BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau speaking in the Legislature on the final day of the spring session on June 2nd. The BC Greens have launch a summer long listening tour to hear concerns on health care from British Columbians
The extensive tour was announced last Thursday and provides for a full month of stops for the pair of Green Party members to give them opportunity to hear from health care workers, advocates and patients.
“We need to build a coalition of healthcare advocates across this province,” Furstenau said. “To do that, my colleague MLA Adam Olsen and I will travel across B.C. this summer. We will meet with healthcare providers and people struggling to access healthcare services. We will listen to their stories and learn from them. We will bring their voices back to the legislature louder than ever before.” -- BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau with notes on the party's upcoming health issues tour of the province
The BC Green Party touring schedule to hear concerns on health care
Health care was just one of a number of themes that the Green Party leader roasted the NDP government over on the final day of the Spring session and the topic has been one of the key issues that the Greens have raised in the Legislature over the last year.
"What people need from this government is to recognize the reality that they are experiencing, whether it's people who can't get back to their town because its burnt down and hasn't been rebuilt, farmers who can't grow crops because their fields got flooded, people who can't afford basic necessities like food and rent, or people who can't get their cancer test results, because they don't have a family doctor.
The Premier uses this government's communication machine to pat themselves on the backs and take jabs at their opponents. Meanwhile, they ignore looming crises.
They're out of touch with the reality that British Columbians are experiencing." -- Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau on the last day of the 2021 Spring Session of the Legislature June 2nd
The Northwest stop is a short one with just one day listed, and few details yet on the itinerary, but if they make their way to Prince Rupert, there should be quite a bit for them to take back to the Legislature to put some pressure on the government over.
The Green party plans could make for a helpful platform for City Council to raise awareness on those local issues and seek out the assistance of the Legislature's third party to help raise the local profile on the concerns of the community with the NDP government in Victoria.
Notes on Health Care concerns and other themes can be reviewed through our archive pages here.
A wider overview of the work of the Legislature is available form our archive, as well as from our political blog D'Arcy McGee and our Victoria Viewpoints feature.
BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau has a list of ten measures her party wants to see in place to address COVID in the province
With daily reports of COVID-19 now marking a pace of 1,000 a day and variant cases now the focus for many across the province, the BC Green Party has issued a call for the NDP Government to adopt some stronger measures to address the concerns of a growing number of British Columbians.
“British Columbians are angry, they are anxious, and they are scared. It is not enough to ask those who are still listening to get through the next couple of months.
We urgently need a shift in government response. Instead of bracing for the impact of rising variants, we can mitigate it right now.
British Columbians are looking for leadership, not complacency. It is time for the NDP to take ownership of the immense power they hold.
They must take responsibility for our pandemic response, be willing to take bold action, and make the tough calls to protect all British Columbians."-- BC Green Leader Sonia Furstenau today calling for a stronger approach on COVID in the province.
In a statement issued earlier today, the BC Greens outlined their ten key areas of note for additional measures across the province.
Create a clear and targeted shutdown strategy for a three-week period that includes:
Enforcing non-essential travel measures.
Moving school online for most students.
Providing immediate government support to temporarily close non-essential businesses.
Increase transparency and revamp public communications by:
Resuming daily COVID-19 briefings.
Publishing case numbers on weekends and holidays.
Extending media availability.
Adopting new messaging outside of press conferences to target non-compliers.
Increase testing and vaccination capacity by:
Expanding asymptomatic testing and rapid testing in workplaces, schools, businesses, and neighbourhoods.
Improving reporting on variants of concern.
Increasing staffing at vaccination clinics and extending hours to administer all doses as soon as they arrive in province.
Ms. Furstenau also noted that many of the current troubles that face the province stem from government inaction and mis-steps over the last few months.
“We were not dealt a bad hand - we loosened restrictions despite rising variant cases, allowed out-of-province travel, stalled in-school mask mandates, and did not enforce orders or tailor messaging to hit those who have not been following orders. This third wave is the outcome of that inaction.
Neither the methods nor the messaging are working. It cannot only be up to individuals to deal with this crisis. We need a coordinated response and action from government that shows they are taking the immediate and long-term threat of COVID-19 seriously."
After a first year of mostly praise for the government's efforts, the ongoing concerns over COVID are clearly starting to take a toll on the residents of the province.
