Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Today’s latest email from the BC NDP to members and supporters’, states: " Times are still tough for people looking for affordable places to rent. We are in urgent need of more housing throughout BC. That’s why in the new year, we’ll be focusing on building thousands more affordable homes for renters ." IN ACTUAL FACT, this is what the media have been reporting for some time: •    Business in BC (10/29/24): With starts per capita at their lowest level in a decade, industry looks for more reform •    The Interior News (08/12/24): As BC housing starts decline, economic concerns grow •    On-Site (12/16/24): Y ear-to-date (housing) starts in Vancouver are still down 14 percent •    Western Investor (11/19/24): Housing starts per capita in BC are at the lowest level in at least a decade, not counting 2020 when the province was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic •    BC Real Estate Association (09/17/24): Accordi...

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre announced that he will submit a letter to the Governor General asking to recall the House for a confidence vote. This follows Jagmeet Singh's letter earlier this morning saying the NDP "will vote to bring this government down" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Retailers and consumers blindsided by Ottawa’s chaotic GST/HST tax break rollout ~~ Sylvain Charlebois T’was the week before Christmas, and all through the malls, many creatures were stirring ... Consumers and retailers are scrambling to understand the GST/HST holiday chaos. With Bill C-78 granting Canadians a temporary tax reprieve receiving royal assent mere days before its implementation on Dec. 14, businesses were faced with an almost impossible task: recoding systems during the busiest shopping season of the year. While some major food retailers had anticipated the bill’s passage and prepared in advance, others were caught off guard or distanced themselves entirely from the initiative. What was supposed to bring holiday cheer has instead become a tax policy nightmare. The confusion started early. On Dec. 10, PepsiCo announced it would not participate, informing its partners – Loblaw, Sobeys, and Metro – that it would continue charging taxes due to the complexity of its systems. Pe...

An embattled Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a significant overhaul to his cabinet while his leadership continues to be in question. The prime minister unveiled his new cabinet at Rideau Hall on Friday. He brought in eight new faces and moved several others in the shuffle ... CLICK HERE for the full stor y

  Current ministers changing jobs Anita Anand remains minister of transport, but adds the internal trade portfolio. Gary Anandasangaree remains minister of Crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs, and becomes minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. Steven MacKinnon becomes minister of employment, workforce development and labour. Ginette Petitpas Taylor becomes president of the Treasury Board. New ministers joining cabinet: Rachel Bendayan: Minister of Official Languages and Associate Minister of Public Safety Bendayan was first elected to the House of Commons in a 2019 federal byelelction in the riding of Outremont following the resignation of former NDP leader Tom Mulcair. Before being elevated to her cabinet post she served as Freeland's parliamentary secretary.  Élisabeth Brière: Minister of National Revenue  Brière was first elected to the House of Commons in the 2019 federal election for the Quebec ...

After receiving the electors’ stern October message, Premier David Eby spoke with the required humility, “We are listening to the message voters sent to us with this close election, and will be getting to work on today’s tough challenges right away.” The premier’s office echoed Eby’s familiar talking points, “The new cabinet’s priorities will be bringing down costs for families, strengthening health care, making communities safer and growing the economy so everyone feels the benefits.” To bring down living costs and grow the economy will require major shifts in the NDP government’s energy and climate policies ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

The Business Council of British Columbia has launched an awareness campaign to counter the province's rising outward migration to Alberta. The business advocacy group says its "Stay with B.C." campaign is placing advertisements on billboards and transit stops, as well as online in cities such as Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Prince George, urging residents to think twice before moving to Alberta for economic or other reasons ... CLICK HERE for the full story

