Thoughts on BC Politics and More

During Question Period on May 20, NDP house leader Mike Farnworth shut out Conservative efforts to find out how much the government is spending on a suite at BC Place Stadium during FIFA World Cup. The Jobs and Economic Growth Ministry told theBreaker.news that the cost for the 10-person, catered suite is $475,000, via the City of Vancouver’s host city supporters’ program ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia house leader Mike Farnworth said the NDP government plans to pass 18 bills in the fall session of the legislature by the time it ends in late November.  Farnworth said the government will focus on growing the economy, protecting health care and dealing with affordability and good governance issues, adding that most of the bills will be tabled during the session's first week to give MLAs time to read the legislation ...  ... The house leader said government will not bring back elements pulled from a bill in response to American tariffs, which spurred criticism over powers it would have given government to revise almost every law and regulation in BC through orders-in-council ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Stung by a political firestorm over his provincial government’s decision to hand a massive shipbuilding contract to Chinese suppliers that critics say could bolster Xi Jinping’s military capabilities and undermine Canadian national security, BC Premier David Eby late Friday night reluctantly released a searing letter from federal Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland. The letter, dated June 16 and addressed to BC Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth, expresses Freeland’s “consternation and disappointment” over BC Ferries’ decision to select China Merchants Industry Weihai—a subsidiary of a state-owned Chinese conglomerate closely tied to Beijing’s military-civil fusion strategy and Belt and Road Initiative—to build four new major vessels. “I am dismayed that BC Ferries would select a Chinese state-owned shipyard to build new ferries in the current geopolitical context,” Freeland wrote. She demanded that Farnworth “verify and confirm with utmost certainty that no federal funding will b...

British Columbia's transport minister says he has raised concerns with BC Ferries about its decision to have a Chinese shipyard build four new ferries for its passenger fleet, amid an ongoing trade conflict between Canada and China. Mike Farnworth said he's worried about procuring services from "any country that is actively harming Canada’s economy" with tariffs and protectionism. Farnworth's remarks come hours after the announcement by BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez that China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyards had won the contract ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

It took a tie-breaking vote from Speaker Raj Chouhan to save the government from potentially falling, after government house leader Mike Farnworth made the bill a matter of a confidence vote. All three of BC’s political parties will be licking their wounds this summer as the last few months have left First Nations and municipalities united in their anger at the governing NDP, the Conservatives dealing with a number of defections, and the Greens’ caucus of two struggling. Premier David Eby in February said the session would be focused on addressing the “existential threat” posed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats ... CLICK HERE for the full story

After more than eight years of promises, $300 million spent and almost nothing to show for it, there’s not a lot for the NDP government to brag about when it comes to the George Massey Tunnel project. Which is perhaps why Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth didn’t try that hard to do so when quizzed about the issue recently during his ministry’s estimates. Farnworth had to deploy all the ducking and dodging at his discretion for more than an hour to get out of the simple and obvious questions about why the NDP government continues to slow play the Massey project, despite promising in three elections now to solve what is the largest traffic bottleneck in the province ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Y esterday in Question Period, BC NDP Transport Minister Mike Farnworth repeatedly refused to deny plans to impose a vehicle levy—a tax that would hit every car owner in British Columbia. Harman Bhangu, Conservative MLA for Langley - Abbotsford and Official Opposition Critic for Transportation, strongly criticized the NDP government’s lack of transparency and accountability on this issue. “ Mike Farnworth’s refusal to rule out this vehicle levy speaks volumes ,” said Bhangu. “ At a time when British Columbians are already struggling with rising living costs, the NDP is considering yet another punitive tax on hard-working families. This is unacceptable .” The Conservative opposition is calling on the government to clearly and publicly rule out the introduction of a vehicle levy. “ British Columbians deserve straight answers from their government—not evasive silence ,” Bhangu continued. “ If the NDP won’t clearly state their intentions, we can only assume the worst. The Conservatives wil...

BC Conservative Public Safety Critic is calling on Premier David Eby, and Solicitor General Gary Begg to immediately restore local accountability to policing in Surrey. On November 16, 2023, the former Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth announced an imposed shutdown of the Surrey Police Board and the appointment of an administrator under Section 8 of the Police Amendment Act. The board has not reconvened since that time. “ The transition to a municipal police force was supposed to provide more local accountability ,” says Elenore Sturko, MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale and critic for the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General. “ David Eby shut down our Surrey Police Service Board and appointed in his own hand-picked administrator, removing local accountability and centralizing control in Victoria .” “ The Premier and Solicitor General have created a situation where Surrey doesn’t have a local voice in policing. The city has agreed to...

