Until the final vote is counted, the status quo is: wait and see.
The Liberals are looking at the possiblity of a minority government.
And the Green Party is holding the balance of power between the Liberals and the NDP.
But the business community prefers stability.
Specifically, the stability of a majority government.
There are a million issues between business and government on any given day in this province.
They ask for help from ministry staff, look to ministers to help them cut red tape, make decisions on policy.
But with the current political situation, everything in government is at a standstill.
Catherine Holt is with the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
“Almost every business is affected in one way or another by government decisions. Federal, provincial and local on an ongoing basis. And many businesses have specific issues to do with their sector, or their industry that they are waiting for. So those are the decisions that we all count on to keep things moving ahead, sorted out, Clear. And that’s what we’re not going to have for the foreseeable future.”
University of Victoria economics professor Cornelis van Kooten says it’s important to focus on maintaining stability.
“Our government should continue focusing on one thing. And that’s the people of British Columbia, and making sure they get the best benefits. And that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to stop all pipelines. Or that we have to stop tanker traffic, or coal movements, or whatever.”
One company looking to invest on the island is Steelhead LNG.
It’s proposed project would build an LNG plant in the Saanich Inlet, which is strongly opposed by the Green Party.
In a statement C.E.O. Nigel Kuzemko says, “It’s continuing to engage with the BC government and local MLAs to demonstrate the benefits of our projects and address feedback on our proposals.”
Mary Griffin
