Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Last week, Liberal leadership candidates started walking away from the consumer carbon tax. Now, they're distancing themselves from changes to the capital gains tax rate. A source close to Chrystia Freeland told CBC News she would throw out the changes. A spokesperson for Mark Carney said the changes "sent the wrong signal" — though they didn't confirm he'd scrap the policy. Karina Gould has openly said she doesn't think the federal government got the changes right ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A Quebec poll conducted by Léger on behalf of the Bloc Québécois reveals that the leading sovereignist parties in Quebec City and Ottawa still have the wind in their sails. In this first Quebec poll of 2025, the Parti Québécois leads the Coalition Avenir Québec by nine points province-wide. As for the federal race in Quebec, the Bloc stands at 37% support, 11 points ahead of Pierre Poilievre's Conservative Party. While these figures suggest that Quebec's political landscape hasn’t changed dramatically since the end of 2024, they do point to a notable shift in support for sovereignty. Let's explore the figures in detail ... CLICK HERE for the full story  

In this episode , Matt Gurney and Jen Gerson make some utterly bonkers proposals. And they want you to make some, too. Your hosts get you started by talking about the latest developments in the ongoing Liberal leadership race. They make some observations and get you all caught up on the latest from Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland, but what they really ask for, and they're asking you, too, are suggestions on radical things Canada can do to become ruthless scary. Literally. How can Canada fight? How can we make Donald Trump think twice? How can we make China and Russia decide we aren't worth the hassle of messing with? This would require some pretty radical changes, but if our politicians mean it when they keep saying that all options are on the table, well, great. Let's put some absolutely psychotic stuff on the table and dare the world to respond. "Canada's back" needs to stop being a promise and a quip, an applause line for preening Canadian o...

The architect of Alberta’s recovery model for addictions treatment is urging B.C. to take a similar approach when it comes to dealing with the toxic drug crisis, pointing to the 38 per cent reduction in deaths that his province saw last year. Marshall Smith, who served as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s chief of staff until last fall, told a community safety forum in Vancouver on Thursday that Alberta’s success stems from its efforts to aggressively build out treatment beds, including 11 recovery communities ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Port Alberni may have to cut ­services and raise property taxes to help make up for lost revenue in the wake of forestry company San Group going into creditor protection, says the city’s mayor. San Group already owed almost $1 million in property taxes from last year. “We are in the process right now of reviewing possible ­service cuts, so we are looking at that as an option,” Mayor Sharie Minions said Friday. “Because there’s last year’s unpaid [tax] that has to be accounted for and then the budget impact for this year as well" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It appears British Columbians have little faith in their premier to pull them from the current economic storm. That’s according to a Thursday study from the Fraser Institute that ranked Premier David Eby as second-lowest among Canada’s 10 provincial leaders for managing finances, with a performance score of 54 out of 100 – tied with Quebec Premier François Legault. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey (34.9) ranked last. The highest ranking premier currently leading a provincial government was Alberta’s Danielle Smith (63.7) ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Indigenous Resource Network (IRN) is cautioning British Columbia Premier David Eby and BC Forests Minister Ravi Parmar to consider how forest policy changes could potentially harm Indigenous forestry workers and operators as the new government has committed to reviewing provincial forestry policies. On December 12 th , 2024, the BC NDP signed an agreement-in-principle with the BC Greens to create a stable provincial government. The IRN is particularly concerned that the agreement commits the government to undertake yet another BC forests policy review as the province is facing expected softwood lumber duties and U.S. tariffs on February 1 st ... CLICK HERE for the full story

... what's changed is the ground on which that foundation has been laid. Poilievre continues to frame the election-to-come as an “axe the tax” election, suggesting that the ballot box question will be the carbon tax, and the broader frustrations with affordability and a perception of ineffectual virtue signalling that the issue taps into. The thing is though, that’s almost certainly not going to be what the election-to-come will be will be about. It’s going to be about Trump, and Trump’s threat of a tariff on Canada. Whatever failings Donald Trump has, his one surpassing skill is his ability to make everything about him, and the Canadian election of 2025 will be no exception. This is becoming a issue for Poilievre, and the longer he takes to move more decisively on it, the bigger that problem will get ... CLICK HERE for the full story

“Radical harm reduction activists have removed hope from the equation, replacing treatment, recovery, and a real future, with a system that enables ongoing use" ~~ Gwen O’Mahony The opioid crisis in British Columbia has claimed far too many lives, but the loss of my sister hurt me the most. Shortly after I began as a BC Conservative candidate in the provincial election last year, my sister, Tina, overdosed. The toxicology report revealed a concoction of both physician-prescribed and street drugs, but we knew it was the fentanyl that killed her. Losing a loved one is an unimaginable pain. With an overdose, it’s not just the finality of death that’s heartbreaking, but the years of soul-crushing addiction that preceded it ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Would British Columbia be better off as its own independent sovereign country instead of being a province of Canada? The findings of a new survey by Research Co. suggest that a growing number of BC residents, albeit a minority, think their province would be better off. The survey, conducted from January 10 to 12, 2025, shows that 28% of BC residents agree with such an outcome, which is an 8% increase from the support level of 20% in a similar survey in August 2023 ... CLICK HERE for the full story