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022 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Emily and Adam Olsen)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Td2kudBdx8[/embedyt] Episode 022 - The Public Circle LIVE! Friday August 17, 2018 In Episode 022 of The Public Circle LIVE! Emily Olsen takes control of the show and chats with me about life in B.C. politics. What are the political, personal and professional challenges of the job of an MLA? And who know...
Macdonald statue debate distracting from reconciliation
Reflecting on the fallout of the removal of the John A. Macdonald statue from the steps of Victoria City Hall, I was reminded of a comment made to me by my incredibly insightful, historian mother that the complex relationships with Indigenous people in Canada has evolved over more than 150 years and that reconciliation is not going to happen...
021 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Elizabeth May)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFc4wWoKcf8[/embedyt] Episode 021 - The Public Circle LIVE! (Elizabeth May) Friday, August 10, 2018 I am honoured to have Saanich-Gulf Islands Member of Parliament Elizabeth May in the LIVE! Studio. There is plenty for us to talk about including Orcas, the Salish Sea and the state of democracy. Share a...
Charlie Morris: Documentary filmmaker diving deep on salmon farming in British Columbia
I sit in The Public Circle LIVE! studio and chat with documentary filmmaker Charlie Morris. Charlie is from North Carolina and has been following the ongoing debate about salmon, fish farms and aquaculture in British Columbia. We discuss what draws him to this subject and why he has come to the province...
Column: Wild salmon need urgent protection
With every passing day, and each new generation of British Columbians, the power of the wild Pacific salmon is quietly diminishing. Our shifting baseline of what is normal for wild salmon returning to our rivers is slipping from millions to thousands, thousands to hundreds, hundreds to dozens. The future of these economically important,...
020 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Salmon, Peninsula Streams and Ian Bruce)
Episode 20 - The Public Circle LIVE! (Salmon, Peninsula Streams and Ian Bruce) August 3, 2018 Once each month I will be inviting a local champion into The Circle to highlight the work that they do on an important issue in our riding. As many of you know I have a passion for wild Pacific salmon and so I...
Standing with the ancient giants
Giant, old trees really capture people's attention. Some of the most intense political action in British Columbia's history has been fuelled by the desire to protect old growth and big, majestic trees. Despite having little depth on this history, the memories of Meares and Moresby Islands are part of my DNA. Forestry practices in British Columbia...
019 – The Public Circle LIVE!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gneqG4aB2G0[/embedyt] Episode 019 - The Public Circle LIVE! (BC Ferries, doctors and office communications) Friday, July 27, 2018 The Public Circle LIVE! is a weekly live broadcast by Adam Olsen from the Saanich North and the Islands Constituency Office in Sidney, BC. Adam discusses various issues in...
Fishy Business – PolitiCoast Podcast
I listen to a lot of podcasts in recent weeks. One such production is PolitiCoast. Ian Bushfield and Scott de Lange Boom are just five episodes from 100. They talk a lot of B.C. politics, and it is an honour to be one of their many guests. Wild salmon have been the focal issue of my legislative work since I was elected. It caught the attention of...
018 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Back in the saddle!)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lADeoDRP5YI[/embedyt] Episode 018 - The Public Circle LIVE! (Back in the saddle!) Friday, June 22, 2018 The Public Circle LIVE! is a weekly live broadcast by Adam Olsen from the Saanich North and the Islands Constituency Office in Sidney, BC. Adam discusses various issues in British Columbia politics and...
7 town halls, 18 issues, in a paltry 2300 word update
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFRFRixg-jc[/embedyt] Over the past two weeks I have hosted town hall meetings around Saanich North and the Islands. We held meetings in Sidney, Pender, Galiano, Mayne, Saturna, Central Saanich and Salt Spring. When we are in session I cannot leave the legislature and, as a result, I have not spent much...
017 – The Public Circle LIVE! (The fish farms decision)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRyWdHTZ9Vk[/embedyt] Episode 017 - The Public Circle LIVE! Friday, June 22, 2018 The Public Circle LIVE! is a weekly live broadcast by Adam Olsen from the Saanich North and the Islands Constituency Office in Sidney, BC. Adam discusses various issues in British Columbia politics and the riding of Saanich...
