With electoral reform off the table, here are seven ways to build people power in B.C. What do you call a place where 17 per cent of the population votes in a government – whose decisions are directed by unseen lobbyists and bureaucrats? How about a province where citizens pay taxes, which our politicians then […]
Until we reckon with our history of violence and land theft, B.C. will struggle to solve the big problems we face today. In the mid-1850s American miners kidnapped Stó:lō children on the Fraser River to use as slaves, many of whom died. Then the prospectors began to shoot men, women and children to clear the […]
Time for emergency measures, at every level of society, to burn less oil and gas “Our government is working hard every day to build real climate action into everything we do,” Premier John Horgan wrote in fall 2019. That was after more than 100,000 youth climate strikers brought downtown Vancouver to a standstill. “I feel […]
Giant dam for fracking companies could double your Hydro bill The Site C dam was supposed to be a gift from B.C. taxpayers to international fracking companies. We would supply them with cheap electricity, they would blast methane gas out of underground shale rock in the province’s northeast. We would get jobs and revenue, they […]
Voter turnout crashes. The NDP triumphs. Who stands to gain? Winners: NDP strategists Horgan’s election timing was ruthless but effective: the BC Liberals were saddled with a weak leader, the Greens had elected theirs just days earlier – and the public was focused on surviving a pandemic. Horgan offered reassurance, a steady hand on the […]
Lifelong orange voters wrestle with party’s lack of ambition on climate Most BC NDP supporters are surprised to learn the Horgan government has increased oil and gas subsidies by 79 per cent since taking office. When these voters find out, they’re upset – even to the point of changing their vote or cancelling their donations. […]
A political dynasty implodes. Where does this leave progressive voters? The right-wing coalition that dominated B.C. politics for the last two decades is in disarray, with no realistic pathway to winning the election on October 24. The party is stalled in the polls. One candidate has been ejected – more may follow. One party official […]
New Democrats fought corporate welfare for fracking, pipelines. Where’s the party’s “climate caucus” when we need them? Murray Rankin is on his feet, hands outstretched, his voice rising with frustration. It’s February 2019, and the MP for Victoria is grilling the federal Liberals for giving billions of dollars to oil and gas companies in the […]