I have received a few emails and phone calls into my office about Bill 16 and specifically the proposed name change at John Dean Provincial Park on the Saanich Peninsula. As has been widely reported, Bill 16, which is currently working its way through the legislative process, is a response to grade 3 students at the ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱ School. They...
The first ever Wild Salmon Day was held on the B.C. Legislature grounds yesterday. The event is a collaborative effort between the province and the Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) to continue the work of raising the awareness of British Columbians about the critical importance of wild salmon to our province. Premier John Horgan and Minister of...
The BC NDP government is finally calling for a public inquiry into money laundering. Government announced the appointment of B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin F. Cullen to lead the inquiry.Following two weeks of questions at the beginning of this session the B.C. Green Caucus called for an independent public inquiry.The superb investigative work...
A few weeks back I did a two-minute statement about the emergence of territorial acknowledgements over the past few years. The trailblazers have been identifying territory for a bit longer, but this is a new cultural tradition in the long history of our country and province.Frequently, someone will contact me seeking advice on how to do a...
There have been a lot of words about old-growth thrown around from the Minister of Forests recently. The sense I am getting from the flow of correspondence coming to me is that people are not buying the story he is trying to pitch.Here he is quoted from Hansard in response to me in Question Period."We're blessed with amazing forests in this...
The B.C. Green Caucus has been questioning Hon. Doug Donaldson on the continued logging of old-growth on Vancouver Island. 79% of the productive old-growth on Vancouver Island, including over 90% of the high productivity old-growth in valley bottoms, has already been logged. Only 8% of these forests have any...
The BC Green Caucus is committed to changing the current BC NDP approach to managing old-growth forests. These ancient creatures are the largest and oldest on earth. They are a non-renewable resource and while the Minister of Forests claims that his Ministry is developing a management plan they continue to auction of...
The BC NDP government continues to stubbornly defend clear-cutting high productivity old-growth forests. The defense that has been vocalized by the Minister of Forests is that he has a clear understanding of the value of old-growth for biodiversity, but he balances that with an understanding of the economic value of...
On Thursday we finally had the second reading debate for Bill 16, Protected Areas of British Columbia Amendment Act (2019). Each year there is an amendment Bill similar to this one, where government will open up the legislation to make adjustments to park boundaries.In this instance, there are a handful of parks that...
While the glorious sunshine is having a positive effect on the growth of the grass and weeds in my yard, as such, it was no longer meeting modern aesthetic standards. So, this past weekend I decided to bring it into compliance. While toiling in the sunshine, I listened to a new addition to my podcast library, Philosophize This! After ravenously...
We have been asking questions of Minister Michelle Mungall about oil and gas activity in the British Columbia north. There have been responses but few answers. We asked about leaking wells, orphan wells, the purchase of wells by a Chinese company with close ties to the Communist Party of China, and the impacts of...
A common theme for the BC NDP government is affordability. They focus on how they are decreasing the impact of the rising costs in all aspects of our lives. Every announcement is tagged with how they are making life more affordable. Even as a government boasts about the "strong economy", many British Columbians are struggling. While the...
It’s no secret our family doctors are stressed and stretched thin. On the Saanich Peninsula, nearly a third of us do not have a family doctor. Unfortunately, the problem goes much deeper. In the next few years many of the doctors practicing in our communities will retire. There is a crisis in primary health care.I see the people lining the...
Last week the federal government announced comprehensive fisheries closure measures as a response to collapsing Chinook stocks. In my work on the salmon file, the conservation conversation is the most controversial. It is what has all the interest groups under the table fighting over the scraps. Each year there are fewer scraps and the situation...
I spend a lot of time on ferries. As the Member for Saanich North and the Islands my constituents span the Salish Sea from Sidney to Galiano, Mayne, Pender, Salt Spring, and Saturna. Quality ferry service is essential to their lives. Ferries are how they get to school and work every day. It’s how they access...
Food security is increasingly important in a world impacted by climate change. For the second time in as many sessions the BC NDP government is amending the Agricultural Land Commission Act to increase protection of food producing land for agriculture. This is vitally important. But, it is also important that...
There is a growing movement of acknowledging the territory of Indigenous people. It has become a familiar opening to meetings and events run by government.It is an important evolution in Canadian society. But, we must continue to challenge the status quo and demand better. It is critical that we know why we do these...
[UPDATE] I have received a response from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. BC Housing has entered into a lease agreement with a local farmer to harvest hay. The lease has a strong covenant to comply with environmental laws and a related indemnity not to use or permit to be used any harmful or hazardous...
Do you need a family doctor? Approximately one third of my constituents living on the Saanich Peninsula do not have a family doctor. The crisis could become a lot worse as many doctors are close to retirement. This issue is by no means restricted to Saanich North and the Islands. It is an issue felt in communities...
It is not very often that Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) will stand and continue the debate on a Bill at 3rd reading. It's as unusual for MLA's to vote 14 times on a Bill. By 3rd reading most of the substantive work is done. There is a considerable amount of opportunity to debate legislation at 2nd reading....
Wage inequality is an important issue for British Columbians. We often think of this issue as being a 1%/99% issue. But what about in the same workplace? This week the official opposition has been asking questions about contracts and a decision to offer low-wage redress to unionized social-care workers and not offer...
One of the most important aspects of being an elected official is to know what you are voting on. There have been times throughout my decade-long political career when it was clear that one or more of my colleagues clearly did not do their homework. No doubt our work is complex. It requires an inquisitive mind and you have to be a quick learner....
Budget Estimates is an oft-overlooked aspect of our work in the legislature.Once legislators have passed the budget the debate moves to Estimates. This is an opportunity for members of the opposition to ask direct questions to the Minister about their budget.In reality, the questions are wide ranging and rarely stick to just the current budget...
I heard a quote the other day, "They act out of fear of consequence, not out of conscience - Why? because you reward them for it!" CNN anchor and Sirius XM host Chris Cuomo was talking about politicians. Cuomo is brash. This quote comes from the middle of a rant about the political divide in the United States. It was actually very good, perhaps...
After working on the all-Party Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations for the past several months our recommendations were finally made public this week. After having the report for less than an hour Transportation Minister Claire Travena announced that the BC NDP is going to require ride-hailing drivers to...
Over the past 48 hours, I and my B.C. Green colleagues, each spoke to second reading of Bill 10, Income Tax Amendment Act (2019). We are clear. We do not support any further subsidies of the natural gas industry and we will not be complicit in supporting the further subsidization of climate change as the BC NDP have...