BC Conservative leader John Rustad says he’s raring to go for next year’s provincial election — and while that might not appear to be the case in much of the province, in the Peace Region the Conservatives are already shaping up to be a real threat against incumbent BC United MLAs. The party has set […]
Do B.C.’s climate change policies go too far, or not far enough? It’s a question provincial politicians spent last week debating, after two opposition parties pledged to scrap the NDP government’s marquee CleanBC plan because, they argue, it’s too expensive and fails to produce meaningful results. “I’ve never, in all my time as a former […]
Deflecting criticism for funding a drug user group with known involvement in the illegal narcotics trade, the BC NDP government firmed its position on hard drugs this month, pledging to only allow medically prescribed ‘safer supply.’ But the new tough stance is at odds with what’s really been going on in public health’s chaotic scramble […]
Written By George Packer, Special from The Atlantic
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“It isn’t the job of writers to present people as they want to be presented; writers owe allegiance to their readers, and the truth.” The Sierra Club’s Equity Language Guide discourages using the words stand, Americans, blind, and crazy. The first two fail at inclusion, because not everyone can stand and not everyone living in this country […]
It’s only 19 pages long, but a new draft framework on “biodiversity and ecosystem health” released by the government this week has the potential to bring about massive change in rural British Columbia. Environmental protection, not resource development through industries like forestry, fishing and mining, will be the overarching priority of the province going forward, […]
For all but a handful of days of the year, William Elliot’s home in Smithers is heated by a small box in his kitchen, chugging away quietly and unobtrusively, saving him money. The cold-weather heat pump that powers his indoor unit sits outside, sucking heat from the cool air and shooting it across his open-concept […]
For two weeks, B.C. Premier David Eby and his ministers have been adamant – their government severed ties with a Vancouver-based drug user group immediately upon learning it was involved in illicit drug trafficking last month. Yet several NDP MLAs, including Eby’s parliamentary secretary when he was Attorney General, were personally briefed on drug user groups’ […]
A little-known invasive species has been spreading along B.C.’s coast since 1998, and for the most part the invasion has gone undetected. “I have seen more than 10,000 Green crabs pulled out of critical juvenile salmon habitat in the Cypre River estuary, in Ahousaht territory, in one day using only 40 traps,” said Crysta Stubbs, […]
B.C.’s Opposition United struggled to get public attention this week for a promised cut to carbon and fuel taxes, but the party’s rural MLAs say its positions are already registering as a big hit in the province’s interior and north. Leader Kevin Falcon said he’ll eliminate the carbon tax on all home heating fuel, expanding […]
Book Review Your Consent Is Not Required, The Rise in Psychiatric Detentions, Forced Treatment, And Abusive Guardianships By Rob Wipond Just as B.C.’s lawmakers are pondering involuntary mental health treatments, along comes a book by Victoria journalist Rob Wipond that argues strongly against the idea. In Your Consent Is Not Required, Wipond presents the case that more […]
When Sechelt mayor John Henderson took office last November, one of his first tasks was to sign a local state of emergency order due to a shortage of drinking water. Since then, he’s been working to find at least some short-term solutions to his district’s water woes. That led Henderson to the halls of the […]
“It’s hard to believe a province could spend $30 to $40 million on a recovery process where we have not seen one house or one business rebuilt.” ––Jackie Tegart More than 100 frustrated residents of Lytton marched through the undeveloped dirt lots that used to be their homes Wednesday, protesting the slow pace, and rising […]
“We have to talk about what’s age appropriate, and what’s really, truly supposed to be in the classroom.” ––Mike Bernier When the BC Conservatives kicked off the legislative session with a politically provocative question on parental concerns about sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) polices in schools, the Premier let loose a blast of moral umbrage […]
Written By Tania Finch, Special from The Broken Typewriter
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After 80 years in Fort St. John, 80 years of informing the city and surrounding area about news, events, births, deaths, job opportunities, new businesses and so on, the Alaska Highway News is no more. This week they’ll put out the final edition. The digital era has put an end to community newspapers as we knew them […]