Mayor Brenda Locke on Tuesday fired back at Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth after he issued a statement accusing her of failing to act “in the best interest of the people of Surrey” in connection with the policing transition. Locke in a statement said: “This dispute is about the City’s ability to choose its policing model. The City’s voters have chosen the RCMP and City Council has accordingly resolved to maintain the RCMP as its municipal police force .... CLICK HERE for the full story

The BC government said Tuesday that the city had rejected an offer that included a deal that would have covered any potential differences in cost of municipal police officers over the RCMP up to $20 million annually during a five-year period starting in 2029. That was in addition to an initial offering of $150 million in aid. It was a package that could have provided as much as $250 million to the city. “Last week, the mayor wrote to me advising me that council agreed in principle to the financial commitment. It is clear that the mayor and council ultimately chose divisiveness and uncertainty,”  BC Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in a written statement Tuesday afternoon.... CLICK HERE for the full story

The BC government has unveiled changes that will dramatically affect the way municipal police boards are structured. Currently, under BC’s Police Act, municipal mayors automatically act as local police board chairs. Under legislation proposed by the BC NDP government, that will change. The new legislation would require municipal councils to appoint a representative to their local police board, either a councillor or the mayor. The board, which is primarily appointed by the province, would then elect its chair and vice-chair . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

Opinion: BC NDP increasingly rely on rhetoric to mask their apparent inability to effect change When a video of open drug use inside a Tim Hortons in Maple Ridge surfaced last week, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth responded with a show of indignation ... ... Alas for him, last week brought another setback for the government ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The BC government is looking to sweeten the deal to get the Surrey police transition done once and for all. According to Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, the province is in discussions with the city and “there is an offer on the table" ... He tells reporters that new offer includes additional funding, though he would not confirm how much . . . . . . . . according to BC Conservative Leader John Rustad, the province is putting up an additional $110 million — on top of the already-promised $150 million . . . . “I think the thing that is most disturbing, from my perspective, and I’m sure from the people in Surrey, is that none of this is being done in public . . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

The fate of the provincial government’s restrictions on public drug use will be decided through a constitutional challenge, after an unsuccessful attempt to appeal an injunction against the legislation. The BC Court of Appeal on Friday denied a bid from Crown prosecutors to appeal a December decision by the BC Supreme Court that imposed a three-month injunction on Bill 34 on the grounds that the law would cause “irreparable harm.” Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he’s disappointed with the court’s decision. Premier David Eby said it’s common sense that if the government can regulate alcohol and tobacco, “surely we can put rules in place in relation to hard drugs". . . . CLICK HERE for the full story

An expanded Vancouver Island major crime unit is needed as communities grow and serious crime increases, local mayors say. Sooke Mayor Maia Tait and Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog both welcome an initiative of B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth to examine the expansion of the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime unit to all Island communities. Farnworth has directed the province’s policing and security branch to work with the B.C. RCMP on the issue. He has written to 22 Island municipalities, First Nations and police forces inviting them to participate in preliminary consultations ... CLICK HERE for the full story

British Columbia is pouring cold water on Ontario’s plan to bring beer, wine, cider and other alcoholic beverages into convenience and grocery stores by 2026. Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, whose portfolio includes the BC Liquor Distribution Branch, said Thursday’s announcement from Premier Doug Ford won’t be matched in BC ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Citing the B.C. NDP government’s meddling in Surrey civic politics, former mayor Bob Bose has quit the party in protest after almost 50 years of membership.  Bose, who was mayor from 1988 to 1996, joined the party in 1974, when Dave Barrett was the premier. He had been privately debating whether to turn in his membership since Solicitor General Mike Farnworth overruled city council in July and ordered the Surrey Police Service (SPS) to take over from the RCMP.  “I'm really sorry that I've been driven to this decision, because most of my friends are members of the New Democratic Party. I've been deeply engaged at the federal, provincial and municipal level as a New Democrat, but the treatment of Surrey has just been unacceptable" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

When BC United MLA Elenore Sturko raised concerns last week about government money being used to buy illegal drugs from organized criminals, Solicitor General Mike Farnworth deflected and said if she had a problem with it she should take the matter up with police. So she did. Sturko met on the weekend with Vancouver police detectives to turn over what she says is credible evidence of alleged criminal wrongdoing. The exact nature of the evidence Sturko wants to keep confidential, for now ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke Normally there would not be much reason for Vancouver Islanders to care about the political tire fire that is the Surrey policing debacle. But it is going to consume a lot of the agenda over the remaining weeks of the legislature sitting. Now it looks like it could eat up a lot more provincial taxpayers’ money as well ... CLICK HERE for the full commentary  

  LAST NIGHT (Wednesday Oct 21) on the 6pm TV news out of Vancouver came a story about a mentally unstable individual who had again severely stabbed someone unknown to them – for the second time in just a handful of days.   And the relevance of this some may ask? Well, of course, it happened on the same day that the NDP government of Premier John Horgan announced their much-awaited report on ‘ expert recommendations on repeat offending ’.   Sadly, this report, and it’s recommendations, will do little to stem what has become a plague of street crime by several dozen thugs with rap sheets a mile long – many with 100’s of charges (one alone with 400+ arrests) and VERY LITTLE if any jail time, random assaults on innocent victims on downtown city streets, an epidemic of drugs overdoses and thousands of deaths through a poisoned drug supply, and untold numbers of people suffering from mental health issues who are unable, or unwilling, to care for themselves. ...