#conservative party of british columbia

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Reduction in Working Hours Urged in House,” The Province (Vancouver). March 13, 1931. Page 3. ---- International Conference On Unemployment. --- Two Shifts of Five Or Six Hours for Public Works. --- VICTORIA, March 13 - An international conference, sponsored by Canada, to secure the reduction of working hours, at least all over America, and thus relieve unemployment on a permanent basis, was proposed in the Legislature Thursday by Colonel Nelson Spencer, Conservative, of Vancouver.

"As a start in solving the problem of unemployment I feel that this Legislature should petition the Prime Minister of Canada to get Into touch with the President of the United States with a view to holding a conference with various governments and leading Labor men, so that in consultation they may decide on a policy. so far as America is concerned, of reducing the hours of labor in Industry," Colonel Spencer said. "Other than this, I see no solution for unemployment, which is not a casual problem, but seems almost a permanent problem under modern conditions."

TO GUARD AGAINST IMPEDING INDUSTRY. Colonel Spencer said he recognized the impossibility of handicapping industries which had to compete with similar industries of other countries in world markets. But there were many Hines of local activity which could reduce working hours without Injuring their prosperity, he believed. He listed these possible lines of work which could reduce working hours: 

All public works, federal and provincial.

Building trades.

Gold mines.

Department stores and chain stores, bond houses and brokerage companies.

"I would rather see two shifts a day on our public works than see any of our citizens willing to work and unemployed," he asserted. He suggested that in public works and in the activities. mentioned, labor should work two shifts a day of five or six hours a shift. 

"I may be ridiculed for this," he admitted, "but in the face of the present situation I am willing to risk that I feel that the time has come when we must take action on this problem if we are to have a real permanent solution. This may not be a full solution but at least I have heard nothing else tangible in the way of a solution in all the discussions of this House. I think there is no tragedy in our modern civilization comparable to that of good, honest men who are willing to work, but ask nothing but the opportunity to work, and yet can find no work to do."

[allthecanadianpolitics]

BC Conservative leader John Rustad assured anti-vaccine activists British Columbia would be open to joining other jurisdictions in legal proceedings inspired by the Nuremberg Trials that would be aimed at prosecuting those deemed responsible for COVID-19 public health measures and vaccines. “Nuremberg 2.0,” an idea popular among COVID-19 conspiracy theorists and the online far-right, is simultaneously inspired by the Nuremberg Code, a set of ethical principles on human experimentation, as well as the Nuremberg Trials that prosecuted Nazi leaders after the Second World War. Nuremberg 2.0 advocates typically call for those who created, justified or enforced public health measures — including politicians, doctors, academics, journalists and police — to be jailed and even executed for “crimes against humanity.”

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[originalleftist]

British Columbia Provincial Election Results (Oct. 19th 2024):

As of the most up-to-date results I can find, the NDP are leading in 47 ridings (the bare minimum for a majority), and the Conservatives in 44. Greens in 2.

Both NDP and Con leaders held their seats, Green leader lost her's after switching ridings.

It WOULD have been the first Con government in BC in about a century, but it looks like they thankfully fell short. However its still a shocking rebound for a near-non-existent party following the collapse of the misleadingly-named BC Liberals as the main opposition, and another indication of Canadian politics in general taking a hard Right-ward swing of late.

[snowfelledayah]

Absolutely not.

In case you didn't know, BC has an election soon! And the conservatives are in Prime form as always. I live in Surrey, BC, a city where one in 20 households identify as Muslim households, and yet... Surrey South Conservative Party candidate Brent Chapman's historical feelings on the subject leave much to be desired.

Brent Chapman Surrey South remarks from just under a decade ago are not going to be erased by his paltry apology for stating Palestinians are -- hold on let me get the quote -- "inbred walking, talking, breathing time bombs." He also shared an article on "Muslim inbreeding," along a sentiment that it was simply not possible to "coexist" with Islam.

But I guess don't worry, because he is, supposedly, 'sincerely' sorry.

Sorry Mr. Chapman, we cannot coexist with you either; good luck with that.

Not that I would have ever voted for a Conservative party member anyway, but if this is what they have to offer, that really just drives the point home that much harder.

