Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Thousands of union members representing different sectors filled the lawn outside the British Columbia legislature as politicians inside began the fall session on Monday.  The return of the legislature comes as the strike of the BC General Employees' Union enters its sixth week, and president Paul Finch said the rally "is just the beginning" of escalating job action. "Look around you today," Finch said. "You are surrounded by public servants, union members, public and private union members, members of this community and we are standing united with a clear voice: we want a fair deal now" ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Now that autumn — with its chilly breezes, fallen leaves and early nights — has definitively arrived in Victoria, it’s time for British Columbia’s leaders to return to the legislature and get back to business. The NDP government’s top priority for the fall session? Getting the North Coast transmission line closer to construction to entice more investment to the province. “Right now, a lack of hydro power in our province is holding back major projects,” Premier David Eby told delegates at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Victoria at the end of September. “This fall, we will introduce legislation to make sure we build the North Coast transmission line. We’re going to get it built.” The forthcoming bill is aimed at expanding access to electrical power in northeastern BC by building hundreds of kilometres of new high-voltage transmission capacity and associated infrastructure. It will be the second piece of legislation in support of the project from Eby’s government ... CLICK H...

BC Green Party house leader Rob Botterell is ready to get back to work after a somewhat contentious three-month party leadership race. That contest nearly devolved into a legal battle over the process for verifying the identity of new members, several thousand of whom signed up over the summer to enable them to cast a vote. "The summer session of musical chairs is over, and the political shenanigans seem to be dying down — at least a bit for now," Botterell said. But the BC Greens still have some unanswered questions ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia house leader Mike Farnworth said the NDP government plans to pass 18 bills in the fall session of the legislature by the time it ends in late November.  Farnworth said the government will focus on growing the economy, protecting health care and dealing with affordability and good governance issues, adding that most of the bills will be tabled during the session's first week to give MLAs time to read the legislation ...  ... The house leader said government will not bring back elements pulled from a bill in response to American tariffs, which spurred criticism over powers it would have given government to revise almost every law and regulation in BC through orders-in-council ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Next week, the B.C. legislature will return for the first sitting of the fall session. Since the legislature was last underway, the province has suffered the worst wildfire season in history and seen the provincial deficit grown by $2.5 billion. The months-long break has also seen the BC United party begin to slip in the polls, now running nearly neck-and-neck with the BC Conservatives, and trailing the governing New Democrats. Despite the figures, Kamloops-South Thompson MLA and Opposition House Leader Todd Stone is not overly concerned ... CLICK HERE for the full story