BLOG
Filter News By…
Legislative Archive
Stretching it out
I recently added stretching and yoga to my morning routine.For a bunch of months I’ve been paying for a smartphone application loaded with body weight and yoga routines. Until last week they did not move me. I'd become incredibly stiff and so I thought it’s time to put it to good use.It all began 13 days ago with lightly stretching my extremely...
206 days and counting!
Other than a few departures, this blog has been a flow of my thoughts captured, collected, categorized, and tagged. The subject matter is whatever inspires me to write a few hundred words. No rhyme or reason, just random. The only commitment I made way back on December 5, 2018 was to produce something each day. The only blank so far is December...
Raise my hands
It’s been a few months since I paused to take stock of the important people in my life. Thank you for creating the space for me to be able to do this work.As is a regular consideration in this digital space I’ve created, time is precious and it passes very quickly. Unless I stop and breathe, before I know it’s July and I’m standing on the stage...
Forests and fish: Chasing poor decisions
Ben Parfitt's Narwhal article "Muddied Waters: how clearcut logging is driving a water crisis in B.C.’s interior", has been open in my web browser for a few weeks. I finally read it on my way home from my recent trip to the Comox Valley. The story is about unsustainable logging practices in watersheds — specifically, watersheds that are providing...
Minister wants your input on future of British Columbia forests
On May 28, 2019, the provincial government announced a review of the Private Managed Forest Land Program. They have invited British Columbians to add your voice to the program review. The province is accepting public comments until July 22, 2019.Over the past few months there has been a flood of correspondence to my office. My constituents on the...
Canada Day, school is out and a summer holiday
Canada Day is always a busy day in Saanich North and the Islands.The festivities start with a pancake breakfast at the Mary Winspear Centre followed by a parade through Sidney-by-the-Sea where thousands of residents of the Saanich Peninsula line the streets.From there, Member of Parliament Elizabeth May and I take to the water for a multi-island...
PODCAST: Mark Leiren-Young – Journalist, podcaster and self-proclaimed Orcaholic
In episode 15 of The Public Circle Podcast I'm joined by Skaana podcast host Mark Leiren-Young to talk about what? You guessed it, the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW). This was a deeply enjoyable conversation about the history of our relationship with orcas from cetaceans in captivity to the recent change in federal legislation freeing...
Love, warmth, freedom from suffering and full of success
One of the primary realizations I've made in my brief time in provincial politics is how easy it is to slip into an unhealthy lifestyle. Without careful attention to my overall fitness, personal wellbeing quickly gets lost in the background noise. There is a lot of background noise.Winning is the focus of partisan politics. Not winning together...
Planning community resilience, together!
Local and regional governance has long been a topic of contention in British Columbia's capital. In the next 2-3 years Central Saanich, North Saanich and Sidney will all undertake official community planning (OCP) processes. Developing and maintaining community and neighbourhood identities is important. Fortunately, the timing presents an...
Hanging up the hang ups
I was at an event recently where a local W̱SÁNEĆ elder was providing a blessing to open the proceedings. He spoke about a peg that is outside of the door of a Coast Salish longhouse.As he told the story, and it's not the first time I had heard this teaching, the peg was where you hung your troubles before entering the house. It was an invitation...
Chief Dan George: Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild’s fondness?
On National Indigenous Peoples Day, I has honoured to be part of the opening of a new exhibit at the Sidney Museum featuring the life of the legendary Tsleil-Waututh leader Chief Dan George. The exhibition runs until September 30th. Chief George is one of those iconic figures in Canadian history perhaps best known for his work in...
Advocacy: Constituency communication and correspondence
My relationship with social media continues to evolve. I reached a breaking point as their business model shifted to rewarding people for engaging more, attempting to capture undivided attention and growing time on the screen. As a result, I am not spending much time on social media platforms. I understand they are powerful tools to organize...
Mind numbing confusion in Ottawa
It’s mind-numbing to try to keep up with all the decisions politicians in Ottawa made about the British Columbia coastline last week.https://twitter.com/AdamPOlsen/status/1142096979742220289First, on Monday the Members in the House of Commons voted 186 to 63 to support a motion from Hon. Catherine McKenna (Minister of Environment and Climate...