[hwy95eh]

The latest BI-WEEKLY-ISH EH?! mailout is a post about how British Columbians should get out and actively NOT vote for the BC Conservatives in the upcoming BC provincial election — READ HERE.

[terracebatman]

Pierre Poilievre and Batman.

[reasonsforhope]

For years, the people of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation watched over their waters and waited. They had spent nearly two decades working with Canada’s federal government to negotiate protections for Kitasu Bay, an area off the coast of British Columbia that was vulnerable to overfishing.

But the discussions never seemed to go anywhere. First, they broke down over pushback from the fishing industry, then over a planned oil tanker route directly through Kitasoo/Xai’xais waters.

“We were getting really frustrated with the federal government. They kept jumping onboard and then pulling out,” says Douglas Neasloss, the chief councillor and resource stewardship director of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation. “Meanwhile, we’d been involved in marine planning for 20 years – and we still had no protected areas.”

Instead, the nation watched as commercial overfishing decimated the fish populations its people had relied on for thousands of years.

Nestled on the west coast of Swindle Island, approximately 500km north of Vancouver, Kitasu Bay is home to a rich array of marine life: urchins and abalone populate the intertidal pools, salmon swim in the streams and halibut take shelter in the deep waters. In March, herring return to spawn in the eelgrass meadows and kelp forests, nourishing humpback whales, eagles, wolves and bears.

“Kitasu Bay is the most important area for the community – that’s where we get all of our food,” Neasloss says. “It’s one of the last areas where you still get a decent spawn of herring.”

So in December 2021, when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans withdrew from discussions once again, the nation decided to act. “My community basically said, ‘We’re tired of waiting. Let’s take it upon ourselves to do something about it,’” Neasloss says.

What they did was unilaterally declare the creation of a new marine protected area (MPA). In June 2022, the nation set aside 33.5 sq km near Laredo Sound as the new Gitdisdzu Lugyeks (Kitasu Bay) MPA – closing the waters of the bay to commercial and sport fishing.

It is a largely unprecedented move. While other marine protected areas in Canada fall under the protection of the federal government through the Oceans Act, Kitasu Bay is the first to be declared under Indigenous law, under the jurisdiction and authority of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation.

Pictured: "In some ways, I hope someone challenges us" … the Kitasoo/Xai’xais stewardship authority.

Although they did not wait for government approval, the Kitasoo did consult extensively: the declaration was accompanied by a draft management plan, finalised in October after three months of consultation with industry and community stakeholders. But the government did not provide feedback during that period, according to Neasloss, beyond an acknowledgment that it had received the plan...

Approximately 95% of British Columbia is unceded: most First Nations in the province of British Columbia never signed treaties giving up ownership of their lands and waters to the crown. This puts them in a unique position to assert their rights and title, according to Neasloss, who hopes other First Nations will be inspired to take a similarly proactive approach to conservation...

Collaboration remains the goal, and Neasloss points to a landmark agreement between the Haida nation and the government in 1988 to partner in conserving the Gwaii Haanas archipelago, despite both parties asserting their sovereignty over it. A similar deal was made in 2010 for the region’s 3,400 sq km Gwaii Haanas national marine conservation area.

“They found a way to work together, which is pretty exciting,” says Neasloss. “And I think there may be more Indigenous protected areas that are overlaid with something else.”

-via The Guardian, 5/3/23

[communistkenobi]

Wegenschimmel & McLaughlin (2024) - The Great Canadian Paradox: Jordan Peterson, Right‑Wing Canadian Internet Personalities, and the End of Canadian Exceptionalism?

