FINDING COMMON GROUND

The election of a minority government in British Columbia already has political parties pondering common ground between them as everybody awaits the final results.

About 176,000 absentee ballots are still to be counted by Elections B.C. Final totals are due by May 24.

Here are a few potential common-ground issues that could produce deals in a minority B.C. government: Campaign finance reform — The Greens do not accept donations from corporations or unions. The NDP has tabled legislation on six occasions proposing to ban union and corporate donations. The Liberals say they will appoint a non-partisan panel to review fundraising reforms. Electoral reform — The Greens want to introduce electoral reforms to replace the current first-past-the-post system. The New Democrats support electoral reform but want approval through a provincial referendum. The Liberals are not considering electoral reform. Pipelines — The Greens do not support the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and will work to stop it from proceeding. The NDP also do not support the pipeline project. The Liberals say the proposed pipeline is a federal project, but the government was able to achieve environmental protections and financial benefits for the province. Carbon tax — The Greens’ plan would increase the carbon tax over the next four years from $30 a tonne to $70 a tonne. The Liberals would increase the carbon tax to $50 a tonne by 2020. The NDP also plans to increase the carbon tax to $50 a tonne. — The Canadian Press