Four reasons I am frustrated about fish farm announcement and more…
Needless to say, I am very frustrated with the B.C. NDP's decision to allow the open net-pen fish farms to continue in wild salmon migratory routes. This decision is problematic on many levels. Kicking cans... First, the province is kicking the can down the road for another four years. This threatens another full life-cycle of wild salmon. And,...
Getting it together: A made in B.C. wild salmon policy
Fragmented wild salmon policy Wild salmon policy at the provincial level is fragmented. Multiple ministries make decisions that affect the wild Pacific salmon. But, there is no one body that has wild salmon at the centre of their decisions. Both the federal and provincial governments have been perpetually studying, reporting and recommending....
016 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Protecting wild salmon)
016 - The Public Circle LIVE! Friday, June 15, 2018 The Public Circle LIVE! is a weekly live broadcast by Adam Olsen from the Saanich North and the Islands Constituency Office in Sidney, BC. Adam discusses various issues in British Columbia politics and the riding of Saanich North and the Islands. In...
Column: Adding a ferry cheaper than building a bridge
A bridge crossing the Saanich Inlet connecting the peninsula and the Cowichan Valley has long been mused. It surfaces every decade or so, usually after the Malahat is closed by an accident and people are frustrated by gridlock. With increasing congestion on the Malahat and in Langford and Saanich, and the growth of southern Vancouver Island...
Connecting the Saanich Peninsula and Cowichan Valley by passenger ferry
There have long been discussions about better connecting the Capital Region and Cowichan Valley Regional District by building a bridge across the Saanich Inlet. There is no doubt that we need better connectivity on Southern Vancouver Island but a bridge is not the solution. Not only will it cost billions of dollars to...
015 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Old-growth forests and Malahat crashes)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEvaFDq2e5U[/embedyt] Episode 015 - The Public Circle LIVE! Friday, May 25, 2018 The Public Circle LIVE! is a weekly live broadcast by Adam Olsen from the Saanich North and the Islands Constituency Office in Sidney, BC. Adam discusses various issues in British Columbia politics and the riding of Saanich...
014 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Cannabis, Kinder Morgan, wild salmon and more…)
Episode 014 - The Public Circle LIVE! Friday, May 18, 2018 The Public Circle LIVE! is a weekly live broadcast by Adam Olsen from the Saanich North and the Islands Constituency Office in Sidney, BC. Adam discusses various issues in British Columbia politics and the riding of Saanich North and the...
Salt Spring business leaders creating shared service tools
This week the BC Green Caucus has been celebrating and highlighting business in BC. Technology, innovation, education, investment in post-secondary skills training have all been front and centre. Entrepreneurs work hard and shoulder tremendous risk to realize their ideas. In many cases they put their staff and...
Standing up for Wild Salmon and leaving a legacy for BC
Looking for a salmon champion! Now is the time to appoint a champion for wild salmon. The crises facing BC’s wild salmon populations, while dire, provide opportunity for action: stakeholders, First Nations, the public and the commercial sector are aligned and eager for provincial leadership on this file...
Climate Action accountability starts with targets set through Bill 34
Climate action starts with setting goals and accountability measures. British Columbia was a leader in climate action. Former Premier Christy Clark decided not continue the work of her predecessor Gordon Campbell. We have a responsibility to future generations to do our absolute best to make decisions today on their...
Funding Translink with DCC’s through Bill 33
The government has committed to funding 40% of the Metro Vancouver Mayors' 10-year transportation plan. Investments in transit and alternative transportation options to the single-occupant vehicle are greatly needed in the lower mainland, capital region and other areas in the province. We could be doing much better...
Supporting BC Colleges to access fair share of federal grants
The Camosun Innovates program receives “Technology Access Centre” grant (or TAC grant) funding from the federal government as part of the of the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s “College and Community Innovation” program. In 2017, it was one of the only BC institutions to win a CCI grant award....
A framework for cannabis distribution through Bill 31
With the framework for legalizing the recreational use of cannabis moving through the legislature, the provincial government must legislate how it will be distributed. Bill 31 creates the distribution rules for recreational cannabis. Leveraging the well-established liquor distribution system, the province, will at...
The Balancing Act: Legalizing Cannabis through Bill 30
The Government of Canada is legalizing cannabis. The provincial government must now develop a framework for the legal recreational consumption of cannabis. Bill 30 is the legislation to control and license the newly legalized industry in British Columbia. Critics on both sides have pushed on this legislation. It has...