This article was published this year. what the fuck are you bozos talking about

Jordan Peterson is not "difficult to classify" he is a far-right public figure very plainly and openly, if you have a hard time sussing out his politics you are a moron who takes everything he says at face value and are therefore completely useless as a social scientist

there are many right wing 'populist' politicians in Canadian politics! Doug Ford modeled himself after Trump during his campaign in Ontario in 2018 and has been in power since then. Pierre Poilievre is the current leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and is doing anti-woke transsexual groomer and "stop radical immigration" shit, and the CPC are almost certainly going to win the upcoming federal election. The People's Party of Canada was created in 2018 by Maxime Bernier and quadrupled their vote in the last federal election running on an anti-vax platform. Jason Kenny is a lifelong right-wing anti-abortion homophobic shithead who was premiere of Alberta from 2019-2022. Kevin O'Leary ran for the leader of the CPC! a fucking celebrity host on a stupid reality television show. and these are all off the top of my head, all in the last 5-10 years. if i were writing an academic article about this surely i would find more examples

Proving that all Canadian academics have terminal US brain by bringing up Putin, who is completely irrelevant to domestic right wing organizing and only matters if you've spent the last eight years having public panic attacks about russian interference in US elections

idk i grew up under Stephen Harper, I remember how stupidly right wing the ambient discourse was from adults around me, I remember how right-wing our media was and still is, particularly how openly islamophobic and racist Quebec is, how anti-immigrant and anti-indigenous Ontario is, how racist and christian Alberta is, the current catastrophic opioid crisis in British Columbia because even the granola-munching libs in BC hate the poor and the unhoused. Like I'll grant that Canadian conservativism trends Tory instead of Evangelical, that we have lagged behind the culture war and played catch-up with the US on shit like climate denial and rabid homophobia from our politicians, but I see this claim often in academic discussions of the Canadian right-wing, that we've missed the boat on the far-right movements happening in other western countries, but I never see any facts mustered for this claim, and the arguments I do see are shit like this, plainly and obviously stupid and wrong. The fact that the Canadian right-wing doesnt have the global reach of the United States or the UK/France isn't evidence against far-right movements in Canada, we are a stupid middle power western country with a fraction of the population of the US, why would you expect us to compete with the head of the imperial core

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in May 2024

01/05 On behalf of The King, held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace. 🎖️

As President of the City and Guilds of London Institute, attended The Princess Royal Training Awards Alumni Skills Summit at Guildhall. 🏆

With Sir Tim As Patron of the Whitley Fund for Nature, attended the Annual Whitley Awards Ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society. 🦋

02/05 With Sir Tim Named a Great Western Railway Intercity Express Train ‘HRH The Princess Royal’ at Paddington Railway Station. 🚉

Unofficial With Sir Tim Attended day two of the Royal Windsor Horse Show. 🐎

03/05 With Sir Tim Departed the UK from Stansted Airport for Canada and arrived at Vancouver International Airport

HRH, as Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Navy (Pacific Fleet), with Sir Tim, carried out engagements in Vancouver;

Attended the Commissioning Ceremony for HMCS MAX BERNAYS at North Vancouver Burrard Drydock, before attending a Reception onboard. ⛴️ 🇨🇦

Attended a Dinner onboard HMCS MAX BERNAYS at sea. 🍽️

04/05 HRH, as Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Navy (Pacific Fleet), with Sir Tim, carried out engagements in Victoria;

Toured HMCS Max Bernays at sea. 🌊

Visited Esquimalt Military Family Resource Centre at the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt. 👪🪖

As President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, visited God’s Acre Cemetery and laid a wreath at the Memorial. 🌹

Visited the Maritime Museum of British Columbia Archive. 📜⚓️

Her Royal Highness afterwards visited Fed Urban Agriculture Society Urban Farm, 395 Harbour Road. 🌾

Attended a Reception given by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (the Hon Janet Austin) at Government House. 🥂

Attended a Dinner given by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia at Government House. 🍽️

05/05 HRH, as Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Navy (Pacific Fleet), with Sir Tim, carried out engagements in Victoria;

Visited Government House Gardens. 🪴⛲️

Attended the Battle of the Atlantic Memorial Parade at the Parliament Building and laid a wreath at the Cenotaph before taking the salute at the march past of Canadian Armed Forces Veterans, Serving Personnel and Cadets. 🫡

Attended a Royal Victoria Yacht Club Youth Dinghy Regatta. 🛥️

As Patron of the Canadian Therapeutic Riding Association, visited Victoria Therapeutic Riding Association. 🐎

