Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay–Comox and Conservative Official Opposition Critic for Rural and Seniors’ Health, is calling on the government to immediately reverse its plan to end supplemental funding for overtime and agency staffing in publicly subsidized long-term care and assisted living facilities on October 31, 2025. “This is a short-sighted, reckless, and frankly dangerous decision. Cutting the very tools care homes use to keep residents safe will cost seniors their dignity and, for some, potentially their lives,” said Day. “The government must walk this back—now.” Seniors in rural communities will bear the brunt of growing backlogs and closed beds.   “Nearly 1 in 6 B.C. seniors live in rural areas, with the largest shares in Interior and Island Health. Those regions already face tougher workforce shortages and fewer alternatives. Removing overtime and agency options will hit them first and hardest,” said Day. “The average wait time for a long-term care bed in t...

The Vancouver Sun says it plainly: BC’s forestry industry is on its knees. As someone who worked in forestry - whose family depended on it - I’m going to break down this piece and show why the NDP’s red tape & ideology are killing our jobs. This collapse isn’t just about U.S. tariffs.  As Kim Haakstad of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI) told the Sun : “wood availability is at historic lows, permitting systems are gridlocked, and investment is retreating.” That’s failure made in Victoria. The “War in the Woods” of the 90s gave us a bureaucracy that’s only grown fatter.  Politicians tied hands with the Forest Practices Code, and every government since has piled on more rules. The result? 40,000 good jobs are gone -- families gutted. I worked in forestry. My family lived off forestry. I know the pride of a hard day’s work. Today, people like me are watching while their way of life is strangled by paper-pushers who’ve never swung an axe, never set foot in a mill, and ne...

... “Forestry in B.C. has long been more than just timber and mills; it quietly supports infrastructure, rural access and emergency response in many regions,” said Jerome Gessaroli, the report’s author and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the Montreal Economic Institute, in a Monday statement. “If that foundation erodes, it could trigger disruptions in everything from wildfire suppression to Indigenous economic development.” The report notes that forestry companies have built and maintained an estimated 620,000 to 700,000 kilometres of remote roads across BC ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Giving nurses a pay bump can draw them to an area, advocates say. But they move on when the extra money dries up. ... the Health Ministry told The Tyee it is “reviewing” a request to include Cranbrook and Kimberley in the Provincial Rural Retention Incentive and will also be evaluating how the program did and how it could be improved upon. This includes possibly expanding the program beyond March 31, 2025, the ministry said. The initiative was first introduced in 2021 and initially aimed at helping reduce staff turnover in Northern Health’s Northeast Health Service Delivery Area, Prince Rupert and Hazelton. It later expanded to Grand Forks in the Interior Health Authority in 2022 and to communities across B.C. in 2024, according to a press release from the Hospital Employees’ Union praising the move the move ... CLICK HERE for the full, story

MLA Brennan Day is calling out the BC NDP government after a troubling report revealed BC Emergency Health Services (EHS) is millions over budget, leading to significant paramedic shortages across the province. The findings expose a dire situation, with fewer paramedics on shift and rural communities bearing the brunt of the crisis, leaving lives at risk. Despite celebrating supposed progress on ambulance response times in May 2024, the BC NDP’s claims now appear unfounded as conditions worsen for both patients and paramedics. “ Rural areas like those in the North Island are suffering the most ,” said Brennan Day, MLA for Courtenay - Comox and Critic for Rural Health and Seniors Affairs. “ Ambulance shortages mean longer wait times during life-threatening emergencies, while paramedics face unsustainable workloads .” The ongoing opioid epidemic has only intensified the strain on BC’s emergency healthcare system. Rising calls for overdoses, mental health crises, and public ...

Patient says seeing a doctor virtually is ‘better than nothing’ ...In some communities, emergency centres close for hours or days when there isn’t enough staff. Health authorities in several provinces are increasingly turning to virtual emergency care — in this case, when a physician is virtual and works with nurses on the ground to see patients over a video call as needed  ... virtual physician coverage is an attempt to keep rural ERs open for patients while health authorities in BC and across the country are trying to find and keep staff working in rural or remote areas ... CLICK HERE for the full story

PRINCE GEORGE : Rosalyn Bird, Conservative MLA for Prince George – Valemount, says Starlink satellite internet service is the superior solution for northerners.   “Although I was very pleased to hear today that another Northern BC community has reached completion, I recognize many other northern, rural, and remote communities in British Columbia continue to face connectivity challenges," Bird said in response to the completion of the Upper Viewmount (Smither) fibre-optic project. Access to reliable, high-speed internet has become an essential element in progressing economic growth and providing access to education and health care, while improving community well-being. No longer a luxury, we now recognize its importance as our work, school and personal lives increasingly shift online. One of the main hurdles in expanding cellular services is the availability of power, as cellular infrastructure requires electricity. Additionally, many remote areas and highways ...

