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B.C. Politics Thread


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1 hour ago, Bob Long said:

 

not really tho, just moved the billing. We pretty much still have 900,000 people needing a primary care physician, which isn't significantly different from when they took over. 

 

 

I'd argue Sim has done more for Vancouver in 18 months. 

 

 

yep, nice announcement today with the feds delivering a ton of money. But thats the feds, not Eby.

 

Do you think either right wing party will improve health care in BC?

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14 minutes ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

We agree on that.  The problems are so complex  but it seems Falcon is making promises he can't keep while Eby is being realistic.

 

Falcon :picard: he's such a bad choice.

 

I don't agree that Eby is being realistic. Caution or inactivity can appear realistic.

 

My biggest concern moving forward is the adoption of undrip and the land use changes, if they screw that up I think it sets up conflict with first Nations and rural communities for no good reason.

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18 minutes ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

We agree on that.  The problems are so complex  but it seems Falcon is making promises he can't keep while Eby is being realistic.

Falcon is just like PP. He is going to fix everything. How, we have no idea. 

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2 minutes ago, Spur1 said:

Falcon is just like PP. He is going to fix everything. How, we have no idea. 

 

I think he's going grocery shopping?

 

It pisses me off that they chose him. I think it's going to create two things: a polarization of BC parties as the libs are going to be destroyed, and a rural urban divide in BC politics.

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2 hours ago, 112 said:

Interesting - why do you hope she loses? As someone who's dealt with homelessness and associated struggles, she's one of the few politicians I look at as having a reasonable approach to these types of issues and I'd like to see her continue in office.

She has been in office for 7 years representing the riding I was born in and returned home to. She has accomplished nothing for us. She seemed to put the entire fight against toxic waste in Shawnigan Lake in her basket like it was her doing it, rode that to election in the Valley and has done nothing with the seat. We need a voice for Cowichan that has ambitions to actually do something with the pulpit rather than sit in it, get her golden pension and move on. For the record she is going to run in another riding that has a 55% NDP support level, likely to lose therefore and fade off into the family life for another 11 years and then cash that pension in at 65 (OR if she wins, another four or five years in office will add another 25k a year to that pension when she is 65). I have no faith in her as an MLA OR as the Green Party of BC leader. FWIW I have voted Green in BC more often than NDP, by a wide margin. She lost me. 

 

her wikipedia page is four paragraphs and three sentences long. That is a great analogy for her time in office. Nothing to show for it. 

 

She knows she can't win in the Valley again after such a pitiful performance for 7 years and is now Victoria-Beacon Hill's problem. Enjoy. 

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12 minutes ago, Optimist Prime said:

She has been in office for 7 years representing the riding I was born in and returned home to. She has accomplished nothing for us. She seemed to put the entire fight against toxic waste in Shawnigan Lake in her basket like it was her doing it, rode that to election in the Valley and has done nothing with the seat. We need a voice for Cowichan that has ambitions to actually do something with the pulpit rather than sit in it, get her golden pension and move on. For the record she is going to run in another riding that has a 55% NDP support level, likely to lose therefore and fade off into the family life for another 11 years and then cash that pension in at 65 (OR if she wins, another four or five years in office will add another 25k a year to that pension when she is 65). I have no faith in her as an MLA OR as the Green Party of BC leader. FWIW I have voted Green in BC more often than NDP, by a wide margin. She lost me. 

 

her wikipedia page is four paragraphs and three sentences long. That is a great analogy for her time in office. Nothing to show for it. 

 

She knows she can't win in the Valley again after such a pitiful performance for 7 years and is now Victoria-Beacon Hill's problem. Enjoy. 

My riding.  Guess that sets my vote in stone with that.

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42 minutes ago, Optimist Prime said:

She has been in office for 7 years representing the riding I was born in and returned home to. She has accomplished nothing for us. She seemed to put the entire fight against toxic waste in Shawnigan Lake in her basket like it was her doing it, rode that to election in the Valley and has done nothing with the seat. We need a voice for Cowichan that has ambitions to actually do something with the pulpit rather than sit in it, get her golden pension and move on. For the record she is going to run in another riding that has a 55% NDP support level, likely to lose therefore and fade off into the family life for another 11 years and then cash that pension in at 65 (OR if she wins, another four or five years in office will add another 25k a year to that pension when she is 65). I have no faith in her as an MLA OR as the Green Party of BC leader. FWIW I have voted Green in BC more often than NDP, by a wide margin. She lost me. 

 

her wikipedia page is four paragraphs and three sentences long. That is a great analogy for her time in office. Nothing to show for it. 

 

She knows she can't win in the Valley again after such a pitiful performance for 7 years and is now Victoria-Beacon Hill's problem. Enjoy. 

