Thoughts on BC Politics and More

What's happening with the BC Conservative Party these days?   Well first of all let me say that since returning to the fold, and becoming a member of the party once again, I have tried to avoid making Thoughts on BC Politics and More, simply a PR piece fort the party.   I hope you will agree that I have been successful in that. So, today, I deviate a bit, and will devote this commentary entirely to the party! And, I'll start first of all with how the people of BC are viewing the party.   Based on polling since the early Spring, what I am seeing is s low and steady.   A recent poll taken a few weeks back showed BC Conservatives with support at 12% ... and back in March Mainstreet Research had the Conservatives sitting at 8.9%. According to a new Mainstreet Research Poll , BC Conservative support is now sitting at 14.6 percent.   Of course it is still a long ways from what will be needed to capture seats when the next provincial elect...

On Wednesday July 18th, the Manitoba government outlined key components of its recreational cannabis regulatory regime -- one of those being the Social Responsibility Fee (SRF) , which will be imposed on all licensed pot retailers in the province. Now I am the first one to question ANY new taxes and / or fees, however this is one which I can embrace fully.   That's because the Government of Manitoba has indicated that revenues generated by the SRF will help fund social costs associated with the legalization of cannabis.   In announcing the new Social Responsibility Fee, Manitoba's Growth, Enterprise and Trade Minister, Blaine Pedersen, stated, “ The various health, safety, education and enforcement implications of legalized cannabis fall almost entirely to the provincial level of government .” “ Our plan will help cover these provincial costs and also ensure fairness, recognizing the social responsibility retailers must share .”  As ...

The issue of discarded needles has been a prominent topic of discussion around the city of Kamloops as of late, but it's not just a problem happening here.  For months now, all aspects of media have been running stories about the issue, and problems associated with it.  Here's just a very small sampling: ... (she) is speaking out after her six-year-old nephew stepped on a used needle in Kelowna’s popular City park and it went through the bottom of his shoe. ... a little girl needed medical attention after getting pricked by a discarded needle during a school outing in Victoria’s Beacon Hill Park on Friday ... police are investigating after a three-year-old child was pricked by an uncapped syringe on Monday afternoon ... child's parents said they noticed the uncapped syringe after the child began to cry. ... an abundance of needles springing up around Vernon , BC has the public outraged with safety concerns ... a month ago we found 200 used needles...

Yesterday (June 12th, 2018), the Public Safety and Solicitor General's Office in BC announced that communities throughout the province will be receiving approximately $9.5 million in provincial emergency preparedness funding for structural flood mitigation.     Included in that total, will be pump stations and dikes... as well as funding for signage, trailer storage, safety vests, training, uniforms ... and erosion protection and bank stabilization. The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) has released the funding for the structural flood mitigation component of the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund. Yesterdays announcement was part of a $33.5-million plan, for what has been intended to assist communities in BC prepare for, and respond to, disasters. Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General was quoted stating, “ When we released the first round of funding, I talked about how critically important these...

“ No hockey, bikes, chalk drawings : This BC neighbourhood has declared a war on fun.” ... reads the headline from the National Post and the Vancouver Province. This can’t be the “Beautiful BC” I grew up in? In Central European folklore, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure described as "half-goat, half-demon", who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved NEW ARTISAN GARDENS BY-LAW “Any use of a roadway for any purpose other than access to and from strata lots and, where permitted, for parking is prohibited. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, a roadway may not be used for play, including hockey, baseball, basketball, skateboarding, chalk artistry, bicycling or other sports and recreational activities.” A BC strata, Artisan Gardens in Chemainus, has found the need to summon, and unleash, the spirit of Krampus on its children a bit early this year.  How?  By invoking a “ children should be s...

Vancouver Star reporter David P. Ball  Vancouver Star news and photography reporter David Ball said he would write a balanced news story on the Greenpeace protesters, and comments from some in the public that they should have been cut down. I think, given as I was one of the individuals quoted as saying they should have been cut down, that he did indeed do a fair and balanced job. It went online tonight (Friday July 6th) " Ex-public safety minister among commenters saying ‘cut the cables’ of B.C. bridge protesters " You can read his news story HERE    And, if you missed it yesterday, here is the piece that I wrote following my exchange with David Ball. " Even if it was in jest, such phrases are inappropriate for you as someone who has run for public office in the past " Click HERE    DAVID P. BALL is a Vancouver based reporter covering democracy and politics.   Follow him on Twitter at:   @davidpball...

Well I must say it has been some time since a reporter, outside of the Kamloops area, has sought me out for comment.   It happened today however, and it had to do with seven Greenpeace protesters who took it upon themselves to hang from the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge, and block a tanker which was legally about to head out to sea.   This demonstration of course to protest the ALSO LEGAL Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. Seeking me out was David Ball, a reporter for the Star in Vancouver.   He emailed the following to me: Good afternoon Mr. Forseth, I am a reporter with The Star Vancouver newspaper and covering yesterday's illegal bridge protest and arrests. I noted that hundreds of social media users have used phrases such as "cut their ropes," and that you used the phrase as well: Alan Forseth, BC Reform Party MLA candidate for Kamloops North Thompson -- 1996 General Election "Damn shame they couldn't have just...