Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The Prime Minister’s proposed GST holiday and $250 rebate scheme, initially estimated at $6.2 billion, is yet another calculated ploy to distract Canadians from the ethical failures of his government. Though the rebate portion was abandoned in Parliament, the GST holiday remains a superficial gesture in a government-induced affordability crisis. This tactic highlights the government's willingness to appear generous (with our money) while burdening taxpayers with increased debt to mask corruption and maintain power ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In case Premier David Eby didn’t get the message from B.C.’s business community in the recent close-call election, the province's economy has become bloated by government spending, while private sector investment and job growth has been crashing. The Surrey Board of Trade is ringing alarm bells over “unsustainable” government growth. It says the government’s own data shows a worrisome trend in which B.C.’s economic growth is driven more by government than the private sector and consumers, which might be sustainable if the government had the revenues from private sector growth to fund all that spending. But the growth in government has been fueled by debt and deficits ... CLICK HERE for the full story

“It is outrageous that when reckless disregard on our roads leads to the death of innocent university students and severe injuries to others, our laws respond with nothing more than a slap-on-the-wrist and the victims are not compensated for their life shattering injuries. Cases of such gravity demand the scrutiny of a judge and jury- not the discretion of a Crown prosecutor alone.” ~~ John Rustad, Leader of the Conservative Party of BC. November 29, 2024, Kamloops, BC: On the anniversary of the tragic death of Owyn McInnis, killed in a devastating car crash caused by a driver alleged to have been operating a vehicle without due care and attention, his family and the surviving victims are speaking out to demand justice. “ The McInnis family has a very reasonable request; have a judge and jury determine if the driver is guilty of criminal actions in an open court ,” said Conservative Party of BC Critic for Finance, Peter Milobar. “ His innocence or guilt should not be pre-determined beh...

  While many people in BC struggle to find affordable housing and try to keep up with the cost of living, Brent Frain says he and other people with disabilities are falling further behind. Frain was born with a visual impairment and is legally blind. He added he also has a learning disability. The 55-year-old lives in Victoria in a one-bedroom space with a roommate. However, he sleeps on a futon while the roommate uses the bedroom. After earning $1,515 from the government to support his disability, he said, “I pay almost 50% of my income on rent alone,” adding, “It really doesn’t leave a lot left over" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canada's top court has affirmed the constitutionality of a law that would allow British Columbia to pursue a class-action lawsuit against opioid providers on behalf of other provinces, the territories and the federal government. The Supreme Court of Canada decision today is another step toward a potential cross-country action by governments that paid to treat patients who took the addictive drugs ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Image BC Housing It has taken awhile, but finally a Canadian politician has suggested a partial step to end housing as an endless, federal government cash machine. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to eliminate the GST on new homes sold for under $1 million if his party wins the next federal election. The significant saving on a $950,000 home would be $47,500 GST – a tax that’s supposed to be a consumption tax, not a tax on land and new homes for Canadians. When the GST was introduced in 1991, it was accompanied by a GST New Home Rebate, including a promise to index the rebate to inflation, which never happened. The rebate on new homes priced up to $450,000 has become virtually non-existent where the average price of a home in BC is $948,266 ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... “We now have the federal government saying they’re going to cut GST. Other provinces are cutting their provincial taxes. Why aren’t we doing the same? This is something that we could be having in the legislature and debating,” he said ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC Premier David Eby Thursday (Nov. 28) called on the BC Ferries to trim its own sails to help keep fares from floating out of reach. "I have got to say, we sent a lot of money to BC Ferries in exchange for a commitment for them that they would keep fares flat for British Columbians," Eby said during an appearance on Greater Victoria radio station CFAX 1070. "We need to see from them some efforts around cost control, particularly related to administration and the decisions that they are making in this cost-sensitive time for British Columbians" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... It is easy enough to conclude from this that the people who brought us the Magna Carta 1,000 years ago have lost their minds, abandoned the concept of free speech and embraced cancel culture — yes, cancel culture — with a vigour once reserved for East Germany’s notorious Stasi. What is more important, however, is for Canadians to understand just how close their country is to following suit. The Online Harms Act currently before Parliament is not as severe as Britain’s laws governing online speech. Yes, it does equate hate mongers to Paul Bernardo-style serial killers by calling for life sentences for inciting genocide. But, unlike the U.K., Canada, thank God, has an actual Charter of Rights and Freedoms that protects freedom of expression provided physical harm isn’t expressly called for against an identifiable group ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Image Government of BC I think we all realize that the threat of Trump’s 25% tariff is like other provocative statements he’s made in the past. That said, we should have reason to be concerned. Tariffs don’t benefit anyone. A tariff of that magnitude – included on our own softwood lumber exports, will make things more expensive for Americans, and cause friction in the supply chain. If imposed, a twenty-five percent tariff will be equally detrimental to the citizens and economy of the United States, as well as the people of BC. There are two things, however, of equal concern to the threat of punitive tariffs by incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. One is our antiquated stumpage fees. It is a legacy from decades ago, and one incapable of responding to changing market conditions. We need to revamp our stumpage system to better reflect market conditions, and our economic costs. Instead, a value-added tax system will be instantly responsive to current market conditions and will encou...

