Thoughts on BC Politics and More

British Columbia’s growing reliance on private nursing agencies is often framed as a failure of post-pandemic workforce planning. Recent reporting showing health authorities have spent more than half a billion dollars on agency nurses over the past two years has understandably fueled public concern. But this narrative, while compelling, misses the most important question. The issue is not why the health-care system relies so heavily on agency nurses. The issue is why experienced BC nurses are choosing agency work instead of returning to regular positions under the collective agreement ... CLICK HERE for the full commentary 

For those interested, this LINK takes you to a list of all 93 BC riding's.  It lists the current MLA, and the Party they represent, and which party currently would win (based on polling results) if an election were held today

A committee of MLAs that reviewed British Columbia’s lobbying rules has recommended removing limits on wining and dining public office holders and allowing it to be kept secret when they are promised gifts. The NDP, Conservative and Independent MLAs on the special committee that reviewed the Lobbyists Transparency Act recommended 24 changes they say are “intended to reduce administrative workload while maintaining transparency and simplifying reporting requirements to encourage democratic participation.” But Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher says the committee missed an opportunity to strengthen the province’s anti-corruption law and its recommendations would increase the risk of corruption ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It’s an awkward time for many Canadian conservatives. The country is led by a rich former banker who has increased military spending and expedited resource-oriented projects. He also happens to be a Liberal. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party of Canada is struggling with defections and lagging in the polls. And last year’s election exposed a deep cultural divide between the small-government, buttoned-down conservatives of the recent past and an angrier, brasher right that views U.S. President Donald Trump’s bombastic rhetoric not as a threat but as an inspiration. The implications for Canadians are obvious and can be traced by opinion polling, which suggests many voters who once favoured the Conservatives have now switched allegiances ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Mark Carney’s majority government is now a few weeks old, but the controversy this new status has brought continues. The Liberals are using their new majority to push through changes to parliamentary committees, bringing accusations from the opposition Conservatives, and other critics, that the moves, like the majority status itself, are illegitimate and maybe even unconstitutional ... ... But political problems are not best addressed by the courts, and in this case, there is nothing in our constitution that can or should prohibit floor crossing. If voters do not like it, the solution is at the ballot box ... CLICK HERE for the full story

How do nations generate wealth? That was the question Adam Smith sought to answer in his seminal 1776 work, The Wealth of Nations , which laid the intellectual foundation for modern capitalism and economic policy. The key, argued Smith, was in free markets and coordination through prices, rather than state intervention, using the “invisible hand” to match supply with demand. We now have 250 years of data to support Smith’s thesis. Free markets are not perfect, but they outperform state interventionism in the long term and provide greater prosperity and human development than any other system. This is newly relevant as Canada considers how it might generate wealth once again ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

Kennedy Stewart, the former mayor of Vancouver, said in a broadcast interview Monday that British Columbia Premier David Eby is aware of an active RCMP investigation into a sitting cabinet minister suspected of collaborating with the Chinese government — and that senior NDP officials have been alerted to the matter with no apparent action taken. “It’s come to my attention and I’ve reported it and in fact was interviewed for about four hours by lawyers working for the federal government about a BC cabinet minister under investigation for collaborating with the Chinese government,” Stewart told Global News anchor Jas Johal, a former Beijing-based reporter for the network ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

The BC Conservatives are sounding the alarm after receiving multiple filings in the BC Supreme Court in which U.S.-based Indigenous tribes are relying on DRIPA, UNDRIP, and the Interpretation Act to assert greater recognition of Aboriginal rights and direct involvement in British Columbia affairs. “This is a clear and growing sovereignty crisis,” said Scott McInnis, Critic for Indigenous Relations. “The Premier himself has referred to the DRIPA situation as an existential threat to British Columbia, and has said amendments are non‑negotiable. We are now seeing exactly why.” Court cases reveal that American tribes are attempting to leverage DRIPA to gain standing and influence inside BC. “It is becoming increasingly clear that DRIPA is being weaponized in ways never transparently disclosed to British Columbians,” McInnis said. “Allowing U.S. tribes to expand their reach into BC governance is deeply concerning and completely unacceptable.” One notable case, brought by a group of Alaskan ...

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says the prime minister has "wasted an entire year" deliberating a potential new oil pipeline out of Alberta — criticism that comes after Mark Carney said a new pipeline is "more probable than possible." "He's been prime minister for a year and he still hasn't even made up his mind whether he supports a pipeline," Poilievre told reporters at a news conference in Toronto on Sunday morning. "He's wasted an entire year" ... CLICK HERE for the full story