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The new B.C. minister responsible for TransLink has announced an about-face on his party's stance on Metro Vancouver transit funding.

Sam Sullivan says if Metro Vancouver mayors want a new transit funding mechanism like a regional sales tax, a referendum will no longer be required.

"What has changed? It's called 'an election,'" Sullivan told On The Coast host Stephen Quinn.

"We just hollowed out in the urban areas of Vancouver. [Premier Christy Clark] heard that message loud and clear.

"She approached me, asked my opinion on where we went wrong, how we could repair this relationship both with the municipal governments and the voters and the urban areas. I said the most symbolic thing we could do, for a start, is get rid of this referendum requirement."

Sullivan says now that he is minister for the time being getting more transit in Metro Vancouver will be a top priority.

The Liberals insisted on the necessity fora referendum for new transit funding during the 2013 election, as well as during the run-up to the unsuccessful transit referendum in 2015 and even just months ago, during the 2017 election, whenClark reiterated her commitment to one during the leaders' radio debate.

"The NDP have said that they want to give the mayors the right be able to to hike people's taxes: vehicle levy, sales tax, who knows what it would be?" she said.

"We are still committed to making sure that if there is any new revenue source required from cities for TransLink, we will go to a referendum on that. We won't just let them hike taxes."

But now, Sullivan says his party is interested in connecting with urban voters, especially with an election coming possibly sooner than four years from now.

"These will be values we are going to the voters with."

Listen to the full interview with Sam Sullivan:

Simon Fraser University political scientist David Moscrop says while the about-face could be viewed as cynical politics, it's also an example of the democratic system working.

"A party adjusted its policy because it's what people wanted."

But if Sullivan, a former Vancouver mayor, was the driving force for the change, it could speak to him taking on a more prominent role in the party.

His appointment as minister of community development and minister responsible for TransLink this week is his first time in cabinet.

Moscrop suspects this might be the first of several policies the Liberals rethink, as they look for a way to return to power in the event they lose a non-confidence voteat the end of June as expected.

Moscrop agrees an election could come sooner than expected, and the Liberals know they need to do better in Metro Vancouver.

"They became arrogant, out of touch. And now they've got some re-evaluation to do," he said.

"It could very well be that this is people saying, 'look, if youwant to govern again,this is the way it's gotta be. you're going to need Metro Vancouver.'"

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

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BC Liberals drop referendum requirement for new transit funding - CBC.ca

Laura Miller has parted ways with the BC Liberals after an election result that appears set to force the party from power and several months before she is scheduled to stand trial in Ontario for charges related to that provinces gas-plant scandal.

Ms. Miller, who joined the BC Liberals just before the 2013 election and returned this year as campaign director, announced her departure on Twitter: I am moving on professionally and geographically.

She leaves as the party faces almost certain defeat in the legislature.

The May 9 election left her party, which has held power for 16 years, reduced to 43 seats. The NDP and the Greens, with a combined 44 seats, have reached a deal to topple the Liberals at the first opportunity. Premier Christy Clark appointed a new postelection cabinet this week, but acknowledges that in the wake of the election, she expects to lose a vote of confidence in the House later this month.

The Premier has not acknowledged the election result as a loss and her party said in a statement that Ms. Millers departure was always in the works: Laura signed on to see the party through the 2017 campaign, and now is transitioning out of her role as planned, a party official said in a statement.

Ms. Miller has become a controversial figure in Ontario and B.C.

She is scheduled to go to trial this fall in Ontario on a criminal charge of breach of trust stemming from the deletion of e-mails about the Ontario Liberals costly decision to cancel two gas plants before the 2011 election. Ms. Miller has said she plans to mount a vigorous defence and has raised nearly $80,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to pay her legal costs.

The charges prompted her to temporarily step away from her job as executive director of the BC Liberals in late 2015, but she returned last year in the lead-up to the election campaign.

Ms. Miller was at the centre of a mid-campaign gaffe this spring when the BC Liberals were forced to backtrack on her claim that a voter who tried to speak to Ms. Clark at a campaign event was an NDP plant. The citizen was brushed off by Ms. Clark after saying she wasnt voting for the Liberals, sparking a widespread social media backlash, with the hashtag #IAmLinda.