“If people are thinking that I then became brilliant, and am now at genius levels, well, it didn’t happen.” –Ellis Ross Ellis Ross slides into the chair in his office with a sigh after a BC United caucus meeting at the legislature. He’s just spent 15 minutes briefing fellow MLAs on the complexities of Indigenous […]
“This is reconciliation in action.” –Owen Torgerson A ground-breaking agreement will soon bind together Simpcw First Nation and four communities across its territory in a shared commitment to work together and build prosperity for everyone in the North Thompson-Robson Valley. “I see a lot of benefits to working together,” said Simpcw chief George Lampreau. “As […]
“Local governments are well placed to [determine] … what’s required for community safety.” ––David Eby When it comes to regulating drug use in public, most B.C.’s municipal councils fall into one of two camps. They’re waiting to see if upcoming provincial legislation restricts public drug use to a level they can live with, or they’re […]
“I do feel like I’m on the last lap of a 25 [kilometre] race.” –Sean Bujtas Progress may be painfully slow, and there’s nothing even in writing yet, but Terrace’s mayor says he hasn’t given up hope Premier David Eby will cut a revenue-sharing deal with the province’s cash-strapped northwest municipalities. Sean Bujtas said the […]
The Conservative Party of BC will enter the Fall legislative session with official party status, making it the first time since 1996 that four parties will be recognized in the legislature. “We’ve already made history!” Conservative Party Leader John Rustad declared after former BC United MLA Bruce Banman crossed the floor, doubling Rustad’s caucus to two […]
“If you severed your femoral artery, they wouldn’t put you on a bus with a tourniquet and send you to Prince George for vascular surgery.” ––James Cordeiro Last week, Premier David Eby lobbed a lifeline to northern residents, committing his government’s support to a First Nations-led, local government-backed detox proposal for Terrace, in what would […]
Interior, northern and rural communities that rely on B.C.’s oil and sector have been left wondering about the future of the industry after government abruptly fired the head of the province’s independent energy regulator and signalled even more major changes are coming to provincial energy law. Premier David Eby’s cabinet announced last week it had […]
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon had scant details for local leaders at the annual Union of BC Municipalities conference about what exactly is coming in his housing legislation when the session resumes next month, but it sounds like push is coming to shove on some fronts as far as the province and local governments go. Kahlon […]
“It will replace fentanyl. No it won’t. It is safe. No it isn’t.” ––Addictions physician It’s official. Public health policymaking has become a faith-based pursuit. British Columbian and Canadian government elected and senior public health officials are such fervent believers in the gospel of “safer supply,” they preach unproven benefits as truth, embrace self-reporting by […]
“We don’t have the luxury of time between emergencies right now in British Columbia.” ––David Eby Premier David Eby emerged from his latest tour of B.C.’s fire-ravaged southern interior with a pledge for a task force of experts to ensure a better provincial response next wildfire season. But some of the community leaders he met […]
Thirty years ago, Coho salmon vacated Georgia Strait and did not return in substantial numbers until this spring. Their disappearance is still a mystery. As is their resurgence. “We have not found good correlates to explain why they suddenly started exiting the Strait at much higher rates, no clear links with things like herring abundance […]
“Hansard stopped documenting what the heckles were… It’s not like the old days.” ––Nicholas Simons The B.C. legislature will soon be a lot quieter, after veteran MLA Nicholas Simons, the most prolific heckler in provincial politics, announced an end to his long political career. Simons said he won’t seek reelection in 2024 after 19 years […]
“More and more people will work remotely … [living] in this giant house in the hinterland enjoying a full and proper lifestyle. That’s what’s coming.” ––Richard Kurland While the majority of British Columbia’s new immigrants are still landing in Metro Vancouver, more and more are settling in the northern and rural areas of the province. […]
“It doesn’t matter what either one of us believes, the fact is you need to fix the problem and deliver service to the people in B.C.” –Michael Goetz Should B.C. nurses who refuse to get vaccinated for COVID-19 still be banned from working in the province’s short-staffed healthcare facilities? It’s a question being mulled over […]
“Kitimat is the most beautiful community I’ve lived in, hands down.” Walsham Tenshak The small coastal B.C. community of Kitimat might seem an unlikely place to find other expat Nigerians, but Walsham Tenshak discovered the opposite. “We have an entire community,” said Tenshak, who moved to Kitimat a year ago. “We had a picnic in the summer. […]
