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Column: #MySalmonStory
I tell salmon stories often. I am a Brentwood kid who grew up on the water; just one in a long line to fish the Salish Sea. We come by it honestly, descendants of the Coast Salish reef-netters, the Pacific salmon are part of our family. So many of us who live in Saanich North and the Islands have fished these waters. Salmon are a vitally...
013 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Banning Big Money)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jASfUu5AfVs[/embedyt] Episode 013 - The Public Circle LIVE! (Banning Big Money) Friday, May 11, 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...
Protecting rental housing stock with zoning through Bill 23
Bill 23 creates residential rental tenure zoning. The initiative is perhaps the first of its kind provides local governments a tool to ensure important rental housing assets remain rental housing and that town councils can identify areas to zone future rental housing. The Bill amends the Local Government Act and the...
Expanding park land and reattaching Indigenous names through Bill 19
Indigenous place names have marked and identified important locations throughout British Columbia for countless generations. Following contact and settlement of European people new names were added and signs were erected. Bill 19 expands parkland and begins to reattach Indigenous place names to those important places....
Drugged driving enforcement tightens with Bill 17
With the legalization of cannabis coming later this summer, the federal government has but the provincial government's under considerable strain to ensure that our laws are consistent. Unfortunately, much of the federal framework is still unknown greater an even bigger problem for the province's. Ending drugged...
Housing needs assessment to be mandated through Bill 18
The BC Greens campaigned on evidence-based decision-making. We have often criticized government for making a political decision, or decisions that benefit a donor. Bill 18 is mandating local governments to complete and publish a housing needs assessment every five years. The goal of this legislation is to collect data...
Supporting the future of commercial fishing in British Columbia
The quota system implemented by the federal government has essentially privatized a public natural resource. The result has been that large corporations have purchased the quotas consolidating them and making it harder for owner operators and smaller operations to compete. Since moving in this direction there are far...
WSANEC protecting wild salmon for generations
For the past several months I have stood several times in the legislature in defence of wild Pacific salmon. Folks might be wondering why? As a person of W̱SÁNEĆ heritage, I come from an ancient line of reefnet (SW̱OLE) fishermen. We have strong teachings about our relationship with all living things around us, even...
012 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Email Roundup)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS2OySHIQwk[/embedyt] Episode 012 - The Public Circle LIVE! Friday, May 4, 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...
011 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Natural Resources)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0B1Dg6DGWI[/embedyt] Episode 011 - The Public Circle LIVE! (Natural Resources) Friday, April 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 British Columbia politics and...
Resource Works “mutilates the truth” to no one’s benefit
Apparently the truth is not a necessary component when claiming someone else is "mutilating the truth." In an attempt to smear the BC Green Caucus for standing up for what is in the interest of British Columbia, Resource Works has published a blog post about a question I asked in Question Period on Monday April 23, 2018. In the process, they let...
Protecting wild salmon and fish farms transition plan
I have made it abundantly clear, I care a lot about wild salmon. It is the most important renewable natural resource on the coast of British Columbia. The provincial government is waffling on whether they are going to extend or cancel the permits for the open net pen fish farms in the Broughton Archipelago. They could...
Fossil fuels and fish in a resource colony
Canada and British Columbia continue to act like resource colonies, supplying the world with raw resources. It has not always been like that we once had bustling coastal and rural communities that refined natural resources, adding value and manufacturing made in British Columbia products. So, while we chase Kinder...
010 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Wild Salmon)
010 - The Public Circle LIVE! (Wild Salmon) Friday, April 20, 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...
Seeking fairness in PTSD and workplace stress gap
Historically, as women enter professions, they have seen a reduction in both pay and prestige. This has been the case across the spectrum and is now being repeated in the attention to their mental health has received. While the gender pay gap is well known, the gender PTSD and workplace stress gap is less so. Work...
Addressing renovictions in Bill 12
Government has introduced a Bill to address the growing problem with renovictions and compensating tenants who are evicted due to renovations, demolitions and manufactured home park closures. Balancing the need to upgrade rental units and keep housing affordable in an environment where the market is out of control is...
Talking agriculture in Saanich North and the Islands
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neLDGQQo0QI[/embedyt] I hosted my latest Community Dialogue last Saturday, this time we talked about agriculture. It was an excellent event with about 30 people in attendance. We covered a lot of ground and my staff took notes of the conversation. Finding solutions to increase food soveriegnty will...
Protecting British Columbia’s coastline, the economy and people!
Protecting our coastline I responded to a Private Members' Motion that was originally put forward by MLA Dan Davies (Peace River North). As Mr. Davies is away, MLA Peter Milobar (Kamloops-North Thompson) put the motion on the floor. The motion is as follows... Be it resolved that this House urge the Government of B.C....
009 – The Public Circle LIVE! (Kinder Morgan, Rental Housing)
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkwBNTOyMVs[/embedyt] Episode 009 - The Public Circle LIVE! Friday, April 13, 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...
Lots of gas on low-carbon future!
This week in question period I and my BC Green Caucus colleagues, Andrew Weaver and Sonia Furstenau, focussed our line of questioning on the natural gas industry. In late March, the provincial government announced an aggressive package of incentives to LNG Canada to attract a final investment decision on their project in Kitimat, BC. In fact, the...
Bill 13 (2018) – British Columbia government reviewing just-cause firings
You might remember the controversial firings of health researchers in 2012. It ended very poorly! Bill 13 amends the Public Service Act implementing recommendations empower the Merit Commissioner to review just-cause firings. In summary, four health workers were publicly dismissed and the government announced that...
Corporate welfare for LNG is wrong direction
Corporate welfare expanding... This week in Question Period my colleagues, Andrew Weaver and Sonia Furstenau, and I have been asking the government about their energy policy which is nothing more than an extension of the BC Liberals policy. Instead of establishing a visionary transformation to a low-carbon 21st...
1.5 million reasons to find solutions for renters and landlords
Balancing landlord and tenant rights I am pleased to join the Rental Housing Task Force. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson wants the task force to look into the Residential Tenancy Act and seek ways to balance landlord and tenant rights with the goal of increasing the rental housing stock. These are complex issues. There are...
Sorry sockeye… sorry children!
There is a shocking and growing disconnect between human beings and all the other species that we share planet earth with. It is time to sharpen the edge, sharpen the focus and apologize to our ancestors and frankly do better for our children and grandchildren. Thank you to Emily Olsen for sharing these beautiful...
Episode 008 – The Public Circle LIVE!
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gINYz_RMJ-8[/embedyt] Episode 008 - The Public Circle LIVE! Friday, April 5, 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...
“Change the World” with Guy Dauncey and Adam Olsen
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQSlM9EKodM[/embedyt] April 3, 2018 Change the World host Guy Dauncey discusses the future of BC’s wild salmon with Adam Olsen, member of the Tsartlip First Nation, and Green Party MLA for Saanich North and the Islands. View Shaw TV Nanaimo YouTube channel. This post is part of my work in the BC...