The B.C. NDP deserves criticism. But the reassembly of the disassembled B.C. Conservative Party offers little confidence that it is ready to govern. Let the Conservatives first demonstrate that they can manage their own party with a measure of cohesion and discipline. Only then can they credibly claim to be prepared to govern an entire province.
Ken Boon, a respected citizen of northeastern BC, is a regular contributor to the newspaper based in Fort St. John. He is concerned about provincial political parties dictating local government policies. This is a recent column by Ken:
When Paul Willcocks writes commentary, I pay attention. The Tyee’s Senior Editor recently asked, “Which Side Is John Rustad On? Following are a few of the points made in The Tyee article…
On February 24, Coquitlam-Maillardville MLA Jennifer Blatherwick made a motion in the BC Legislature asking the House to condemn U.S. President Trump’s proposed tariffs and endorse retaliatory action. Eighty-six MLAs voted YEA, five MLAs voted NAY. The five who oppose Canadians reacting to American provocations were BC Conservatives…
Ms. Comfort Sakoma-Fadugba is no longer a member of the Vancouver Police Board. Her departure resulted from public statements that did not align with the Board’s values. Sakoma’s words may not have been the only issue. She had charged taxpayers $11,300 for a trip to Halifax. (Return air tickets are available for less than $500 and we have more spendthrift functionaries than we need.) Ms. Sakoma’s rambling statements on social media are now deleted. They included:
South Surrey Conservative candidate Brent Chapman was revealed to have called Palestinian children “inbred, walking, talking, breathing time bombs.” Additionally, he agreed with a podcast host from the fringe that what happened at residential schools was a “massive fraud.” Chapman joked about Indigenous kids dying after they’d been forced to leave their family homes. Rustad refused to eliminate Chapman or other Conservative candidates with records of bigotry. He said, “People sometimes make mistakes.”
Right-wing coalitions friendly to big business ruled this province for 52 of the last 72 years. Led by a man removed in 2022 from the Official Opposition caucus for denying established climate science, Conservatives have absorbed BC United, successor to the misnamed BC Liberal Party. After next Saturday, a new government will be formed by the centrist free-enterprise NDP, or the Conservatives, a party that welcomes far-right radicals, fascists, and bigots.
Leaders of BC Ununited Liberals and the radical BC Conservatives have been sharing amorous glances for a while. Now beyond come-hither looks, they are consummating the relationship. The political environment in the province is close to where it was during the Campbell/Clark years. A right-wing coalition opposes the centrist NDP. One difference: the big business alliance now wears nametags that say conservative instead of liberal. Another distinction is the shift toward the alt-right.
BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad told KelownaNow that climate issues are not an existential threat and not a crisis. He said, “Matter of fact, I don’t even think it’s our largest issue that we need to deal with on an environmental side. There are much more pressing issues that we should be focused on.”
Let's ask an expert.. Consider The House of EL’s analysis of “thought” as it functions among the AI and business…
If anything could keep sleep-deprived President Trump busy threatening new tariffs it is likely to be Europe’s decision to remove…
Hi Norm, I think you might find this book review, from the New York Review of Books, interesting. I think…
What’s so hilarious about twenty-first century geopolitics? The irrepressible analytical wit of Sarah Paine! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwDGrLRJhQI
Thanks for this article Norm. The BC Greens are breaking new ground this election by promising to introduce a wealth…