B.C. Green party win breaks barrier, says Andrew Weaver

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      The Green Party of B.C. is sending its first member to the B.C. Legislature, following the election of University of Victoria climate scientist Andrew Weaver.

      The deputy leader of the B.C. Green party will represent the riding of Oak Bay–Gordon Head in what Weaver notes is the first time a Green party politician has been elected to a provincial legislature in Canada.

      “I think from that perspective it’s broken an important barrier,” he said in a phone interview. “Elizabeth May broke the federal barrier, and we’ve now broken the provincial barrier as well.”

      Weaver noted that the B.C. Greens hope to follow the example set by May, the leader of the federal Green party, in Ottawa.

      “I would argue strongly that her impact as one individual is more powerful than 100 Tory backbenchers,” he stated. “She has had way more influence on Canadian politics, because what you can do is you can raise issues in a manner that is not hyper-partisan, and one where you haven’t stuck your finger up to the wind and seen which way the public opinion has blown.”

      The professor said he hopes to be able to demonstrate how politics can be done differently.

      “Frankly, I think if we get beyond these hyper-partisan politics, we’d move a lot further ahead in British Columbia, and we wouldn’t be viewed from afar across Canada as kind of a place where politics is a bit of a circus,” he said. “It doesn’t need to be that way.”

      In Weaver’s view, his win in the riding of former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister Ida Chong is a sign of public support for that kind of change.

      “If you run a strong campaign…and you have a candidate who’s got deep roots within the community, Green party people can win in British Columbia because people want change, and they want to see politics done differently,” he said.

      Comments

      4 Comments

      RealityCheck

      May 16, 2013 at 12:46pm

      This is a massive victory for the environmental movement, and I hope the beginning if a long-term Green presence in the legislature. The NDP is not an environmental party, and it's silly to suggest these two parties believe in the same things. Also, the addition of credible scientists and business people to the Greens makes it a good home for disaffected Liberal voters.

      Congrats all around!

      What?

      May 16, 2013 at 1:09pm

      How under our System of Government the majority bulldozers any dissenting voice and can ram through any Legislation they want and act on any Policy however stupid.

      If you think it can't happen or political opposition is effective look at whats happened at the Federal level where the majority Government just rams through whatever it wants and does as it pleases.

      Under our System of Government a majority = Dictatorship!

      hopeful

      May 16, 2013 at 7:57pm

      At least there will be one voice in assembly who will point out that we are currently at the end of the oil era and the end of the holocene period. Maybe someone will take notice and begin large scale preparations for the coming large scale climate changes.

      anti green

      May 17, 2013 at 9:16am

      wasted votes etc
      thank you greens
      love christy clark