Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Whatever you think of the carbon tax as a policy, it’s days may be numbered. The same government that introduced it delivered the potentially fatal blow. All because of home heating oil. And all with seemingly little thought. Consider this: on October 24, in response to an opposition Conservative MP asking that the carbon tax be removed from home heating, a government minister rejected the idea. Carbon taxes “put more money in the pockets of Canadians”, he said, and removing the tax would “make pollution free again.” Fair enough. Agree or disagree, this has been the government’s main argument for years. But just three days later, the prime minister removed the carbon tax from heating oil in order to “lower energy bills for Canadians.”1 It was a stunning reversal. And a highly damaging one ... CLICK HERE for the full opinion piece

Cabinet ministers are facing heat from premiers and the federal opposition over exempting home heating oil from the carbon price for the next three years, a policy that primarily benefits residents in Atlantic Canada. Despite that, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal pollution price will remain in place for other forms of home heating. “There will be no more carve-outs coming,” Wilkinson said on his way into cabinet on Tuesday. At the same time, Manitoba MP and Prairie Economic Development Minister Dan Vandal said the government would have “good discussions on this” when asked about a carve-out for Manitoba as he entered cabinet ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Canadian economy may have entered a technical recession, according to the preliminary gross domestic product estimate from Statistics Canada. The federal agency released its August GDP report on Tuesday, which shows the Canadian economy remained flat in the month, while a preliminary estimate suggests it shrank in the third quarter. The report says higher interest rates, inflation, forest fires and drought conditions continued to weigh on the economy ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... The next federal election is expected to take place in 2025. With this in mind, Research Co. and Glacier Media asked British Columbians about the prime minister and his government. More than a third of the province’s residents (36 per cent) say the province has been treated “very well” or “well” by the federal government since Trudeau came into office in 2015. More than half (52 per cent) believe B.C. has been treated “badly” or “very badly" ... ... While 61 per cent of Liberal voters in the 2021 federal election think B.C. has been treated well by Trudeau, satisfaction with what has been accomplished appears muted. Only seven per cent of them select the “very well” option. Dissatisfaction reaches 51 per cent among New Democratic Party (NDP) supporters and 81 per cent among Conservative Party voters ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia Premier David Eby says it’s unfair that Atlantic Canada is being targeted for federal relief on heating bills that won’t apply to B.C., after Ottawa announced a three-year pause on carbon pricing for home fuel oil ... ... Eby, who is facing calls from Opposition politicians to cut the province’s carbon taxes, said people in Atlantic Canada are struggling to make ends meet, but so are residents of B.C. He told an unrelated news conference in Victoria on Monday that a proposed heat-pump rebate that is being piloted in Atlantic Canada should also be made available in BC ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In a two-part interview with a Canadian intel expert The Bureau looks at Chinese intelligence approaches to Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau via organized crime and corruption suspects ... CLICK HERE for the full interview

Of course Mitzi Dean should resign as children and family development minister. Dean should have resigned in June after revelations of horrific abuse of a sister and brother she was supposed to protect in a foster care placement a judge described as a “house of horrors.” The emaciated 11-year-old brother died as a result of the abuse. I won’t detail the tortures the children endured over 18 months after they were taken into government care. But imagine young children you know subjected to beatings, degradation, starving and despair. With no escape, and no one to protect them. Just waking up each day into a nightmare ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Premier David Eby has put significant effort into making nice with the federal Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He’s travelled to Ottawa four times, and hosted Trudeau at least twice more, just within the last year. Always, Eby goes out of his way to make complimentary remarks about the progress the two governments are making on the big issues facing voters today. What did all that relationship-building get our premier? Blindsided Friday by Trudeau’s announcement on changes to the carbon tax that will put British Columbia in a financial and political jam ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

The coalition says some people afraid to walk in their community, assaults at work are up and businesses are losing millions from in-store theft. ... According to a coalition release, it “wants governments to work together and act without delay on the growing crime and violence crisis in communities across British Columbia. “More and more British Columbians are afraid to walk in their own streets and shopping districts, employees fear being assaulted at work, and local businesses are losing millions from brazen in-store theft that leads to higher prices for BC families” ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC Premier David Eby heard from Vancouver Island leaders, who raised key issues hurting economic development across the region.   After addressing the crowd at Nanaimo’s conference centre Thursday, Eby fielded questions and concerns from business and industry leaders, politicians and communities on the key issues hurting economic development across Vancouver Island ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Where is Canada's strategy for a world in crisis? As a young speechwriter working in the Department of National Defence shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, I often wrote of the dangerous and unpredictable world then facing Canada. The relative stability of the Cold War was giving way to intra-state disarray in the Balkans and Africa, the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the long, bloody conflict in Afghanistan. Canada, which had been eager to seize a peace dividend, scrambled with great effort to respond. Thirty years later, the global landscape is again experiencing a dramatic shift, but this transformation could turn out to be more unsettling and frightening than anything witnessed since the end of the Second World War ... CLICK HERE for the full story from Vincent Rigby  

