British Columbia is the first jurisdiction in Canada poised to legislate the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Changing the relationships with Indigenous people in British Columbia was a priority of the BC Greens in the 2017 provincial election. It is a shared priority with our BC NDP colleagues and...
Bill 41, The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, is a critical change for the future of British Columbia.For the first time in the history of our province, we move from the perspective of the denial of Indigenous rights to rights recognition.It’s 2019 and long past due.When the Bill was introduced on Thursday, many of the...
The negotiation between School District #63 and CUPE 441 is complex and has evolved into a seemingly intractable situation. From as best as I can tell it started 40 or 50 years ago. Back then support staff in the District decided to forego wage increases in order to receive a more comprehensive benefits package. It's...
In February 2018 I stood in Question Period twice, and asked the provincial government who was protecting steelhead. I received vague responses, essentially just deflections. Those questions started 18 months of work on fish policy that resulted in our internal policy paper entitled Standing Up for Wild Salmon that...
This week in question period I asked Hon. Doug Donaldson about the impact of the growing risks of climate change on our forests in British Columbia. Public attention is focussing in recent months on the forest industry that is controlled by multi-national corporations shuttering operations, cutting jobs and putting...
This summer, Minister Doug Donaldson announced the appointment of a two-person panel to lead an Old Growth Strategy Review. The panel members, Al Gorley, a professional forester with 45 years of experience, and Garry Merkel, a registered professional forester also with 45 years of experience in the industry, have instructions to lead an Old...
Yesterday was one of the most important days in the history of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and for all British Columbians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike. When the Hon. Scott Fraser stood and introduced the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, it signified the most substantial change in Indigenous relations...
It was a powerful morning in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia with first reading of Bill 41 (The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act). This is the culmination of generations of work by Indigenous leaders to fundamentally change the relationship with the British Columbia government. I will...
As the dust settles on the federal election I raise my hands to all the Green Party of Canada candidates, campaign leaders, volunteers, donors and supporters. Thank you! In the coming weeks it will be clear the how the work of federal Green Party people on the ground in ridings across the country have continued to advance the growth of the...
I spent the past week in Waglisla (Bella Bella) in the Heiltsuk territory on the central coast of British Columbia. Nations from up and down the coast gathered to open the new big house in Waglisla. There has not been a big house in the community for the past 120 years. The Heiltsuk have been talking about and planning for this event for decades....
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...
Talking with a few leaders of First Nations communities in Saanich North and the Islands and on the north coast recently, a common theme emerged: frustration with the federal and provincial government. The theme and the frustration is not new. Indigenous leaders have been expressing this same sentiment for decades. The storyline goes something...
A friend of mine shared this podcast with me. There was a very brief message attached. "I love this podcast so much!" For every other podcast recommendation I've made over the months has come with some context of how the topic, idea or message is alive in my life. I'm just not going to offer anything more than this. Indigenous cultures and...
When Gayle Baker, on behalf of the Salt Spring Community Alliance, visited me in my constituency office to invite me to participate in their grassroots effort to assist Salt Spring Islanders access the services they need, I did not hesitate to offer my support.The unique governance structure of the Southern Gulf Island communities can make it...
Over the past few weeks, I have heard a considerable lack of excitement about the federal election.In my opinion, the single greatest threat to our democracy is voter apathy. A lack of interest in governance between elections is understandable. When this extends to the election period, it is problematic. After writing this post I ran into a...
We have learned that there are considerable issues with how B.C. Timber Sales is operating. It appears that they are not even following their own rules. This is deeply concerning. I have been asking government of the continued liquidation of old-growth, specifically on Vancouver Island, for the better part of the past...
The provincial government has introduced Bill 36, The Gaming Control Amendment Act, 2019. This Bill enacts a commitment made in Budget 2019 that provides $3 billion from gaming funds to First Nations communities over the next 25 years. I spoke to Bill 36 and support this initiative. We know how restrictive program...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...