Newly elected BC Green Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Rob Botterell and Jeremy Valeriote round off the legislature like special teams in the Canadian Football League. Playing neither offence or defence in a parliamentary battlefield consisting of 47 NDP and 44 Conservative MLAs, the BC Greens are the third-party duo British Columbians can look to for shaping the game ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... In the last round of bargaining, which straddled the pandemic and a surge in the rate of inflation, the New Democrats granted increases of about 14 per cent over three years. (One per cent costs about $400 million a year.). This time inflation has cooled, the budget is deeply in the red, the private sector is faltering, and the premier barely escaped the election with his majority intact. On that basis, the New Democrats are hoping the unions will curb their expectations in the coming bargaining round. The unions may have other ideas, judging from this week’s BCGEU bargaining bulletin ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... “I think that they have a serious, serious issue in terms of weak leadership, weak cabinet, weak caucus, and they're afraid to get into Question Period,” Dew told KelownaNow video host Jim Csek on Tuesday. Dew said Eby is “curled up in a ball hiding under his desk in his office and just not doing anything.” He added that the premier “is going to try to govern with a very, very weak bench of ministers” which will “make our job easier because we'll be running circles around these folks" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... “We’re going to stand together, and we’re going to ensure that we negotiate from a position of strength,” said Eby. “That we negotiate hard and we ensure any decisions that are made are in the best interests of British Columbians and Canadians.” A position of strength. The line played well for the hyper-partisan, NDP-loyal, Trump-hating audience at the BC Federation of Labour, where the crowd could be relied upon to shout “shame” and applaud on command. But back in the real world, you’d be hard-pressed to describe the Canadian position as anything remotely resembling one of strength ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... In four years, Invest Alberta has attracted $24.9 billion in investment from around the world, counting for 33,481 jobs. Its CEO is himself a Vancouver expat appointed in 2021, Rick Christiaanse, and in keeping with the red-tape-averse culture, he reports directly to Premier Danielle Smith and not into the province’s bureaucracy. It is old news now that Alberta can put to shame most anything British Columbia might try to make for a better business and worker climate. Corporate taxes and housing prices are lower, salaries are higher, regulations are changed faster, construction permits are swifter ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It has been several years since Canada last faced new tariffs from its largest trading partner, but Canadians were not particularly pleased the first time around. Let’s revisit 2018, when the US targeted Canadian steel and aluminum with tariffs, to understand public sentiment at the time ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... BC Ferries’ capital costs are increasing at a faster rate than fares, he said. “What we have today is essentially a need for this system to be affordable,” Jimenez said. “But we have a reality that the cost of running the system is increasing and that’s not because of anyone’s fault. Inflation is taking a real bite out of our business and the growth in ferry fares is not keeping pace.” BC Ferries will submit its application next month to BC Ferries Commissioner Eva Hage for approval to order five new major vessels, Jimenez said later ... CLICK HERE for the full story

“Under an NDP government, British Columbians are stuck waiting for crumbs, Under a Conservative government, they’ll finally see meaningful relief.”— John Rustad, Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia   November 27th, VICTORIA, BC – VICTORIA, BC – John Rustad, Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia, slammed Premier David Eby today for his failure to deliver on his election promises, leaving British Columbians struggling to make ends meet while his government dithers. “ David Eby has once again proven that his word is worthless. He promised British Columbians relief during his election campaign, but now he’s telling them to wait until March at the earliest for the $500-$1,000 affordability cheques he loudly touted,” said Rustad. “Eby’s government claims legislation is needed in February, but anyone paying attention knows the NDP’s record on delays. It’ll likely be much later—if it happens at all .” Rustad also took aim at Eby’s refu...

