The three members of the Green Party walked out of the legislature earlier this week in protest of the Horgan government’s tax breaks for liquified natural gas exports.

By leaving, it allowed the Liberals to pass an amendment whereby the NDP would have to keep a provision in the bill that would require the Horgan government to make its project agreement with LNG Canada public.

Premier John Horgan said, despite the LNG industry adding four megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions into the environment, reaching the emission reduction targets of 40 percent by 2030 and by 60 percent by 2040, from 2007 levels is realistic.

“The challenge now, for the Prime Minister and I, and all policymakers is to ensure that we can fit the emissions profile of this project within a robust and aggressive climate action plan that will meet not just the needs of British Columbians and Canadians but, in fact, the world,” said Horgan.

Cowichan Valley Green Party MLA Sonia Furstenau said it’s scary to think that the New Democrats want to push through with legislation that would add four million tonnes of greenhouse gases when you consider the devastating effects of climate change right here at home.

“We’re already in fire season on Vancouver Island, we are also in drought on Vancouver Island when we look at the conditions of Lake Cowichan, these are conditions all over the province right now,” said Furstenau. “We are seeing each summer, more and more intense impacts on climate change. It’s very serious that this government is in the process of massively subsidizing an industry that will significantly increase emissions.”

Bill 10 would see the Horgan government provide six billion dollars worth of subsidies to the LNG industry and the Greens protest resulted in the Liberals passing an amendment that would force the New Democrats to keep a provision in the bill, whereby the NDP would have to make its project agreement with LNG Canada public.

Horgan said, regardless of political stripes, it’s easy to see the benefit of this estimated $40 billion dollar investment in LNG.

“People of British Columbia want to see private sector investment that will allow us to have the good society to invest in our schools and our hospitals and to make sure that all those things that make British Columbia and Canada so special can be there for all British Columbians,” said Horgan. “This will be an expansion that will be beneficial to everyone in British Columbia, everyone, regardless of where they come from on the political spectrum.”

However, Furstenau said her party will never support Bill 10.

“We have voted against this bill at every opportunity, it takes us away from where we could be going, which is to a renewable, clean energy future and investing in the kind of province we want to have,” said Furstenau.

Furstenau said about 50 countries are fully committed to clean energy and BC and Canada are going to be left behind economically, environmentally, and socially.