  I FEEL CERTAIN that there will be sighs of relief, and gratitude extended towards our provincial government once the small business community becomes aware of the largesse soon to be extended towards them.   YES, that was sarcasm! I speak of the new $10.5-million Securing Small Business Rebate Program which becomes available on November 22 nd . According to Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, “ Small businesses are the foundation of B.C.’s economy, and we are taking action to maintain a thriving business community .” She continued, “ Supporting small businesses with this rebate helps provide some relief for the costs they’ve taken on through no fault of their own .” The securing Small Business Rebate Programs will apparently assist businesses in the costs they’ve been incurring due to repeated vandalism of their premises. For some, it’s been in the TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars as windows and doors are repeatedly smashed by the same small nu

Why is Pierre Poilievre pushing the discussion about vaccine mandates? It would seem counter-intuitive given the public’s focus on the cost of living and housing. But it’s important to understand the nuances around vaccines in Canada, especially when evaluating the Conservative Party leaders’s push for Bill C-278 (An Act to prevent the imposition by the federal government of vaccination mandates for employment and travel). Recent Abacus Data polling data offers some insights that can shed light on the political risks and opportunities of pushing this ... CLICK HERE for the full story

While announcing a package of measures to respond to concerns about the cost of energy in Atlantic Canada on Thursday — a package that quickly triggered both supporters of climate action and foes of the Liberal government — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it "an important moment where we're adjusting policies so that they have the right outcome" ... ... economists generally agree that imposing a price on carbon has to be an integral part of any plan to cut emissions. In practice, the Trudeau government's carbon tax was being blamed for significant unhappiness in the Atlantic provinces, where the federal policy was introduced earlier this year to replace a patchwork of inconsistent provincial policies. When that unhappiness persisted, Liberal MPs from Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick publicly called on the government to do something ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Tiny Town village adjacent to Royal ­Athletic Park has been sold, but is expected to stay in Victoria. The 30-unit community of shipping ­containers that has provided temporary ­housing for those at risk of homelessness for the past two years ... ... Ceacero confirmed that the ­village has been sold, but would not say who bought it or where it is going. “I do believe that announcements will be made shortly, as we are coming to the end of the project, but it is staying in the region and is staying, ­actually, in Victoria,” she said. Ceacero said the dismantling of Tiny Town will start immediately and then it will be moved to its new site ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... Brian McAdam, a diplomat and immigration control officer, died in December 2022, almost 30 years after he was recalled from Canada’s Hong Kong High Commission. From 1991 to 1993 in Hong Kong, McAdam uncovered a gaping hole in Canada’s national security. He found the consulate’s computerized immigration-vetting system was compromised. Canadian passports were up for sale, while immigration investment scams and corruption enabled Hong Kong Triad leaders and Chinese intelligence fronts to flood into Canada, investing in real estate and critical infrastructure, infiltrating politics, and doing business with Canadian officials ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Bank of Canada says home price drops driven by the recent hikes to interest rates weren’t as steep as monetary policymakers would usually expect, thanks largely to a “structural” lack of supply. But economists who spoke to Global News say the housing correction likely isn’t finished, with more declines to come ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC United Leader Kevin Falcon has released the following statement on Bill 35, the Short-Term Rental Accommodations Act: “Following the NDP government’s rejection of our common-sense amendments aimed at regulating short-term rentals like Airbnb and achieving the necessary balance, we cannot support this legislation. “It is now clear that, instead of providing real solutions, David Eby and the NDP are attempting to find scapegoats for their failure to meet their own housing targets ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Gitxaala First Nation is appealing a recent BC Supreme Court decision that found, among other things, that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has no force in law in B.C. The Gitxaala also want the Court of Appeal to do what the BC Supreme Court refused to do – quash several mineral claims in their traditional territories ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The BC Conservatives are riding high poll numbers across the province that should scare the BC United Party, and the party leader says the Okanagan already could be theirs. The Conservatives, once a political backwater barely making a dent in the polls for many years, are now running in a dead heat with the United party, formerly the governing BC Liberal Party.   “Most of the polls that we have looked at have us in second place and our internal polling in the Interior through the Okanagan region actually has us first place in most areas,” John Rustad, leader of the BC Conservatives, says ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A Leger poll this month placed the NDP first, to no great surprise. But shockingly, the Conservatives came second   Recent polls show Kevin Falcon’s BC United party bleeding support to the ­provincial Conservatives ... ... Falcon’s party limped home in third place, with just 19 per cent support, against 25 per cent for the Conservatives, and 42 per cent for David Eby’s NDP. Nor does it appear this was an outlier. BC United managed just 20 per cent support in a September poll, basically tied with the Conservatives ... CLICK HERE for the full op / ed