As the clock ticks down on a turbulent 2024, Premier David Eby and his recently installed cabinet are staring at an uncertain and unforgiving economic landscape. While the province’s economy has been growing, the population has been increasing faster—resulting in a downward trend in the value of economic output, measured on a per-person basis. The same story has been unfolding across the country since 2022. Looking ahead, BC policymakers and the economists toiling in the Ministry of Finance must contend with two big external unknowns ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia’s government expects to plant nearly 60 million fewer trees next year — a 23 per cent drop from this year’s planting season at a time the province has seen a major spike in wildfire activity. The projections come from presentation slides obtained by Glacier Media and shown to industry in September, less than 10 days before the BC’s provincial election campaign kicked off ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Despite disappointment and turmoil surrounding the Fall Economic Statement and Chrystia Freeland’s shocking departure from Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, Canada remains a country of immense promise. I’ve spent more than a few words in The Hub highlighting the challenges we face—creeping neofeudalism, a stagnant economy, the suffocating complexity of our regulatory regimes, the subtle but relentless erosion of trust in our public institutions, and the glaring distortions in our housing and health-care systems. But looking towards 2025, I remain optimistic. If we can channel our inherent advantages—our openness, human capital, abundant resources, and a mostly pragmatic culture—and lead in a changing world. What follows are some big (and controversial) topics—ambitious ideas that cut against some sacred Canadian cows. While some may seem radical, I believe putting them on the table could contribute to necessary debates and hopefully progress ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In November a woman named Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba, the co-chair of the Vancouver Police Board, was asked to resign over social media posts she had made. She apologized for her posts and resigned. First up, let's be clear: her posts did violate the Code of Conduct she agreed to when she accepted a seat on the board. Public officials on these kinds of boards cannot ever show cultural, religious, etc preference. They must at all times appear to be neutral to fulfill their roles - just like judges. She resigned and that should have been the end of the story. Elenore Sturko, the newly re-elected MLA, now sitting as a BC Conservative, publicly agreed with this resignation. She serves as the Public Safety critic so, this is part of her job to comment on things like this. That should have been the end of the story, but 13 BC Conservative MLAs wrote a letter taking issue with Sturko. They claimed Comfort was a victim of cancel culture, mused about values, etc. Sturko is...

PRINCE GEORGE : Rosalyn Bird, Conservative MLA for Prince George – Valemount, says Starlink satellite internet service is the superior solution for northerners.   “Although I was very pleased to hear today that another Northern BC community has reached completion, I recognize many other northern, rural, and remote communities in British Columbia continue to face connectivity challenges," Bird said in response to the completion of the Upper Viewmount (Smither) fibre-optic project. Access to reliable, high-speed internet has become an essential element in progressing economic growth and providing access to education and health care, while improving community well-being. No longer a luxury, we now recognize its importance as our work, school and personal lives increasingly shift online. One of the main hurdles in expanding cellular services is the availability of power, as cellular infrastructure requires electricity. Additionally, many remote areas and highways ...

History will remember Chrystia Freeland as Canada’s first woman finance minister ... ... She could also be remembered as the woman who brought down Justin Trudeau in the most dramatic of fashions ... ... Or perhaps this is merely the opening scene of a new story, where Freeland uses her resignation as a springboard to mount a campaign to replace Trudeau as Liberal leader and become Canada’s first woman to be elected as prime minister ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Stagnant job growth and falling participation highlight cracks in B.C.’s labour market. British Columbia employment remained virtually unchanged in November with only 1,400 more people working compared with the previous month. Year-over-year hiring growth of 0.3 per cent fell well below the national performance of 1.6 per cent ... CLICK HERE for the full story

"David Eby and Brenda Bailey are playing Santa with NDP insiders while our construction and resource workers are getting Scrooged ” ~~ Peter Milobar, MLA – Kamloops Centre, Finance Critic of the Official Opposition British Columbia’s fall economic and fiscal update reveals a province sinking deeper into debt, plagued by revenues falling short of expectations and cost overruns on major projects, according to the Conservative official opposition. “It’s easy to see why they released the fall economic statement a week before Christmas Eve,” said – Peter Milobar, MLA – Kamloops Centre, Conservative Finance Critic. “ There’s a pay raise in the range of roughly $20,000 to $60,000 for every NDP MLA who is now a minster, minister of state, or parliamentary secretary. Promotions for NDP staffers .” “ Meanwhile our economy is slowing down, our budget deficit is expanding, and resource and business tax revenue is dropping ,” Milobar questioned why voters were never told about the $...

RE:  338 Canada: Conservative Blowout in Cloverdale—Langley City, Liberals in Shambles December 17th, 2024 Another nail in the coffin. The latest from political prognosticators Tom Mulcair is that he believes that a few things will happen. Number one is that in late January Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will prorogue parliament as NDP and Bloc support will climb, probably not much, but enough to challenge for the official opposition -- which is the best they can hope for given the lackluster performance of Singh as leader. The point is that it's apparent that Trudeau is finished. His poll numbers are in the toilet. Initially he hoped that a Trump presidency would shock people into voting for him. That never happened. Then he hoped that the GST holiday would give him a modicum of support. That again was a forlorn hope. The next gambit was the expansion of the Order in Council, which if anything outlined a precedence of property right intrusion... And people saw through that. Then a ...

