Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Screen shot from Island Health Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health and Addictions and Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay-Comox and Official Opposition Critic for Rural Health and Seniors’ Health, are raising urgent concerns regarding the planned relocation of the Ledger Inpatient Program for Children and Youth from the Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health to the Eric Martin Pavilion at Royal Jubilee Hospital. The Ledger Program, which provides intensive inpatient mental health care for vulnerable children and youth, is currently housed in a purpose-built facility designed specifically for pediatric needs. Its existing location offers critical therapeutic amenities such as outdoor recreational spaces, a dedicated on-site school, occupational therapy rooms, and creative studios. Reports now indicate that the program is being moved to a facility historically used for adult psychiatric care, causing concerns about safety, suitab...

Every election campaign is an opportunity to remind ourselves one important thing about the polls: they reflect the voting intentions of the general population and not necessarily those of the actual voting population. When there is little difference between the views of voters and non-voters, the impact on the polls is minimal. But when we do see big polling errors, this is often the source of the problem. So, what impact could who actually turns out to vote have on the results? Before we get into that, today’s update ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC Conservative MLA Jody Toor is on the verge of accomplishing a rare feat: getting an opposition private member’s bill passed in the legislature. There have only been three non-government private member’s bills passed this century, all of which were proposed by then-Green leader Andrew Weaver in 2019 under his party’s confidence-and-supply agreement with the NDP. Toor’s bill, which aims to improve prenatal and postnatal care, would give the provincial government a year to craft a strategy to expand mental health care for new mothers throughout the province ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There could be another option for the next provincial election after Karin Kirkpatrick, a former B.C. United MLA for West Vancouver - Capilano, registered a new party with Elections B.C. Named CentreBC, the new party is Kirkpatrick’s effort to provide voters a centrist alternative to what she sees as the left-wing NDP government and the right-wing Conservative opposition, she says ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In this morning’s 338Canada update, the Liberals climb to their highest projection on my tracker since the height of the pandemic. This second week of the federal campaign shows—on average—no tightening of the race, but rather a widening of the gap between the main parties, especially in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. Below are the latest national polls from active firms in the campaign (with a middle field date less than 10 days old) ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The high-priced consultant the BC government has hired to find savings in the health-care system has billed taxpayers almost $1.4 million the past four years to help design the system she’s now reviewing. Dr. Penny Ballem, who the NDP government named as the interim CEO of the Provincial Health Services Authority on Monday, received the money as an advisor on health care to the government, premier and provincial health minister, as well as serving as board chair for Vancouver Coastal Health, the second-largest health authority in the province. The $1.4 million does not include Ballem’s new $400,000 annual salary at PHSA ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC officials were guarded Wednesday about the impact on Canada of the tariff wall U.S. President Donald Trump erected around the U.S., but it appears it could have been worse. Trump’s announcement was so incoherent that much of the rest of the world had to scramble to grasp even the basic details. So cabinet ministers begged for more time to check the impacts. “It’s still very uncertain,” said Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who chairs the “war room” committee responsible for countering tariff threats. “It’s hard to make sense from President Trump’s speech" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It might be too soon to call it but I'm going to call it. Mark Carney's Liberals are going to win a large majority government and I'll peg that number around 190-200 seats. There is plenty of data to accurately gauge a few things. First, the Liberals are in control of the narrative of the election campaign. They've seized every issue first with the Conservatives following behind them usually trying to one up them. Second, the Liberals have all the momentum. While that is something we really cannot quantitatively measure it is something those of us long time followers with some training in political science can recognize. This campaign is barreling towards election day with the Liberals riding it to the finish line. Third, the polls are showing clear trends that are not changing. The Liberal lead is expanding by fractional amounts every single day. While Manitoba appears to be somewhat in play the rest of the provinces are all but decided. The Conservatives will sweep Al...

Conservative Party of British Columbia Leader John Rustad is sounding the alarm after S&P Global and Moody’s announced credit downgrades for British Columbia, dropping the province’s rating due to continued record deficits. This marks the fifth credit downgrade under Premier David Eby’s NDP government. “This is a direct consequence of reckless spending and economic mismanagement by David Eby,” said Rustad. “British Columbians are paying more and getting less. Now, we’re paying the price with a weaker credit rating, which means higher borrowing costs for our province.” Credit downgrades came with the following warning, “The negative outlook reflects a one-in-three chance that we could lower the ratings in the next two years if, in our view, the province's commitment to fiscal consolidation continues to waver, as reflected by persistent and substantial deficits.” The report continues stating “The province's commitment to fiscal discipline and stability has wavered in recent y...