Thoughts on BC Politics and More

In late August, Statistics Canada released several updates to its ongoing “Quality of Employment in Canada” publication. These data drops include articles related to average wages, workers earning low pay and training participation, along with material covering perceived job security, paid leave entitlement, and medical and dental benefits coverage.  The statistical agency’s frequent updates in this series provide timely and broad snapshots of job quality in Canada. As the latest figures indicate, workers have made some gains in the post-pandemic economy, but longstanding inequalities persist ... CLICK HERE for the full story

"British Columbians are still waiting for a plan to grow the economy, not just manage decline. New data released yesterday by Statistics Canada shows British Columbia’s economy grew by only 1.1 percent in 2024, well behind the national average of 2 percent. Government spending increased by more than 5 percent, while investment in housing and business construction declined significantly. Under David Eby’s NDP, private sector investment has shrunk, public spending has ballooned, and British Columbians are paying the price. Non-residential construction dropped by 19 percent, housing investment fell by nearly 7 percent, and growth across key industries stalled. The NDP loves looking for someone else to blame for their failures. Trump's tariffs have hurt us, but they didn't create this weak foundation - David Eby did it all by himself. Nine years into an NDP government, it's time they start looking in the mirror. These numbers confirm what small business owners, tradespeopl...

Inflation edged down slightly to 1.9 per cent in November as price growth continued to stabilize in Canada. Statistics Canada's consumer price index report Tuesday showed inflation was down from two per cent in October ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The annual rate of inflation slowed sharply to 3.1 per cent in October as Canadians saw relief at the gas pumps, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. That’s down from the overall inflation rate of 3.8 per cent in September. Gas prices fell 6.4 per cent month-over-month, StatCan said, partly thanks to producers switching to cheaper winter blends. Grocery price inflation slowed for the fourth consecutive month to 5.4 per cent in October — still elevated but down from 5.8 per cent the month earlier ... CLICK HERE for the full story

In a media release from the Conservative Party of BC this morning, they indicated that despite Statistics Canada showing that employment held steady in BC for the month of February, the unemployment rate had risen markedly. With more people searching for work, they stated the result was a .5% increase in the unemployment rate, sending it to 5%. “ In reviewing the employment statistics, it’s clear that BC’s resource sector continues to be hard hit, as both the federal and provincial governments fail to get a handle on the troubles this sector is facing ”, said Conservative Party of BC leader Trevor Bolin. “ This news is staggering ”, he continued. “ Statistics Canada shows that between February 2019, and February 2020, employment in BC’s Natural Resource sector dropped by 21.9% ”. ( Table 6  - Employment by province and industry, seasonally adjusted). “ Nearly a quarter of resource workers are now out of work, and so the question must be asked – what is the provinci...

The following is a commentary from Trevor Bolin, leader of the BC Conservative Party Last Friday, Michelle Mungall, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness, issued a statement regarding Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for January 2020 . In it, she stated, “ The January labour force report kicks off 2020, demonstrating that our approach of building a stable economy is working ”. “ BC starts the new year, again, with the lowest unemployment rate in Canada ”, and then continued saying, “ Our government was elected 30 months ago, and for 29 of those months, BC has had the lowest unemployment in the country”. “In January, BC’s unemployment rate fell further to 4.5% — well below the national average ”. So how accurate is what she had to say?  Well I seriously have a hard time figuring out how she could make that declaration, given reality. The Stats-Can Report states that ... the rate declined ... in British Columbia (down...

Hello again friends … it’s Day Seven, and that means a look back at the commentaries and opinions on political, social and economic issues that came up during this past week. Let’s get underway right off with commentary number ten from John Feldsted; #10 … Whether the handgun is used to commit crimes, aggression against a rival, or in defense of another gang or drug dealer , innocent bystanders are in jeopardy (August 12 th ) … our approach to people who possess illegal handguns or who have and use guns in the commission of a crime needs a serious overhaul. The spate of shootings in Toronto was caused by people. They were settling scores or in disputes over criminal territory … #9 … I am looking straight at Canadians and being honest the way I always have ... we said we are committed to balanced budgets and we are ... and we will balance that budget in 2019 ~~ Justin Trudeau in 2015 (August 13 th )   … a recent study by the ...

The taxpayers of British Columbia (you and I) are ultimately accountable for the costs of bargaining contracts with unions representing employees of the government. There are currently over 430,000 * British Columbian’s, or just under 11% of the province’s adult population, working in the core public service, at Crown corporations and agencies, in health and community social services, K-12 public education, post-secondary, and research universities.   Of those people, more than 330,000 are unionized employees – they receive approximately $30.4 billion in compensation -- more than half the provincial budget.   It should be noted that a 2% wage increase per year -- for all employees including unionized, non-union, and management employees -- costs taxpayers just under two thirds of a billion dollars (approximately $608 million) Since February three year agreements, based on two percent increases each year, have been negotiated with: The ...