Thoughts on BC Politics and More

This week in Ottawa, yet another private member’s bill became the focus of considerable attention. This time, it was Bill C‑242, known as the Jail Not Bail Act, introduced by Conservative MP Arpan Khanna, who represents Oxford, Ontario. For those who attended my recent crime forum in Kelowna, MP Khanna participated as a guest, taking the time to listen directly to the serious concerns residents raised about crime in our community. The issue of repeat violent offenders being released only to re‑offend is not abstract—it is a reality that many families and businesses here in Kelowna are confronting. I have met with the City of Kelowna on this matter, which has clearly documented the significant and growing impact this problem is having locally. Similar concerns are being raised by residents and local leaders in communities across my riding. It is also important to recognize how we arrived at this point. In 2018, the Trudeau Liberal government passed Bill C‑75, amending the Criminal Code ...

Typically at this time of year, Members of Parliament would be back in Ottawa for the House of Commons' first sitting of 2025. This year, however, the House of Commons is not in session, having been prorogued by Prime Minister Trudeau on January 6th, when he announced his resignation under pressure from the Liberal caucus. The prorogation will last 77 days—the second longest in recent history, surpassed only by former Liberal PM Jean Chrétien's 82-day prorogation in 2003. The purpose of the current prorogation is solely to provide the Liberal Party time and political cover to select a new leader. This self-serving action means there are no opportunities to officially question the government and hold them accountable for matters of concern to Canadians. Moreover, all bills and legislation, including private members' bills, have come to a standstill, halting progress in many important areas. This crisis comes at a critical time, as the new U.S. administration ...

Normally I would not be writing my weekly report on Christmas Eve, as most Canadians are rightly focused on the holidays rather than events in Ottawa. However, these are not "normal" times, and the most frequently asked question I am receiving is "What will happen in Ottawa?" Canadians are generally paying closer attention to Ottawa than usual, given recent major developments: the Deputy Prime Minister's resignation, the NDP leader's withdrawal of support for Prime Minister Trudeau, and a growing number of Liberal MPs calling for the Prime Minister's resignation. Will Prime Minister Trudeau resign? Officially, he has stated he will take the holidays to "reflect" on this decision. It is highly unusual for a sitting Prime Minister to make such a statement, as it both emboldens his opponents and creates a "lame duck" period where critical issues stall and his priorities languish while people await a potential leadership ...

In my report last week, I discussed two recently announced proposals from the Trudeau Liberal government that responded to what the Finance Minister called a "vibecession" here in Canada. For context, a "vibecession" refers to a disconnect between a country's actual economic performance and the public's negative perception of it. Essentially, the Minister of Finance was arguing that it was Canadians sense of their quality of life that was the problem- not the economy. To counter these ‘bad vibes’, the Trudeau Government has proposed two programs. The first is a "GST Christmas Holiday"—a temporary expansion of GST-exempt items running from December 14, 2024, to February 15, 2025. The second program was a proposed "Working Canadians Rebate"—a $250 payment planned for early spring 2025. This rebate would go to 18.7 million Canadians who worked in 2023 and earned up to $150,000 in individual net income. This rebate was found...

If you follow the news from Ottawa, you may know that the Liberal government, backed by the Federal NDP, plans to increase the capital gains tax. This news might not affect most people, but it could be problematic for some, particularly farmers, doctors and small business owners who rely on capital gains for their retirement. In basic terms, capital gains tax is a tax levied on the profit you make from selling certain types of assets or properties in Canada, such as stocks, bonds, precious metals, or certain real estate. This tax only applies when you sell these items. The "inclusion rate" applies to the profit from the sale of these assets. Some or all of the profit from a capital gain is limited by this rate. For example, a home designated as a "principal residence" is exempt from capital gains tax. Many non-exempt assets are subject to a capital gains tax, which is currently applied to 50% of sale profits. The Trudeau Liberals propose increasing t...

  Bill C-64 seems to create the illusion of establishing a national pharma care program. This allows the Liberals and NDP to claim political cover. Last week, I talked about the ongoing partnership between the Liberal Government and NDP. They have introduced a new bill that they claim would create a national pharma-care program that would be managed by the federal government. I ended my report with the following question: "Do you already have Pharmacare coverage? If so, are you satisfied with your current Pharmacare coverage, or do you believe a federal Pharmacare plan would benefit you? Why or why not?" I'm thankful to everyone who took the time to give detailed responses to this question as it helps me better understand the views of those I represent. When I wrote the report last week, the details of the claimed national pharmacare plan from the Liberal/NDP partnership weren't out yet. Late last week, the Trudeau Liberal government introduced Bill C...

This week, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) released the "Digital Services Tax" report, which analyzes the taxation implications of the Trudeau government's efforts to tax specific online companies. The tax would target companies that offer services such as online marketplaces, advertising, media, and user data services. As currently proposed, companies with revenues exceeding $20 million would be subject to a "digital services tax" equivalent to 3% of their revenues. According to the PBO, implementing this digital services tax will generate $7.2 billion in tax revenue over the next five years. This has raised concerns among industry experts and stakeholders. The main problem is that these costs will ultimately be passed on to Canadian users of these services. For instance, many may remember the promise made by the Trudeau Liberal Government that they would not tax Netflix. However, when Prime Minister Trudeau decided to reverse...

