Thoughts on BC Politics and More

A would-be speaker was arrested under the Trespass Act after she arrived at the University of Victoria on Tuesday for an event intended to shed light on what the OneBC political party refers to as the “reconciliation industry.”  An officer at the scene initially said two people were arrested, after protesters scuffled with those trying to hold the unsanctioned event. Saanich police issued a statement later Tuesday saying only one person was arrested.  Police did not name the person who was arrested, but OneBC leader Dallas Brodie said it was Frances Widdowson, who was later released ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

While working up to 12-hour days in clinical practice, some are also working paid jobs to survive, says nursing student society co-president.       ... Gawne knows peers who have left the program because they couldn’t afford to continue or they burned out juggling practicum work with paid work. Many other fields pay students during practicum and co-op placements, such as engineering and work in the trades, he said. Gawne and others at the student society are pushing for changes that would alleviate the financial strain for student nurses, whether by paying students during their practicums, waiving tuition for the nursing program altogether or allowing students to apply paid nursing work to their academic requirements ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

Yesterday I was at my old school, the University of Victoria, where a few days ago I found out I am evidently not allowed to speak. Now, just to rewind a little bit to a couple of weeks ago; the campus Free Speech Club asked me if I would be willing to present the other side of the Coastal GasLink and Wet’su’weten protests debate -- to which I said, yes of course. It wasn’t that long ago that I was a student on campus at UVic, and I’m very familiar with the lack of ideological diversity, and how frustrating that can be for free-thinking individuals. The free speech club got all the necessary approvals and we were good to go, when all of a sudden, the radical left-wing groups caught wind of it, and proceeded to try and shut it down. They complained to the university, declaring that if the event continued as planned, there would be some sort of violent confrontation. Now understand, I’ve spoken at dozens of events, including campuses, without inciden...

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 ...