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prevails when you know that the other per- son may, at any moment, snatch up the ball and run away. ELECTORAL CLIMATE Still, the functional NDP-Green coalition has made headway on policy issues of mutual interest, including electoral, lobby- ing, environmental and regulatory reform; child care; the Fair Wages Commission; the basic income pilot; and the innovation com- mission (Innovate BC). But two big issues hang in the balance. The 'rst is the referendum on propor- tional representation, an initiative the Greens support with full enthusiasm. And why not? As Weaver points out, his party attracted almost 17 percent of the popular vote in 2017 but won only three of the leg- islature's 87 seats. A proportional division would have given them 14 or 15. The Liberal Party is dead set against the change, and again, why not? They and their Social Credit predecessors have ruled the province with 13 majority governments since 1952, despite having only once won an actual majority of the votes. And the New Democrats are, at the very least, divided. While Horgan and his senior ministers speak in favour of proportional representation, prominent members of the party are leading the opposition. Still, the vote belongs to the people, and the refer- endum is unlikely to have an immediate impact on Green support for the NDP. Climate policy is diœerent. This was the issue that brought Weaver to politics and, unlike Site C, a robust climate change plan is a foundational part of the CASA. And in the summer, he was still saying the NDP plan looked "great"—"unless we continue to pur- sue LNG." Lique ied natural gas: the industry already undid former Liberal premier Christy Clark, who overpromised and then crashed when no LNG plants were approved during her tenure. Weaver argues that this issue could also prove the undoing of the NDP. It certainly could undo the Green-NDP coalition. As Royal Dutch Shell moves for- ward with its Kitimat facility, he says a proj- ect that blows up the NDP's carbon emission promises "would be an egregious breach of the Con'dence and Supply Agreement." Politician or not, Weaver still has a math PhD, which presents a problem for an NDP administration that promised to lower greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent before 2030 and now proposes to add a monster LNG plant that, all by itself, could increase provincial emissions by almost one-third. As Premier John Horgan was lin- ing up with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Shell to celebrate the project, Weaver was saying it would be "the NDP's problem" to square that circle—or lose his support. Returning to David Suzuki: the envi- ronmentalist was blistering about Weaver after the Site C decision but later sounded more philosophical, concluding, sadly, that "The problem with politicians is politics." Andrew Weaver has managed that problem well, so far. But between the proportional representation referendum and the unfold- ing LNG dynamics, the weather could turn foul by Christmas. Weaver may yet be happy for the extra protection of an old hat. ¤ THE EDGE IS HERE UVic launches the world's first Indigenous law degree At the edge of a welcome new era, Carolyn Belleau honours her past by looking to the future. As one of 26 students entering UVic's Indigenous Law program—a combination of Canadian Common Law and Indigenous Legal Orders—she intends to influence policy and provide legal expertise for her home community, Esk'etemc (Alkali Lake, BC), and beyond.

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