When it comes to Indigenous relations and forestry, Premier Horgan's words contradict the actions of his government. An exchange with my colleague Sonia Furstenau in budget estimates, exposed Premier Horgan's willingness to leverage the principle of free, prior and informed consent, an important component of reconciliation that we committed to...
The source of uncertainty about lands and resources in British Columbia is rooted in the failure of successive governments to uphold the rights of Indigenous peoples. Let’s be clear – conflict and contention over the land base doesn’t come from honouring human rights, it comes from denying and violating them. For decades British Columbia has...
We have learned about a temporary reprieve with deferrals of old growth logging in Fairy Creek and the Central Walbran. This was achieved in the most difficult way possible: injunctions, protests and arrests. For months my colleague Sonia Furstenau and I have been raising these issues in Question Period and the BC NDP...
This week Premier John Horgan and Minister of Forests Katrine Conroy released their intentions paper to reform the forestry sector in British Columbia. During the announcement Premier Horgan talked about Indigenous sovereignty and pointed to the threat of repeating British Columbia’s colonial past. In doing so, the premier illustrated how his...
Over the past couple of weeks I have asked the BC NDP government why they are not following their own policy on conservation and maps from experts highlighting the last remaining endangered forests that should be deferred as per the old growth review panel recommendations. The responses from the Minister of Forests...
I had the honour of responding on behalf of the BC Green Caucus to the Statement from Minister George Heyman on Earth Day. [Transcript] Today on Earth Day national governments are meeting to announce new climate targets. They acknowledge that a certain amount of global warming is already locked in. This is already...
I have heard frustration from my constituents on the Southern Gulf Islands with the ongoing clear-cut logging in their communities since my election as the provincial representative of Saanich North and the Islands in 2017. Entire forests are falling. Working with my Islands Trust colleagues, we learned that there is...
In my two minute statement I spoke to a critical teaching from my home territory W̱SÁNEĆ about the importance of looking after each other, all species as if they are our relatives. [Transcript] There is an important teaching in W̱SÁNEĆ. We are reminded of the teaching through the stories of the Creator, XÁLS. Landing...
This podcast was originally published on The Green Exchange podcast from the BC Green Caucus on March 19, 2021. This podcast is a MUST LISTEN if you are concerned about old-growth in British Columbia. In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with Ken Wu, the former Executive Director of the Ancient Forest Alliance and the current...
In the rotunda of the British Columbia Legislature there are four murals representing British Columbia's "founding" industries - agriculture, fishing, forestry and mining. While there remains good opportunity in agriculture and mining, the fishing and forestry sectors have been in a state of decline for decades as a result of horrendous resource...
During my brief time in the British Columbia legislature there is no issue that has inspired the level of advocacy from the public as has the protection of old-growth forests. My office has received thousands of emails. Actually, it's not an exaggeration to say I have tens of thousands of emails from British Columbians demanding the protection of...
The Millstream Fishway Project is a collaboration led by the Peninsula Streams Society to restore and reconnect critical salmon and cutthroat trout habitat disrupted by a poorly designed culvert under Atkins Road in Langford, BC. There were many project and funding partners including the local, provincial and federal governments, business...
I grew up fishing with my dad in our boat on the Saanich Inlet. Those experiences inspired my work in the legislature on wild salmon policy and over the next four years that work will definitely continue! The BC Green Caucus got wild salmon on the agenda during the last Parliament and what followed was a $142 million investment from both the...
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYZwZKM1LA4[/embedyt] On Thursday October 8, 2020, I joined BC NDP Environment Minister George Heyman and BC Liberal environment critic (former) Peter Milobar to debate climate policy. The description below is quoted from the Pembina Institute website. If you would like a summary of the 60-minute forum...
The wildlife act should protect animals in British Columbia. Far too often incidents involving the conservation service end with the death of animals. For example many incidents we hear about involving bears could have been avoided all together if there was a much greater focus on preventing human/animal interactions by enforcing wildlife laws...
If you have been following my blog then you might feel this post is just recycling old content. Unfortunately, I am not. The bad news for the wild Pacific salmon is getting worse.This week a CBC reporter asked me to respond to the fact that the Pacific Salmon Commission has downgraded the 2020 Fraser River sockeye salmon forecast from 941,000 to...
The overall health of the Site C project has been classified as "red," facing serious cost overruns and schedule delays. Site C is proving to be a colossal waste of money, and we can't afford to just keep digging when we don't know how deep the hole will go. Today I asked the Minister of Energy,...
Bill 38, the Climate Change Accountability Amendment Act (2019), strengthens the responsibility of the provincial government to take action on reducing emissions and addressing climate change. It is important that government is accountable because trust us is not good climate policy. The Bill establishes the...
Earlier this summer, I wrote about forestry and watershed protection. It was inspired by a visit to the Comox Valley and a number of meetings with concerned citizens and community organizers about the impact of resource harvesting on the drinking water for all the people living in the valley.I pointed to how costly it is likely going to be should...
Thousands of people have contacted my constituency office expressing their deep concern about forestry policy and practices in British Columbia.The messages are either generated from a third party service delivering a form email or they are just independent responses to the daily news and social media posts.Recently I received a nice note from...
There has been a lot of chatter in the public about the collapsing British Columbia forestry industry. In every community I visited this summer, forestry issues were central to the concerns of the people I met with. Many people had worked a full career in the forests and they had very little positive to say about the state of the industry and the...
Last weekend I visited Kelowna, Vernon and Kamloops on a whirlwind three day trip that ended with a tour of the Kamloops Fire Centre. While in Kamloops I had a BBQ with the local BC Green riding association. I took the opportunity to provide an update on our work in the Legislature and had the opportunity to meet Alan Forseth. Alan has been...
Remember when fast food containers were made of styrofoam? Well those days are long gone and public awareness continues to grow with respect to the huge amount of single-use waste collecting in our landfills and recycling depots.In recent times special attention is focussing on the impact of plastic items that are finding their way into our...
A reader's suggestion for a future blog topic was to highlight how climate change is impacting the Saanich Peninsula and the Gulf Islands. The name of this geography, including the ocean in between, is W̱SÁNEĆ. This is the setting of many of my stories.As the request settled into the back of my mind, mixing and churning over, I began paying...
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...
Last weekend we spent a few days in Bamfield. The family weekend on the west coast was a gift from my mom and Tex.It was nice to see my kids, niece and nephews away from their screens and on the dock fishing for piling perch and rock crab. The devices have a way of devouring us these days much the same way as the docks at the Brentwood Inn or...