Thoughts on BC Politics and More

What’s a politician worth? If you’ll stop laughing for a moment, let’s re-frame the question. We’ve veered into an unhealthy debate on this subject of value for money. More precisely: How much should a politician be paid – that is, how much ought to be in keeping with the scope of the job, the size of the community being served, and the scale of comparable roles in the private sector? CLICK HERE for the full story

  Brad West says he is stepping forward with allegations after CSIS and community sources alerted him on Chinese Communist Party threats   Mayor Brad West, arguably Beijing’s sharpest critic in Canadian politics, says he was provided evidence the Chinese Communist Party plotted to run a candidate against him in British Columbia’s 2022 municipal elections, and CSIS warned him that diplomats in China’s Vancouver Consulate were concerned West’s political trajectory could “represent a real threat to their aims and objectives.”   In an exclusive interview, the two-term Port Coquitlam mayor disclosed to The Bureau that CSIS is aware of posts on WeChat suggesting Beijing tried to unseat him in last year’s election.    While West doesn’t know how CSIS has assessed the case, he thinks Canadians need to know the details, in part to hold Ottawa’s feet to the fire as attention wanders from Beijing’s federal election interference, and the Trudeau Government remai...

POSTED with permission of the author THE CONTROVERSIAL Chinese Consulate-General’s reception for Union of B.C. Municipalities delegates on Wednesday evening (Sept. 25, 2019) in Vancouver was a fine media event but, otherwise, it wasn’t much of an event at all. The issue with the reception is that China has not been a friend to Canada lately, detaining two Canadian citizens and pulling stunts with bans on Canadian goods in clear retribution for Canada’s detention of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou at the request of the U.S.   IMAGE by Mel Rothenburger I would have boycotted the reception along with a lot of others but, out of curiosity, decided to briefly drop in to get a feel for the room, which at past UBCM conventions has been jam-packed with delegates. Outside the front door of the Waterfront Hotel, several media and some delegates and Chinese-Canadian citizens calling for a boycott of the reception mingled as protest placards were handed out. ...

Here is just a bit of the beginning of a June 22 nd story in the Province newspaper: British Columbia’s mayors and councillors will gather once again this fall at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention. And, when they do, they will once again be wined and dined at a fancy reception put on by the People’s Republic of China. Meanwhile, as municipal politicians mingle with Chinese power players, the UBCM will be cashing a cheque from the Chinese consulate in Vancouver. None of it sits well with Brad West, the outspoken mayor of Port Coquitlam, who thinks mayors and councillors should not be accepting hospitality and money from China. Indeed, it sat so poorly with him that he sent a letter to the Executive of the Union of BC Municipalities, along with all BC Mayors about that Government of China reception held during the convention.   Here’s just a few quotes: I am writing to state my strong opposition to your decision...