With rumours of caucus discontent swirling around Victoria, Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond insisted Friday the Liberal team is united.
"The legislature is a complicated and quirky place," Bond said. "But I have confidence in my team."
With an election less than three months away, the Liberals opened the latest sitting of the legislature with a throne speech on Tuesday and will introduce a budget on Feb. 19. There have been media reports of some MLAs disagreeing with the party's direction, but none have spoken on the record about their concerns.
Bond, who also serves as justice minister and attorney general, said the party is committed to getting all of its legislation through the house before it adjourns for the election.
"We still hold a majority in government and we fully intend to be able to complete the session and do the work that's before us," she said. "We're working on a pretty aggressive agenda of our own as we go through the next few weeks. We're going to be taking some legislation through the house ourselves."
The has been speculation that a fissure in the Liberal ranks could cause the party to fall in a non-confidence vote prior to the election, but Bond believes her party is strong enough to get through the current sitting unscathed.
"We're going to get through this session, we're going to continue to govern and that of course means that people look at issues we're debating and they're either for them or not," she said. "But we're going to govern the province until we go to the polls and then we're going to bring an energized team that has a balance of experience and new candidates."
Although the legislature is expected to sit through March, the looming election isn't far from any politician's mind. The Liberals are trailing in all the public opinion polls, but Bond said she's excited about the candidates the party has recruited including Langley Mayor Peter Fassbender who was added to the roster on Friday and will run in a Surrey riding.
"I think while people are busy talking about how difficult it is for the B.C. Liberals, maybe they should ask that question of some of the very significant candidates that decided to step up and say, 'I'm going to put my name and my reputation on the line and I'm getting on board,' " she said.
Bond pointed to former Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan and former Vancouver city councillor Suzanne Anton as Liberal candidates who will be in "heavyweight battles" in the Lower Mainland.
"It's a pretty exciting time, actually, to be part of our party as we see it being re-energized," Bond said.
