Frankly Speaking

  In Surrey at least, the BC Liberals may have new life after announcing that the policing transition requires a referendum before going any farther. This, of course, will only happen should party leader Andrew Wilkinson gain enough seats to become premier. The policing transition in Surrey has become a major campaign issue in the provincial election, and it has the potential to give the  BC Liberals a big boost. Whether it will be enough for the party to regain power after more than three years in the political wilderness  is another question. The NDP are well ahead in the most recent public opinion polls. The BC Liberal party issued a statement on Sunday that a BC Liberal government would pause the transition process, and give Surrey residents a vote in a referendum on whether to switch to a new Surrey Police force or stick with the RCMP. Mike Farnworth, who as public safety minister gave the transition the green light and specifically said ...

If Andrew Scheer seems to be looking slightly over his shoulder in this photo, it's probably because he is the latest in a long line of federal Conservative leaders to be gutted by his own party members. Chances are, his successor as leader will suffer the same fate. Andrew Scheer has resigned as leader of the Conservative Party. This is no surprise, given the incendiary remarks about his leadership, the results of the recent election campaign and the attacks on his personal religious views. Most of the remarks can be traced back to fellow Conservatives - often whispered to the media on condition of anonymity, who then repeat these anonymous opinions as fact. It brings to mind what has often been said about those engaged in politics and other endeavours where the chief aim is to try and persuade others to a certain perspective: “When you lose the battle, one of the first things to happen is that those still standing go onto the field and shoot the wounded.” That this should ...

CBC photo Premier John Horgan celebrates with new Nanaimo MLA Sheila Malcolmson, who won the Wednesday byelection with almost 50 percent of the vote. There are a few significant lessons to be pondered from the results of Wednesday’s byelection in Nanaimo. First and foremost - the NDP government is here to stay, likely for at least another year. Winning NDP candidate Sheila Malcolmson won almost 50 per cent of the vote, with final figures from the counting on Wednesday giving her 10,538 votes. Liberal candidate Tony Harris has 40.5 per cent of the vote, with 8,665. The most surprising and significant vote totals were posted by Michele Ney of the Green Party. She comes from a well-known political family, and the Green Party had close to 20 per cent of the vote in 2017. Her vote percentage was just over seven per cent, and she gained just 1,579 votes. It is obvious that most of the Green vote from 2017 migrated to the NDP and Liberals. Many Green voters from 201...

Affordable housing and preservation of the existing rental stock have been important issues in the Langley City election. The City has some of the most affordable rental units in the Lower Mainland. It also has a much larger stock of social housing (per capita) than many other cities. The race for mayor in Langley City will likely be a close one – which should give voters in that community even more incentive than usual to get out to the polls on Saturday. Former mayor Peter Fassbender is seeking his old job back. Fassbender served as mayor from 2005 until he resigned in January, 2014 (in order to prevent a byelection). He had been elected as a BC Liberal MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood in May, 2013, and served in several cabinet positions during the 2013-17 term of the Christy Clark government. He lost his seat in the 2017 election. Ted Schaffer took over as acting mayor after Fassbender resigned, and ran and won election as mayor in 2014. He is not running again. Fassbe...

A smiling Dave Barrett is an apt image of the former premier and longtime NDP MLA, and NDP MP for one term. He had a passion for politics, but he also had a wonderful sense of humour and was the most entertaining politician on the stump that I've ever seen in B.C. Dave Barrett was remembered at two public memorial events last weekend, in Victoria and Vancouver. Barrett, who died at the age of 87 in early February, was B.C.’s first NDP premier. He headed a government that was in office for just under three and one-half years, from 1972 to 1975. It was a “government in a hurry,” passing 357 bills in its few years in office and ushering in an era of remarkable change in B.C. Some of its most significant achievements have been commented on extensively, most frequently the establishment of the Agricultural Land Reserve, the creation of ICBC, bringing Hansard and question period to the provincial legislature and one of the first pharmacare programs in Canada. Not much at...

One of these six individuals will be the new BC Liberal party leader, as of Saturday night. From left to right, (top) are Dianne Watts, Andrew Wilkinson and Michael Lee; (bottom) Sam Sullivan, Todd Stone, Mike de Jong. (Montage by CBC) Members of the BC Liberal party are casting their ballots over the next few days to choose a new leader of the opposition. That very phrase must gall many of them, after the party enjoyed 16 straight years in power under premiers Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark. However, that’s where they find themselves right now, and based on the most recent public opinion poll which came out Jan. 19, they could be there after the next election as well. The NDP were well ahead of them in that poll, 40 per cent to 31 per cent (the Green Party came in at 19 per cent) conducted by Insights West. The new Liberal leader will be determined by a ranked ballot, and membership sign-ups actually will play a diminished role in the final selection of the leader. Eac...