Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Kamloops North Thompson BC Conservative MLA Ward Stamer has been critical over the lack of funding made available to Highway 5 through the North Thompson and through to the Alberta border.  He has also raised this issue in his former capacity as the Mayor of Barriere.  The following is from Hansard on May 7th: Ward Stamer : Last night (Tues May 6th), unfortunately, we ran out of time, and I had a couple more questions to the minister on the differentiation in the infrastructure amounts in the last 15 years between Highway 1 from Kamloops to the Alberta border and Highway 5 from Kamloops to the Alberta border — the same. I have a request, if it’s possible, to the minister. There’s some data relating to Highway 5 that is being collected and has been collected — volume counts. There’s speed data. I’m wondering if there’s a list that I can provide to the minister and his vision or ability t...

  Taxing everyday working people into poverty will not change the weather   KAMLOOPS (March 31, 2024):   As David Eby’s NDP government prepares to raise the BC Liberal initiated provincial carbon tax tomorrow, BC’s Conservatives remain the only party committed to eliminating this unfair tax on residents. With gas prices already averaging $1.70 per litre across the ridings of Kamloops Centre and Kamloops North Thompson, how much are people in Clearwater, Kamloops, and Barriere already paying in taxes? According to the Government of Canada * , it amounts to 38.81 cents per liter; tomorrow, it will reach over 42 cents as the provincial government implements a further 3.3 cent increase to the carbon tax . Speaking to this latest increase to hit families, Kamloops North Thompson Conservative candidate Ward Stamer noted, “ A good t wo-thirds of the economy in the North Thompson is driven by ranching and forestry, and both will be hit hard as the carbon tax -- on fuel ne...

Barriere Mayor Ward Stamer says he is optimistic the provincial government will implement mandatory dashboard cameras on commercial vehicles following talks with BC’s transportation minister. Last year, Stamer and Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell championed a resolution, approved at the Union of BC Municipalities conference, asking the province to review the feasibility of mandating all commercial semi-trucks registered in BC to have dash cams installed and in operation while driving on provincial roads. The rationale of the resolution is that dash cams can encourage commercial truck driver accountability in adhering to safe driving practices. The province recently issued a response to the resolution, stating it's reviewing feasibility of this initiative and consultation with stakeholders will occur likely in the first half of 2024 . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

The big losers in this whole WE scandal mess are students and charities who would have been mutually benefiting each other by now had the new $912M Canada Student Service Grant program not drowned in scandal. The Prime Minister announced the program April 23, and on June 25, we learned WE Charity would manage it. Since then it’s come to light that Justin Trudeau’s family members were paid $566,000 for involvement in WE Charity events, and Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s two daughters also have WE ties. Additionally, WE paid $41,000 for two vacations for Morneau’s family in 2017, money he only repaid last week. So both Trudeau and Morneau are under investigation by the federal Ethics Commissioner for potential conflict of interest and are in the hot seat with questions from three different House of Commons committees, not to mention the media. It’s basic stuff that elected officials recuse themselves from discussions, decisions, debates or votes on issues where they might have ...

How bad are things in the forest industry? Well earlier this morning I posted a commentary entitled , ‘ The time has come for the blaming to end, and a plan be put into motion. Let’s get the right people at the table, and together as a province turn this around ’, Trevor Bolin Now I find that even the United Way in BC, is calling on the government to assist communities being hit hard by mill shut-downs, closures, and shift reductions. On July 19 th , Executive Directors, CEO’s, and COO’s from over half a dozen United Way agencies ** , including the Board Chair for United Way in the Southern Interior, sent a letter to Premier John Horgan referencing the need for, “... s upportin g a social safety net for BC communities facing sawmill closures ... ”.     In it, they stated: We are writing to strongly encourage the province of BC and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to provide additional social and ...