As more northern BC forestry jobs are lost amid continued pressure on the lumber industry, food bank operators in small towns say they're seeing an increase in demand. The communities of Vanderhoof and Fort St. John are set to lose 500 jobs at the end of December when mill operator Canfor is slated to close sawmills in both communities. Food bank operators in both places say they've already seen an uptick in usage this year as the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit small communities hard ... CLICK HERE for the full story

REPRINTED with permission of the author Delta South BC Liberal MLA Ian Paton: It is an absolute honour to serve as Agriculture Critic for the Official Opposition in British Columbia’s Legislature. It’s also certainly been a learning curve. As a former dairy farmer and livestock auctioneer who still lives on my family farm that I was born and raised on, I thought I understood farming in British Columbia. However, touring all corners of this amazing province over the last three years has taught me that there is so much more to agriculture than what I have experienced living in the Fraser Valley. As schools and community halls continue to close due to population decline in our rural areas, having multiple families living together on the family farm provides opportunities for farm help, child care, and other social supports Farming in BC encompasses tree fruit growers and the wine industry in the Okanagan, canola, grain and grass seed in the Pea...

Rural communities affected by mill closures throughout British Columbia will benefit from $1 million in funding to develop tourism opportunities, creating new jobs for people – so says the BC NDP government of Premier John Horgan. “ British Columbia is an amazing place with unparalleled natural beauty that we are proud to invite the world to come explore ”, said Premier John Horgan.   “ This tourism investment will help bring new visitors to rural communities throughout the province, while also helping diversify and boost local economies .” According to a recent government media release, this funding will be provided to the five regional destination marketing organizations (RDMOs). Each RDMO ** will receive $200,000 in catalyst funding to support strategic planning and destination development in rural communities impacted by mill closures. I also feel like the communities that are the most affected, by the forestry issues, are not the ones that are ...

If you’ve been following along, today will now be day number four in what I am calling , “20 for 2020” .   Each day is another idea that I believe those who wish to govern us in BC, should commit to doing. None of these ideas have been radical (at least to me) … in fact I think most would find it hard to argue they are little more than the basics of good government, and ensuring the well-being of the citizens of our province. Today's idea fits well with the concept of our well-being, and it has to do with our health. While there have been multiple attempts to retain and keep medical practitioners in some of the more rural areas of the province – a permanent fix to the problem needs to be worked out. That fix should begin by reviewing all possible options to train, and retain , doctors to take up practice in the rural communities where they have grown up.   Talk with young people and ask them what they will need to stay … and talk with th...

Yesterday was New Years day ... and the first installment of what I am calling “ 20 for 2020” ... ideas which I believe should be implemented by any political party who wishes to govern us. As I mentioned on Tuesday, each of these suggestions and ideas, despite being number from one to twenty, will be random in order; and so they should not be interpreted as being presented in order of importance. Yesterday, I paraphrased an idea which was presented by the BC Conservative Party back in May of last year. There will be four others from the Conservatives, however there will also be many ideas from my own experiences being involved in BC politics for over two decades, as well as suggestions from friends and political acquaintances. Now, as today is January 2 nd , here is suggestion number two ... there should be a review of services provided to areas and regions where much of the provinces revenues are collected from .   Many would likely say t...

The latest from the BC government says that it is, " ... seeking public input on rural education as part of a strategy being created by Parliamentary Secretary for Rural Education Linda Larson to better understand the needs of students, parents, schools and communities in rural BC ... " I guess the biggest need would be to actually keep schools, in rural communities, open. Problem is however, that the government has failed, miserably, to provide the supports and structure rural communities need, as well as failing to have resource development approved to ensure long-term, and increased employment, in rural British Columbia. In key sectors, for rural and small town BC, job losses have been dramatic (BC Stats Earnings and Employment Trends - October 2016): Agriculture ... down 33% since 2006 Forestry and Logging ... down 19% since 2007 Fishing, Hunting and Trapping down 31% since 2007 Lost jobs equals decreased populati...