Thoughts on BC Politics and More

New legislation, if passed, could allow the BC government to impose a transit tax on Alaska-bound trucks coming from Washington state; but it also gives government sweeping regulatory powers to respond to perceived tariff threats from the United States ... ... the bill states government may make a regulation under the act to “address challenges, or anticipated challenges, to British Columbia arising from the actions of a foreign jurisdiction” and to “support inter-provincial cooperation in reducing trade barriers within Canada.” But the bill allows for all these decisions to be made outside of the legislature ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Canadians are staying home. Cross-border traffic between British Columbia and Washington State has plunged in February amid calls for boycotts of American products, according to data released by Whatcom County and analyzed by the Fraser Valley Current. Car traffic at the Peace Arch border crossing during the Family Day/Presidents Day long weekend was down by more than 40%. Traffic at the three other crossings in southwest BC was down by more than 20% compared to the previous year ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A breakdown in the Canada-U.S. relationship  has not yet disrupted the flow of British Columbians heading to Washington state for radiation therapy, but experts warn the program might not remain viable for long and want the province to focus more on building its own capacity ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Just before the two-year anniversary of the 2021 Nooksack and Sumas Prairie floods, the BC and Washington State governments have finally signed an agreement that sets out how they, several First Nations, and local governments will work together to try to prevent a future disaster. On Friday afternoon, the BC and Washington State governments each sent out press releases heralding a new agreement that will “build flood resilience” in areas flooded by the Nooksack River in 2021. The agreement, called the Transboundary Flood Initiative, comes more than 18 months after the two governments announced they would try to team up to deal with the Nooksack’s repeated flooding ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North & the Islands The Canadian Government has approved the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project ... again. For the past five years, I have participated in the National Energy Board's (NEB) Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion regulatory hearings. I intervened in the process as an individual member of the W ̱ S Á NE Ć people, and throughout I expressed my deep concern about the considerable flaws that left our territory vulnerable to a devastating spill of diluted bitumen. From the beginning, Trans Mountain and the federal government showed a lack of consideration about the marine shipping component of the project. It's always been an afterthought. Last summer, the Courts quashed the approval in part because of this shoddy work. The Canadian Government's record on providing the oil spill preparation, prevention and response is dismal. Represent! I'm now the Member of the Legislative Assembly...

Washington State Governor J ay Inslee Another day, another grandstanding politician opposing Canadian pipelines. Except this time, it’s the Governor of Washington state, Jay Inslee -- an individual who’s said he’ll do “everything he can” under the law to stop the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. I honestly don’t even know where to begin, but let’s start with the colossal hypocrisy. Washington state is home to not one, not two, but five large refineries, that already receive a majority of their oil from hundreds of tankers transiting their coast. And where do most of these tankers come from? Well, most of them come from Alaska, carrying American oil down the entire B.C. coast, before reaching Washington state. Oh, and any oil they don’t receive by tanker they receive directly by pipeline, the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, which partially diverts to Washington at the city of Sumas. But if the blatant hypocrisy isn’t eno...