BC Liberals pitch electric car stations

Facing a united opposition of B.C. NDP and B.C. Green MLAs that can defeat the government in a confidence vote, the B.C. Liberals are preparing a throne speech that Premier Christy Clark has indicated will reflect the results of the election.

British Columbia's Liberals say they are now ready to take big money out of politics after rejecting calls for political fundraising reform for more than a decade. "We're reflecting the sentiment of British Columbians that it's time to change the way political parties are financed".

He says Thursday's throne speech includes a plan to spend $50 million over five years to add more than 4,300 charging stations for electric vehicles.

"It became pretty clear during the election campaign that our plan to have this reviewed by an expert panel was not going to be quick enough", Wilkinson said.

Stilwell said the proposed changes are part of the government's reaction to last month's election that saw the Liberals relegated to a minority government with 43 seats in the 87-seat legislature.

The Liberal party received more than $13 million in donations previous year and was criticized for holding exclusive fundraising events where donors paid sums of up to $20,000 to attend dinners with Premier Christy Clark or her cabinet ministers.

Environment Minister Jordan Sturdy says the Liberals are not letting their minority government status serve as a roadblock to ongoing plans to build up infrastructure to support electric vehicles.

Nearly two-thirds of British Columbians (63%) say that BC Liberals should concede defeat, rather than use procedures to prevent a Green-supported NDP minority government from leading.

NDP social development critic Selina Robinson said the sudden conversion after years of refusing income assistance increases is the act of a government desperately trying to hold onto power.

Party spokesman Emile Scheffel issued a statement confirming that voluntary reporting, which started in January, has ended.