Thoughts on BC Politics and More

On Thursday (December 10th) Dan Brooks, leader of the BC Conservative Party, issued a media release regarding Senate appointments, the case for BC holding elections to fill vacancies, and for BC to receive a number of seats EQUAL to the population of our province.   The text of the release, put forward, was as follows: ... a better alternative towards reforming Canada's Senate: the direct election of 13 Senators by and for British Columbia. ... Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed a new formula to fill Senate vacancies in which five The Canadian Senate citizens would be selected, including three appointees by the federal government and two by the province involved.  These appointees would develop a list of candidates meeting an improved set of qualifications to be a Senator from which the Prime Minister would select the eventual appointee ... the Prime Minister may informally consult the province involved but is not required to do so. That proposal was p...

For many years now there has been much ' talk ' about the so-called "Highway of Tears", which runs along the highway corridor between Prince George and Prince Rupert (Yellowhead Highway #16).   This is due of course to the large number of women who have gone missing along its route (although numbers have been enlarged by some to also include missing and murdered woman from along Highway 97 through the Cariboo, and if memory serves me correct, as far South West as Merritt, BC as well.   They are part of a larger group of Missing and Murdered First Nations women, although not all missing and murdered women from the corridor are First Nations. You will have noted that I italicized the word " Talk " because that is all that seems to happen -- talk.   "Something must be done" many cry, and yet NO action takes place. Why is that seems to be the question that goes unanswered.   First Nations groups blame federal and provincial governments al...

So, can I say BC Health Care system sucks in at least one area?  Because it DOES! I had to take a family member into Emergency, at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, mid-afternoon on Sunday, due to severe and relentless pain.  ER staff were wonderful, caring, and showed great empathy.   Because there was no beds available on a ward, they were moved into an overflow area.  Not unexpected given that previous provincial governments have closed wards, floors, beds, and indeed entire hospitals. Problems arose however come meal time -- breakfast in particular.  This family member is diabetic, and has high blood pressure.  So what was served for breakfast?  High carbs, fruit juice, coffee, sugar, jam, sugary cereal, and other things of the same food groups.  None of which can be eaten, by some one with these medical conditions. When they explained this tray of food could NOT be eaten with some one with diabetes and...

It seems like there was a lot of interest in my post from yesterday, " Your Application for Membership in the BC Conservative Party Has Not Been Accepted at this Time "      I have also received a number of personal messages, as well as comments on Facebook and Twitter.   I can group them into three categories.   Former BC Conservatives who were active, to very active in the party, but who have left ... one I am unsure of their political affiliation ... two from BC Liberals ... and one from the Green Party.   Some have also asked me why I asked to have my membership in the party cancelled in the first place.   To those asking, or who have forgotten, I refer you to this post I made back in May:   " With much regret and disappointment, the following notification, was sent by me, to the BC Conservative Party on Saturday May 23rd " .   As I have stated now, it seems it's okay for the party to welcome back, with an apology, those who ...

Today, in the mail, I received a letter from the BC Conservative Party that in part stated, “… your application for membership in the BC Conservative Party has not been accepted at this time …” No explanation … no opportunity for recourse … and   no opportunity to address the BC Conservative Party Board Of Directors and Executive. I was asked by a member of the Metro-Vancouver area what this might be about; I messaged back saying: I asked to have my membership in the party to be removed when a former board / exec make up decided in the spring to reinstate the memberships, and offered apologies, to the dissidents that had essentially destroyed the BC Conservative Party through a coordinated campaign that left the party in a shambles prior to the 2013 election. It now seems ironic that in asking to have my membership reinstated, I have been denied, for what can only be thought of as a vendetta against me for having the tenacity to call them out on this, and for a l...

What happened in Victoria last week?   Well for those interested in politics, the end of the week was the final sitting of the legislature for this session.   It was a day where a lot of reflecting on how the Fall session had gone, what had been accomplished, what could or should have, etc … and all of the media political reporters were there to get the comments on those and other things, from BC Liberal leader Christy Clark, and NDP leader John Horgan. In other words, the perfect opportunity to capture the media’s attention with a well-placed shot across the bow message.   Which party was missing from the BC Legislature to capitalize on this opportunity?   Dan Brooks and the BC Conservative Party. I met with Dan Brooks nearly two weeks ago, in Kamloops, to talk . At that time I suggested that he throw away his 'Pablum' stump speech and start getting hard-hitting. ASK … where are the tens of thousands of jobs that Christy Clark promised would ...

If you recall, I quit the BC Conservative Party this past Spring, following the Executive and Board of the BC Conservative Party offering an apology to Alison Paton and company, and re-instatement of their memberships. Their carefully planned sabotage of the party, timely due to the closeness of the election, led to damage the Conservatives were never able to recover from in time for the May 2013 election.  As has been stated here, and elsewhere, it was sabotage plain and simple. What was the result of their dissension ?  Not one single BC Conservative candidate was elected! I have been vocal, and public, in my comments about the party since asking for my membership to be removed.  I was not alone in this; I was simply public about it.  Other members simply disengaged and walked away in disgust at the lack of direction, or failed to renew their memberships. So, let’s have a quick recap. I quit because of the actions of the bo...

The following segment, from a CBC News story this past Spring, says it best: Clark won the 2013 provincial election in part on the promise of fostering an LNG industry that would create tens of thousands of jobs and wipe out B.C.'s debt, but the government's plan has fallen behind schedule .  (CBC May 20 th , 2015) If that segment was unique in its statement, then perhaps it could be ignored … but it isn't.  Here’s more: Premier Christy Clark's promises to transform British Columbia into Canada's top job-creating engine appears to be stuck in second gear, even as the provincial economy is predicted to surge. The premier's four-year-old plans set lofty and ambitious goals and aimed to place B.C. among the top two Canadian provinces for economic and job growth for 2015.  Recent Statistics Canada economic data …. puts B.C. in fifth place among the provinces for job creation. (Huffington Post...

Last night, I had the opportunity to meet one on one with BC Conservative Party Leader Dan Brooks, here in Kamloops.   He'd had a long drive, coming down from Vanderhoof, and I could tell the length of the day, and the miles, had worn him out.   Part way through the day, he let me know that he was going to be delayed. It seems that just a short distance out of Williams Lake, he'd received a phone call from someone in Quesnel wanting to talk to him about running as a Conservative candidate, in the Quesnel North riding, in the next election.   He turned the truck around and headed back North to meet with the individual, and then headed back on his way to Kamloops; no wonder he looked worn! What's with political life that it takes someone young and vibrant, and seems to wear them down before your eyes?   I remember the provincial campaign, in the late 70's, when Dave Barrett's NDP government went down to defeat after just one term.   I also remember B...

As many of you know, on November 4 th I once again took out a membership in the BC Conservative Party (see WHO should speak for conservatives in British Columbia? ) So what has happened, on the part of the BC Conservative Party, since that date? ………………….. nothing. Now I don’t need any special “Welcome Back” message from the Party, however I find it rather odd that at the very least, someone didn’t send an email acknowledging receipt of my online membership … an email including the latest newsletter … a message from the party on the up-coming AGM in February … or even details on how to make suggestions on policy proposals for consideration at the February AGM …….. nothing. Speaking of submissions for policy suggestions, I sent an email to the BC Conservative Party, asking about how members went about putting forth suggestions; no response. That led me to then contact the Regional Director (Nando Di Lorenzo), who I had worked with previously on the Executive...