An independent Quebec would be good for Quebec and for Canada, great for Alberta. What once seemed threatening, what once seemed like the end of our national dreams and ambitions, now seems more like a formal acceptance of reality, that Quebec should take the final step in its quest for nationhood and separate from Canada, and that Canada should forge a new identity and prosperity around its heritage and vision for the future ... CLICK HERE for the full story

One of the Okanagan’s better-known politicians won’t be seeking re-election in next year’s provincial election. On Wednesday, Ben Stewart, the MLA for Kelowna West, told Global News he’ll be retiring soon ... CLICK HERE for the full story

School District 57 board chair Rachael Weber is rejecting a call for her resignation from union president Daryl Beauregard ...  ... In an interview following Tuesday's school board meeting, Weber said that Beauregard is entitled to his opinion. “It's unfortunate that he's lost sight of his position being president of the teachers’ association. You know, there's a lot of other concerns and issues that you should be addressing. Unfortunately, that's not happening. So, we just move forward,” said Weber ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  BC United party leader Kevin Falcon chose the growing community of Chilliwack to pitch his plan to fix the problems plaguing B.C. About one year out before the next provincial election, Falcon breezed into Smoking Gun, a downtown coffee shop in Chilliwack on Tuesday (Oct. 24) to share his vision for the newly renamed BC United party. “I think we’re at a time in history when there’s a lot of division in politics right now, across North America and around the world. So uniting people together with a common purpose to try to fix things is something I think a lot of people can get behind,” Falcon said in an interview with The Chilliwack Progress ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia was once the economic powerhouse of the West. But after years of deficit budgets, we have seen one credit rating downgrade after another. And the provincial debt is deepening while taxes are leaping higher every year. The next provincial budget is a chance for the Eby government to get the fiscal train back on track. That’s why the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is presenting a pre-budget report offering a road map back to fiscal sanity ... CLICK HERE for the full commentary op/ed

Academic research the B.C. government relied on to impose restrictions on short-term rentals provides regional breakdowns that bring home the effects of STRs on Vancouver Island. A McGill University group analyzed the rental-housing picture and named large-scale operators renting out multiple otherwise vacant units for short stays as the main offenders when it came to removing housing stock from the market ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Some old-school conservatives (and Conservatives) might have been surprised when Pierre Poilievre recently asked Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to halt the proposed takeover of HSBC Bank by the Royal Bank of Canada.   Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which we know as HSBC, was established in 1865 to finance growing trade between Europe, India and China. Today it fashions itself as “a local bank serving international needs” and provides competitively priced commercial and retail banking services in Canada and elsewhere. In Canada it operates primarily in our two largest metropolitan regions: Toronto and the the so-called 905 region around Toronto as well as Greater Vancouver and the lower mainland around Vancouver. It also operates in some cities across western Canada. HSBC recently put itself up for sale and the Royal Bank was the winning bidder.  But Poilievre has concerns. What gives? Aren’t conservatives the party of big business? CLICK HERE for the full s

Attacking minorities is a favourite pastime of weak politicians. In choosing to target Quebec’s English-language universities with massive tuition increases for out-of-province students, Quebec Premier Francois Legault is once again proving that axiom. Legault and his Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry have just rolled out proposals that will reduce enrolment in institutions such as McGill University ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

Director for the Peace River Regional District Jordan Kealy announced that he submitted his nomination to run in next year’s election for the Peace River North riding. If he’s accepted, Kealy will run for the BC Conservative Party against the current MLA Dan Davies. He said his decision to run was due to frustrations with the NDP and BC United leadership. Kealy said working at the PRRD he’s, “making a difference in my current role and I love the job. I love being able to represent my constituents. But I feel like there’s big issues here, when you look at the amount of people that die from drug overdoses, like in our community and Dawson Creek, that’s huge" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Kathleen Connolly, CEO of the Fort St. John & District Chamber of Commerce, issued a letter asking the NDP Government to pause their proposed plan for a cap on emissions. The Government’s plan looks to set emissions at net zero by 2030 and also have the oil and gas industry become fully electrified in the same year. Connolly said she’s, “uncertain how they expect that type of infrastructure would be put in place and operation in 6 years. It’s impossible" ... CLICK HERE for the full story