A growing number of whom are showing signs of tuning out the message making from Premier John Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry.
Recent weeks have seen all three starting to see increased levels of push back from the media and residents in British Columbia; a significant shift in the winds of COVID commentary found in the province from previous bouts of waves of the virus.
With an election campaign underway during the UBCM convention this week, all three of the province's main political party leaders used their allotted speaking time to tailor some of their campaign messages to the audience of municipal leaders viewing in online.
The convention which wrapped up yesterday was an online event this year, the usual on site convention atmosphere replaced by a collection of zoom sessions and policy work keeping the province's elected officials and senior staff home based but busy, though without tapping much of the travel budget for 2020.
BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson used his time on Wednesday to explore the challenges that businesses are finding during COVID and the impact of deferred taxation on communities.
As part of his presentation he also touched on what will be the themes for a Liberal action plan on employment, drug addiction, public safety and housing supply.
He also used the UBCM forum to challenge the reasoning for an election campaign during the COVID pandemic, referring to the move by Premier Horgan as an "unethical power grab".
Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau shared the final day of UBCM with Premier Horgan, with the Greens's offered the morning slot in the daylong festival of speechifying.
Her take on the election call was to note that "it takes a kind of arrogance to think that it is better to work alone" a reference to the decision to seek a majority mandate, despite the working arrangement that the NDP had with the Greens prior to the Monday election call.
Not surprisingly, climate change made for the major focus for Ms. Furstenau, who observed for the delegates that while local governments have been effective in navigating and adapting to climate change, provincial and federal decisions have run counter to such efforts.
Premier Horgan's contribution to the event, was as with tradition, the final speech of the convention and he brought the curtain down on UBCM 2020, highlighting the importance he found of travelling across BC and having built relationships with community leaders since taking office.
Noting for the legion of community representatives viewing from all corners of BC as to how “Local governments are the catalyst of change ... If we are not listening to the voices of communities, we are not connecting with people”.
Much of his conversation was akin to a campaign event, with Mr. Horgan knocking off a list of government achievements since taking office in 2014, from the creation of shelters and supportive housing to public transit and the launch of the province's ReStart program to rebuild the economy.
Keeping his focus back on the municipal themes, the Premier also noted that there was a need to look beyond the current times and address the longer term infrastructure needs for municipalities, noting for the delegates as to how he "will be delighted to lead a delegation to Ottawa of UBCM members to accelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure. If it involves more resources from the province, we are prepared to do that.”
The UBCM have provided a Coles Notes version of the presentations from each leader, which you can review below.
The fate of the Spotted Owl in BC was the topic of note for part of the Tuesday Question Period at the Legislature (image from BC Government)
The logging of habitats for Spotted Owls was raised as part of a larger discussion on the need for Species at Risk legislation, with Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau taking the topic to the Legislation Question Period on Tuesday.
"The federal government was prepared to issue a rare emergency order under Canada's Species at Risk Act to protect the spotted owl's critical habitat.
In a cruel twist, it turns out that the Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and his staff lobbied intently to dissuade the federal cabinet from issuing a spotted owl emergency order.
A B.C. cabinet minister briefing document obtained under freedom of information states that the emergency order would have "significant impacts on forest sector jobs and provincial revenue, and Ottawa should back away from issuing the order, even when a species is at risk of extirpation."
My question is to the Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship.
How is arguing against protecting habitat for the last spotted owl considered stewardship?"
The reply to the questions came from Nathan Cullen, who serves as Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship
The Minister who is also the MLA for Stikine, provided a few notes for the Legislature towards some recent efforts towards the species that the BC Government has taken on in the Spuzzum region
"We've been building the biodiversity and ecosystem health framework with partners, particularly First Nations partners, who have been working with us every step of the way to introduce a framework as the first phase. We expect that quite soon.
This will be an important structure for us in dealing with the serious question of species at risk and, of course, the habitat that needs to be protected in order to allow those species to thrive once again in British Columbia.
I would say, however, that I contend greatly with the 280,000 hectares of old-growth habitat that have been set aside. This was agreed to jointly between ourselves, Canada and First Nations as the critical habitat that would allow, as I said, 150 breeding pairs to exist. I have faith in our partnerships with the Spuzzum First Nation and Canada in the determination of that old-growth habitat, not described as the member did. I think that is incorrect.
