In the weeks before the writ drops, political parties in BC are finalizing their nominations.

With last week's announcement of the nominations of Sharon Hartwell in Stikine and Judy Fraser in North Coast, the BC Liberal Party has nominated 74 out of 86 candidates as of March 28. The outstanding nominations are in ridings where the party likely does not consider the area to be a winnable seat. Outstanding ridings include: Alberni-Pacific Rim, Juan de Fuca, Nanaimo, Nanaimo-North Cowichan, Victoria-Beacon Hill, Port Coquitlam,Vancouver-Hastings, Vancouver-Mount Pleasant, Vancouver-West End, Kootenay West and Burnaby-Lougheed.

The recent nomination of BC NDP MLA Shane Simpson, currently the opposition caucus chair, labour critic and candidate for Vancouver-Hastings means that the BC NDP have nominated candidates in 83 of 85 ridings. Outstanding electoral districts include Boundary-Similkameen and West Vancouver-Sea to Sky. Within Boundary-Similkameen, three people candidates vying for the nomination: Rhonda Bruce, Sam Hancheroff and Brian Taylor. In West Vancouver-Seak to Sky, Ana Santos has filed her candidacy papers, however, there may be other prospective candidates yet to come forward.

The writ will drop for the upcoming election on April 16, 2013. All standing nominations must be filed with the Chief Electoral Officer by the day before. General Voting Day for the next scheduled general election is Tuesday, May 14, 2013.

Last week, the province hosted a symposium for land-based spill preparedness and response in BC. The symposium hosted approximately 200 registrants, including local governments, environmental non-governmental organizations, industry and First Nations. Minister of Environment Hon. Terry Lake announced the provincial government will move forward with plans to develop a "world-leading land-based spill prevention and response regime", however highlighted gaps in emergency response planning that must be addressed before the government allows oil and other hazardous materials to cross the province.

 Minister Lake indicated the next step is to have a working group of First Nations, industry, government, and stakeholders meet over the next "few months" to develop recommendations to be considered by the Ministry. The province has also commissioned its own study to assess the marine environment and determine the gaps that currently exist in the province's emergency-response plan.

A number of common themes were addressed during the symposium, including:

• The need for a planning and response model for BC that looks at reducing risks (prevention) and planning for consequences (response and remediation);

• The need to define what substances and sectors the model will include; and

• The need for clear goals and accountabilities.