So we were born in the same place

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17 hours ago, King Heffy said:

Also the crackdown on Airbnb.  I'd like them to do more, but kicking them out sure won't make things better.

 

17 hours ago, Bob Long said:

 

This was a very good move.

 

The main thing I don't like about it is how it's also appears to be blocking individual owners from having say a vacation property that they use part time, and would not be available for long term rental anyway. I, a private owner should be able to own a cabin, condo etc that I use part time, and rent it out to other people when I'm not. It's my own bloody property. 

 

By all means though, investment groups buying up housing stock and AirBNB'ing it was a major issue. Though I do also worry a bit about how this effects the film and television industry, who IIRC rely heavily on AirBNB's for short term housing to crews, cast etc.

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24 minutes ago, aGENT said:

 

 

The main thing I don't like about it is how it's also appears to be blocking individual owners from having say a vacation property that they use part time, and would not be available for long term rental anyway. I, a private owner should be able to own a cabin, condo etc that I use part time, and rent it out to other people when I'm not. It's my own bloody property. 

 

By all means though, investment groups buying up housing stock and AirBNB'ing it was a major issue. Though I do also worry a bit about how this effects the film and television industry, who IIRC rely heavily on AirBNB's for short term housing to crews, cast etc.

 

I thought there were exceptions for that kind of stuff? 

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No cuts to people or services, but B.C. budget deficit to rise, finance minister says

British Columbia Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says the budget she tables on Thursday will protect services and won't raise taxes for ordinary residents, but she also forecasts an increased deficit because "it's the right thing to do." 

 

The minister says the time is not right for the NDP government to bring cuts when most people are facing rising costs for housing, food and other daily staples.

 

She says the budget will address health care, middle-class housing, a clean economy and incentives for small business.

 

Conroy says she couldn't pinpoint the size of the deficit, which was projected to reach $5.6 billion late last year, but the budget's long-term outlook forecasts deficit declines.

 

The government's budget comes less than nine months before a provincial election in the province. 

 

Conroy, who describes herself as a frugal person, says she will be breaking with tradition for the second year in a row by not wearing a new pair of shoes when she delivers the budget.

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22 hours ago, Bob Long said:

My biggest concern moving forward is the adoption of undrip and the land use changes, if they screw that up I think it sets up conflict with first Nations and rural communities for no good reason.

Quote

B.C. walks back Land Act amendments, says further engagement needed to show ‘real benefits’

 
FILE - The BC Legislature in Victoria.
FILE - The BC Legislature in Victoria. (CityNews Image)
   

Posted February 21, 2024 1:51 pm.

 

The B.C. government is putting a stop to proposed changes to its Land Act that would have given Indigenous groups more autonomy in public land agreements.

 

The province says the halt to changes came from the feedback it received, including the need to “further engage with people and demonstrate the real benefits of shared decision-making in action.”

 

“We want to get this right and move forward together,” said Nathan Cullen, minister of water, land, and resource stewardship.

 

The amendments, which would also have aligned the act with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), had come under scrutiny. Critics included BC Conservative Leader John Rustad, who called them “an assault on your private property rights and your water access.”

 

“Over the past several weeks, I have had the opportunity to discuss proposed amendments to the Land Act with over 650 representatives of stakeholder groups representing tens of thousands of British Columbians, from mining, forestry, oil and gas and clean energy, cattle ranchers, to adventure tourism operators, snowmobilers, hunters and anglers, and many others,” Cullen said in a statement.

 

“From the very beginning of this process, I promised that we would listen and take the time to get any changes right. That our focus was to make it easier to work together with First Nations and provide more opportunities for better jobs and a stronger future.

 

“In conversations with these groups, many were surprised to learn that the claims being made about the proposed legislation by some were not true and that there would be no impacts to tenures, renewals, private properties or access to Crown land,” Cullen continued, referencing false claims that First Nations in the province would have a “veto” power to determine how Crown land is used.

“Some figures have gone to extremes to knowingly mislead the public about what the proposed legislation would do. They have sought to divide communities and spread hurt and distrust. They wish to cling to an approach that leads only to the division, court battles, and uncertainty that have held us back,” he said.

The amendments were introduced under the guise that the province would be able to negotiate agreements with First Nations and Indigenous governments and “begin sharing decision-making on public land use” come spring.

 

According to the government, the proposed amendments also sought to: Help the province, First Nations, communities, industry, and the public work together, where interests are aligned, with a focus on large resource projects or strategic level planning to deliver economic opportunities; Update the act so that it legally recognizes the ability to create shared decision-making agreements, as has already been done in the Environmental Assessment Act, and the Forest & Range Practices Act; and “move us toward respectful partnerships that foster predictability, good jobs and opportunities, while respecting the rights of First Nations.”

 

Cullen went on to say that throughout the conversations the province had with stakeholders, “the vast majority” said they want “reconciliation to work.”

