The agreement for the B.C. Green Party to provide the NDP with legislative support has resulted in the start of several reviews and committees, but limited tangible action so far, according to a second quarterly update on the deal.
Two items listed in the agreement have resulted in material action so far. This includes $75 million in funding to expand eligibility for financial assistance through Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters and the Rental Assistance Program, and financial support for charity organizations to purchase 3,180 units of non-market housing.
B.C. Greens interim leader Jeremy Valeriote defended the progress made since the agreement was struck, arguing that the reviews underway are working towards "evidence-based solutions."
"If they were on the shelf ready to go, we would implement them," he said.
The Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord provides the governing NDP a guarantee that Green Party MLAs will provide support on confidence motions and select pieces of legislation. It also mandates that quarterly progress reports be presented publicly. The second of these was delivered in Vancouver on Tuesday, Aug. 5, by Valeriote and Deputy Premier Niki Sharma.
As it stands, the NDP holds a one-vote majority in the legislature. The government can pass legislation with the Speaker casting the tie-breaking vote, but this leaves an opening for the opposition should an NDP MLA be absent for a vote.
This is a very different situation from the previous accord between the two parties from 2017 to 2020, when the NDP had a slim minority. Green MLAs' votes are not needed to pass legislation, but they do make it easier.
Because of this, the accord allows for the Greens to disagree with the government at times, as was the case when a couple of controversial fast-tracking bills came to a vote 鈥� Bills 14 and 15 鈥� that the Greens refused to support. The NDP was still able to squeeze the bills through with the Speaker's vote.
Valeriote said the ability to disagree is baked into the deal, so work can still get done on shared priorities even if the two parties disagree on other issues. He did acknowledge that this has not always gone smoothly.
"Sometimes there's frustration," he said. "Sometimes we wish we would have had more time to discuss legislation and to find a common solution."
Much of the legislation that the Greens have disapproved of was aimed at dealing with a tariff threat that became a much bigger priority for the government after the deal was initially struck.
The deal was initially announced in December, though it wasn't finalized and signed until March 12.
But Sharma said tariffs have not impacted the deal.
"It hasn't changed our commitment to delivering on these items for British Columbians," she said.
The make-up of the Official Opposition has also changed after several members of the B.C. Conservatives abandoned their caucus to form a new party, potentially altering the NDP's political calculus.
Sharma said the deal is about delivering on shared progressive values, not just "vote counts in the legislature."
