democrats to finance its next election campaign. 

The speech from the throne also stated that these changes would apply to local government candidates and parties.

In addition, the B.C. Liberal government pledged to spend $1 billion on childcare and build 60,000 new childcare spaces over four years.

Among other progressive measures, the throne speech called for a basic income support for youth aged 18 to 24 who are making the transition from government care. There are also commitments to raise social assistance rates by $100 per month and to boost legal-aid funding by 25 percent.

"For the first time, we now have all-party agreement on major issues like banning big money, investing significantly in child care and raising social assistance rates," Weaver said. "All three parties now support holding a referendum on proportional representation that will give British Columbians a legislature that reflects our province's diversity."