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...
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...
On Sunday, the Times Colonist published Judith Lavoie’s piece about old-growth logging on Vancouver Island. It was first published in The Narwhal a few weeks back. The response from the public was powerful. Working the BC Greens booth at the Saanich Fair, I connected with a lot of people from across the Capital Region. “What are you doing to stop...
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...
The situation I found myself in yesterday morning has not happened much recently. I have been out of the office for the past week enjoying the last of summer break with my family. As a result I put the "pen" down. So, I got home from my morning walk, opened my laptop, and quickly noticed there was no post scheduled for tomorrow (today).Hmmmmm. I...
I write many of these posts on my handheld device. It is a powerful machine. The processing capability grows with each new release as does the storage capacity capturing and keeping huge amounts of information.These devices are a marvel of technology and they have dramatically changed the world in the past decade, putting massive computing...
The northbound exit off the Pat Bay highway onto Keating X Road has always been challenging. It’s the primary access to the Tanner Ridge neighbourhood, the Keating Business Park, Brentwood Bay and world famous Butchart Gardens. Decades ago the District of Central Saanich first raised the danger of this exit with the province as they were looking...
I tend to stay away from federal political stories in this blog. Mostly because there are so many provincial stories that it keep me busy enough.However, I’m a Canadian and a politician. So, I feel it’s impossible to let the latest chapter in the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau/SNC-Lavalin affair go without a comment.Like many Canadians, I’ve been...
This summer has been a particularly difficult one for people who rely on the BC Ferries. For people who just need a ferry to get home, or to a long-anticipated medical appointment, or work, or an endless number of other reasons, the excuses about a complex governance structure created by one government and maintained by another government, are...
Last year, the provincial government announced $500,000 worth of grants to assist First Nations communities to track down and bring home ancestral remains, “artifacts” and other items from museums and collections from around the world. The program allocated up to $30,000 to more than 20 communities to begin the work of bringing these items of...
A friend recently recommended Sean Carroll’s Mindscape Podcast to me. Carroll doesn’t capture my imagination with all of his episodes; however, his conversation with Canadian/American author, filmmaker and educator Astra Taylor sure did.The episode is titled “The Promise and Challenge of Democracy” so it was right in my wheelhouse.I’ve yet to...
We used to help build each other’s barns. When a family was in need of help the community would come together for a good ol’ fashioned barn raising.The church basement once was the main home of community social services. The doors would be open wide to host soup kitchens or a shelter when our neighbours were in need of warmth in their bellies and...
Coming out of the Spring session this past June, I was wholly dissatisfied with my overall health and well-being.There is no comparison to much of the state of my affairs throughout my thirties, however I could see three years' effort beginning to slip away.2016 was a turning point for me. It started with one of those brutally honest...
A little while back, I wrote about a singular memory I have of being surrounded by potted chrysanthemums at the door of a long-gone greenhouse on my families property in Brentwood Bay. It’s one of my earliest and most vivid memories, largely, because my grandpa Ernie is in it. It's the day he advised my parents to name their businesses after the...
Ever heard the saying “can’t see the forest for the trees?” It’s when you are standing too close to something and lack the broader perspective and are not able to see the big picture. Or, if you are looking at things one at a time, you might not see their connection with all the others. You can use this saying as an analogy for literally any...
In the 19th episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I chat with Helen Davis. Helen is a Registered Professional Biologist and owns Artemis Wildlife Consultants. She has been a consultant for the past 27 years. We met at a conference for biologists earlier this year. I was a speaker on a panel about defining the public interest. She had heard of the...
When Minister of Forests, Hon. Doug Donaldson announced that his Ministry was moving to protect 54 trees on the “Old-Growth Registry”, he made another announcement that is giving hope for the tens of thousands of people in British Columbia concerned about how our province is managing the last remaining old-growth forests. He has appointed Garry...
There is no question that access to safe, affordable housing is a big challenge for many British Columbians. Addressing this issue continues to be a central focus of the provincial government and it’s not without controversy. It's an emotional issue because home is a central need for people to establish stability and security in their lives....
Ever heard the saying "can't see the forest for the trees?"It's when you are standing too close to something and lack the broader perspective and are not able to see the big picture. Or, if you are looking at things one at a time, you might not see their connection with all the others.You can use this saying as an analogy for literally any...
As the summer BBQ tour continues and the federal election candidates make the best of the long, hot days on the hustings, the campaign will heat up as September draws closer.“Crazy season” starts when the partisan faithful try every angle to get the edge on their competition. It’s when democratic debate turns into a bare-knuckle prize fight....
Following up on yesterday's post about the chronology of the growth of Greens across Canada, there is a point at the end that deserves a little more attention. It's the notion I raise about voters feeling like they need to settle for "good enough."It goes hand-in-glove with the reality that up until 2011 the Greens were on the outside looking in....
Following my public endorsement of Elizabeth May in the run up to her election as Member of Parliament in Saanich-Gulf Islands in 2011, one of my local government colleagues said to me "Adam. You are a good politician. It's a shame to see you throw away so much of your political capital on somebody that cannot win!"I was an elected Councillor in...
Elections are never really over. They are perpetually the target of politicians and political parties. This is one of the fundamental flaws of our democratic governments. We should spend more time focussing on the process of governing rather than the result of past or future elections. As I said in a recent post, the top priority of some of the...
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...
I recently added stretching and yoga to my morning routine.For a bunch of months I’ve been paying for a smartphone application loaded with body weight and yoga routines. Until last week they did not move me. I'd become incredibly stiff and so I thought it’s time to put it to good use.It all began 13 days ago with lightly stretching my extremely...
Ben Parfitt's Narwhal article "Muddied Waters: how clearcut logging is driving a water crisis in B.C.’s interior", has been open in my web browser for a few weeks. I finally read it on my way home from my recent trip to the Comox Valley. The story is about unsustainable logging practices in watersheds — specifically, watersheds that are providing...