Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Our leaders failed .... but we failed first. This tax cut is evidence of just how irresponsible voters in this country are   Mark Carney and the Liberals stole their tax cut idea from the Poilievre Conservatives. That's a fact one can carve in stone and take to the bank. It was a bad idea when the Conservatives floated it. It is just a bad idea now that Mark Carney is making it a reality. First, let's just go over the $280 number. That's for the average Canadian family which likely means you. If you assume 24 pay periods in a year, pay day in lay terms that's $11.67 each pay day. If you're desperate for $11.67 every couple of weeks your financial situation is dire. Second, an additional $11.67 every couple of weeks isn't going to change anyone's spending habits. It will not stimulate the economy. That number is tiny. Third, this tax cut is being paid for by borrowing yet more money. The government is metaphorically taking a cash advanc...

Performing minor surgeries in rural hospitals could help improve the provincial surgery backlog without cutting corners on the quality of health care, according to one rural health expert.  A recent study published in the Canadian Journal of Surgery compared patient outcomes for minor surgeries, looking at how patients did if they were operated on by a family physician with enhanced surgical skills or by a specialist surgeon, and if they were at a rural hospital, like the Creston Valley Hospital and Health Centre, or a larger referral facility, like the ones in Kelowna, Kamloops, Cranbrook and Prince George. Turns out patients did great no matter who their surgeon was or where their surgery was ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

In a statement posted on social media late Sunday evening, Champagne said "Canada is engaged in complex negotiations on a new economic and security partnership with the U.S." In a press release, the federal government said it would rescind the tax "in anticipation of a mutually beneficial comprehensive trade arrangement with the United States." "Prime Minister Carney and President Trump have agreed that parties will resume negotiations with a view towards agreeing on a deal by July 21, 2025," the press release added ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

In June 2025, a former British Columbia civil liberties leader—forced to resign in 2021 for rhetoric deemed too extreme even by the province’s NDP government—re-emerged to lead a protest outside the Canada Border Services Agency offices in Vancouver. Her earlier praise of Hamas attackers’ hang-glider tactics as “beautiful” and her call to “burn it all down” amid the 2021 church arsons across Canada raise a critical question: Is this the sign of a deeper ideological current gaining momentum beneath the surface? Canada faces a mounting crisis of radicalization and extremism, yet its citizens remain largely uninformed or, worse, misinformed .... CLICK HERE for the full story 

For several months this year, Katherine Korakakis' kids had substitute instructors that were "not qualified to teach the subject," said the Montreal parent, whose province started this school year thousands of teachers short. "It wasn't a math teacher who was teaching math. It wasn't a French teacher who was teaching French"  ... ... In Surrey, Anne Whitmore noted that in her children' 17-class elementary school, four teachers were on leave as the school year concluded. Whenever a classroom teacher was away, her kids said, they sometimes got a substitute for part of the day, but also likely saw another class's teacher, the librarian, the music instructor and the principal fill in ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A decade after a promised boom in the liquified natural gas industry failed to materialize, Canada has arrived at the starting line, rekindling some aspirations of becoming a major LNG player. The long-awaited LNG Canada project is now up and running — and there are six more projects in various stages of development. If all of them come through, together they would represent $109 billion in capital investment, according to Natural Resources Canada.  This comes amid renewed political appetite to build major infrastructure, bolster the Canadian economy and diversify exports away from the US ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

On the docket today: Federal polls from Abacus Data, Mainstreet Research and the usual Nanos Research update: To varying amplitudes, Carney leads Poilievre in approbation and appreciation. Léger polls in Quebec: Provincially, Legault’s CAQ crumbles. Federally, Carney Liberals alone on top. Mainstreet Research sees provincial Conservatives ahead in BC, and Doug Ford’s Ontario PCs still cruising. Oh, and Mainstreet sees same trends as Léger and Pallas Data in Quebec—i.e. Legault’s in trouble.   Let’s get into it  ... CLICK HERE for the full story

As BC Premier David Eby struggles with a crisis in health care, where even large hospitals like Kelowna General are forced to reduce vital services, youth unemployment is soaring, rents and home prices remain out of reach and groceries keep getting more expensive. The NDP government’s reconciliation efforts are dividing people, with opaque Crown land deals and closures of provincial parks to all but indigenous citizens. The credit rating is down, and the deficit is somewhere north of $10 billion even before the province gets through negotiations with powerful public sector unions. Urban media focus on disagreements with Alberta over additional pipelines and the protests of three dissidents from the opposition BC Conservative party, which is embarking on a mandatory post-election leadership review vote that is expected to last into the fall ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

