Thoughts on BC Politics and More

What will 2026 bring? Only fools presume to answer that query, but hey, I’ve been called worse things. So get out a big bowl to hold all the crow I might have to eat, and let’s go ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

“Temporary” shortage of OB-GYNs is becoming regular for Surrey-White Rock expectant parents Just over three weeks after Fraser Health warned of a “temporary” shortage of obstetrician-gynecologist physicians at Peace Arch Hospital, Monday morning the maternity ward began a second three-day closure over the holidays. The hospital delivers approximately 1,000 babies annually. This is just the latest in a series of recent shutdowns across the Fraser Health and Interior Health regions due to medical staff shortages, including extended overnight ER closures in Mission and 100 Mile House, as well as another four-day maternity ward closure in Maple Ridge. The Peace Arch development is something that was entirely preventable had the government listened to ample warnings from medical staff, according to Interim Leader of the Opposition and MLA for Surrey-White Rock Trevor Halford. “Over the past year, Peace Arch doctors and nurses have consistently warned that maternity ward closures were inev...

It was a brutal year for most of BC’s colleges and universities, and the financial pressures that have sideswiped their budgets are only expected to intensify in 2026. The BC government now says 20 of the province’s 25 post-secondary institutions are forecasting at least one deficit over the next three years, worsening an already dire situation of layoffs and course cancellations ... ... That’s a sobering assessment from the minister in charge, and it comes years after the first warning signs appeared ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

It was Premier David Eby’s most important legislation of the year, a law to fast-track critical infrastructure projects so vital to the province’s future that the NDP government threatened an election to force it through. And yet, after all that bluster, 2025 ended without Bill 15 being used once. In fact, the controversial Infrastructure Projects Act was never even enacted. The enabling regulations, which would give the law its teeth by allowing cabinet to designate certain projects in the provincial interest, remain stuck in consultation purgatory ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

... “I think that if you put forward a vision, which I think we’re going to see in this leadership race, for a better British Columbia, one that gives them hope and promise and a path forward, I think people are going to be very, very receptive to that,” Halford said. “I don’t think they’re going to think about party ideologies at that point.” Chosen by the Conservative caucus and endorsed by the party’s executive, he sees the interim leader position as a caretaker role, but also one where there’s an opportunity to do some rebuilding. “Really it’s going to come down to stability and making sure there’s stability within the caucus, there’s stability within the party,” said Halford. “When the next leader comes in, whenever that may be, I want to hand this office off better than when I found it.... I believe that whoever wins this leadership race will be the next premier of this province, and I want to make sure that I...

Conservative Critic for Mental Health & Addictions Claire Rattée As new witnessed-consumption rules for BC’s prescribed safer supply program takes effect December 30, Conservative Critic for Mental Health, Addictions and Housing Supports Claire Rattée says the change confirms the NDP government ignored years of warnings and allowed a failed policy experiment to continue long after its harms were clear. “ As of today, the NDP is quietly admitting what families, front-line workers, and the Opposition have been saying all along: handing out take-home opioids without supervision was reckles s,” said Rattée. “ The government is acting now because the consequences became impossible to deny .” The shift ends the widespread take-home model that was expanded during the pandemic and maintained long after concerns about diversion emerged. It follows leaked internal law-enforcement documents showing a significant proportion of prescribed opioids were being diverted, including thr...

With a minority government in Ottawa, a federal election is possible at any time – triggered either deliberately or by accident. This encourages political observers to check opinion polls as often as regular people check the weather. The slightest movement for one party or another sparks more speculation about whether the government is about to fall. Let’s take a step back and look at what trends we have seen in our public opinion research over the past year that are encouraging, either for the government or for the opposition. What do these findings suggest about their prospects for 2026? ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

The interim leader of the BC Conservative Party speaks with Global's Legislative Bureau Chief Keith Baldrey in a year-end interview. CLICK HERE for the interview  

The paradox of authenticity in the transparent society. Everybody wants their politicians to be transparent and authentic.... Until they see the real human. Then it's " No, no, no; not like THAT ". In the transparency society, we not only crave authenticity, but we punish things that are not "smooth", and seemingly easy to understand. The harder an issue, the less we like it. We live in an era where there is so much information, and we crave being able to sort and make sense of it as quickly and easily as possible because, well, we're all really rather busy. What we make time for in the world of today says a lot about us. What we absolutely do not have time for ends up now saying *more* about us, because it is the opposite of transparency or smoothness.  When politicians refuse, deflect, or don't address something, it becomes a larger elephant in the room, even if only to those that it matters to.  People on the right are stoked Carney isn't as focus...

It was not the 2025 that BC Premier David Eby expected. “I guess one of the big takeaways from this year is that things aren’t going to settle down,” Eby told The Tyee during an interview in his wood-panelled legislature office. “I kept saying to our team here, you know, eventually things will settle down and we’ll all be able to catch our breath, but it has just been one significant international event after another hitting British Columbia.” He listed U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber and flooding in the Fraser Valley as examples. “You name it, it has been a very eventful 12 months" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Just as many of us were getting ready for a much-needed breather from the daily grind, several pollsters released their final numbers of the 2025 calendar — and, to varying degrees, they all point in the same direction: the Carney Liberals appear to have taken a pre-holiday hit in public support. I often warn readers about polls fielded at unconventional times of year, such as the height of summer or long weekends. Collecting a representative sample during these periods can be more challenging, and the results can occasionally get wonky. Could the pre-holiday period fall into that category? There is little firm evidence to make such a claim, but if the LPC/Carney numbers rebound early in 2026, this may become a precedent worth keeping an eye on ... CLICK HERE for the full story