Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The federal government has announced new measures to support British Columbia's forestry sector, including $65 million in funding for projects across the province. While any support is welcome, it falls far short of the level of assistance other provinces have secured for key industries. Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer says the NDP government needs to take responsibility for its mismanagement of B.C.’s forest industry instead of trying to pass on the blame. Despite promising to create more jobs in the forest sector, the NDP government has overseen the loss of thousands of forestry jobs and 21 mill closures which have devastated communities. “If Premier Eby spent more time addressing the regulatory issues impacting the forestry sector than he did complaining about the federal government, we would not be in the position we are now,” said Stamer. “And instead of trying to place the blame for mill closures on Donald Trump, Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar should t...

The Alberta government has considered three different pipeline routes through northern British Columbia for a new major oil export pipeline, according to documents obtained by CBC News which provide a first glimpse into where the project could be located. Several ports on the northern coast are highlighted as options, according to the documents, which were shown to local community leaders during private consultations on the proposed project this spring. The provincial government is also exploring the idea of a fourth route through southern BC and a port in the Vancouver area ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Kerry-Lynne Findlay won the B.C. Conservative leadership race because she is an "authentic champion" of populism within the broader conservative movement, says an analyst who studies modern conservatism in western countries. David Black, who teaches political theory at Royal Roads University in Greater Victoria, said Findlay's victory over Caroline Elliott confirms the party's turn toward populism. "(Findlay) sought to apply purity tests during the debates, as part of her campaign strategy for the leadership, and she won that purity test," Black said. "She was the purest candidate with respect to populist bona fides." He added that Findlay, unlike Elliott, did not have to perform populism because of her credentials while serving under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper and later Pierre Poilievre, the current federal Conservative leader ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Kerry-Lynne Findlay won the hard-fought battle to become the next leader of the Conservative Party of BC, but before she can advance on the premier’s office, she must first secure the peace within her own party. The former federal Conservative cabinet minister emerged as the leadership race’s unlikely insurgent. A political pugilist, Findlay cast herself as the grassroots outsider taking on the “insiders” with a “hidden liberal agenda” and “mainstream media gatekeepers" ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Former MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay has won the race to replace former British Columbia Conservative leader John Rustad on the fourth ballot, beating commentator Caroline Elliott. Findlay won with 51 per cent of the vote, just ahead of Elliott, who finished with 49 per cent. Three other candidates, starting with sitting MLA Peter Milobar, then entrepreneur Yuri Fulmer, and finally former BC Liberal cabinet minister Iain Black, were all eliminated in the three earlier rounds as the last-place finisher was cut from contention ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

It’s been a century or so since surgeon and Burnaby sanatorium owner Dr. Robert ­Telford was opining in the Vancouver Sun about the urgency of launching a facility in BC that ­provided treatment for “drug fiends.” Debate had been heating up about these ­so-called drug fiends for a while. Fueled by racism toward Chinese labourers in the ­country, opium was the new enemy. Prohibition ­politics were in play, and an appetite for treatment was ­building. Everyone in the province had an opinion on whether to manage illicit drug use as a criminal problem or a social concern. But the commonly held view was that drug users were moral degenerates from the ­“underclass” who needed saving from the evil, soulless criminals selling drugs. The world has changed hundreds of times over since then ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

Whoever gets elected the next leader of the BC Conservatives on Saturday will inherit a party largely free of caucus drama—for the first time, perhaps, in its history. They can thank Trevor Halford, who as interim leader has helped stage a remarkable turnaround of the opposition party during the spring session of the legislature. The BC Conservatives have now gone five months without public fights, split votes, controversial bills or unauthorized renegade speeches that exploded into crisis management. That’s no small feat  ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC’s recreational fishing industry lures thousands of tourists to the province each year generating an estimated $1.25 billion in expenditures, but it could soon be clubbed over the head again, ocean charter operators say. Following a round of public consultation that concluded in March, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is now set to revise the 1999 Salmon Allocation Policy, which could further limit recreational fisher access to coho and chinook salmon. A revision to the policy was launched in 2018 following a BC Supreme Court decision affirming Indigenous rights to commercial fishing on Vancouver Island. With those new rights legally bestowed and only so many fish to go around, charter operators and sport fishers alike are preparing for the worst—much greater limits on when they may fish and how many fish they can retain ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is blaming Prime Minister Mark Carney’s policies for Canada entering recession territory. Statistics Canada released a report Friday that said the economy contracted slightly for the second quarter in a row to start the year — a benchmark that meets some definitions of a technical recession. Some economists weighing in after that release said the recession talk was premature and argued that while Canada’s economy is soft, the declines are marginal and do not meet the definition of a widespread downturn. Poilievre said Friday there’s nothing technical about rising rates of mortgage delinquency, increased food bank usage and five quarters of falling business investment ... CLICK HERE for the full story