When Toronto immigration lawyer Siavash Shekarian thinks about why immigration cases are now overwhelming Canada’s federal courts, he doesn’t mince words.  “Confusion and incompetence,” he said ... ... the federal government attributes the rise (78%) to an increase in the number of immigration applications it receives and processes. But immigration lawyers say the problem starts with the immigration ministry itself. “[Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] … with ambiguous guidelines, and with, honestly, [a] lack of consistency, is causing all of these refusals to end up in Federal Court” ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Victoria Coun. Krista Loughton is pushing for B.C. Housing to prioritize finding supportive housing for those sleeping in doorways and on sidewalks downtown. She also wants Island Health to assign an outreach worker who can refer those who need treatment to complex care or whatever health service they require ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Prime Minister Mark Carney isn’t pitching a sweeping public service overhaul — but his government is nudging changes to how Ottawa works. The passage of his signature major projects bill, a wave of senior leadership moves, and a new risk policy all point to a system being quietly rewired to deliver — and faster.  Carney doesn’t appear to have a grand theory of public service reform — but change is happening anyway. The system is being reshaped piece by piece, not by design, but by the demands of what he’s trying to get done ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

In this week’s edition, we look at the growing tension between ambition and reality in the Carney government—with a focus on spending, resource development and U.S. relations. This includes late-breaking news on Friday that Donald Trump broke off talks on a new trade pact with Carney over Canada’s plan to start imposing a digital services tax on big U.S. tech companies at the end of this month.  We also mark the passing of John McCallum, a rare figure who left an impact mark in both politics and economic thought, and run down some other highlights in policy and economics this week ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC Premier David Eby is unique among provincial leaders for many reasons, but perhaps the most striking is that he seems to not really believe the province he governs should even exist. Article content Recent land management decisions and deals made by Eby and his NDP government explicitly state that the Government of British Columbia is no longer the final arbiter of what happens in this province, as control is ceded to First Nations in backroom deals ... CLICK HERE for the full story

BC Conservative MLA Tony Luck is joining calls to rein in excessive mayoral salaries in Metro Vancouver, following a recent report by former Solicitor General Kash Heed recommending that municipal salaries be aligned with those of provincial cabinet ministers. “Taxpayers are tired of seeing public officials put themselves first,” said Luck. “At a time when families are struggling to afford groceries, housing, and basic services, it’s unacceptable that some mayors are pocketing $150,000 more than provincial cabinet ministers.” The report, commissioned by Metro Vancouver itself, highlights the growing pay gap between municipal leaders and senior government officials. Some mayors are now earning well over $300,000 annually, far surpassing the compensation of provincial cabinet ministers, who shoulder responsibility for entire ministries. “Let’s be clear: public service is about responsibility, not entitlement,” Luck said. “If the NDP government is serious about affordability, it should st...

Susan Brown is out as the President and CEO of Interior Health, a little over a week after the Board of Directors said it was standing by her following calls for her resignation. Sources told CFJC Today about the change in senior leadership at Interior Health Friday (June 27) morning, and it was confirmed by the health authority in an email at 9:30am ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The global decline in fertility rates has grown so severe that some demographers now talk about “peak humanity” – a looming maximum from which the world’s population will begin to rapidly decline. And though the doomsayers who preach about the dangers of overpopulation may think that’s a good thing, it is in fact an existential threat.  Canada has not escaped the decline: birth rates have fallen steadily since 1959, during which time we built a massive welfare state without the manpower to sustain it – and immigration has proved no solution to either problem.  In this deeply-researched analysis, Michael Bonner looks at the root causes of our looming demographic disaster and explains the first steps that are essential to fixing it ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In the last world war, the Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy marked a decisive turning point in the fight between democracy and tyranny—a massive, kinetic campaign to reclaim territory from a visible enemy. Today, arguably, the battlefield has shifted. Under what Chinese military theorists describe as “unrestricted warfare,” the lines are blurred, the actors are deniable, and the tactics are insidious, incremental, and non-kinetic—at least by traditional definitions. This war is not waged with tanks or infantry, but through ports, narcotics pipelines, casino floors, telecom servers, banks, law offices, and high-rise real estate towers. If the theory holds—as asserted by senior U.S. and Canadian experts, including former leaders in the State Department and Drug Enforcement Administration—Vancouver may be North America’s longest-standing beachhead in a quiet, protracted invasion ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

“ Healthcare workers shouldn’t have to sue this government to be safe in their workplace. It’s time for the Health Minister to take a new approach, and place peace officers in high-risk hospitals like they do in other provinces .”  ~~ Elenore Sturko, Critic for Solicitor General and Public Safety & MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale Elenore Sturko, MLA for Surrey South with the Conservative Party of British Columbia, is calling for immediate and concrete action from the NDP government following multiple violent incidents at Eagle Ridge Hospital in Port Moody, including a nurse who suffered a dislocated jaw and another threatened with a machete.  A CBC investigation revealed a pattern of serious workplace violence in Fraser Health facilities, and allegations that healthcare workers who spoke out were met with retaliation or silence from the authority. Both incidents are now part of a lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court, alleging a toxic and unsafe work environment. “The Minister of ...