 

“We will continue to engage with people and businesses, and do the work to show how working together, First Nations and non-First Nations, can help bring stability and predictability, and move us all forward,” the minister explained.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/02/21/bc-land-act-changes-feedback/

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17 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

 

thats a relief. It was looking to me like another Victoria museum debacle but on a provincial scale. 

 

I definitely appreciate this government's ability to listen to feedback and change course when necessary.

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9 minutes ago, King Heffy said:

I definitely appreciate this government's ability to listen to feedback and change course when necessary.

 

Yep in this case for sure.

 

I do think that this was bubbling up as a major election issue which I suspect a big part of the walk back. Might be too late in some rural areas tho 

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B.C. election budget boosts family benefits as deficit soars to $7.9 B

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/02/22/bc-budget-2024-tax-spending/

 

 

More in the link

 

 

 

 

 

 

Families and small businesses in British Columbia will benefit from an election-year budget that boosts spending, while forecasting a ballooning deficit of $7.9 billion and economic growth that falls below one per cent.

 

The budget delivered by Finance Minister Katrine Conroy also includes a flipping tax on housing to deter short-term market speculators.

 

Conroy says B.C. is an economic leader in Canada but a slowing economy and increasing housing and grocery costs mean people are stretched and need help.

 

She says the budget includes a one-year boost to the B.C. Family Benefit giving eligible low-and-middle-income families an extra $445 over a year on average, as well as a one-time electricity credit saving households an average of $100.

 

Conroy says increasing the payroll threshold for the Employer Health Tax means an estimated 90 per cent of businesses will now be exempt.

She also says one cycle of free in-vitro fertilization will be provided to anyone who wants to start a family, regardless of income, “who they love, or whether they have a partner.” 

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4 minutes ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

B.C. election budget boosts family benefits as deficit soars to $7.9 B

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/02/22/bc-budget-2024-tax-spending/

 

 

More in the link

 

 

 

 

 

 

Families and small businesses in British Columbia will benefit from an election-year budget that boosts spending, while forecasting a ballooning deficit of $7.9 billion and economic growth that falls below one per cent.

 

The budget delivered by Finance Minister Katrine Conroy also includes a flipping tax on housing to deter short-term market speculators.

 

Conroy says B.C. is an economic leader in Canada but a slowing economy and increasing housing and grocery costs mean people are stretched and need help.

 

She says the budget includes a one-year boost to the B.C. Family Benefit giving eligible low-and-middle-income families an extra $445 over a year on average, as well as a one-time electricity credit saving households an average of $100.

 

Conroy says increasing the payroll threshold for the Employer Health Tax means an estimated 90 per cent of businesses will now be exempt.

She also says one cycle of free in-vitro fertilization will be provided to anyone who wants to start a family, regardless of income, “who they love, or whether they have a partner.” 

 

I would have liked to see more on how the NDP plans to grow the economy to pay for this, but this part I liked:

 

-First Nations Equity Financing Framework-

Equity financing opportunities are among the promises in Budget 2024. The budget says the First Nations Equity Financing Framework is just one measure as part of its “commitment to co-develop with First Nations a new fiscal relationship that supports the self-determination and operation of First Nations governments, aligned with rights and principles in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”

 

 

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1 hour ago, The Arrogant Worms said:

B.C. election budget boosts family benefits as deficit soars to $7.9 B

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/02/22/bc-budget-2024-tax-spending/

 

 

More in the link

 

 

 

 

 

 

Families and small businesses in British Columbia will benefit from an election-year budget that boosts spending, while forecasting a ballooning deficit of $7.9 billion and economic growth that falls below one per cent.

 

The budget delivered by Finance Minister Katrine Conroy also includes a flipping tax on housing to deter short-term market speculators.

 

Conroy says B.C. is an economic leader in Canada but a slowing economy and increasing housing and grocery costs mean people are stretched and need help.

 

She says the budget includes a one-year boost to the B.C. Family Benefit giving eligible low-and-middle-income families an extra $445 over a year on average, as well as a one-time electricity credit saving households an average of $100.

 

Conroy says increasing the payroll threshold for the Employer Health Tax means an estimated 90 per cent of businesses will now be exempt.

She also says one cycle of free in-vitro fertilization will be provided to anyone who wants to start a family, regardless of income, “who they love, or whether they have a partner.” 

Fuck families...you don't have the money don't have kids! Where is my not a drain on the system check!! 





I am kidding...mostly 😉 

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19 minutes ago, Gnarcore said:

Fuck families...you don't have the money don't have kids! Where is my not a drain on the system check!! 





I am kidding...mostly 😉 

 You get it as sort of a reverse rebate, G....

 

No future bills for dance classes, skating lessons, prom dresses (I've bought three of those things and they were used for a grand total of three nights) etc., etc., etc.....

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