Former B.C. Greens' Leader Andrew Weaver says he is still not sure for whom he is going to vote in the up-coming provincial election. He has no plans to run as a candidate.
But he praised the listening skills of John Rustad, adding that he could see himself working with the Conservative Party of B.C. leader.
"He (Rustad) reminds me a bit of (former B.C. NDP premier) John Horgan, who was a fantastic premier, who will go down in history as one of British Columbia's most influential premiers," Weaver said. According to Weaver, Rustad — like Horgan and contrary to Premier David Eby — listens to opposing views and changes his mind.
"Now, that type of leadership is one that makes your tent bigger because it is more welcoming."
Weaver made these comments in the wake of Weaver's recent opinion piece in the Vancouver Sun, where he questioned Eby's leadership while expressing uncertainty about his future vote.
Weaver helped negotiate the confidence-and-supply agreement that allowed Horgan to become premier in 2017 with the support of the three B.C. Greens elected in 2017.
Eby said Friday (July 12) that he does not understand why Weaver would even consider voting for the provincial Conservatives. He finds it "very bizarre" given Weaver's work with the team that won a Nobel Prize for its work on climate change, pointing to the provincial Conservatives' perspective on c=the subject.
A statement on the party's website dated Nov. 22, 2023 states that "our changing climate is real and man is impacting our climate" but adds that "British Columbians are NOT facing an existential threat from our changing climate." It denies the existence of "a crisis," and goes on to say that "our changing climate is not the most pressing issue facing us in B.C. or around the world."
This position contradicts recent assessments from the world's leading scientists, starting with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The world's leading body of scientific advisors said its latest report, published in 2023, that "(climate change) has caused substantial damages and increasingly irreversible losses, in terrestrial, freshwater, cryospheric (frozen water) and coastal and open ocean ecosystems." It notes that "(human-caused) climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe."
A recent report from the World Meteorological Organization found 2023 to have been the warmest year on record. United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said humanity finds itself playing "Russian roulette" with the planet.
“We need an exit ramp off the highway to climate hell," Guterres said this spring.
The Conservatives' statement goes on to say that the party "will not go down the rabbit hole of over-taxation, hype, scare-tactics and false promises."
Weaver said he does not like the alarmist language that exists around climate change and does not see the Conservatives' as a party that denies climate change.
"I don't think that is a term characteristic of the party today," Weaver said. "I think that would be a very fair characterization of the Conservative Party, even as little as a year ago."
He added that climate change does not care about party affiliation.
"You can look at the issue of climate change through one of two lenses," he said.
The first is the lens of "hopelessness and despair" and the other lens is the "lens of opportunity,"
"The NDP are not these virtuous sellers of climate policy," Weaver said, pointing to the party's involvement with LNG projects. "I forced them to do it and so I don't really have time for arguments that climate policy will all die when the (provincial) Conservatives come in because I have worked with Gordon Campbell, I have worked with John Horgan, I have worked with Christy Clark and I could work with John Rustad if they are willing to recognize that climate change is not a 'the-world-could-end-in-five-years-issue.'"
On its website the Conservative Party of B.C. states that its climate policy plan include "(eliminating) costly climate taxes and policies – including the Carbon Tax, Gas Tax, Clean B.C. and Fuel Standard – and returning the money to British Columbians.
"Taxing everyday, working people into poverty will not change the weather."
Weaver for his part does not take those statements too seriously.
"Nobody's released their platforms yet," Weaver said. "I questioned John about what's on their website. It is an archaic leftover from a party that really wasn't going anywhere and if they want to go anywhere...the tent has to be broader. It has to be inclusive."
As for his former party, Weaver said the party under the current leadership of Sonia Furstenau has "lost its way" by moving to the "far left." Weaver specifically pointed to the party's endorsement of a recent report by provincial health officer Bonnie Henry to expand access to "non-prescribed" drugs.
Ultimately, Weaver sees himself as an advocate for a consensus-oriented form of politics.
"Most British Columbians are in the middle and that...60 per cent is really angry right now because they feel that their political establishment is not going to listen to them."