What do a BC Supreme Court petition against the University of British Columbia, the arrest of journalists covering Indigenous land defenders and the punishment of students who speak out against potential genocide in Palestine all have in common?  If you ask Liza Hughes, executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association, the petition, arrests and punishments are all aimed at limiting free speech, which can lead us down the path to fascism. “You can’t have free expression and fascism,” Hughes told The Tyee in an interview. “In some ways, robust political critique and protest is the antidote to fascism”   ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says the public desire in her province to quit Canada has never been higher. Speaking Thursday to reporters in Calgary, Smith said Albertans feel deeply frustrated and angry with Ottawa. She cited a separatist candidate who garnered almost 18 per cent of the vote in a byelection in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding earlier this week. “I’ve never seen such a high level of separatist sentiment,” she said ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A commentary by a City of Colwood councillor. Re: “ New medical clinics are welcome, but province has to step up ,” Comment, June 20. Rob Martin’s recent commentary raises a valid concern about the downloading of health-care responsibilities onto municipalities. However, his suggestion that Colwood and Langford’s actions represent a “dangerous inflection point” mischaracterizes the situation — and undermines the leadership shown by communities stepping up to meet urgent needs. Let’s be clear: no one is arguing that municipalities should bear the burden of health-care delivery. But in reality, when thousands of residents are left without a family doctor and higher levels of government are slow to act, communities are left with a choice: step in, or let ­people fall through the cracks ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Having read “Value(s),” the pre-electoral, philosophical musings of Prime Minister Carney, I was keen to read his first stab at legislating. I will cut to the chase.  His ambiguous style of writing about values is reflected in his ambiguous style of writing about interprovincial trade and labour and large project promotion in Bill C-5, (An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act.)  My prediction is that nothing will be changed by this legislation and that, perhaps, is by design ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Canada employs 357,000 people in the federal civil service. While the nation is enjoying scarcity of everything from health care services to housing, the one thing we don’t lack for is bureaucrats. The Public Health Agency alone has 4,211 employees within it. Despite this embarrassment of riches when it comes to available, qualified bureaucrats, the Government of Canada has appointed as President of the Public Health Agency a person who appears to be wholly unqualified for such an important position. Why would they do this?  CLICK HERE for the full story 

What’s the difference between an advocacy movement and a radical ideology? The Century Initiative makes an ideal case study. The group bills itself as a “national nonpartisan movement”—and perhaps it once was back in 2011, when its founders first set their minds to tripling Canada’s population to 100 million by 2100. After all, there were once physicians who thought smoking was healthy. These days, it would be utter insanity for your family doctor to suggest picking up a pack of Marlboros. The connection between smoking and lung cancer, among other ills, is clear. Yet so is the connection between rocketing immigration numbers beyond the stratosphere of sustainability and harms like housing unaffordability, collapsing infrastructure, wage suppression, and rising unemployment ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

BC Conservative Leader John Rustad stood in front of much of his caucus in Surrey on Wednesday (June 25), as the party's MLAs yelled they are "100 per cent" behind their leader. Members were in Surrey for a pre-planned caucus meeting, and though a couple were absent for personal reasons, just about every Conservative MLA was at the meeting. Rustad said his caucus is "united" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Manufacturing sales in British Columbia fell for a third consecutive month in April, dipping 1.9 per cent to $5.2 billion. The decline was attributed to weaker sales in both durable goods, which fell 1.9 per cent to $2.8 billion, and non-durable goods, down two per cent to $2.4 billion.  Year-to-date sales growth for manufacturing was pared to 1.8 per cent. These weaker sales aligned with tariff-induced reductions in exports to the U.S., which affected Canadian industry in April ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A dying child deserves more than a BC politician passing the buck   The BC government’s decision to cut off medication for a terminally ill nine-year-old girl has ignited a firestorm of debate over the intersection of science, politics and compassion. Is there such a thing as too high a price to pay for a drug that could ease suffering in a dying child’s final years? Who makes the decision to cut it off? And who are they accountable to if they get it wrong? These are all questions very much at play in the case of Charleigh Pollock, from Langford, who has the rare disorder called Batten disease ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... for the Kamloops cancer centre there have been two main points of contention: the fact that the centre will operate under two health authorities and in two buildings on the Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) campus, and the lack of a PET-CT scanner. The latter issue again garnering conversation with a BC Cancer news release confirming four new PET-CT scanners for three of the four new BC Cancer Centres. “If the design of the Kamloops cancer centre was so top-notch, how come they are building Nanaimo to a different standard, how come they are building Burnaby to a different standard, how come they are building Surrey to a different standard at the exact same time they are building the Kamloops centre,” Kamloops-Centre MLA Peter Milobar questioned ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A BC Conservative MLA says hundreds of health-care workers have gotten in contact with his office to raise concerns about mismanagement and overcrowding in health facilities across the province. The party set up an anonymous whistleblower line, asking health-care workers to call, saying, “You know where it’s broken, and you know what’s being hidden" ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