Departed Vancouver International Airport for the United Kingdom. 🇨🇦✈️🇬🇧

06/05 Arrived at Heathrow Airport from Canada 🇨🇦✈️🇬🇧

08/05 Hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace alongside The King and Queen, The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. 🍃☀️🪴

As Patron of the Woolf Institute, attended a Reception, followed by a Dinner, to launch the Randeree End of Life Programme. 🥂🍽️

09/05 As Patron of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, visited the Headquarters at HMS Excellent in Portsmouth. ⚓️

As Patron of the Women’s Royal Naval Service Benevolent Trust, attended the Annual Presentation and Reception at the National Museum of the Royal Navy. 🏛️

As Patron of the Association of Wrens, opened the new Headquarters Building at Lanyard House, HM Naval Base. 🫡

With Sir Tim As Patron of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, visited the HMS Victory Conservation Project at HM Naval Base ⚓️

With Sir Tim As Patron of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, attended the HMS Victory Conservation Project Dinner onboard HMS Victory at HM Naval Base. ⚓️🍽️

10/05 As Patron of Catch22, visited Greater Manchester Victims’ Services at Greater Manchester Police Headquarters. 👮

Visited the East Manchester Community Boat Project at Portland Basin Museum Marina in Ashton-Under-Lyne to mark its 30th Anniversary. 🛥️🎂

11/05 unofficial With Sir Tim Went to Badminton Horse Trials to cheer on Zara Tindall in her Cross Country stage of the three day event. 🏇🏼

13/05 Visited Stonehaven Open Air Swimming Pool to mark its 90th Anniversary. 🏊‍♀️🍾🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

As Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps and Marine Society and Sea Cadets, opened Stonehaven and District New Headquarters. ⚓️🫡 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

14/05 With Sir Tim As Patron of the United Kingdom Sailing Academy held a Founders’ Club Luncheon at St James’s Palace. ⛵️

As Chancellor of the University of London, attended the King’s Centre for Military Health Research Conference. 👩‍⚕️

With Sir Tim As Patron of the Wellington Trust, attended a Dinner onboard HMS WELLINGTON (mto mark the Ship’s Ninetieth Anniversary. ⚓️🥂

15/05 As Court Member of the Fishmongers’ Company, visited Glenarm Organic Salmon Fish Farm, off Glenarm Harbour in Ballymena. 🍣🚤

As Court Member of the Fishmongers’ Company, attended a Luncheon at Glenarm Castle. 🐟🍽️🏰

16/05 As Royal Patron of the National Coastwatch Institution, visited Bembridge Station, followed by a Reception at Brading Haven Yacht Club in Ryde, Isle of Wight. 🔍🌊

As President, Royal Yachting Association, opened the Sea View Yacht Club's Training Centre in Seaview, Isle of Wight. 🛥️

17/05 With Sir Tim Hosted the annual Not Forgotten Association garden party at Buckingham Palace. 🫖🍰☀️

20/05 unofficial Departed from RAF Brize Norton for Norway and landed at Oslo Gardermoen Airport. 🇬🇧✈️🇳🇴

21/05 As Patron of the Anglo-Norwegian Resistance Commemoration Project, visited the Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum in Vemork, Norway. 🔨⚙️🇳🇴

As Patron of the Anglo-Norwegian Resistance Commemoration Project, received a briefing on the sinking of DF Hydro at Mael Station in Telemark, Norway. 🏭🇳🇴

Attended a Reception given by His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway at the Residence in Oslo. 🥂🇳🇴🇬🇧

22/05 As President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, visited Vestre Gravlund Cemetery and laid a wreath on the memorial. 🪦

As Patron of the Anglo-Norwegian Resistance Commemoration Project, visited the Linge Club and attended a Reception at Akershus Fortress, Oslo. 🇳🇴🇬🇧

As Patron of the Anglo-Norwegian Resistance Commemoration Project, visited the Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association. 🪖🇳🇴

As Patron of the Anglo-Norwegian Resistance Commemoration Project, with The Crown Prince of Norway, visited the Norwegian Resistance Museum, Akershus Fortress. 🏰 🇳🇴

unofficial Departed from Oslo Gardermoen Airport and landed at RAF Brize Norton . 🇬🇧✈️🇳🇴

