Thoughts on BC Politics and More

More than two weeks after he was due to receive it, Jeff Musgrave is still waiting for his first payment of the Canada Disability Benefit, a new benefit to support low-income adults with disabilities ... ... “I budgeted for them to pay me in July because I naively thought, ‘How can Service Canada bungle this up when I apply on the first day at 6:00 a.m.?” said Musgrave, who sold his smartphone in July to make ends meet.  “But they showed me how they could bungle it up.”  Musgrave is not the only one disappointed by the Canada Disability Benefit’s rollout ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  If you are a Facebook friend of my mom then you may have seen her post announcing that her partner Tex has tested positive for COVID-19 and she is a presumptive case. The novel coronavirus has disrupted every part of our lives. It’s not just a community state of emergency, it’s global. Up until they received their diagnosis a couple of days ago, for our family COVID-19 was a disease that was affecting other people. Like most British Columbians we have been hearing the recommendations and orders from Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia’s Chief Medical Officer, and taking them increasingly seriously. My family has been restricting our movements and limiting our interactions with others. Other than a quick trip to the legislature I have been limited to our property for the past week. My mom and Tex attended a conference in Toronto and returned two weeks ago feeling unwell. Thankfully over the past few days they are not getting much worse, however they...

(File Photo)  Conservative MP Dan Albas At the time I write this week’s report from Ottawa, we have just finished a special all-night session of Parliament passing Bill C-13 “ An Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19 ”. Despite some initial challenges and delays, it was reassuring to see that we were able to reach consensus. As much as I would like to share the contents of this bill with you, it is far more important to share with you the program that was announced today enabled by the passing of measures in C-13. This program is the ‘Canada Emergency Response Benefit’ (CERB). Last week the Prime Minister announced two different COVID-19 Employment Insurance (EI)-like programs. The ‘ Emergency Care Benefit’ , and the ‘ Emergency Support Benefit’ . The fact that there were two programs was complicated to Canadians and also required more administration. It also became evident that, despite the best intentions of these programs to help Canadia...

Conservative Members of Parliament Cathy McLeod, Bob Zimmer, Todd Doherty, Dan Albas, and Shannon Stubbs, sent a letter to the Minister of Natural Resources and Minister Innovation, Science and Economic Development calling on them to take action in support of British Columbia's forestry sector. " In recent weeks, the closure and curtailment of softwood lumber mills has devastated communities across the British Columbia interior ," said MP Doherty. " The job losses are staggering. They will impact not just the employees and their families, but also countless people and businesses across the ridings we represent ." Kamloops – Thompson – Cariboo MP Cathy McLeod continued stating: "The Liberal Government has shown a complete lack of respect for these rural communities as this crisis has unfolded. Over six weeks ago I wrote to Minister Bains to request immediate assistance from his department, but there has been nothing but silence from the Minister...

USED WITH PERMISSION At the beginning of this month I referenced higher Canada Pension Plan (CPP) premiums, that will increase from 4.95%, up to 5.95%, gradually between 2019 and 2023, resulting in lower take home pay for many Canadians.   If you have been watching television, it is possible that you may have even come across commercials from the CPP Investment Board that state “you started saving for retirement with your first paycheque.” I have received complaints over the fact that a true savings account is one that citizens can voluntarily withdraw from, whereas CPP contributions do not offer this flexibility.  I have also received inquiries and comments about CPP and other federal government retirement programs.   And I have heard many comments over those recent increased CPP premiums. One common complaint, is that if a person does not live to 65, or not long after, the amount that can be transferred to spouse, after a lifetime of CPP contributions, is ...