Earlier this summer, I invited people to participate in the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Strategy consultation and engagement on plastic waste and recycling. British Columbians are good recyclers but we need to do better and the Ministry is working to that end. I’ve discussed recycling, packaging and plastic waste a few times in...
It’s an interesting situation we find ourselves in regarding climate change and climate action. It is the collective decisions of politicians, the recommendations of their advisors and the whole governing institutions that has got us to the point we are at today: increasing temperatures, melting ice, collapsing ecosystems and mass extinction....
Over the past few years I have been honoured with the opportunity to speak at the Orange Shirt Day ceremony at Centennial Square in Victoria. The event is organized by Eddie Charlie and Kristen Spray and hosted by Mayor Lisa Helps and the City of Victoria. Each year the crowd has grown and with each annual event courageous survivors of the...
During the Union of BC Municipalities convention I attend Ministerial meetings in support of my local government colleagues. This year, the District of Central Saanich coordinated a meeting with the Minister of Education Hon. Rob Fleming, and Greater Victoria Public Library Chief Administrative Officer, Maureen Sawa.The meeting was part of a...
My Tax the Robots? post, inspired a lot of response on social media. There is a variety of comments including a few questioning why I was using a self checkout machine in the first place. Good question! A few days later, while looking to add a little more variety to my podcast library, I decided to check out the CBC show The Debaters. It's always...
Over the past several months, I’ve been clear about my concerns with the continued logging of high productivity old-growth. This past Spring, the B.C. Green Caucus called for a moratorium on logging old-growth hotspots on Vancouver Island as an initial step.I think it is important to clarify, though, that there is some old-growth that I fully...
As we near the autumn equinox, I would like to share a brief update with you and take a closer look at the two halves of my work as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. For about half of the year, my work is based out of the Legislature in Victoria. There is a spring session and a fall session. In February, we begin a four-month stretch sitting...
Do you know a student currently in K-12 in British Columbia?Her Honour Lt. Governor Janet Austin has partnered with the British Columbia Legislative Assembly to create the Democracy & Me Art Contest.I believe it’s important to get youth participating in our democracy and encouraging them to think about how they can improve their communities...
I was standing at the self check-out at the grocery store the other day thinking about an article I read a couple of years back.It featured a short video and transcript of Bill Gates making the case for taxing the robots.I noticed four check-out stations staffed by a single employee. On a busy afternoon in the past, those four stations would need...
Over the past few years, I’ve been mulling the difference between politics and governance. If you have been at one of my public presentations, then you’ve likely heard me working this topic over. It’s also appeared in various forms in my blog as well. As we stumble through this federal election, we see the politics on full display. The discourse...
One of the reasons I love podcasts so much is because I often learn that my initial judgement based on the title alone is way off.There is usually something in the content that catches my attention, or I learn something I did not expect to, a little gem hiding in the rough that deserves some further thought.I remember needling my former...
You might have read an article last month about a Salt Spring Island robotics company that made the first drone delivery of emergency medical supplies. The project was a partnership between Canada Post, London Drugs and InDro Robotics. InDro is one of only three companies in Canada that is approved to complete “Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight”...
As we head into the Fall, I’ve been hearing from constituents again about the healthcare challenges on the Saanich Peninsula. The challenges with the current system didn’t magically disappear over the summer and in fact there have been some tragic cases presented to me that are a result of the ongoing struggle people are having with primary care...
You have likely heard of Greta Thunberg, but have you heard of Wangari Maathai? Maathai told a version of Greta's story in this video published back in 2010, long before Greta began her work. The story Maathai told is much, much older. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGMW6YWjMxw[/embedyt] I first heard of Maathai when reading...
The caribou are going extinct. Fire up the chopper, load the rifle, Shoot the wolves! Never mind the caribou have no cover of old-growth canopy. Or, that the old-growth tree is home to lichen to which the caribou have taken a liken’. Naw! Shoot the wolves! Ignore that we’ve hacked and slashed the caribou habitat, ransacked and left it devastated,...
On my morning walk I got to thinking back to my decision to resign from the Central Saanich Council table to run in the 2013 Provincial election for the BC Greens.The decision to resign was triggered by one of my colleagues who moved out of the country and the reality that the District needed to hold a by-election. This allowed me to be clear...
The growing public discourse about climate change is having a dramatic impact on people. We are beginning to hear more and more about increasing eco-anxiety. The concern is not unfounded; however, paralysis from an overwhelming sense of dread is not helpful and so we must find a healthy balance between informing people of the emergent challenges...
As we mark the 12th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), we hear from Premier John Horgan that government will be introducing legislation this fall that formalizes the transformation of relationships with Indigenous people in British Columbia. A lot of credit needs to go to...
The federal and provincial governments, along with the District of Central Saanich, are investing $43 million to construct a flyover exit for the northbound lanes of the Pat Bay highway at Keating X Road. The is big news and a welcome investment in transportation safety on the Saanich Peninsula.This project is decades in the making. When I was...
I enjoy the sunshine and summers’ warmth. However... I love the cool Autumn rains of the north west coast. Branta canadensis fly in full formation overhead spreading the message - Socked fog mornings, dense and moist, are close at hand. Crisscrossing Saanich, they commune in fields and estuaries, preparing for their long flight south. The first...
The Public Circle Podcast is back!After a few weeks off in August, I start things off with a conversation with my wife and partner, Emily Olsen, about the second edition of The Connection Project on October 4th in the Charlie White Theatre at the Mary Winspear Centre.For many years, Emily has faced the challenges of depression. There have been...
This week I met with a group of passionate advocates on Salt Spring Island who are deeply concerned about the clear cutting of forests on private land. There is a long history of logging on the Gulf Islands and, despite the Islands’ Trust mandate to “preserve and protect” the islands for the benefit of all British Columbians, there is seemingly...
I met hundreds of people who stopped by the BC Greens tent at the Saanich Fair on Labour Day weekend. We talked about a lot of different topics and covered a lot of ground. One group I met were from an advocacy organization called Access BC - a youth-run initiative to get free prescription contraceptives for all British Columbians, similar to...
Yesterday, I shared a post about an enjoyable experience I had sharing a meal with someone from another political party. In our highly partisan world, we have to find a way to balance our differing opinions while maintaining our principles and our integrity.Have you watched Hasan Minhaj’s takedown of Canada through his interview with Prime...
I attended a wedding recently. The couple are a fascinating example of a modern blended political family. They represent both sides of the traditional political spectrum and everything in between.Emily and I sat at a table with an equally intriguing mix of friends, family and political operatives. It didn’t take long for us to realize that we...
Pffft. It’s all good. No hurry, do it later.... There was a time not too long ago that I was in no hurry to do much. My life was ruled by vicious cycles of a time of procrastination followed by a time of mad scrambles. Generally, I was able to accomplish my to do list but it was not without challenges. I can clearly remember some Sunday evenings...