New political program gains perspectives on range of themes from Skeena's MLA Ellis Ross

Skeena MLA Ellis Ross was a recent guest of a new British Columbia
political talk show speaking to a range of themes on BC Poli-Talk

The Northwest gained some attention from a new political interview program out of Victoria this week, as Skeena MLA Ellis Ross  appeared on Poli-Talk, the recenlty launched political talk program that is hosted by journalists Daniel Fontaine and Bill Tieleman.

In the February 3rd edition, the Skeena MLA outlines a range of thoughts on LNG Development, how he views the recently adopted UNDRIP legislation in British Columbia, as well as issues such as reconciliation and the rural/urban divide.

"My perspective, there is a divide, the urban population doesn't understand how tough it is for those of us in rural areas, we have different affordability issues we have different issues we are trying to tackle, especially the emerging population regarding aboriginals ... the rural population also has to understand what the urban population is going through "

On the Coastal GasLink issue, Mr. Ross reviewed some of his past themes to the politics of LNG.

"The politics surrounding the LNG have been going on for like ten years. My solution is number one to get the politics out of it and get all the outside influence out of it. Really, what you're talking about at the community level is representation, that's what you're talking about. That community is struggling with that and right now there doesn't seem to be a way, or a vehicle for that community to answer who represents them"

Towards how to settle that representation issue for the Wet'suwet'en, Mr. Ross noted that it may take a referendum, or court challenge to come to a solution towards a final determination on the theme.

"I think that the community, when push really comes to shove, where the community is actually forced to answer it they are going to have to have a referendum, or they will have to go to court. There is no government that is going to be willing to come in and say I've got a process for you to determine who represents you. There's too many vagaries here, there's the Indian Act, there's Rights and Title interests, there's too much. So it really comes down to the community what they think and the membership in fact, the membership is going to have to have a say"

The expansive half hour and a bit covered much more material on provincial issues, with the Skeena MLA providing for a range of observations on a variety of themes, among the most interesting some personal notes on themes of aboriginal incarceration and social issues particularly of interest, offering a first hand view of the many issues from his community and others across BC.

He also makes note of some of the themes that resonate not only in Skeena, but in both the North Coast and Stikine regions of the Northwest.

His appearance and thoughtful review of the topics should serve to continue to raise his profile on the provincial scene.

You can review the full discussion with hosts Fontaine and Tieleman below:





You can explore some of the past editions of the program from the BC Poli-Talk website

For more notes related to the work of the Skeena MLA see our archive page here.

North Coast issues are explored on our Legislature archive page here, and you can get a wider overview of provincial issues from our political portal D'Arcy McGee.