Clark stays on as premier for now, won’t ask Lt. Gov. for another election

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Premier Christy Clark is not going down without a fight and vows to make an attempt for the BC Liberals to form government, likely when she recalls the Legislature this summer.

Clark spoke in Vancouver for the first time since the BC NDP and BC Green Party announced an alliance on Monday to topple her BC Liberals from power after no party won a majority of seats in the May 9th provincial election.

LISTEN: CHRISTY CLARK’S FULL REMARKS

 

Clark says she plans to bring the house back in early June and made the decision to test the confidence of the Legislature following consultations with constitutional experts and caucus members.

“We all know that Mr. Horgan and Mr. Weaver have made an agreement. They’ve announced a significant deal, but what’s most important is this basic principal that if there’s going to be a transfer of power in this province, and it certainly seems like there will be, it shouldn’t be done behind closed doors. It should happen in public. It should happen in the people’s house with 87 members elected by British Columbians to our Legislature making that decision.”

The premier admits the Liberals would likely fail a vote of confidence and she could become leader of the official opposition.

Clark says she will not call for an election if she loses the vote and will instead let the Lieutenant Governor decide.

NEWS 1130 asked her if she has given any thought to resigning over the summer. “What I said before the election remains true. I am happy to take on any jobs that the voters give me and it certainly appears that voters — should the government fail the test of confidence in the house, as it seems likely — I would be given the job of leader of the opposition. And I’m more than ready and willing to take that job on.”

Clark was also asked how negotiations went with the BC Green Party, which holds three balance of power. “I would say they were unsuccessful. All I can speak to is what we tried to do. You haven’t seen a lot of me for the last week or so and that’s because I was really clear with our negotiating team and with the Green Party that we were not going to negotiate in public and we were going to talk to them first. I feel good about how we conducted negotiations at the table. I feel like we went about it honourably and in good faith.”

She was also asked what she thought may have gone wrong in the last election. “It’s your job to sit around and figure out what went wrong. I’ll let you do that. It’s my job to make sure we look forward.”

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