Frankly Speaking

Finance Minister Mike de Jong is also the BC Liberals' government house leader. Mike de Jong, Abbotsford West MLA (who also represents northeast Langley) was the latest provincial politician to hold a news conference. His took place today, in Vancouver. De Jong is the government house leader and also minister of finance. He (quite rightly) said it is not up to the BC Liberals to strengthen the hand of an NDP minority government which will likely take office when the BC Liberals lose the confidence of the B.C. legislature. He does not expect a BC Liberal to stay on as Speaker once the government falls. A Liberal will likely to become Speaker on June 22, when the legislature is scheduled to meet. That will allow the government to present a throne speech He is also correct that the NDP-Green agreement seems quite shaky. We will know best how strong it is after there is an NDP minority government in place. For now, Green Party leader Andrew Weaver is making irresponsible statemen...

Frank Bucholtz photo Michael Kelly Gabriel of the Kwantlen First Nation speaks with guest speaker Wab Kinew at the Langley Truth and Reconciliation event on Saturday. The Truth and Reconciliation events in Langley over the weekend were powerful and groundbreaking. Former school trustee Cecelia Reekie spearheaded the event, with help from a very active committee, known as Working Toward Reconciliation. What really made it work so well was the active participation from the Kwantlen, Katzie and Matsqui First Nations. Reekie's own story , as a First Nations woman who only became aware of her aboriginal background as an adult (she was adopted as a baby by a Caucasian couple), is a significant reason this event happened. She has since forged a close relationship with her First Nations birth father, Cecil, who came down from Kitimat to attend the event. I had a chance to talk with him and found out a bit of his story. He is part of a very small nation that is now part of the Hai...