Thoughts on BC Politics and More

On April 20th the BC Provincial Government announced its 2021 Budget. We understand and fully support the need to budget meaningful financial supports for sectors hard-hit by COVID-19, such as tourism and hospitality. It is essential that our government protect businesses in these industries which are, like construction, crucial to our economy and to so many hard-working British Columbians in communities across the province.  But we're concerned about the lack of focus on our industry. Here's why. Construction costs have escalated at an alarming rate , to the point that bid validity is an enormous challenge in the face of supplier pricing being good for only 7 to 14 days. The drywall market in North America is essentially sold out, lumber and steel costs have doubled. All this means taxpayer dollars won't go as far as they did pre-COVID. In fact, a case can be made to show that the $3.8BN budget increase on infrastructure spending has already been spent on the increased c...

  Today’s updated illicit drug overdose report, released by the Coroners Service, demonstrates a continued trend of record-breaking overdose deaths in British Columbia – with 2021 trending to be the deadliest year on record in the ongoing tragedy of B.C.’s opioid crisis. “ My condolences go out to the 158 families who mourned the loss of loved ones last month. The recent fifth anniversary of the overdose crisis being declared a public emergency demonstrates just how much work there needs to be done to urgently save lives as overdose deaths continue to rise ,” said Trevor Halford, BC Liberal Critic for Mental Health and Addictions. “ More than just supplementing programs to keep people alive, this NDP government needs to take action to help people right now. Instead, the NDP is inexplicably spending less on support this year compared to the next three fiscal years. Sons, brothers, aunts and so many others across B.C. can’t afford for John Horgan ...

  Virtually every other developed country with universal healthcare has moved to funding hospital s based on services provided to patients , while Canada remains one of only a handful of countries that fund s hospitals primarily with lump sum payments, regardless of how many patients they treat, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non - partisan, Canadian public policy think - tank.   “ Over the last 30 years, the vast majority of developed nations with universal health care have moved away from the financing approach used in Canada towards a system where funding follow s patients for hospital care , ” said Nadeem Esmail , senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and author of Money Following Patients: A Better Way to Pay for Universally Accessible Hospital Care .   The study finds that of the 28 countries that provide universally accessible health care, only five — Canada, Ireland, Iceland, Luxembourg and New Zealan...