Ms. Clark has repeatedly expressed support for Ms. Miller and defended her conduct in the Ontario Liberal government, describing her as a person of the utmost integrity.

Ms. Millers departure comes as the Liberals prepare to recall the legislature on June 22, launching a process that is expected to lead to the defeat of the minority Liberal government.

While the Premier acknowledges the party is likely to lose, she has insisted her government must follow parliamentary conventions to the letter rather than hastening its own demise.

The Liberals initially suggested they would throw a wrench into the works by refusing to have any of their MLAs to stand as Speaker of the house as Parliamentary convention dictates.

Because the balance of power will be so precarious, the political party that gives up a member from their voting ranks will lose a critical advantage.

The Speaker can vote to break ties in the House, but it will be challenging to pass legislation if that becomes the routine requirement.

Now, Ms. Clark says her party will ensure a Speaker is in the chair as long as her party sits on the government benches. So as long as we are in government, we will ensure that theres a Speaker.

On Tuesday, Green Leader Andrew Weaver challenged Ms. Clark to not only ensure a Liberal sits in the Speakers chair, but he said that person should remain in the post even if the Liberals fall on a confidence vote.

It is entirely not tradition to have a Speaker resign. If they do that, she is playing politics and frankly I think the electorate will punish the BC Liberals for that, he said.

We are elected to put British Columbians first, not to put our political ambitions and careers first.

Andrew Wilkinson, a senior Liberal cabinet minister, said the problem of the Speaker is one that the NDP and the Greens should have figured out before they reached a pact to bring down his government.

They have to have a workable arrangement thats going to work for governance of British Columbia, and its becoming clear they havent thought this through.

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Campaign director Laura Miller stepping down from BC Liberals - The Globe and Mail

Liberal legal group Alliance for Justice is mounting new opposition to three of President Trump's judicial nominees set to go before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week.

The Alliance for Justice and its partners are particularly targeting John K. Bush's nomination to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Damien Schiff's nomination to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and Kevin Newsom's nomination to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Tuesday, the Alliance for Justice organized a call slamming these three nominees with the input of leading progressives from People for the American Way, The Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Human Rights Campaign and the Sierra Club.

"If [Bush is] confirmed, you can bet that it will be to the detriment of women and families," said Sasha Bruce, NARAL Pro-Choice America senior vice president, on Tuesday. "NARAL Pro-Choice America has convened our progressive allies and our 1.2 million member activists to place hundreds of calls to the Judiciary Committee offices urging senators to oppose this shady blogger's nomination. We're doing this because we know the damage that Donald Trump and Mike Pence want to inflict on women isn't limited to the White Houseit's in Congress and it's certainly into the courts."

Bruce's characterization of Bush as a "shady blogger" stems from liberals' complaints that Bush blogged political commentary under a pseudonym, which Bush acknowledged in paperwork he submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Others on the call took issue with Schiff; Kristine Lucius, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights executive vice president for policy, said she clerked on the Court of Federal Claims and said Republican obstruction prevented President Obama's nominees from joining the court that Schiff seeks to join.

"President Obama had five nominations to the court of claims in 2014 and not one of the five were confirmed because of the claims of Sen. Tom Cotton who said that the court's caseload did not justify any additional judges," Lucius said. "Now that Trump has named judges to the same court, it'll be interesting to see whether Sen. Cotton will take the same position and object to confirmation of any further judges on this court or if he will suddenly have a change of heart."

The Alliance for Justice has also developed dossiers on several of Trump's nominees. AFJ's report on Bush said he "is a deeply flawed candidate with a history of offensive writings and statements that under ordinary circumstances would quickly disqualify him for a role on the federal bench."

AFJ has previously aired grievances with Bush's pseudonymous blog postings, and AFJ received pushback from Bush's allies across the political spectrum.

In the dossier on Newsom, AFJ notes the nominee's ties to 11th Circuit Judge William Pryor, who AFJ called an "extremely controversial nominee," and claimed then-Sen. Jeff Sessions helped clear the way to Newsom's nomination by blocking President Obama's selection.

