As I have said repeatedly the BC Legislative Assembly does not function as democratically as it could. The entire agenda is controlled by the party with a majority of Members and that power has been used to shut out private members' from having the legislation they propose, debated and voted on. Significant reforms...
I stood as Third Party House Leader to speak in response to a Ministerial Statement provided by Hon. Anne Kang, Municipal Affairs Minister on the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. [Transcript] I rise today to offer just a few words to the ministerial statement eloquently provided by the Minister of Municipal...
I followed my question on Tuesday, with another on the topic of re-capitalizing the Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICE-T). In her response to my initial question, Minister of Economic Development, Hon. Brenda Bailey pointed to the $33 million REDIP (Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program) as an...
With the announcement of more findings of likely burial sites at the Alberni Indian Residential School, and the similar announcement in January at the St. Joseph's Residential School in Williams Lake, the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, Hon. Murray Rankin, offered a Ministerial Statement about the...
When Melanie Mark was sworn in to the British Columbia Legislative Assembly following her by-election victory in February 2016 her family brought her into the assembly in a good way. Melanie was the first First Nations woman elected as a MLA and the first First Nations woman appointed to Cabinet. Today she announced...
The Island Coastal Economic Trust (ICE-T) has been an important economic initiative supporting communities on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast since it was formed in 2006. Originally capitalized with $50 million dollars (+ $10 million added in 2017) the trust was created as a "spend-down" model. This means that...
February 15 & 16, 2023 were terrible days in the legislature for David Eby's BC NDP government. I have been deeply concerned about how the provincial government has mismanaged the legislative calendar and agenda for months now. I've written about it several times. (BC NDP Must Stop Undermining Democracy and Trust...
For the past week my colleague Sonia Furstenau and I have been asking about resource development, specifically liquefied natural gas (LNG). In this question, I switch from primarily a climate focus to what plan the BC NDP government has for the 18,000 people working on the four mega-projects (LNG Canada, Site C,...
In Members' Statements, I offered a few words to mark the passing of my uncle TEMOSEṈŦET, Dr. Charles Elliott. [Transcript] Today I stand to recognize and honour my uncle, TEMOSEṈŦET, Dr. Charles Elliot. Charles was the preeminent Coast Salish artist. When Charles started to walk his path of artistry 50 years ago,...
The BC NDP have an LNG problem. They have committed to meet our 2030 and 2050 greenhouse gas emissions targets. They have continually promoted the CleanBC climate action plan, calling it "world-leading" and "award winning." They know that the first half of the LNG Canada project currently being built in Kitimat barely...
The Saanich Inlet continues to be threatened by the industrial expansion of a quarry at Bamberton. Despite Minister of Environment, George Heyman's suggestion the environmental assessment (EA) process is working as it should, the only reason and EA is even being considered is because the Saanich Inlet Protection...
Government House Leader Hon. Ravi Kahlon amended the standing orders, the rules which guide the operation of the Legislative Assembly, to switch the order of time for Private Members' motions and statements. These "debates" occur on Monday mornings. While this is a rather innocuous change the reality is that Monday...
The British Columbia government is making the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation a statutory holiday. It was recommended that governments created a day for truth and reconciliation which the federal government did two years ago. In my second reading speech I outline the importance of this day as an opportunity...
As the Coastal GasLink Pipeline construction continues across Northern British Columbia reports of the operators flouting environmental and cultural regulations continue to be made public. As the infractions pile up and the penalties amount to less than a rounding error, Coastal GasLink has just turned the B.C....
In my 2023 Response to the Speech from the Throne I cover a variety of topics including Indigenous relations, housing, healthcare, climate action, biodiversity and ecosystem health. This is by no means a fulsome response to all the topics covered in the Throne Speech but I will highlight other aspects I did not get to...
I introduced several pieces of legislation, including repealing the $10 fee for freedom-of-information (FOI) requests, protecting bear dens, and banning prolonged solitary confinement in corrections facilities. These pieces of legislation are aimed at making British Columbia a more transparent and safer place to be...
Over the last few months, I have written and spoken a lot about the erosion of our democracy because of a lack of respect by our provincial government for established and time-tested legislative processes. Among other offences, they have manipulated the parliamentary calendar for their own partisan purposes, time limited and closed debate on...
In December, thousands of delegates from 192 countries gathered in Montreal for COP15, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. This is a critical topic for world leaders to be discussing. While they negotiate at the global level it is important to recognize that many of the actions that need to be taken to protect biodiversity will...
I am a W̱SÁNEĆ person, living in the W̱JOȽEȽP (Tsartlip) village. We have a familial relationship with the Southern Gulf Islands. For generations, my ancestors lived with, and belonged to, the ṮEṮÁĆES (relatives of the deep) in the W̱SÁNEĆ territory. The ṮEṮÁĆES Revitalization project is important work underway in the Gulf Island communities to...
The BC NDP's 7-year, $800 million proposal to re-build the Royal BC Museum ended up being the most explosive issue of 2022 for the government. It demonstrated a major misunderstanding about museums, highlighting how the sacred items of cultural significance stored on their shelves have been reduced to collectables, just curiosities from another...
Throughout the year, I have repeatedly expressed concerns about how our provincial government has shown contempt for democratic debate and our democratic institutions. This is evident in how they manage legislative agenda. In the legislative assembly, this issue is often seen as "insider baseball," meaning it is important to those who work there,...
ÍY SȻÁĆEL (Good Day), Season’s Greetings and best wishes in 2023! In this final edition of the year, I take an extensive look back at my blog posts and highlight a handful of emerging themes. I am sure there are items missing from this year in review, however, I think you will get a sense of the volume of work ahead in Saanich North and the...
As I write this, world leaders gather in Montreal for the next two weeks for COP15, the United Nations summit on biodiversity. They are discussing our fractured relationship with the natural environment. For my colleague, Sonia Furstenau (MLA, Cowichan Valley) and I in the BC Green Caucus, biodiversity has been a key issue since we signed the...
On Nov. 18, David Eby was sworn in as the 37th premier of British Columbia. The change comes following the resignation of John Horgan and the ensuing leadership event that raised many questions for MLAs and British Columbians alike. Frankly, this change in leadership disrupted a chaotic fall legislative session, one plagued by a mismanaged agenda...