I think it is important to remain determined, to remain hopeful and focused on the habitat required to allow these species to be reintroduced successfully, so that we can all celebrate their critical return to our province."
The full debate over the fate of the Spotted Owl can be reviewed through the Legislature Video archive from Tuesday morning starting at the 10:35 AM mark.
Some new duties for Skeena MLA Nathan Cullen made for some short conversation in the Legislature on Monday.
That as Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau used her time in Question Period to hail the addition of duties related to the Water Sustainability Act to the Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship's portfolio, noting of the new duties as a positive step.
There was a question to go with the Green Party leader's discussion towards the theme, Ms. Furstenau asking if Mr. Cullen would spark to support the water licensing processes and if regional water tables will be co-led by First Nations in every region of the province.
In response, Mr. Cullen provided a short overview of the current program and what is coming towards it moving forward.
There had been an initial three-year program that was then extended. We are working with water users around the province to make sure that the licensing is done in a good way because, as my friend would acknowledge, if we can't measure, then we can't manage.
There remain some challenges that we are facing on directly. We are just doing our realignment of staffing resources right now.
With respect to water tables, which was also part of the question, we look to the Koksilah leadership and the water table that was set up there, Nicola Valley and others around the province, where First Nations are engaging with us in a government-to-government way, setting up water tables to have those conversations with all of the water users within a particular water basin.
That, in line with the $100 million watershed security fund that we established, again with First Nations partnership, paints towards the more bright future for British Columbia so that we can have those important conversations in advance of the drought conditions.
You can review the Transcript of the session here, the video of the Question and Answer session through the Legislature Video archive here, Ms. Fursteanu introduces the topic at just after the 2:10 PM mark.
More notes on Mr. Cullen and the other Northwest MLA's at the Legislature can be reviewed here.
The three leaders of BC's main political parties took part in the only debate for the 2020 provincial election (screen shot from GlobalBC broadcast)
If there was one consensus by the end of Debate Night in BC on Tuesday, it's most likely that Shachi Kurl is a very skilled moderator and that her traits of being firm and patient would have made her a very good High School teacher.
Ms. Kurl showcased her skills in keeping the three leaders in check from their excesses, her hosting duties on the night providing for a fast paced and informative opportunity to learn more about those who wish to govern the province..
For the most part there were few surprises through the evening, the two opposition leaders noting from the start that we all really shouldn't have been viewing the debate on Tuesday, if not for John Horgan and his craven quest for power ... or words to that effect.
With that expected talking point out of the way early, a string of expected themes covering a range of issues and concerns came forward through the course of the ninety minute forum.
Listening to Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson, one might get the impression that this current Liberal party isn't related to that other collective under the banner that ran BC for much of the last few decades.
All of the woes for the province that he put at the feet of the NDP seemingly new creations, though we imagine most realize that areas of housing, transportation, environmental issues and themes of reconciliation all are files that have a long history of disappointing results from the past.
For his part, Mr. Horgan never really delivered a convincing argument that there was a pressing need to take us to the polls during a pandemic, he rattled off some of the NDP programs that have been in place during these last nine months.
The gist of his commentary that for the most part we're voting now to continue with the familiar NDP announcements; rather than take a chance on whatever measures the Liberals may have in mind for pandemic times and beyond the virus.
At times, Mr. Horgan for his part seemed surprised that some of the inconsistencies in NDP themes of past and current industrial projects would be of interest to anyone; with Site C, TransMountain Pipeline and the LNG Canada project in Kitimat all making for some conversation topics and put the government somewhat on the defensive.
With both the Liberal and NDP leaders focused on their own election playbooks, Green Leader Sonia Furstenau found some room to first introduce herself to voters, being just four weeks on the job, as well as to highlight just how much of a different approach she would be bringing to the Legislature.
She deftly tossed aside the notion that this was an election that had to be called, frequently correcting the NDP leader on how he had perceived the waning days of the last Legislature session.
The Green leader noting how the Greens had viewed the last few months of governance and their shared arrangements as a process that had worked quite well.
Her performance offered up an indication that the new leader will make a fairly formidable opponent in the Legislature chamber, while she was also effective at putting forward the key elements of the Green Party policy book.