PODCAST: Briony Penn – Writer, educator, artist and naturalist
In the 14th episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with Briony Penn. It was wonderful to sit on her front porch in the middle of a South Salt Spring forest. It's been the home of five generations of Briony's family. The warm early summer sun, birds chirping and even the odd handsaw working in the background provide an excellent setting...
Constant improvement
According to Wikipedia, "a disturbance is a temporary change in environmental conditions that causes a pronounced change in an ecosystem. Disturbances often act quickly and with great effect, to alter the physical structure or arrangement of biotic and abiotic elements. A disturbance can also occur over a long period of time and can impact the...
National [insert new name here] Peoples Day
What Canadians call the indigenous people of this land has been constantly evolving over the decades. Savage, Indian, Native, Eskimo, Aboriginal, First Nation, Metis, Inuit, and Indigenous. I'm certain there are plenty of others. In the past, people like me, from an exotic mixed heritage, have been not-so affectionately known as "halfbreeds."...
They can’t even manage a parking lot!
Yesterday I provided a few examples of the federal government's mismanagement of our oceans. My focus was on protecting resources and its preparation and response to oil spills. If you need more evidence then check out the absolute disaster that is our salmon fisheries. To be fair to the current administration, they inherited a gutted ministry,...
Take 2: Federal Government approves Trans Mountain (again)
The Canadian Government has approved the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project - again. For the past five years, I have participated in the National Energy Board's (NEB) Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion regulatory hearings. I intervened in the process as an individual member of the W̱SÁNEĆ people, and throughout I expressed my deep concern...
GERONIMO! It’s a way of life!
Geronimo Canoe Club is from Tsartlip First Nation. They have been a paddling juggernaut on the Coast Salish canoe race circuit since the early 1970's. Every summer, Indigenous canoe clubs from around the Salish Sea gather in coastal and inland communities to compete in canoe races. Recently, Geronimo canoe pullers have taken their expertise to...
Happy father!
I have great kids and it was a wonderful day.We went on our first hike as dog owners (owners of a tiny dog) and Emily made delicious butter chicken. Mmmmmmm, butter chicken. However, the best part for sure was the my gift from Silas and Ella. [siteorigin_widget class="SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget"][/siteorigin_widget][siteorigin_widget...
PODCAST: Raffi – Singer, Songwriter, Children’s Champion
When I first thought of transitioning my weekly Public Circle LIVE! broadcasts from Facebook to a weekly podcast, I had it in my mind to invite Raffi as a guest. We have run into each other a few times now at the Salt Spring Island Saturday Market and I appreciate his forthright political commentary on Twitter.It all came together at Elizabeth...
Championing Local Business: Canoe Cove
I grew up on the marina docks in Brentwood Bay. Kicking around the Brentwood Inn and fishing at Jimmy Gilbert’s are fond memories for me. A lot has changed since then, but I was brought back to the days of my childhood when my "Championing Local Business" tour stopped in at Canoe Cove. Tucked into the trees just east of the Swartz Bay ferry...
No tossed butts
Wildfire season is becoming synonymous with summer. As we celebrate my daughter's 7th birthday, it comes with the somber realization that 50% of the summers of her life have been choked out by the smoke of raging wildfires. Escaping fire and evacuating communities is an increasing reality for British Columbians.Saanich North and the Islands is a...
Conversations for change
I have been thinking about the initiative to lower the voting age in Canada and British Columbia to 16. My colleague Andrew Weaver has introduced a Private Member's Bill about this three times in the British Columbia legislature. His most recent attempt was on March 13, 2018 and Premier John Horgan agreed to consider it. Despite this, the voting...
Defending ancient trees: It’s in our fibre
Tension is growing in the forests across British Columbia so I thought it was appropriate to reflect on my work in the Spring session of the legislature standing up for our most treasured ancient creatures. Fresh images of devastating clearcuts hacked from the valley walls of Schmidt Creek, Naka Creek, Tessium Creek and Upper Tsitika Watersheds...
Feeling the joy of life
It's been awhile since Emily and I were parents of a baby.A couple of weeks back we brought Tui into our family. She is just a mini little puppy and only ten weeks old today. As a parent of 11 and 7 year old kids she's reminding me of a time slipping further into our past.Puppies are sooooo cute! The people who follow my Instagram posts agree....