Thoughts on BC Politics and More

The following is a condensed version of remarks Kamloops – North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer’s made, regarding Forestry, in the BC Legislature, on Tuesday afternoon (02/24/2026)   Let’s talk a little bit, when we talk about Budget 2026, about the forest industry, which is near and dear to my heart. Forestry remains one of British Columbia’s foundational industries. It’s a pillar that built this province. Entire communities depend upon it. Interior towns, northern communities, Vancouver Island regions, the Kootenays, the Lower Mainland, with manufacturing facilities in Surrey and Maple Ridge, just to name a few — everywhere in BC is touched by forestry. One word that was not mentioned in Budget 2026 was forestry. That’s a shame, an incredible shame. It wasn’t an oversight – it was intentional. This government has driven forestry into the ground .... INTO THE GROUND! We can talk a little bit about some of the initiatives that this government has brought forth, to try to resurrect ...

Everyone, I am sure, has heard the news that some highly paid government bureaucrats were being given out gift cards up to $200.   BC NDP Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said she had no knowledge of it, didn’t realize how big a program it was, or how much was being given out.   She went on to say that in these times of austerity they shouldn’t be giving out gift cards to public workers, and that she was going to suspend the program immediately. What did she do instead?  Well, bureaucrats are still going to be bonused with gift cards, it’s just that now they won’t exceed $100. That's outrageous. I think they said it was six million dollars. Now they're trying to come back and say it was only $15,000, or some ridiculous amount. Regardless ... it's a significant amount of taxpayer dollars considering what happened to the grocery rebate which they promised in the last election, and then didn’t follow through on. Now they've added additional taxes to seniors and wor...

Last night I, along with 40 or so others, had the opportunity to hear from BC Conservative leadership candidate Caroline Elliott.  For those who have yet to hear her speak, this is what she had to say: Thank you everyone for being here. I know you have a million other things you could be doing with your evening and the fact that you're here, means that you understand the situation this province is in, and how crucial this moment actually is, because it truly is a crucial moment in our province’s history. Look, I'm doing this for a very simple reason. I'm a lifelong, born and raised British Columbia, and I have two small kids. They're six years old and eight years old, so they're pretty little still.  I look at them and I want them to reach the point that I'm at in my life and say, ‘ I'm a lifelong British Columbian and there's nowhere else I'd rather be .’, just as I do today. And my worry is that they will find themselves like one of the 70,000 Br...