  This week the House of Commons elected a new Speaker. I congratulate Liberal MP Greg Fergus from the Quebec riding of Hull-Aylmer. Speaker Fergus becomes the 38 th  Speaker of our Canadian Parliament, and I look forward to working with him in his new role.  A different topic that has raised concern from some is recent media headlines along this National Post-themed version: “Yes, the Liberals are coming for your podcasts.” Many of these headlines result from a rare Friday (September 29 th ) announcement from the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) that will require registration for some online content providers currently operating in Canada. The announced CRTC threshold that requires mandatory registration is for online streaming services that “earn $10 million or more in annual revenues” and will “need to complete a registration form by November 28, 2023.” Th...

This week in the House of Commons has been tumultuous, leading to the resignation of our House Speaker, Anthony Rota. An election for a new Speaker is scheduled for next Tuesday, October 3rd. Before moving forward, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly express my gratitude to Speaker Rota for his dedicated service to Canadians and all Members of the House of Commons. Ultimately, the Speaker must always serve to maintain the integrity of the Office of the Speaker. By resigning, Speaker Rota has fulfilled this responsibility. For the record, I would also like to state that I support Speaker Rota's decision, considering the grave circumstances of the past week.  A serious and unfortunate situation occurred during the address to our Canadian Parliament from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Friday, September 22nd. The controversy was a standing ovation for an individual described as "a war hero." The individual in question was later id...

This week marks the beginning of the fall sitting of the House of Commons. However, the topics dominating the discussion in Ottawa differ significantly from what I hear from citizens in our riding of Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola. The most common concerns raised by local citizens in our riding relate to rising interest rates and inflation. This is due to the recent announcement by Statistics Canada that Canada's inflation rate for August rose by 4.0% year over year, following a 3.3% increase in July. Many citizens are now experiencing severe anxiety as they fear further interest rate increases from the Bank of Canada. It has become a common concern to hear from citizens struggling to cover their bills at the end of the month. The rising cost of essentials like gas and groceries only adds to many households' challenges. In response to these concerns, the Prime Minister called a meeting with representatives from Canada's five largest grocery stores. The...

It is deeply concerning that the Minister would suggest a five-year timeline for recovering this investment when the actual timeline is much longer In May of this year, I mentioned the announcement from the Trudeau Liberal Government that Volkswagen would receive "up to $13 billion in subsidies over the next decade" to ensure that the automaker builds its electric-vehicle battery plant in southern Ontario. I also referred to the report by the business analyst firm Statista, which stated that Volkswagen's operating profit in the 2022 fiscal year had increased by approximately 14.78 % from the previous year, reaching around 22.1 billion Euros. Shortly after news of the Volkswagen deal became public, Stellantis-LG Energy Solutions (LGES), another electric vehicle battery manufacturer, demanded similar treatment. Like Volkswagen, LGES had obtained a subsidy deal of up to  $15 billion  between the Federal and Ontario provincial governments. At the time, our fe...

Recently, you may have seen a headline stating, “Non-permanent residents in Canada undercounted by one million: CIBC.” My office has received a few inquiries on this topic, as some citizens have expressed concern. For those unfamiliar with how the Canadian immigration process works, there is often confusion when a headline like this arises. People from all over the world come to Canada for various reasons. Some of the most common reasons include international students coming here to study, short-term visitors, and temporary foreign workers who often work in agriculture on our local farms in our region. Generally, these visitors to Canada are known as “Non-Permanent Residents” (NPR) even though they may be visiting Canada under a different type of VISA, permit, or program. Refugees claiming asylum also fall into this category. The recent headlines have arisen due to the chief economist from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) stating that Statistics Canada ...

Unfortunately, many of my constituents are contending with wildfires of all sizes. This includes fears of evacuation, which only compounds their ongoing concerns around affordability, paying bills, and outstanding debt. These are serious concerns, and my thoughts are with the first responders who continue to work under sweltering and demanding conditions. As I am in the last weeks of my Summer Listening Tour, I have been made aware, in my travels throughout our riding, that an increasing number of citizens are struggling to make ends meet each month and are living in fear of news of further Bank of Canada interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, the Trudeau Liberal Government in Ottawa continues its never-ending spending pattern and enacts policies that seem at odds with what Canadians are asking for. Some of you may have witnessed the impacts of Facebook, Instagram, and other social media organizations refusing to carry local Canadian-based news links because of the Trudeau...

  In February, I reported that the proposed changes to our federal electoral riding boundaries would impact many of our local electoral regions, including Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.   At that time, I pointed out that portions of our existing riding could end up in five different British Columbia ridings.   Princeton, Keremeos, Cawston and Hedley would join the proposed riding of Similkameen-West Kootenay, including the city of Penticton and the Penticton Indian Band.   Summerland, Peachland, West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation, and parts of Kelowna will become part of a new proposed riding called Okanagan Lake West-South Kelowna. Merritt and Logan Lake would become part of a new riding called Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola.   Other riding changes will affect riding boundaries in the rest of the Okanagan Valley and beyond.   After that initial proposal was drafted, there was an opportunity for Members of Parliament to submit feedbac...

  On Family Day, Monday, February 21, a vote was held in the House of Commons to “ confirm the declaration of a public order emergency proclaimed on February 14, 2022 .” In other words, to confirm Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoking the Emergencies Act here in Canada. I seldom share my personal thoughts, but I will admit to being surprised by this. Given that the only remaining blockade in Canada was in Ottawa, which had been cleared by police over the previous weekend, I had anticipated the order would be revoked on Monday. I was wrong. Not only did the Prime Minister insist on maintaining the Emergency Act, he also made the vote a “confidence vote” meaning if the vote did not pass, the PM would once look to call an election. Two Liberals MPs, who joined the Conservative and BLOC position (also backed by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association) that the legal threshold to invoke the Emergency Act had not been met, admitted they would have to vote in favor of the motion...