And on a key question of racism and reconciliation, she provided for the most sure footed responses, reflecting both personal themes and what is the Green party consensus on the issues. The topic one which both Wilkinson and Horgan seemed to stumble somewhat on, their comments requiring the need for some post debate damage control.
Overall however, there most likely will be little movement in the polling and in eleven days the vote count as well.
The NDP went into this campaign with a significant lead and nothing from Tuesday's debate probably is going to dig too deep into that support.
The Liberals needed to land some strong punches in the forum, but with a leader who at times was on the defensive from some electoral mis-steps in recent weeks, Mr. Wilkinson never really put much pressure on Mr. Horgan.
Ms. Furstenau achieved her goal of ensuring that her party remains part of the discussion on the way to election night, however the cold reality for the Greens is that while they could possibly snare an additional seat or two in the Legislature from her performance, they won't be forming a government.
The numbers are not there and they still remain more of a curiosity in the province, as opposed to a political force.
For them to come out of October 23rd in a strong position will require pretty much a status quo vote total as to where we are at the moment.
Meaning another shot at framing legislation from the winner of the vote through a Minority government situation, the irony is that if they find success on election night it most likely comes from an NDP riding, which gives the Liberals a glimmer of hope for a return to governance.
Though the Wilkinson team probably shouldn't get their hopes up too high, debate night did not deliver much in the way of a game changing moment.
While he was wearing the target for much of the night, Premier Horgan did not suffer any serious troubles that should be long lasting to October 23rd.
For those viewing at home, (well those who could, as many areas of BC were without power last night owing to a southern windstorm) the ninety minute session was a welcome change from the political dialogue we have seen from our neighbours to the south.
That thanks to moderator Kurl who ensured that the focus remained on the issues, providing British Columbians with their best unvarnished measuring stick yet as to what the candidates have to offer.
You can review the event from a range of sources, one option comes from GlobalBC which we offer below for those who may have missed the only opportunity to measure the candidates head to head to head.
The proclamations of "expect something big this week" from the political punditry in Victoria came frequently over the weekend; spurred on by what became an avalanche of spending announcements by the NDP government which started spreading glad tidings of upcoming spending on Friday and continued through to Sunday.
Friday the province shared some of its good news on a range of initiatives with 25 announcements.
Saturday delivered another six advisories on some spending plans and program announcements.
While Sunday set the table for Monday morning with updates on spending plans and other notes totalling 17.
From spending on highway projects, to housing to supports for education and health, the roll out of announcements made for an evolving campaign platform that could showcase the achievements that the NDP wish to make note of, while preparing the blue print of the promises to come, many of them destined for ridings where the governing party may hope to be making political inroads.
The unusual flurry of spending themes is leading to much speculation that Premier John Horgan will be looking to take British Columbians to the polls this fall with an election call today.
The prospect of a potential election call has certainly not been muted by the stream of nomination announcements of late, as well as with announcements from seven current cabinet ministers highlighting their plans to step aside at the next call.
Among those Cabinet Ministers who have announced a farewell at the next vote are:
Carole James, Doug Donaldson, Scott Fraser, Judy D'Arcy, Michelle Mungall, Shane Simpson and Claire Trevena, with the Transportation Minister making her announcement on Sunday.
The unusually high number of cabinet ministers publicly announcing their plans to depart politics indicates a bit of third year weariness for his circle, which perhaps and more importantly would seem to be propelling the Premier into the decision to send British Columbians to the polls.
The speculation of the potential election has also seen a number of high profile NDPers make their intentions known on their desire to take up the torch should the writ be dropped, with two Federal NDP members in Murray Rankin and Nathan Cullen also seeking nominations.
Other than political opportunism and expediency, along with the quest for a majority mandate for a four year term, it's not really clear why the Premier believes that taking British Columbians to the polls is a must in the midst of a pandemic, that after highlighting how we all must do our share to remain focused on COVID and the measures in place to address it.
And while his government holds office thanks to their confidence of supply agreement with the Greens, there to this point has been no indication that the Green Party, which recently elected a new leader in Sonia Furstenau is chomping at the bit to bring down the Premier and hit the political hustings.
Still the speculation has been at a fever pitch for much of the weekend, with those who cover the Legislature from Victoria on their social media platforms almost as frequently as the government distributed their latest spending announcement, many of them suggesting that today will be Decision Day for the Premier setting the course to the polls.
If the political entrails so far are correct, we will find out later today and the candidates could very well be off to the races.
