Month: June 2022

Public sector workers are in the midst of difficult contract negotiations with the BC government. The workers are reportedly asking for wages to keep up with inflation, but the government hasn’t been willing to come to the table with an offer that reflects the rising cost of living. Public sector workers who have been keeping… View Article

The BC government is holding its annual public consultation on Budget 2023 this June, inviting British Columbians to share their priorities for government investment next year.  On June 14, I presented CCPA-BC’s recommendations to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. Via the BC Legislative Assembly website, you can hear my presentation as… View Article

Weeks stretch to months, months to years as BC government clamps down on information  When debate on the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act began last fall Stephanie Cadieux, then Liberal MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale, was among many to note how British Columbians are waiting longer and longer to obtain information from government… View Article

Months after five killed, experts to determine if failed logging road caused fatal mudslide Seven months after a mudslide killed five people on Highway 99, the provincial Ministry of Forests is launching an investigation into the event, marking the first time that it has indicated that a failed logging road may be behind the tragedy…. View Article

The BC government’s recently completed review of its royalty regime for oil and gas is both anticlimactic and anti-climate. After many months of public engagement—including an independent review, discussion paper, hundreds of public submissions, and a “what we heard” report—the public release is surprisingly brief and the regime remains steadfastly committed to growing oil and… View Article

The cost of living is going up and is putting strains on household finances. BC’s headline inflation rate hit 6.7% in April, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Most of the policy response to rising inflation has emphasized the Bank of Canada raising interest rates to cool down the economy. However, much of the… View Article

More than climate crisis behind last November’s rising waters, death and destruction; experts urge province to make course correction   First of Two Parts When Premier John Horgan declared a provincial state of emergency in the wake of last November’s horrific floods, landslides and deaths, he was quick to name the culprit.  The “never seen before”… View Article

In aftermath of a landslide that killed five, experts say government must act now to avoid more “preventable” deaths Second of Two Parts (read the first) As 2021 drew to a close, Premier John Horgan said many British Columbians would remember it “as the year that climate change arrived on our doorsteps.”  Whether it was… View Article