Prime Minster Justin Trudeau's election pledge (and subsequent confirmation) that Canada will not have another election under first-past-the-post has morphed into a growing controversy.  Trudeau's evident attraction to one option for electoral reform -- the so-called preferential ballot, or instant runoff vote (IRV) -- and ...

To The Editor: January 8, 2016   Premier Christy Clark PO Box 9041 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC V8W 9E1   Dear Premier Clark: The Province’s upcoming submission to the National Energy Board regarding Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain proposal provides an opportunity for your government to show leadership on B.C.’s economic and...

I’ve wracked my brain on this issue, but I can’t see any other way to get the government’s attention on this issue, the issue being what I perceive to be outrageous delays in IIO investigations of officer-involved fatal shootings in our area (for the background story, click here): I think the RCMP members in question […]

Interest payments on government debt in Canada consume substantial shares of taxpayer dollars and come at the expense of other budget priorities, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. The study, The Cost of Government Debt in Canada, finds...

My wife and I saluted the recent passing of former Premier Bill Bennett and reflected on our good fortune to have connected with Socred Governments who were great believers in small “d” democracy. If you flew their colors and supported the party and had an issue it was always the same game plan; people, project, politics....

Newsletter December 2015 I am sending you sound bytes from hunters and outfitters that once again remind British Columbians that scientific driven wildlife management in our province has lost virtually every fight to the political game of maximizing hunting opportunity. To put the stories into scientific wildlife management...

Justin Trudeau is fond of saying "Canada is back," and in some genuinely gratifying ways it seems to be the case.  But by far the most important and substantive evidence for this claim is still missing: an indication that the new government is willing to seriously address the issue that a genuine return to normal rests upon. ...

Resolution can be defined as 'the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose'.  I have oft been described as 'being in a mental state' but more often as lacking in firmness or more aptly ... infirm. I have always hated New Year's.  I make resolutions that I have every intention off keeping but...

'Tis the season of lists and stocking stuffers of economic forecasts. But instead of soothsaying over what could happen in 2016, a look back at B.C.'s economic performance over the past few years might be more illuminating. Deciphering economic forecasts is a murky task anyways, not that interpreting statistics is any less ...

The holiday season is a time to reflect on the value of charity, yet fewer Canadians are donating to registered charities—and those who give are giving less in every province, finds a new study by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. The study, Generosity in Canada and the...