Already, the lineup cards are starting to be created in ridings along the highway sixteen corridor, you can review who is in the race so far, if it becomes a race ... from our archive page here.
Premier John Horgan has called British Columbians to the voting booth on October 24th, announcing the next BC election campaign today in Langford (screenshot from CPAC)
And they're off, after a consultation with Lieutenant Governor Janet Austin, Premier John Horgan announced that British Columbians would be heading to a polling booth on Saturday, October 24th, Mr. Horgan making his call to the polls at a Monday morning press conference from his Langford neighbourhood.
As the candidates head out to the political hustings, the Premier outlined that Finance Minister Carole James, who is not seeking re-election, will be watching over the operations of government during the campaign period.
Among the themes that led to his decision, Mr. Horgan made note of how British Columbia was in uncertain times, and required certainty; noting how the ongoing work on the pandemic requires a strong mandate to continue ahead with confidence.
Towards the campaign, the Premier observed that despite the current focus on social distancing and small groups, the candidates will find a way to connect with constituents and to get their message across.
For those expressing concerns over COVID and in person voting, Mr. Horgan made note of the mail in ballot option, along with the precautions that Elections BC will have in place as voting day arrives.
Certainty and stability for government and the need to put politics behind us seems to have been the key element for today's announcement.
Mr. Horgan observed that he didn't believe that the current political situation was stable, noting that to him the evidence spoke differently as to whether the NDP had the support of the Green Party, something that the Green leader Sonia Furstenau offered a different take on earlier in the morning.
The BC Liberals also made note of the current focus on the pandemic and questioned the wisdom of the election call of today.
Un-necessary or not, British Columbians will deliver their verdict on the Premier's political gamble on Saturday, October 24th.
In that 2017 campaign, when all the door knocking and debating was done, it was the NDP's Jennifer Rice gaining re-election, that after taking on a fairly tough challenger in former Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond. Ms. Rice secured a strong mandate of 57.4 percent of the vote of those who cast a ballot in the 2017 campaign
Also running in that campaign was Hondo Arendt, the Coast Mountain College instructor who was contesting the seat on behalf of the Greens.
As for the road ahead, other than Ms. Rice, who last week noted for the local newspaper of her plans to run again, the rest of BC's political parties are still in planning mode.
Despite all the speculation of recent weeks of a potential election call, the North Coast Liberals did not seem to find much urgency towards the local scene.
Their social media page one mostly of challenges to past NDP announcements, though most of the content one which featured few themes of a local nature.
So far there is no indication as to when they plan to nominate a candidate for the October 24th vote
The BC Green party seems even less organized on the North Coast, not even listing any riding associations, let alone any candidates for the Northwest on their website.
Other ridings to watch in the region will be Skeena where Ellis Ross took the riding as a gain for the Liberals in the last election, as well as Stikine where the retirement of Doug Donaldson sets the stage for what may be a nomination battle for the NDP and an opportunity for a Liberal steal in the October vote.
The three main BC political party leaders will go head to head in debate on Tuesday, October 13th
The three leaders of the major political parties in British Columbia will take to the debate stage on Tuesday October 13th, with a consortium of British Columbia broadcasters to showcase the event live.
The British Columbia leaders Debate will be moderated by Shachi Kurl, the President of the Angus Reid Institute, Canada's Non-Profit Foundation committed to Independent Research.
The 90 minute debate will be be broadcast on radio and television and streamed live online, it will start at 6:30 and wrap up at 8PM.
Taking to the stage on Debate night will be Premier John Horgan with the NDP, Opposition Leader AndrewWilkinson of the BC Liberals and recently elected BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau.
Only the leaders of those parties which have seats in the BC Legislature appear to have been issued an invitation to the October 13th event.
With COVID restrictions in place, there will be no live audience as part of the 2020 debate, with reporters to be following the event remotely, their opportunities to follow up on the themes of debate night to come following the the evening's proceedings.
As we noted yesterday, North Coast residents will be able to get a good look at the candidates contesting the riding from a two night election forum showcase, sponsored by the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce.
That event will seen Prince Rupert/Port Edward themes addressed on October 7th, with Haida Gwaii and other coastal areas taking the spotlight on October 8th.
