Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Public Safety Deteriorates While Chronic Property Crime Continues to Hurt Communities and Businesses BC Conservative MLAs say British Columbians are still waiting for results from an NDP government that has spent a decade promising action on repeat offenders wreaking havoc on our communities. “British Columbians are paying the price for a justice system that too often gives repeat offenders chance after chance while law abiding citizens are left to deal with the consequences,” said Macklin McCall, Conservative Critic for Public Safety and Solicitor General.  “People deserve to feel safe in their communities, and that requires a justice system that prioritizes public safety, supports victims, and holds prolific offenders accountable.” A recent report out of Dawson Creek has once again raised concerns about repeat violent offenders with extensive criminal histories who repeatedly breach court-ordered conditions, fail to comply with probation orders, and continue cycling through the j...

Macklin McCall, Critic for Solicitor General & Public Safety, is demanding the BC NDP government answer for the deadly gang violence in Surrey over the weekend that left two people dead and two others seriously injured. On Sunday evening, two men were shot and killed in an underground parkade on 133B Street near 70B Avenue. Earlier that morning, two more men were shot outside a gas station at 72nd Avenue and 152 Street, both transported to hospital with serious injuries. A vehicle was found burning near 144 Street and 84 Avenue shortly after the homicides. This tragedy is the inevitable consequence of a public safety crisis years in the making. In the past two years alone, Surrey has recorded 96 reported extortion's, 16 shootings, and 2 arson's, resulting in 51 victims. “Surrey has been sounding the alarm on violent crime for years. Families are afraid, businesses are under threat. This government has had every opportunity to step up on public safety and has repeatedly chos...

Back-to-back overdose surges have prompted the BC Conservative Caucus to call for an immediate end to decriminalization and a reversal of the government’s drug-enabled policies. On November 21, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services responded to 54 overdose calls in a single day, the highest in its history. Firefighters now average 45 overdose calls daily, with major spikes during income-assistance week. Three days earlier, the Cowichan Valley saw 80 overdoses in 24 hours, exhausting local naloxone supplies. Statement issued by Critic for Mental Health and Addictions Claire Rattée: “Vancouver’s highest-ever overdose call volume is a devastating warning that this crisis is only getting worse. If this government’s approach worked, we would see results, but we don’t. “Vancouver has the most concentrated access to safe supply, overdose prevention sites, decriminalization, and every harm-reduction measure the government champions, yet more people are dying than ever. Policies that n...

Statement from Kelowna Conservative MLAs Kristina Loewen, Gavin Dew, and Macklin McCall, who stand with the McCourt family and condemn the NDP's refusal to support Bailey’s Law “We spoke with Bailey McCourt’s family and share their deep disappointment in Premier David Eby and Attorney General Nikki Sharma. The Premier said he supported their advocacy for legislative change to protect victims of intimate partner violence, yet now refuses to stand behind Bailey’s Law. The family’s grief and frustration are understandable. Once the spotlight was off, the NDP left them behind. This government seems more concerned about the optics of supporting a Conservative bill than about saving women’s lives. Bailey’s Law is a practical and life-saving reform that deserves full provincial support. Refusing to endorse it is a moral failure. The Attorney General promised to meet with the McCourt family and has not done so. The Premier boasts about his government’s feminist credentials, but true leader...

... “The proposed changes are designed to improve accessibility and to support new drivers moving through the system in an efficient way while not compromising road safety,” Solicitor General Nina Krieger told the legislature, adding it will help reduce barriers for Indigenous people, immigrants and people living in remote areas where it’s harder to book road tests. Still, the “more safety with less testing” argument has been a tough sell. Especially with no data by the government to back any of it up ... CLICK HERE for the full story

"I am compelled to address two crucial matters: the natural gas pipeline issue and the vulnerability stemming from the reliance on a single hydro line servicing West Kelowna,” he writes. McCall was chosen by the party to represent West Kelowna-Peachland in the next provincial election, scheduled for on or before Oct. 19, 2024. He says a decision by the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) to deny the expansion of the natural gas pipeline on the east side of Okanagan Lake, between Chute Lake and Penticton, needs to be reconsidered ... CLICK HERE for the full story