“This is not a long-term plan for growing food in British Columbia.” ––Jeremy Dunn B.C.’s cattle and dairy sectors are slamming the provincial government over new emergency water orders that have cut some of their farmers off from growing hay and corn for their livestock during a widespread feed shortage. Industry leaders, who stood publicly […]
“BC Hydro identified those two locations for us … and suddenly the door was shut.” ––Ken Shields A northern B.C. forestry company is taking the provincial government to court for approval to run data farms that it says could help subsidize its existing sawmill and keep hundreds of people employed during turbulent times in the […]
“Water is the lifeblood of our industry, it doesn’t matter what commodity you are in.” Jennifer Dyson B.C. announced funding for a new “dating service” of sorts last week to match farmers and ranchers with available hay and grain supplies during the ongoing record drought and wildfire season. The $150,000 investment to the Access to […]
After the BC Conservatives won an unprecedented 20 per cent of the vote in a Vancouver Island by-election in June, beating both the BC United and the BC Greens for second place, some supporters predict a political sea change, while pundits are mixed on the party’s potential political appeal. “A lot of people around the […]
“They go there… because that’s their emergency department that they’ve always gone to.” Isobel Mackenzie A Merritt senior found collapsed outside a hospital emergency department that was closed due to a staffing shortage is just the tip of the iceberg for how the elderly in rural British Columbia are grappling with the province’s ongoing healthcare […]
Written By Spencer Hall, Special to Northern Beat
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Spencer Hall is an investigative reporter with Energeticcity.ca. Disrupting the Peace is a series on crime in northeast B.C. This is an excerpt of part two. “The burden of running and operating a business right now is overwhelming.” –Kathleen Connolly Business owners frustrated with repeated break-ins say property crime has never been worse in Fort […]
“We’ve got to start looking at this, because we could cripple an entire industry.” ––Mike Pritchard Business is booming at Vanderhoof’s livestock auction — and that’s bad news right now for British Columbia’s cattle sector. Droughts and wildfires have left farmers and ranchers reeling from a hay shortage, which is getting so bad that many […]
The question is what, if anything, will Ottawa do? writes Rob Shaw Fast-built modular housing for B.C.’s rural and remote communities, tax breaks for rental construction buildings and freeing up government land for public housing projects were just a few of the ideas pitched by provincial housing experts, and B.C. government officials, to Canada’s deputy […]
“Some people did the right thing — they went to the closest place they could get to, where it was safe for them and their family.” ––Mike Bernier When Tumbler Ridge residents were abruptly ordered to evacuate due to wildfires earlier this month, the province urged the 2,400 residents to drive more than an hour […]
“There are probably twice as many [pinnipeds] as there have been for the last several thousand years.” ––Carl Walters The time has come to reconsider limits imposed on west coast seal hunting, according to some Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders and academics. Allowing seal and sea lion hunting on the west coast would provide economic and […]
“We need to act now to meet this growing demand to ensure we stay on track with our climate goals.” ––David Eby Premier David Eby’s ambitious plan to electrify the province’s oil, gas and mining sectors, to help government meet its climate targets, has always been shadowed by one niggling question: Does BC actually have […]
“It’s a challenge [in] … rural smaller communities in B.C., but that’s a real focus of the province.” ––Adrian Dix Politicians have a reputation for taking the summer off, but Health Minister Adrian Dix says he’ll be spending his vacation in an unusual way: Travelling across the province visiting its many beleaguered, understaffed, overstressed hospitals. […]
“Just think if we had taken it more seriously 20 or more years ago, how much farther along we’d be.” ––Bob Gray Canada must be “on a war footing” and spend “big, big money” to tackle the problem of wildfires in what is shaping up to be one of the hottest summers and worst fire […]
The New Democrat government and its top medical health officers have heavily staked their decriminalization gambit on the drug policies of Portugal, Switzerland, Germany and elsewhere, using the European successes as a shield against criticism and proof the experiment will work in B.C. But the comparison is ill-informed and disingenuous. Beyond the commonality of having actual […]
