Frankly Speaking

Langley City Councillor Dave Hall resigned his seat on Monday, after seven years as a councillor. His resignation is for personal reasons, as he is fighting cancer. Hall is a longtime Langley City resident, and served nine years on the Langley School Board, three as chair, before first running for council in 2008. He and I disagreed on a number of issues over the years, particularly when he was part of the school board. He wrote a number of detailed letters to the editor which took issue with the editorial stance of The Langley Times , where I was editor from 1999-2015. We agreed on more issues after he was elected to Langley City council. Even while on the school board, he was a proponent of financial transparency and careful spending, and this continued with his council duties. One wonders if the school district would have gotten into its financial troubles (more than $10 million was improperly accounted for, prompting a lengthy repayment process set up by the B.C. auditor ge...

Carla Qualtrough, MP for Delta, is the new minister for sport and persons with disabilities in the federal cabinet The new federal cabinet is smaller than the old one, and is chock full of people with impressive backgrounds. While Justin Trudeau promised a cabinet of 25 that was equally balanced between men and women, he only delivered on one of those promises. There are 31 in cabinet, including Trudeau. However, 15 (excluding the PM) are men and 15 are women. Three are from B.C. and all have impressive backgrounds. All are new MPs. The most senior minister is Jody Raybould-Wilson, 44, the new minister of justice. Elected in Vancouver-Granville, she has a background with the B.C. Treaty Commission, the Assembly of First Nations and as a Crown prosecutor. As an aboriginal woman, she sets a great example for other aboriginal people. However, her portfolio is a very complex one, with many issues (such as assisted suicide and legalizing marijuana) demanding immediate attention....