23/05 As Patron of the Hornet Services Sailing Club, visited the club for their 60th anniversary. ⛵️🎂

Opened the Army Sailing Association Offshore Centre in Gosport. ⛵️

With Sir Tim & Duke of Kent Held a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's 200th anniversary. 🛟☕️

With Sir Tim Visited the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. 🌸🌺🌼💐

24/05 Opened the Admiral Lord Cochrane Room at the Royal United Services Institute in Whitehall, London. 🔐

Sometime in May unofficial Sir Tim, as Chair of Trustees, attended the Science Museum Groups annual dinner

Total official engagements for Anne in May: 53

2024 total so far: 224

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in May: 23

2024 total so far: 55

FYI - due to certain royal family members being off ill/in recovery I won't be posting everyone's engagement counts out of respect, I am continuing to count them and release the totals at the end of the year.

[museeeuuuum]

With the British Columbia provincial election coming up fast, I thought I'd share the platforms of the two parties that I feel most confident throwing my vote behind. As a GLAM professional, where they land on the arts and culture is important to me as it's not only my livelihood, but I also believe that funding arts and culture creates a more informed voter base, improves the quality of life of my neighbours, helps to aid truth and reconciliation, among other numerous benefits.

The NDP platform:

The Green Party platform:

I am not voting based on this part of the platforms alone, and to be honest, I haven't decided which of these two parties I am planning to vote for yet.

You may have noticed that I didn't include the Conservative platform on arts and culture. If you wish to find their platform on your own to see how they fall on these specific issues, be my guest. But any party led by a candidate who compares teaching children about gender and sexual orientation in schools to residential schools, any candidate that threatens DRIPA, any candidate with such ignorant statements and lackluster policies does not deserve my vote or any positive mention in my tiny sphere of influence.

[deadlyhimbo]

A thought for folks who live in functionally-two-party democracies*, courtesy of current Canadian politics:

I live in British Columbia, a province that has been a leftist stronghold for so long that it has been a two-party race between the Liberals (generally centre-left at the federal level, but decidedly centre-right or even right wing at the provincial level) and NDP (leftists) for *over 50 years*. There hasn't been a Conservative Party to speak of in my lifetime.

We had an election this year, and the Conservatives did the unthinkable: they became a viable provincial party (thanks to the combined effect of rising right-wing populism and the absolute implosion of the BC Liberal Party) and have come within a hairs-breadth of winning.

How close did they get?

So close that it's been over a week since the election ended, and we still don't know the final result, because the leadership of our province has come down to absentee ballots and recounts.

A party needs 47 seats to form a majority government (i.e. one where they control the majority of votes in the legislature, and thus can set policy even without the cooperation of other parties), and more seats than anyone else to form a minority government (where they lead, but need to cooperate with others to pass any legislation). It's also possible to form a coalition with another party to gain leadership together.

This morning, we were here:

And some of those races have been jaw-droppingly close:

Over the course of today, we've been watching the closest riding, Surrey-Guildford, flip to the NDP.

It's a change that, on its own, determines if the NDP is a majority or minority government.

It's been a fucking nail biter.

11am

12:45pm

1:30pm

2:30pm

The shape of the government for millions of people hangs on a bare handful of votes.

Your vote matters.

Every. Single. Vote. Matters.

I know people who didn't vote because they couldn't imagine the possibility of a Conservative victory in BC. We've been a "safe" leftist stronghold for so long that even experienced politicians have been blindsided by the events of this election. Nobody thought this could happen here.

Please don't assume your vote won't count.

Please remember that voting is a political action that has concrete, practical consequences, and not an act of self-expression.

Do you hate living in a two-party state? Me too. So push for electoral reform. Advocate for proportional representation, or ranked choice voting, or any other model that isn't FPTP. Help third parties grow and extend their influence outside of election season.

But please vote with an understanding of the system as it currently functions. Taking your vote out of the equation by abstaining or voting for an unviable third party just makes everyone else's votes have more weight. It's an abdication of the small but very, very, real power you have.

Vote.