British Columbians will decide who gets a seat in the Legislature with Saturday's election vote
There may be some new energy found in the BC election campaign as this final week winds its way down to Saturday's voting day, that as a new poll from Angus Reid polling indicates that the Race for the Legislature is starting to tighten in these final days.
The report from the polling group issued last night notes that the BC NDP continue to hold a comfortable lead, but that some second thoughts may be percolating among the undecided voters as they weigh their options.
Premier John Horgan and his party jumped out to a significant lead from the the leaning and decided voters, as well as from those that noted that they participated in advanced voting opportunities.
But for those who have held back on their decision making, things are looking a little more interesting with the NDP holding a slim margin of advantage over the BC Liberals from those yet to cast a ballot.
The pollsters noted that when it comes to what seems to be driving the voters in these final days of the campaign is a sense of ambivalence towards the province's political parties and their leaders.
A consistent theme running through the campaign has been a relative ambivalence towards the parties and their leaders. Indeed, while just under half (46%) of voters say they are motivated by a party and what it stands for, the other half (54%) are determined to block a party they don’t like instead. Among those who say they will vote for the BC Liberals this sentiment rises to seven-in-ten (71%).
So far, 45 percent of the British Columbians that were surveyed indicated that they had already voted either in an advance poll or by mail, 55% of those consulted for the poll had yet to cast a ballot.
And if British Columbians are looking for an indication as to which of the three main party leaders is resonating the best with the public, a gaze in the direction of Sonia Furstenau is in order.
Spurred on by her debate debut, the Green Leader has seen a spike of momentum her party, though how that translates into seats will be something to watch for on Election Night.
As for what is important to voters as they look to mark their ballots, the variables all depend on which party you support.
Curiously the Green supporters put the most importance on the individual candidate in their riding, followed by the Liberals, while NDP supporters don't seem to be too interested in who is carrying their flag, just as long that someone is ...
As for how British Columbians will want to see the political landscape come Saturday night, an NDP majority, or minority government makes for the most preferred of the options at 35% and 23% respectively, a Liberal majority or minority government would be the choice of 23% and 8% respectively.
Considering how large a lead Premier Horgan and the NDP held heading into the weekend just passed, Mr. Horgan will no doubt be hoping that his candidates will refrain from similar themes and similar political eruptions that could make for more NDP vote erosion leading up to Saturday.
The Bill which will provide for tax credits for development of the LNG industry is of particular interest to LNG Canada in Kitimat, which is far and away the closest to tapping into the provinces natural gas resources to be shipped out of a terminal facility on the shores of Douglas Channel.
The NDP will require and most likely receive the help of the Liberals, as the Green Party led by Dr. Andrew Weaver has been steadfast in their opposition to any LNG development.
Mr. Weaver was followed by the two other members of the Green party in Legislature, as all three elected MLA's shared their opposition to the Bill and LNG, with MLA's Sonia Furstenau and Adam Olsen both speaking on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. Weaver and his entire caucus were not the only ones to take up the debate on the NDP bill in a busy week of debate through Tuesday and Wednesday.
As we outlined late last week, both MLA Todd Stone a former cabinet minister during the Christy Clark years and Ellis Ross the current MLA for Skeena spoke on issues of LNG.
With the pair making much of the content of their presentations about the opportunities for the industry for the North Coast.
One item of note on their contributions were the observations that both made about the now abandoned Pacific Northwest LNG project, a theme which was high among their thoughts.
Though to hear Mr. Stone talk, perhaps we shouldn't put that once promising LNG opportunity away just yet ...
Other Liberal members who participated in the debate over the course of the three days of discussion were: Mike Bernier, Dan Davies, Mike Morris, Peter Milobar, Rich Coleman and Mike de Jong
A trio of NDP government members also spoke in support of the Bill that Ms. James has brought forward for the Chamber to consider.
Taking to the Legislature floor through last week to praise the legislation crafted by the Finance Minister were three members of the governing party: Michelle Mungall, George Chow, and Bruce Ralston,
One name however, that has not appeared on the speakers list to this point has been that of North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who had a fairly quiet week in the Chamber last week.
Considering the passion that she brought to the LNG files since arriving on the provincial political scene in 2013, it would be interesting to hear what she may have to say in the Legislature on the rather abrupt change in direction for the NDP on LNG issues.
