The B.C. NDP is in a financial standoff with its longtime labour allies as it tries to rein in government spending, while facing demands from unions for wage increases to address an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

But Finance Minister Brenda Bailey denies her government has fallen into a hole it dug for itself.

“I think there’s room for an agreement to be struck here, and it’s important that that agreement is beneficial to all British Columbians. And I say that in the context of us having to be responsible for the government first, in the context of serious, serious global economic challenges,” Bailey said Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, 2,000 members of the B.C. Government Employees’ Union walked picket lines at nine locations in Victoria, Surrey and Prince George after voting overwhelmi

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