Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Photo credit:  Atli Resources LP   BC’s Forestry Crisis Continues with Closure of Beaver Cove Chip Facility   As industry leaders, Indigenous partners, and contractors gather this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the gap between government rhetoric and reality could not be clearer. Just hours after the Eby government once again touted reconciliation, certainty, and economic opportunity under DRIPA, Atli Chip Ltd, a company wholly owned by the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, announced it is managing the orderly closure of its Beaver Cove chip facility. The closure comes despite public tax dollars, repeated government announcements, and assurances that new policy frameworks would stabilize forestry employment and create long-term opportunity in rural and coastal British Columbia. “British Columbians are being told one story, while communities are living another,” said Ward Stamer, Critic for Forests. “This closure makes it clear that announcement...

Elected officials on Vancouver Island at the local, provincial and federal levels are calling for urgent action to support British Columbia's struggling coastal forestry sector.  At a news conference Monday, Conservative MLA for North Island Anna Kindy, North Island-Powell River MP Aaron Gunn, along with eight Island mayors, urged BC Premier David Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney to address the matter, highlighting mill closures, job losses, and the decline of rural communities as key concerns ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

As of September 1, 2025, the Urgent Pediatric Assessment Clinic (UPAC) at Victoria General Hospital (VGH) will close down for an unspecified amount of time. The clinic was set up in 2019 to rapidly match children with an appropriate specialist and reduce wait times, but the clinic’s pediatricians were facing burnout and are now renegotiating a contract with Island Health. “Why is it that under this government we always arrive at another closure or interruption of service? In this case, contract negotiations should have happened before any kind of service cancellation. But now, referrals to the UPAC already ended as of August 15th,” said Dr. Anna Kindy, MLA for North Island and Shadow Minister for Health. “The lack of forethought, planning, and accountability by the health authority is again evident. Why wasn’t a contract ready? Who is accountable for this?” “Sick children can deteriorate quickly, and in pediatric medicine, appropriate diagnosis must be done in a timely manner. That’s w...