More importantly for the residents of her home riding in Prince Rupert, will be what she may have to say towards a future for the industry in this community, some might even like to hear her thoughts on Mr. Stone's somewhat interesting view that the Pacific Northwest Project may yet see the light of day ... one day in the future.
To review some of the lengthy discussion on the North Coast during the days of PNW LNG see our archive page here.
How Ms. Rice and the NDP might view a rebirth for the once proposed mega project for the region would certainly be of some interest to the Prince Rupert area, which at the moment has gone from being the front runner for any development, to now standing on the sidelines when it comes to the LNG euphoria found around the Northwest.
As the Legislature Bill tracker indicates Bill 10 is now moving to the committee stage and then will receive a third reading at some point in the future prior to it receiving Royal Assent.
Hopefully before it moves that far, North Coast residents will hear some kind of commentary in the Legislature from their MLA as to whether Prince Rupert or Port Edward fits into the NDP's new found dedication towards becoming an energy exporter from the North Coast.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was one of the first to pass on his regards, one of many to use Social media to hail the work of Mr. Horgan and wish him the best as he charts his new course.
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh also paid tribute to his NDP brother in arms.
Fellow Premiers also paid their tributes
Some provincial sparring partners in the Legislature also offered their best wishes on Thursday with both Green Party Sonia Furstenau and BC Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon hailing the Premier's commitment to BC. Mr. Falcon's salute coming with a familiar sign off for the Star Trek loving politician.
A number of the Premier's Cabinet members also shared their thoughts on the news from Tuesday.
And from the Northwest the regions two NDP members had fond remembrances to share
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice saluted her leader and his commitment to reconciliation.
While Stikine MLA and Minster of Municipal Affairs Nathan Cullen provided for a pictorial review of some Horgan moments.
And while it's far too early in the political process to speculate on who may or may not decide to seek the leadership for the NDP, the name gaining some significant traction since yesterday's announcement has been that of the Stikine MLA.
Whether he wishes to take on the road to a campaign is something we will no doubt hear more of as the weeks move forward toward the fall.
Our Political Blog D'Arcy McGee and our Victoria Viewpoints feature will also feature a range of notes that came from the Premier's announcement, as we update those notes later tonight.
There's no travel this year, but still a full agenda to take in as Prince Rupert City Council members and senior staff take part in the annual UBCM convention by virtual link up (photo from past City of PR mailer)
It will be five days of convention attendance without the travel, as once again for the second year in a row, the UBCM Annual convention makes use of a virtual format owing to the COVID situation across the province.
This week's event gets underway at 1:30 today with a pair of meetings on Finance and Insurance, while a networking event this evening.
The main elements of the week of convention however launch on Tuesday, with a four day program packed with an ambitious list of events, leading up to the final keynote address on Friday morning by Premier John Horgan.
The week is made up of workshops, information sharing sessions and keynote speeches from a range of officials, with an impressive list of guest speakers from outside of the world of municipal government to share some themes with the delegates as the five days roll by.
Also set to speak will be Opposition Leader Shirley Bond and Green Party of BC leader Sonia Furstenau.
Highly acclaimed Canadian comedian and actor, Rick Mercer, will also be part of the keynote speakers listings, with a Thursday Q & A session with Jody Vance to be streamed to the delegates.
Those participating in the virtual convention can even explore the offerings from the UBCM Virtual Tradeshow, gaining their entry to virtual showroom floor upon resgistration
The theme for the five days is Obstacles to Opportunities, a nod at the challenging year faced by many municipalities through COVID, forest fires, floods and extreme heat to name a few areas of note.
Some of those municipal concerns make for some extensive review as part of the Program Agenda.
One of the most important of the elements of the week will be the vote on resolutions by the municipal officials and you can review what they will have up for consideration and which communities in the Northwest provided for some of the talking points from our notes here.
The Members of Prince Rupert City Council have said nothing of the event in the lead up to this weeks convention, with no mention of their plans or what they may be raising at the conference made through any of their public council sessions, or through the Mayor's social media footprint.
Though such is the scope of the commitment required for the event, that anyone looking to access city council members or senior staff may find a delay when it comes to getting a call or correspondence back this week.
So far the key municipal event of the year has also for the most part gone un-noticed by the Northwest media, with little in the way of background to be found as to what municipal leaders may hope to achieve, or realize from their five days of conference with officials and leaders province wide.
