Akimbo is the podcast that changed it all for me. I have written about it a few times now.It’s the reason I began blogging everyday for a year. Seth’s perspective helped re-shape my approach to my personal life and my work.He recently published an episode about sportsmanship. As I listened I could not help but be reminded of the place I work....
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeYZloMtJac[/embedyt] I have definitely appreciated the words of encouragement I’ve received regarding my trip to Wet’suwet’en territory. It's been a challenging week and I thank you for your support. The Wet’suwet’en have a rich and beautiful culture and I was honoured to have the opportunity to learn...
MLA Adam Olsen says Wet’suwet’en supporters have democratic right to protest This week I saw my riding grapple with mixed emotions to the protesters who blocked the Swartz Bay ferry terminal for two hours in what they said was an act of solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs who are opposed to the Coastal Gas Link pipeline currently...
Media AdvisoryFor immediate releaseJanuary 16, 2020VICTORIA, B.C. - B.C. Green Party interim leader MLA Adam Olsen has been invited by the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs to visit their camps in northern B.C. this weekend.“As the new interim leader of the B.C. Green Party, I believe it is important to be engaged on these issues, and I am honoured...
With respect to the ongoing situation in the Wet’suwet’en territory the primary imperative and responsibility of all should be to find a just, peaceful, and respectful resolution. I and my BC Green Party colleagues remain committed to doing whatever we can to help make that happen. This situation is a legacy of Canada’s colonial history. Growing...
Over the past year, I have woven into this blog strands of my personal pursuit for physical, emotional and spiritual well-being together with political philosophy, governance and stories of partisan games-playing. The content here is heavily influenced by my work as a Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, random articles and my...
On many pages of this blog I urge and encourage the provincial government to protect, nurture and enhance ecosystems. I regularly stand in the legislature and address the habitat degradation and wildlife extinctions currently happening in British Columbia. This was brought home for us this holiday season. Silas got a new board game called...
As I prepare to rest my pen for a few days, I was cleaning out the drafts folder in my blog. Over the past year, a few dozen dust bunnies have accumulated and I decided to go through them and see what was there. Among the forgotten posts was one that I thought was worth resuscitating. It's about governance, politics, people, parties and what...
I learned in the early days in elected office that when controversy or disagreement erupts it is best to move toward it. Think of grabbing the hot pan just out of the oven with your bare hand, the natural response is to remove it as quickly as possible for fear of getting burned. In politics, it seems the opposite is true. In my experience when...
Living around the Salish Sea, we are all too familiar with the plight of the Southern Resident Killer Whales. We remember Tahlequah, the orca who carried her dead calf for nearly three weeks in August 2018. It sent a message that captured global attention. The W̱SÁNEĆ people have a very close relationship with the orca whales. They have fished...
For three weeks this Fall the focus in the Saanich schools was on the quality of public education in British Columbia. I received a lot of feedback from my constituents during the labour disruption. One of those messages was from Judy Reimche, a grandmother and a former journalist on the Saanich Peninsula. I decided to share her perspective here...
It was a remarkable week in the Legislature in Victoria.On Tuesday, just two days before the fall session adjourned for the decade, all Members of the British Columbia Assembly voted in favour of Bill 41, The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.The Bill was introduced with much ceremony and celebration on October 24th. Following...
In my final statement of the decade I acknowledge the career and passion of Cathy Cook. From the start of my tour of the Saanich Seed Orchard & Nursery, Cathy demonstrated her deep passion for her work. When I heard she was retiring after nearly four decades of service to our forests I knew I needed to highlight...
Today in Question Period Premier John Horgan characterized me as being "gloomy" for highlighting how climate change is challenging our province. Frankly, I'm gloomy because this week's report from the UN warns we are on the path to 3.2 degrees warming - something one expert described as "terrifying." This legislative...
In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I return to the original format with a conversation with Salt Spring Island folk singer Luke Wallace. As it turns out, Luke had many more questions for me than I had for him. He is a fantastic interviewer! Over the past few years, I have come to know Luke as a powerful advocate for social justice and...
In the past year I have asked the Minister of Health (Hon. Adrian Dix) about the significant challenges my constituents are having getting access to a family doctor. (Oct. 22/18 - What about the family doctor crisis?, Apr. 8/19 - Addressing the crisis in primary care) The BC NDP government has been working with a...
One of the more controversial actions of the provincial government in recent years is the attempt to protect caribou by shooting wolves from helicopters. We can all agree that many caribou herds in British Columbia are at a crisis level. Some herds have gone extinct, some are close to extinction and others are in...
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...
With relief coming to Saanich families and educators as the doors of our public schools are open again and knowledge transfer resumes, I took the opportunity in Question Period to ask a couple of unresolved questions ahead of our deeper look at the future of our public education system in British Columbia. One of the...
Thinking back to my first campaign to be the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Saanich North and the Islands, it was a brief introduction to life on the Southern Gulf Islands. In the time between my first run and my second run my awareness grew. It's only after my election and two years as the provincial representative responsible for the...
(This column was originally published in The Province newspaper on November 5, 2019.) Opinion: For centuries governments tried to exterminate Indigenous peoples and their culture. This bill is designed to do the opposite. As the First Nations Leadership Council and provincial government come together for the annual First Nations Leaders Gathering...
One year before I was elected to the Central Saanich Council table in 2008, my sister Joni was elected to the Tsartlip Council table. She was the first in our family to be elected to a governance table. 12 years later, Joni's name is back on the Tsartlip ballot. It will be her seventh election. That's right: seven elections in 12 years. We elect...
In a recent podcast with my brother-in-law Nick Gilchrist, we discuss the process for bringing a Bill forward, the formal Legislative steps it goes through prior to adoption and the role of the opposition in the process.He asked me if the role of the opposition is to just simply oppose everything the government does?His question highlights an...
Last week, my son Silas spent a day shadowing me. He was available because the schools in our district are shuttered due to a labour dispute. Tuesday evening I made the executive decision that if he was not going to learn at school then I would broaden his experience by letting him see first hand what I do on a daily...
For my first two-minute Members Statement of the 2019 Fall session I celebrated the lives of three incredible constituents of Saanich North and the Islands. This year we have lost Vern Michell, Patrick Lane and Bill Foster. Each have made important contributions to our community and our province. It's certainly...
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...