Thoughts on BC Politics and More

A major tobacco company reported repeatedly communicating with BC government officials about a new bill that would allow the province to sue e-cigarette manufacturers for the public health costs associated with vaping.  The company reported communicating with Attorney General Niki Sharma and Premier David Eby’s chief of staff about the scope and details of a bill “where the province is going after wrongdoers to recover the costs of public-health harms their products cause to people.” It also reported communicating with more than a dozen MLAs about “any new legislative or regulatory proposals or policies relating to tobacco and/or vaping.” ... ... Kevin Hemmat, a spokesperson for the BC Ministry of the Attorney General, said the general response to Bill 24 has been positive. "British Columbians appreciate that not only will bad faith actors be punished for wrong doings, but also that the province will not be on the hook for fixing the harm caused." But major tobacco companies ...

... you would think we would be doing everything possible to stamp out this lethal industry. Indeed, the Canadian government’s Tobacco Strategy “is designed to help achieve the target of less than five per cent tobacco use by 2035,” euphemistically known as “smoke-free,” and the latest data suggest we may be heading that way ... ... But missing from the strategy is any reference to creating a tobacco-free generation by using ­legislation to prevent the sale and supply of tobacco to ­individuals born after a certain year, something the U.K.­ ­government intends to do. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry is promoting vaping as a “safer” alternative, and as an aid in quitting smoking ... CLICK HERE for the rest of the story

Late last November the BC Liberal Opposition introduced three amendments to the government’s Taxation Statutes Amendment Act.   These changes all focused on transparency and accountability, which would have either created a designated education fund from vaping PST revenue, put all revenues into the existing Special Health Account.   At a minimum, it would have required an annual report to the legislature -- of total PST revenue collected -- and how the revenue was spent. Regrettably, the NDP said no to all three of these proposed amendments at the time.   Still, Kamloops South Thompson BC Liberal MLA Todd Stone expressed cautious optimism that actions were beginning to unfold. “ Moving forward, we will be vigilant in holding the government accountable for implementing the anti-youth vaping actions quickly ,” stated Stone . “ We will monitor the effectiveness of the government’s decision not to proceed with an outright ban on flavoured vaping products, and advocate for ...

Good morning, and welcome to Day Seven ... and a week that was filled with talk and more talk about the firing of Canadian hockey icon Don Cherry, for on-air comments he made on The Coaches Corner.   Justin Trudeau, in advance of the re-opening of Parliament, also met with all of the opposition leaders, as well as Canada’s Premiers ... and labour troubles in BC appear to be heating up with a transit strike in the metro Vancouver area ... woodworkers still out on strike on Vancouver Island ... and a support workers strike in the Saanich school district. All this, and more, were part of this weeks commentaries.   Here are the ones most read by you ... #10 ... DAN ALBAS -- These situations affect all of us and hopefully within a minority Government, MP's can better work together across party lines to see more results being achieved (November 13th) ... while it is easy to oppose, there must also be awareness that if all of the three major op...

Two young B.C. men are suing vaping company Juul, saying they have developed respiratory problems, increased addiction to nicotine, and anxiety due to vaping. Jaycen Stephens, 19, said “ You just feel like your lungs are filled with fluid constantly and it makes breathing really heavy and hard .” Commenting on this, Kamloops South Thompson Liberal MLA Todd Stone stated, “ Our youth shouldn’t be put into this position in the first place. Jurisdictions all around us are taking action to combat the dramatic increase in youth vaping, yet we continue to wait here in BC ”. “ For the past 6 months, I’ve been calling on the John Horgan government to take action to curb surging youth vaping rates, including banning vape juice flavouring (as the states of Washington, New York, Michigan, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have done - with more soon to follow) ... banning all vape product advertising and marketing ... tightening retail controls and implementing tougher penalties ...