Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Last week the B.C. government took control of a fourth retirement home from Retirement Concepts, British Columbia’s largest chain of for-profit care homes, citing neglect of seniors. The home in Summerland joins homes in Comox, Nanaimo and Victoria that are already under the control of BC’s health authorities. In total, 30 per cent of the long-term care beds that Retirement Concepts owns are now being run by government agents. The company is paid by taxpayers to provide care, but the health authorities are clawing back the cost of running those facilities they now control. Retirement Concepts was established in 1988 and in 2016 the federal government’s Investment Review Division accepted the foreign takeover of Retirement Concepts by Anbang Insurance Group. A few months after the purchase, the chairman of Anbang was jailed for fraud by Chinese authorities and the company was put under the control of China’s insurance regulator. The Chinese government then ...

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Yesterday (May 29 th ) Cathy McLeod, the Member of Parliament for Kamloops - Thompson - Cariboo, indicated that she has renewed serious concerns about the Chinese Government ownership of Retirement Concepts, including a local Kamloops seniors’ home. “ We have seen through recent events Justin Trudeau’s naiveté when it comes to dealing with the Chinese Government. Relations between the two countries is at an all-time low” “Since the house arrest of Huawei’s CFO (Meng Wanzhou) , we have had the Chinese government retaliate by arresting Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadian citizens who have been in Chinese custody since December, as well as the  punishing actions of the Chinese to our canola and pork producers ,” said McLeod. “ In a nut shell our working relationship with the Chinese government has never been this bad .” Previously, MP McLeod had pushed the Liberal government, of Prime Minister Just...