Classes are over, grades are submitted and now I can turn my attention to … all this. (Imagine a vague hand gesture and a pained expression here). This past term, I taught Introduction to Political Science, and the students’ final assignment was to reflect on concepts we covered during the term that they found interesting. The most commonly mentioned were affective polarization and democratic backsliding. The kids are OK ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Atlantic Power's Williams Lake biomass energy plant is still in limbo, while B.C. imported record amounts of electricity last year. The plant's future remains uncertain, after having given a one year termination of contract notice to BC Hydro at the beginning of 2024. The biomass energy plant burns wood waste to produce electricity and is the city's largest single taxpayer. Atlantic Power said the Williams Lake plant would cease operations due to the lack of affordable fibre to maintain financial viability, but the original October deadline to revoke this notice has been relaxed due to the impact of the provincial election ... CLICK HERE for the full story

John Rustad may not have won BC’s election on Oct. 24, but the Conservative Party of BC—a defunct party for half a century—coming within a hair’s breadth of forming government was still one of the most significant news events in British Columbia this year. The campaign, its collateral damage, the party’s historic result and the challenging path before it in opposition are why Rustad and the BC Conservatives were selected as BIV ’s newsmaker of the year. Despite not having won a seat in the legislature since 1975, the party managed to secure 44 seats in the October election ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... Linda Coady, President and Chief Executive Officer of the BC Council of Forest Industries (COFI), said on Monday that another review of forest policy in BC should not be a priority right now. Coady pointed out: “Premier [David] Eby has already publicly acknowledged that rising US duties and tariffs on forest products would have a ‘devastating’ impact on thousands of jobs in resource communities across the province. In light of this very real threat, now is the time for urgent action on the commitments the government has already made to maintaining a competitive and sustainable forest products manufacturing sector in BC" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

This year's Human Freedom Index has been released, and it's not good news. Compiled by Canada’s Fraser Institute and the U.S.-based Cato Institute, this year's study finds that 87.4% of the world’s population experienced a decline in freedom from 2020 to 2022. The index measures personal freedom — the rule of law, safety and security, identity and relationships, freedom of movement, speech, assembly and religion — as well as economic freedom: the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions. This year, Canada ranks as the 11th freest country in the world, up from 13th in last year’s ranking ... CLICK HERE for the summary CLICK HERE for results of the study

While Monday was originally set up to be a typically enthralling day for political junkies across the nation with the Fall Economic Statement and Cloverdale—Langley City by-election, it turned out to be… even more than that. With news of the finance minister Chrystia Freeland announcing her resignation from cabinet (But notably staying on as a member of parliament) in a letter with many not-so-subtle shots at the Prime Minister, one was forgiven for not paying attention to the by-election in BC. Nonetheless, it was a blowout for the Conservatives ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Inflation edged down slightly to 1.9 per cent in November as price growth continued to stabilize in Canada. Statistics Canada's consumer price index report Tuesday showed inflation was down from two per cent in October ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Returned to office with the narrowest possible majority, B.C. Premier David Eby has had several weeks now to reflect on why October’s provincial election was so close. There’s a series of factors, I would say,” Eby told The Tyee in a year-end interview. “I think the Conservatives spoke very effectively to communities about issues of public safety, street disorder, mental health and addiction, in ways that we need to take very seriously.” Inflation and the difficulty many people are having making financial ends meet were also key, Eby said. People are looking to local representatives for solutions, even if, for things like inflation, the problems are global, he said. “I think there’s broad frustration among British Columbians about the impacts they feel on their bottom line around the amount of money they are left with at the end of the month" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canada’s ambitious efforts to attract highly skilled immigrants are undermined by a widespread mismatch between immigrants’ qualifications and job opportunities, according to a new study from the C.D. Howe Institute. The report highlights key factors, such as language proficiency and education quality, as well as systemic barriers like the lack of recognition for foreign credentials and complex credential assessment processes, which hinder immigrants from fully contributing to Canada’s economy ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canadian Future Party leader Dominic Cardy today called for a unity government to guide Canada through the unprecedented threats the country is facing both internally and externally. “ We have never before seen the chaos we are seeing in Ottawa today ,” said Cardy. “ This comes at a time when we are facing what is likely the most serious economic threat in our history from the proposed punitive tariffs by President-Elect Donald Trump . At the same time, we continue to face a global economic crisis and essentially a global war between the forces of democracy and the forces of autocracy .” On the day she was supposed to present the Fall Economic Update, Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned, stating she no longer had confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or his government’s fiscal policy. Simultaneously, Sean Fraser, considered one of the few effective ministers in this government, also stepped down. Some are calling for an election in the midst of thi...

