Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Signing of the 1982 Constitution Act The 1982 Constitution Act, Section 35, established the ground work for modern day interpretation of Aboriginal Rights and Title on non treaty land, much of which is in British Columbia. Flowing from this Section 35 various Aboriginal groups went to court to determine its meaning. Several important Supreme Court of Canada (SCoC) decisions interpreted the section to mean that any new development on land claimed by aboriginal groups as their traditional territory required meaningful consultation and accommodation with the aboriginal group. Hence, any proponent wanting to conduct any type of development on the traditional land must first sit down with the aboriginal group in question, meaningfully consult with them and accommodate as far as possible their concerns. This often led to agreements between the parties that provided employment and other benefits flowing out of the agreements to the aboriginal group. By ...

Former Newfoundland Labrador Premier Brian Peckford The Government, and Hereditary Chiefs, Meeting. Questions and Comments 1. Sadly we now know that breaking the law works. Can we all go out now and seek change by breaking the law? 2. Who speaks for the Indigenous people? Is it the elected chiefs or the hereditary chiefs? 3. Seems clear that right now it is the hereditary chiefs who break the law. 4. So will the hereditary chiefs insist that their consent must be obtained for any development to occur on their traditional lands? ... violating certain Canadian Laws, like injunctions, is not only condoned but significant power can be gained by those committing the crime ... 5. If they gain that power of consent it means that present Canadian law is being violated and the UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples takes precedence. 6. Right now to gain title to land and hence consent power over development an indigenous group mu...

While reading this , please note it w as written yesterday (February 27 th ) With a pipeline blockaded in northern British Columbia, trains stopped in their tracks across the country, the proceedings of the legislature in Victoria disrupted, and demonstrations in my riding and communities across the country, the past few weeks have been confusing and frustrating for many Canadians. Despite all the finger-pointing, the current conflict started in the British Columbia legislature when the BC NDP and BC Liberals voted together to support Bill 10, a billion-dollar taxpayer subsidy to induce a final investment decision from LNG Canada. The BC Green Caucus voted against the subsidy from the beginning and urged other MLAs to do the same. Instead, our colleagues chose to barrel ahead knowing that there were existing long-standing and unresolved matters relating to rights and title in the area. The Coastal Gaslink conflict in the Wet’suwet’en territory has now spilled out...

I'm right ... you're wrong ... "F" you The other day on social media, I shared a link to the following post from the Conservative Party of BC: ... Conservative Party leader Trevor Bolin says , ‘Those who are illegally blocking the rights of others today, may be the ones who, in the future, will need the same protections of law which they are now flouting’ ... Please feel free to read the rest of his comments, at the link I have provided, however, this commentary isn’t about that post, it is in fact about a reaction to it. The reaction was directed to me, by an individual named Tony Brummel, who said, and I quote: “F - ck you Allen” EXCUSE ME, I said, and then continued, What the hell gives you the right to be such an ignorant moron. Given this comment from you, you are the perfect example, and description, of the saying, "Some people don't think their shit stinks" Your Mamma must be real proud of your excellen...

One of the challenges, with so many different events occurring in Ottawa, is that some become overlooked. This occurred last week as the third party opposition, Bloc Québécois, had their first Opposition Day in the House (of Commons) and tabled the following motion: Mr. Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly): “ That the House call on the government to increase the special Employment Insurance sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 50 weeks in the upcoming budget in order to support people with serious illnesses, such as cancer .” After debate on this motion was complete a vote was held with the Bloc, Conservative and NDP voting in favour of the motion passing with the governing Liberals opposed. In the last parliament, this opposition motion would have been defeated however in this minority parliament, the motion passed. Prior to this motion passing, the maximum time for the special employment benefit on Employment Insurance (EI) was limited to 15 weeks, a limit that has been in place ...

"As Prime Minister, Justin leads a government that works hard every day to continue moving Canada forward" ~~ official government of Canada website Given the circumstances we find ourselves in, the next three words, which are highlighted in bold , seems fitting:   ANARCHY ... defined as a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of governmental authority ... however I like this description, given the circumstances we find ourselves in ... political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control CHAOS ... a state of total or utter confusion with no order   INJUSTICE ... one definition I found describes this as unfair treatment ; a situation in which the rights of a person or a group of people are ignored ... while another describes it as the absence of justice : violation of right or of the rights of another   Global News, and many other news outlets reported yesterday that ... Wet’suwet’en hereditary ch...

THE FOLLOWING is a statement from the Conservative Party of BC, regarding removal of funding to the Delta Hospice Society: The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, in an online article entitled “Dispelling the Myths” states that it is important for people to understand that; Hospice and palliative care focuses on living until the end, not dying. The article goes on to say it is a myth that hospice and palliative care accelerates death. Rather they say it is a fact that hospice and palliative care aims to neither prolong nor accelerate death but rather ensures quality of life until the very end. It is unfortunate then, that the BC government is now taking steps to ensure that those providing hospice and palliative care will now in fact be forced to, at least in part, focus on dying, and accelerating death. Ryan Warawa -- son of the late Conservative MP Mark Warawa, and a two-term President of the Conservative Party of BC -- last night rel...

Green Party MLA, and Interim Leader, Adam Olsen On Monday I was hoping to get an answer to a straightforward question about the BC NDP's commitment to innovation, technology and the knowledge-based economy. I asked the Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness (Michelle Mungall) about whether three longstanding tax credits for the film industry (worth approximately $640 million) were part of the $700 million allocated to innovation in the government's own economic framework and Budget 2020. I received a confounding response. You can see it here. This is no small matter. Governments around the world are aggressively positioning themselves to be at the forefront of these emerging economic sectors. We lose ground everyday British Columbia fails to develop a clear vision and strategy to position ourselves. This has been a relatively frustrating experience to get what should be a fairly simple answer. The reality...