Thoughts on BC Politics and More

As pulp mill and sawmill jobs plummet in number, British Columbia’s Forests Ministry is opening the door to more exports of unprocessed logs, including those produced from trees cut down in old-growth forests. Under current rules, companies wanting to ship raw logs from B.C. to buyers in China, Japan, Korea and elsewhere pay a “fee in lieu of manufacturing” — a penalty designed to encourage more domestic log manufacturing. But in February, the provincial government quietly lowered those fees. The reduced fees will make it more profitable to ship logs away, and although the government says it will incentivize more logging, others warn that the change risks undermining already precarious manufacturing jobs in the province’s struggling forest industry ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  Adrienne Arsenault, will take us through her conversation with Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this week — and why a man who's fast-moving in every other way isn't rushing toward a deal with the US ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

Pierre Poilievre wants you to believe Adam Smith was a conservative. He wasn’t. This year is the 250th anniversary of Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, one of the most influential books ever. Smith, an 18th-century Scottish moral philosopher, is considered one of history’s great thinkers, and the ideas in his writings have shaped not just modern economics but modern debates about what a just society owes its members. Pierre Poilievre has marked the occasion with a National Post op-ed arguing that “free markets are moral” and invoking Smith as the patron saint of Conservative tax cuts, deregulation and fossil fuel expansion. I’d like to offer a different reading, one that is more grounded in what Smith actually wrote ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canadians have never before seen a minority government become a majority government through a combination of floor crossing and byelections. A small increase in the number of Liberal caucus members has given the government sweeping power, all without voters having a say in a general election. Current conversations about the appropriateness of floor crossings are an opportunity for a broader discussion about electoral reform.  CLICK HERE for the full story

This blog page, which has been in existence for many years, has been replaced with a Substack page.  What you have found here, with commentaries from a number of writers on BC and federal politics, will continue ... just in a new location. If you are interested, please take a moment to subscribe at: https://substack.com/@alanforseth #bcpoli #cdnpoli

If you step back and look at the BC Conservative leadership race, which begin 81 days ago on January 16th, the real difference is not experience, it is approach. Caroline Elliott understands where voters are right now. People are tired of being managed, talked down to, and boxed into rigid policy frameworks. They want someone who reflects their concerns but can still operate in the real world. That is where she separates from someone like Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Findlay represents a more traditional style of politics. She brings experience, but also a more controlled and cautious approach that can feel rigid at a time when voters want responsiveness and adaptability. Elliott is positioning herself differently. She leans more socially conservative in tone, which connects with a base that feels ignored, but she is also showing a willingness to be pragmatic. That balance is what actually wins elections. If you are too rigid, you stall out. If you are too soft, you lose your base. The candida...

Last night, in Kamloops, I and a dozen others had the opportunity to meet with Conservative Party of BC leadership Candidate Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Including a brief Q&A, she spoke for an hour and a quarter on a number of topics, although the majority of that time was spent talking about issues surrounding the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). Like all other candidates, however, she has been clear in stating that under her leadership, and a BC Conservative government, it will be cancelled. She also spoke to the need for all conservatives to unite and come together as a single force against the NDP government of Premier David Eby. “ We need all the conservatives. We need conservatives to come together.  I'm talking to the independents ”, Findlay stated. She then went on to discuss what can’t be done right now, a direct reference to a deal the Fulmer campaign struck with OneBC leader Dallas Brodie just days ago. “ As a leadership contender, you...

Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay–Comox and Critic for Rural and Seniors Health , is calling out the provincial government for failing to convene the Select Standing Committee on Health since 2022, and is demanding they explain why. Day has given notice to introduce a motion to reconvene the committee, which is responsible for examining healthcare issues in British Columbia, including long-term care and seniors’ services. “The Health Committee hasn’t met in four years,” said Day. “Not during a healthcare crisis. Not while ERs are closing. Not while 7,400 seniors are waiting for long-term care. That’s not a scheduling issue; that’s a decision.” In British Columbia, the government controls whether standing committees are called to meet. “They can call this committee tomorrow,” Day said. “Or they can explain to British Columbians why they won’t. I have been on this committee since February of 2025, and we have yet to meet; this is an insult to the millions of British Colum...

Claire Rattée, MLA for Skeena and Official Opposition Critic for Mental Health, Addictions and Housing Supports, is calling on the NDP government to immediately release critical addiction and public safety data following a direct request from leading BC researcher Dr. Julian Somers. In a letter sent to the Minister of Health , Dr. Somers, who advised the province for over two decades, is now asking the government to restore access to data his team was ordered to destroy in 2021, so long-delayed research on addiction policy can finally be completed. This is the moment of truth for this government,” said Rattée. “A respected, independent researcher is asking for the data to be released so British Columbians can finally see the results, and the government now has to decide whether it will allow that transparency.” “For years, British Columbians were told these policies were grounded in evidence. Now the very expert who helped build that evidence is saying the work was shut d...