" On Friday, you told me you no longer want me to serve as your Finance Minister. Upon reflection, I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the Cabinet "~~ Chrystia Freeland . That's the beginning of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland's letter of resignation, as Finance Minister, to Justin Trudeau. As one reads the rest, it is apparent that for quite some time, she has not been in agreement (one could almost say vehemently) with the economic policies of Justin Trudeau. I think the last sentence of Freeland's letter of resignation from cabinet is very telling, as to her future plans: " I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues as a Liberal Member of Parliament, and I am committed to running again for my seat in the next federal election ." While 338 Canada has Freeland's University - Rosedale seat as a toss-up between her and the NDP, I'd have to think that what's she's done today (basic...

... the rest of the agreement contained smaller items the NDP would likely have done on its own in the future anyway — increased shelter aid for seniors, increased rental assistance for low-income families, expanded regional transit, more funding for heat pumps and a review of social assistance and disability rates. Missing was any action on the major policy positions that had formed the backbone of the BC Green Party over the last two years ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC United, the once-ruling party of British Columbia that abruptly folded the campaign just before this fall’s election, is begging for money to clear a mountain of debt after having left its candidates without the means to pay their campaign expenses. A leaked document on party letterhead obtained by The Globe and Mail reveals BC United has declared a crisis and is worried about facing lawsuits from its debtors. It is still operating with a large overhead that far exceeds the current trickle of donations ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... (it) doesn’t mean there won’t be things to watch in the results tonight. As always, byelection results can be useful barometers to stack up against the polls — will the Conservatives put up a number that matches their polling? If not, how do the results differ from expectations? Could they give us an indication of how well other Conservative candidates might do in the swathe of suburban ridings in the Lower Mainland? And in just how much trouble might other Liberals be in and around Vancouver? The results will give us some hints. So, let’s set the benchmarks for this contest — one that the Conservatives should easily win ... CLICK HERE for the full story

We’ve lost a tremendous man. Al Raine was not only respected by everyone who knew him and worked with him, he was a man with incredible vision and determination. I had the good fortune to sit beside Al in our final years together at the TNRD. When Al spoke, everyone listened, and we knew his experience would lead us in making good decisions for the people we represent. Al was a friend, and someone I could trust. My thoughts are with his wife Nancy and their family at this most difficult time. Thanks Al, you will be remembered fondly and dearly missed

For the week of Dec. 15, 2024: Terry Glavin’s latest is a 6,200-word exploration of post-Oct. 7 Canada for The Free Press, under the headline “The Explosion of Jew-Hate in Trudeau’s Canada.” For an American audience, the Vancouver Island columnist with the National Post and publisher of the Real Story on Substack breaks down the evolution of the antisemitism epidemic north of the border.   Glavin, Bob Mackin’s guest on this week’s edition, also weighs-in on the collapse of the brutal Assad regime in Syria and the imminent final report of the Hogue Commission on foreign interference.   Plus Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest headlines. CLICK HERE for the full interview

Calling the situation “vexing,” the Finance critic for the opposition BC Conservatives is questioning the motivation of the NDP government to sign a formal political accord with the BC Green Party. The NDP made a surprise announcement on Friday, December 13th, that it has entered into the pact, which is officially called the “ Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord. ” ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The new " Cooperation and Responsible Government Accord " between the BC NDP and the BC Greens includes a special all-party committee that will look at proportional representation! The committee will hear from experts and the public and produce a report on preferred methods of proportional representation for BC in the summer of 2025. But that might not be the end of the story... The Accord between the BC NDP and the BC Greens will be up for renewal annually. Every year, the parties will negotiate "renewed and new policy initiatives".  The special committee could be a first step to kick-start a conversation that leads to a real agreement for proportional representation in British Columbia.  As we look at democracies that use proportional representation in the OECD, in almost every case, proportional representation came from a multi-party agreement . Parties who were serious about building a fair, inclusive and cooperative democracy became willing to negotiate and ...

There is life after death in left coast politics. In the aftermath of a nail-biter of a provincial election in B.C. — with the incumbent NDP party eking out a razor-thin one-seat majority — there’s been a lot of head-scratching. Officially, John Rustad lost the race, but after rebooting the provincial Conservative Party, he’s acting like the winner. With such a polarized election outcome, I want to understand, how is Rustad readying his new crop of MLAs to deter the worst of NDP Premier David Eby’s ideological tendencies?... CLICK HERE for the full story

... In announcing the approvals, the province said it “intends to exempt these wind projects and all future wind projects in B.C. from environmental assessment.” Stamer called that approach “totally irresponsible.” “Yes, there are opportunities to move forward on some of these much-needed projects but to say that [the province] wouldn’t be doing any environmental assessments is totally wrong. It’s unacceptable,” Stamer told the board. “At the same time, we know the process [the government] had was very short. It was very narrow in scope" ... CLICK HERE for the full story