Thoughts on BC Politics and More

While a recent story in Narwhal ran under a banner headline stating ...   ‘ Send everybody home’: potential coronavirus outbreak at Site C dam a threat to Fort St. John, local officials say   ... the cities mayor, Lori Ackerman, told me their recent council meeting had, ‘ absolutely nothing to do with the continued work at Site C, nor did it have anything to do with housing the workers at the camp at Site C’ . According to the story, Ackerman was reported saying their local hospital would be under “extreme pressure” if it had to accommodate sick people from outside the region, as well as ailing local residents. But city Mayor Lori Ackerman told me that while two city councillors did discuss and debate Site C ... “ The media took two clips, rather than listening to the entire debate, which would have provided context ”. Indeed, while councillor Byron Stewart did say he would prefer if the government would shut it (Site C) down, he also ...

REPRINTED with permission of the author Delta South BC Liberal MLA Ian Paton: It is an absolute honour to serve as Agriculture Critic for the Official Opposition in British Columbia’s Legislature. It’s also certainly been a learning curve. As a former dairy farmer and livestock auctioneer who still lives on my family farm that I was born and raised on, I thought I understood farming in British Columbia. However, touring all corners of this amazing province over the last three years has taught me that there is so much more to agriculture than what I have experienced living in the Fraser Valley. As schools and community halls continue to close due to population decline in our rural areas, having multiple families living together on the family farm provides opportunities for farm help, child care, and other social supports Farming in BC encompasses tree fruit growers and the wine industry in the Okanagan, canola, grain and grass seed in the Pea...

A week and a half ago I wrote the commentary ... “ While the national inventory is currently strong, an increase in blood donor cancellations is a warning sign of potential challenges to maintaining a health inventory of blood ” It was written as a result of talk about a potential blood shortage that would occur if people stopped donating due to the COVID-19 virus. It seems the call to Canadians was responded to, however, as I was told this afternoon ... “ T his effort is a marathon, not a sprint ”. As it now stands now, donors are able to attend clinics which are held in Vancouver (2), Victoria, Surrey, and in Kelowna, so I asked if there any plans to re-establish traveling clinics to others communities - for example in Kamloops, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Revelstoke or Cranbrook, and perhaps further north at perhaps Ft. St. John? According to Communications Lead Regional Public Affairs Specialist Marcelo Dominguez, Canadian Blood Services is still on...

The emergency room surgeon said “ we’re going to stop your heart and let it restart .”   I had two thoughts: one was a quote from Monty Python; and the other was that I still had things I wanted to do.   The IV went in; my brain heard my heart slow down – like the sound a record makes when the turntable is turned off – and then silence.   And then, restart and all is good...and I tell myself to write down my bucket list. Let me fill in some blanks. On the medical front, I had the first episode with my heart in 2012.   I’d been battling another sinus infection but my heart rate increased so I went to the local clinic – booked in, waited my turn, and then told the Doctor my heart seemed fast and I was short of breath.   Boom – all hell broke loose.   Ambulances arrived and during trip to the hospital the paramedic kept reporting ahead for our arrival with ‘ he’s the Mayor, and he’s 58 .’ – neither of which I thought was ...

There has been much commentary on the passage of Bill C-13 which gives the governing Liberals extensive spending powers through to September 30 th , 2020. The opposition has been criticized for allowing this to take place. Time for a reality check. Parliament is due to return from recess on April 20 th , just 21 days from today. The Commons chambers cannot fit 338 MPs and conform to social distancing rules currently in effect or comply with the prohibition on large gatherings. The emergency session held on March 24 th recognized the problems and had an agreed number of MPs present to minimize infection risk. I expect the spring session will be postponed until there are clear signs that the coronavirus threat has diminished substantially. We do not know the economic impact of the coronavirus social d...

This morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again made his morning announcements, from the front steps of his home, regarding COVID-19.   What’s new?   It’s big ... too big at least in my opinion. According to Trudeau, the federal government will now pay 75% of a workers salary -- for qualifying businesses -- a SIXTY FIVE PERCENT INCREASE from the previous 10%. “ So, here’s what we’re going to do, to take some of that pressure off. Last week we had announced we would cover 10% of wages, but it has become clear we must do more, much more – so we’re bringing that percentage up to 75%, for qualifying businesses ”. Our Prime Ministers went on to say that ... “ We’re helping companies keep people on the payroll, so that workers are supported and the economy is positioned to recover from this.   That, is our priority ” I realize governments, both federal and provincial, need to do everything they can during the current COVID-19 pandemic, h...

FRASER INSTITUTE: On Wednesday morning, the government, with the unanimous consent of the Opposition parties (Conservatives, NDP, Green Party and Bloc Québécois), passed legislation giving sweeping powers to Finance Minister Bill Morneau, including the power to unilaterally spend and borrow without parliamentary approval until September 2020. While the original legislation was revised , removing the ability to change taxes unilaterally, it remains an affront to Parliament and the separation of powers on which the Canadian system of government is built.  Indeed, Bill C-13 , An Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19, grants the federal health and finance ministers the power to spend “ all money required to do anything in relation to that public health event of national concern .” While the Liberals agreed to accountability measures including an undertaking that the minister provide to the Commons Standing Committee on Finance a biweekly...

  If you are a Facebook friend of my mom then you may have seen her post announcing that her partner Tex has tested positive for COVID-19 and she is a presumptive case. The novel coronavirus has disrupted every part of our lives. It’s not just a community state of emergency, it’s global. Up until they received their diagnosis a couple of days ago, for our family COVID-19 was a disease that was affecting other people. Like most British Columbians we have been hearing the recommendations and orders from Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s Chief Medical Officer, and taking them increasingly seriously. My family has been restricting our movements and limiting our interactions with others. Other than a quick trip to the legislature I have been limited to our property for the past week. My mom and Tex attended a conference in Toronto and returned two weeks ago feeling unwell. Thankfully over the past few days they are not getting much worse, however they...