New Government ‘Up In The Air’

The MLA for Vernon Monashee says Thursday was a long day in Victoria — but in the end, he feels the lieutenant governor made the right decision.

Liberal Eric Foster says there wasn’t an appetite for another election which is why Judith Guichon  opted to give the NDP a chance to govern.

However, Foster feels the NDP-Green alliance is fragile, and may not last long.

“If they stick to their guns, and their sort of agreement, it could go on for a while, but with essentially no majority, it’s up in the air all the time,” Foster tells Kiss FM.

The three term MLA from Lumby says he will support NDP-led bills if they are good for his constituency and the province, on a case by case basis.

“We’ve always had free votes in our party. You can go back and check over the years that I’ve been there, and prior to that. We’ve had members vote against bills that were put on the floor, so I don’t see that changing.”

Foster says he would support improved daycare programs, if the NDP come back with a better plan.

“What we proposed was building a lot more spaces. I haven’t been a supporter of the $10 a day daycare at all, mainly because I watched what happened in Quebec and it just doesn’t work. Their waiting lists are longer than before they started, but we need daycare spaces.”

Foster says he won’t support the NDP’s idea to raise corporate business taxes or to change the labour laws to ratify unions with a show of hands as opposed to secret ballot.

“There is no way I could support that. That’s taking democracy out of the picture all together,” adds Foster.

Photo: BC Premier-designate John Horgan