The BC government is considering scaling back its zero-emission vehicle sales targets amid a decline in EV sales and ongoing consumer concerns about affordability and gaps in charging infrastructure. ... a recent leveling off in adoption of electric vehicles by British Columbians had made it “challenging” for the province to meet its legislated target that 90 per cent of new vehicles be zero-emission by 2030 ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Defections and internal squabbles are just “speed bumps” on the BC Conservatives path to a future election victory, Kelowna Mission MLA Gavin Dew says.  And if there’s one party that should be worried about dissension in the ranks, it’s the NDP under Premier David Eby, Dew said Tuesday.  “David Eby is at war with the base of his own party. His efforts to centralize power over projects has put him offside with environmentalists and First Nations groups, he can’t decide where he stands on pipeline projects that divide his caucus, and his ferry procurement sellout angered organized labour and led him to being condemned by the executive of his own party,” Dew said ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

A Salmon Arm woman guides monthly groups of parents or families struggling to cope with adult children who are addicted to drugs, have mental health issues or have a combination of both. “We’re talking about loved ones living rough, have severe mental illnesses and are using substances on the street,” said Kathleen, whose adult son has schizophrenia and a drug addiction. “The groups are peer led, and even though I facilitate... I gain strength from others that are in similar circumstances.” Kathleen’s son has been moving through a revolving door of jail and mental health units in hospitals for many years. iNFOnews.ca is withholding Kathleen's last name, at her request, so as not to identify her son who is currently in custody and is unable to give consent to share parts of his story ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Dallas Brodie and Tara Armstrong are steering the newly launched OneBC party. But who’s down in the engine room?  The new right-wing alternative has launched with a remarkably inexperienced staff, despite the extra taxpayer money that comes with its new official party status. And with a hiring focus on political purity that’s quickly going to become a weakness ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

In the safest of UCP and NDP seats, by-election results come with few surprises ... If there were to be any surprises, it was to be in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills race to replace outgoing UCP Speaker Nathan Cooper. There, upstart Republican Party Leader Cam Davies was hoping for a repeat of a 1982 by-election in that same constituency that saw the Alberta nationalist Gordon Kesler of the Western Canada Concept Party win ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has announced the winners of its annual Teddy Waste Awards, calling out what it says are the worst examples of government waste in Canada, including spending on booze, botched tourism ads and a novelty river hotline. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was awarded the lifetime achievement Teddy for nearly a decade of what the CTF describes as excessive federal waste, including billing taxpayers $6,000 per night for a hotel suite in England, spending six figures on airplane food after pledging to cut costs, and adding 99,000 federal bureaucrats while nearly doubling the national debt. "Trudeau never met a problem he didn’t try to fix by wasting more tax dollars." said the CTF ... CLICK HERE for the full story

With global tensions on the rise, Canadians are increasingly turning their attention to the country’s role on the world stage. In response, pollsters have begun gauging public sentiment on foreign affairs and how Ottawa is navigating emerging international challenges. A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute asked Canadians whether the country is keeping pace—or falling behind—on a range of global issues ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Canadian residents will be asked about their sexual orientation in next year's national census, CBC News has learned. While Statistics Canada has asked about sexual orientation in past surveys, next year will mark the first time the question will appear on the long-form census questionnaire that will go out to 25 per cent of Canadian residents in May 2026 ... ... census will also feature questions about homelessness and health problems for the first time ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Recent court filings by Elections BC admit that it made critical errors in their administration of  the 2024 BC Provincial Election, confirming Mr. ( Honveer Singh)   Randhawa’s concerns about the integrity of  the electoral process. This admission comes as Mr. Randhawa challenges the validity of the 2024  BC Provincial Election.   Elections BC admits that no individual was identified as having assisted any of the 22 voters that  voted by way of mail-in ballot from the mental health lodge notwithstanding the fact there were  clear instructions on the certification envelope for any individual having provided assistance to  the voter to record their name.  Section 109.1(b.1) of the Election Act requires an individual  assisting a voter to write their name on the certification envelope of the voter’s mail-in voting  package. The copies of the envelopes disclosed to Randhawa confirm that the individual  providing assistance to...