The B.C. government’s claim in the court challenge to medicare that waiting lists don’t harm patients is nothing short of ridiculous
After years of political debate and public frustration, it seems the future of Canadian health care may now depend on the outcome of a decade-long legal battle that’s now in the hands of a B.C. Supreme Court justice. The plaintiffs are Dr. Brian Day, the private Cambie Surgery Centre and four British Columbians who have…
Recent sawmill closures have exposed a raft of problems in the industry and government failure to ensure long-term productivity
Recent sawmill closures in British Columbia have brought to light the need for renewed focus on the mismanagement of B.C. forests over the past decades and what to do about it. That mismanagement is having a significant effect on the B.C. and Canadian economies. If you live in the B.C. interior, where more than 820…
We should be watching the case of B.C. clerk of the legislature Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz very carefully
As the old song says, “money makes the world go round” – at least on the level of material possessions. And money falls into two categories: ours and other people’s. Of course, we’re free to do whatever we wish with our money. We can spend it extravagantly. Or we can take care of it, spending…
The government is trampling on the rights of ride-sharing businesses and their potential customers
Many British Columbians want rides from Point A to Point B and will pay somebody to drive them. Others have access to cars and want to earn money giving people rides. But the provincial government is preventing these mutually beneficial exchanges. The governing New Democrats promised during the 2017 election campaign that British Columbians would…
ICBC represents an asset to the provincial government, which faces deficit problems
By Ian Madsen and Anderson Agbugba Frontier Centre for Public Policy The Insurance Corp. of British Columbia (ICBC) has recently suffered significant losses. These losses have been offset by transfers from its optimal business. But without transfers, the basic business capital would have fallen below the regulatory minimum. Even worse, optimal business has also suffered…
No electoral system has a monopoly on either preventing or fostering far right parties
By Seth Klein and Vyas Saran Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Endlessly repeating that proportional representation should be rejected because it will enable far right or extremist political parties is clearly a core assertion of the No side in B.C.’s electoral reform referendum debate. It’s a bogus claim. No electoral system has a monopoly on either…
In all three models being considered in the B.C. referendum, every MLA will be accountable to either a local riding or region
Local representation in our democracy matters to most of us, and rightly so. While our current first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system has many faults, one of its most popular features is that every member of the legislative assembly represents – and, in theory, is accountable to – a local constituency. To speak with a political representative…
Former NDP Premiers Glen Clark and Ujjal Dosanjh may be against electoral reform, but retired lawyer Ian MacLeod expresses his opposition best
We’re in the midst of a mail-in referendum in British Columbia that could dramatically change – and not for the better – how democracy does or doesn’t work in the province. We should really suspect that something is wrong with the proposed changes when people from both major political parties are opposed to the initiative,…
Replacing the existing system with proportional representation will result in a government of chaos
The B.C. referendum on how citizens elect those who govern them is fast approaching. The current system has given us viable government for a long time. But like most things in the real world, it’s not perfect. Those who live in a riding that’s considered safe for a party other than the one they choose…
B.C.’s Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner is a watchdog that barks public interest but whose bite is about self-interest
The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) was created to provide independent civilian oversight over municipal police forces in British Columbia. But a string of recent cases shows the OPCC is more about overreach than oversight. I know. I was one of the cases. This summer, after 40 years of unblemished service with the…
After years of political debate and public frustration, it seems the future of Canadian health care may now depend on the outcome of a decade-long legal battle that’s now in the hands of a B.C. Supreme Court justice. The plaintiffs are Dr. Brian Day, the private Cambie Surgery Centre and four British Columbians who have…