"Given his record, Newsom, a member of the Federalist Society, must demonstrate at his hearing that he can be a fair and apolitical judge rather than a far-right ideologue committed to an agenda of rolling back long-cherished constitutional rights," AFJ wrote in its report.

The Federalist Society, a right-leaning legal organization, has come under fire from progressives throughout the confirmation process for several of Trump's judicial nominees.

AFJ's attack on Schiff focused on his personal character as opposed to his affiliations or resume.

AFJ's report claims that Schiff once "called Justice Anthony Kennedy a 'judicial prostitute'" and is "sorely unfit to serve as a judge."

"The fact of the matter is, on issue after issue, Damien Schiff wants to use his prospective position as a judge to roll back essential protections and prevent local officials, states and the federal government, including Congress, from addressing issues of public policy and the critical needs of the American people," AFJ wrote in its report on Schiff.

"He is temperamentally unfit to serve as a judge, and his views are dangerousregularly rejected by even the most conservative federal judges. He simply should not serve as a federal judge."

Whether the progressives organizing in opposition to Trump's judicial nominees remains to be seen. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider the nominations of Bush, Schiff, and Newsom on Wednesday.

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Liberals mount new opposition to Trump judicial nominees ahead of hearings - Washington Examiner

NewsBusters (blog)

Finally: Journalist Writes of Liberals' 'Righteous, Ineffectual' Rage NewsBusters (blog) Jess Walter recognizes an ironic truth: in hating perceived hate, admitted liberals are nevertheless 'hating.' And in attempting to fix the planet, saving it from Duane's 12-gallon-a-mile truck, Jay falls obviously short of his intended goal, not ...

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Finally: Journalist Writes of Liberals' 'Righteous, Ineffectual' Rage - NewsBusters (blog)

A new poll shows that the result of a snap election in B.C. would be just as close as the outcome of Mays provincialelectionif it were to happen in the next few weeks or months.

The new poll by Ipsos Reid found that support for New Democrats and Liberals has not changed much since last months historically close election. Forty-two per cent of decided voters supported the NDP while 40 per cent backed the Liberals. The Green Party had the support of 15 per cent while two per cent backed other parties.

Most respondents said they would continue to support the party they voted for in Mays election if a snap election were to occur in the coming days. Ninety-four per cent of those who supported the NDP and 93 per cent of Liberal backers said they would vote the same way in an upcoming election.

WATCH:Political panel reaction to BC NDP and Green party alignment

More Green Party supporters seemed to have had a change of heart. Seventy-five per cent of respondents who backed the Greens in last months election said they would do the same in the next election. Thirteen per cent of Green supporters said they would switch their vote to the NDP while 11 per cent would support the Liberals, though those numbers had a small sample size.

The May 9 election ended with the Liberals winning 43 seats, while the NDP took 41 and the Green party secured three. The NDP is proposing a minority New Democrat government propped up by the Greens with 44 seats, compared with 43 for the Liberals, before the Speaker is taken into account.

WATCH:Who was sworn-in to Christy Clarks cabinet?

The narrow results of last months provincial election mean none of the three parties is eager to give up one of their voting members to take on the role of impartial arbiter of the house, and experts say an impasse could send voters back to the polls.

The survey asked respondents their thoughts on what should occur if the BC Liberals do not provide a Speaker, forcing a member of the NDP or Greens to fill the position.

If that were to occur, 41 per cent of those polled said they would prefer to have an NDP minority government supported by the Greens, even if the Speaker needs to vote in a partisan manner to break tie votes while 39 per cent would rather have another election that might produce a more decisive outcome.

With files from The Canadian Press

These are the findings of an Ipsos poll of 802 British Columbians conducted June 8 to 11, 2017. The poll was conducted online via the Ipsos I-Say Panel. These data were statistically weighted by region, age, gender and education to ensure the sample composition reflects that of the actual BC population according to Census data. The precision of Ipsos polls containing online data is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the overall poll is accurate to within +/- 3.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all eligible voters been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

2017Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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NDP, Liberals in statistical dead heat as prospect of snap BC election looms: poll - Globalnews.ca