Two years after he assumed the British Columbia premiership from John Horgan, David Eby named his post-election cabinet on Nov. 18 at Government House in Victoria. The NDP cabinet totals 28 (24 ministers and four ministers of state), plus another 14 parliamentary secretaries in the 47-seat caucus. Some highlights of who is in and who is out ... CLICK HERE for the full story

We, in Canada have been lucky for years with American governments. Our trade disputes have been relatively tiny, small, and minimally harmful over all. To those that did get harmed, it felt like the world was ending. But if you weren't one of those people you probably never thought about it. Today, we are on notice that almost every Canadian working is now a potential casualty in a trade war started by Donald Trump. About 78% of all our trade goes to the United States. That's about $2 billion a day, every day. Yes, tariffs will hurt American consumers. No one with a brain is going to dispute that. They will hurt Canadian workers that rely on trade for their jobs a lot worse in the short and medium term. A 10% tariff as Trump initially proposed would hurt our economy. A 25% tariff as Trump is now boasting will devastate our economy from coast to coast to coast, all sectors, all professions. A recession is guaranteed in this scenario and it will likely be lon...

BC Ferries advisory committee chairs were stunned to learn Monday that all 13 committees are being shut down at the end of April, to be replaced by a new engagement system that has not yet been designed. As of January, BC Ferries will be working to design a “new engagement model that better addresses the evolving needs of growing coastal communities ... Mumford said the advisory committees, which have been representing coastal communities for 31 years, have a “fair amount of credibility,” and raise issues with B.C. Ferries including scheduling, traffic management, accessibility and on-time performance. “I’m not sure they can replicate that by starting over" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A new report from the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) is highlighting what it feels is the pressing need to strengthen B.C.’s public finances. Coined BC’s Deteriorating Fiscal Position: Cause for Concern, the report details record deficits, rising debt levels and repeated credit rating downgrades. It states BC is set to run the largest operating deficit relative to its economy among Canadian provinces in 2024/25, with a projected shortfall of 2.1 per cent of GDP. The deficit, along with significant capital spending, will see taxpayer-supported debt climb to 28.8 per cent of GDP by 2026/27. “The cost of servicing provincial debt now consumes an amount equivalent to half of BC’s K-12 school education budget,” a release states. “By 2026/27, this burden is projected to cost approximately $600 per British Columbian annually.” The report comes after the new NDP cabinet was recently sworn in. “The new cabinet has a critical opportunity to address these issues head-on,” says David ...

The president of the association representing local governments across BC welcomes the cabinet choices announced Monday, but is also looking forward to additional details. "The devil is in the details," Coun. Trish Mandewo, president of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, said. "For us, the key is having the clarity about the roles and responsibilities of (various posts) and right now, they are quite a number of unanswered questions from our perspective"... CLICK HERE for the full story

For nearly 80 years, British Columbians have been told that the province’s forests are managed for a multitude of values and that nature’s bounty will always be there. Logging and replanting, governments have said, will produce forests that work for industry and provide environmental diversity and opportunities for recreation. But people choosing to spend time in the province’s vast and expanding network of tree plantations say that’s not true ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Premier David Eby’s appointment of Surrey-Guildford MLA Garry Begg as BC’s solicitor general could signal that significant police reform is on the way, according to a former solicitor general. Kash Heed, a former police officer who was minister of public safety and a solicitor general under a BC Liberal government from 2009 to 2013, says the appointment of Begg has made him more encouraged than ever that substantive reform could take place, including a move to a provincial police force. Begg, a retired RCMP inspector who finished his nearly 40-year career in Surrey, was a member of a 10-person all-party committee of MLA recommended sweeping changes to policing in 2022, including dumping the RCMP and moving to a provincial police force as in Ontario and Quebec ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A man sentenced to five years in prison for 17 offences, including harassment and choking his partner, leaving bruises, has had his sentence cut in half by the BC Court of Appeal. The man had 118 convictions before this case. Among them were eight violent offences, 52 property offences, one drug offence, and 25 for breaching orders or obstructing justice, according to court documents ... ... Because he’s Indigenous, courts must take in account traumatic circumstances that send Indigenous Canadians to jail at a rate disproportionate to their population numbers. The trial judge said she did that, according to Marchand’s judgment. The trial judge said she doubted Murtagh’s could be rehabilitated ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Despite an NDP campaign promise to get rid of British Columbia’s carbon tax if the federal government no longer requires it, the tax won’t disappear quickly. Or possibly at all. While some advocates argue the re-elected NDP should reverse itself and keep the price on carbon, other past supporters accept it may be time for it to go. “There are many factors at play in regards to the carbon tax, some within our control and some outside of our control, so all of that needs to play out in due time,” Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said... CLICK HERE for the full story