VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Premier Christy Clark has agreed to a one-on-one debate with Adrian Dix.

“We accept your offer, without conditions. Sincerely, Christy Clark,” announced Clark to her BC Liberal team this morning. That was her response to an invitational letter from a local television station.

But the NDP leader has not agreed to such a debate; he calls Clark’s offer disrespectful.

The premier’s challenge has created a situation where Dix is standing up for the Conservative and Green parties, arguing they also have a right to be heard.

“This is a democracy and the premier and the Liberals get to dominate to say ‘I’ve had a majority government for 12 years and they have the most money. But they don’t get to decide whether other parties get to participate.”

“I think it’s incredibly disrespectful now to put forward these kind of phony challenges. I mean, really? I mean, we need to be more respectful than that,” adds Dix.

Dix also argues the Liberals did not spend enough time in the Legislature, where they could have debated with his party.

A consortium is working on a separate debate that would include the leaders of all four parties. What Clark is proposing today is a separate 90-minute debate, just between her and Dix.