---

* i.e. places where there are 3+ parties, but only two of them are remotely close to winning, and where First Past The Post (FPTP) vote counting means that a vote for a third party/independent has the same practical effect as a throwaway/protest vote

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Hands Off Wages, Is Warning of Conservatives,” The Province (Vancouver). March 7, 1931. Page 1. --- Vancouver Executive Demands Exemptions Up to $2000. === Patronage Bacon Issue In Demanding Resignation of Members. ---- EMPHATIC protest against an Provincial Government tax devoid of exemptions except for the very lowest salaries and for farmers isvoiced in a resolution passed by the Conservative Association at a meeting Wednesday night.

"We do not approve of a direct taxation on wages," declared party leaders in a formal resolution, "but if the province's financial condition is as bad as suggested and there is no way out except by direct income taxation of one per cent., there appointments. should be exemption of $1000 for single persons and $2000 for married persons or single persons with dependents."

MORE AND BETTER BACON. While officers of the association are both shy and forgetful when questioned about proceedings Wednesday night,

Party workers voiced loud complaints about the lack of patronage available from the Tolmie administration. This complaint was chiefly responsible for the resolution which called for the resignation of the six Vancouver members of the Legislature, but it carried with it a promise of support if these representatives took action to bring home the patronage bacon.

IGNORED BY CABINET. Supporters of the motion asking for resignation of the Vancouver members state that the Tolmie government has consistently refused to listen to the workers on the subject of government they admit that the then approaching budget and the matter of patronage.

Discontent became so general in Conservative ward associations, they say . that an effort was made to discuss the situation with a member of the cabl net, who, they continue, sidestepped the meeting on one pretext and an While officers of the association are other.

The gathering storm broke Wednesday night with passage of the resignation notice.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

[...] while talking about health care, Rustad made a strange comparison. “A doctor I was talking to just last week, he is a specialist in spinal injuries and neck injuries — a specialist surgeon. He gets two days every two months at the facility he’s working at. That’s it — that’s all the time that has been allocated,” Rustad said. “One of his colleagues gets 12 days a month for doing gender-affirming surgeries. We can do better folks. We can figure out how to make sure that our professionals have the ability to go and provide the services that we need in British Columbia.” It’s the latest comment from Rustad on transgender people. In this fact check, we’re breaking down his claims and, as hateful incidents directed at trans people become more common, their potential impact.

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[originalleftist]

Well, it looks like the BC provincial elections are (more or less) decided, finally.

More than a week after election night, the tally stands at (per CBC):

NDP: 46 seats called.

Conservatives: 43 seats called.

Greens: 2 seats called.

2 still outstanding.

47 are needed for a majority*.

At present, there are at least four races that are within 100 votes:

Kelowna Centre: flipped to Conservatives by 38 votes.

Maple Ridge East: flipped to Conservatives by 96 votes.

Still outstanding:

Courtenay-Comox: Cons up by 92 votes.

Surrey-Guilford: NDP up by 27- their hopes for a majority now rest on this seat (IIRC Cons were in the lead here until mail/absentee votes flipped it).

It appears that as of now, it will be EITHER an NDP minority (best outcome for the Greens, as they'd hold the balance of power), or the VERY SLIMMEST of majorities for the NDP. In any case, news outlets are calling it for the NDP, and Premier Eby has been formally asked by the Lt. Governor to form a new government, holding power by the skin of his teeth.

Two takeaways:

Once again we see that Canada is swinging hard to the Right. The NDP held on, but lost a bunch of seats, and the BC Conservative party went from near-nonexistence, to coming within a hairs' breath of its first election win in about a century.

ALWAYS VOTE. This was a high turnout election, and one of the closest I've ever seen, anywhere.

*Kind of 48 though IIRC, as the governing party must supply a Speaker.

[tomorrowusa]

Yep, your vote does count. A new example from our northern neighbors.

British Columbia held provincial elections on October 19th. It has, like Canada's federal government, a system of government similar to that of the UK.

A party must win a majority of seats in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly to form a government in the province.

So eight days after the election, the incumbent New Democratic Party (NDP) has won or is leading in 46 seats, the Conservative Party has won or is leading in 45, and the Green Party has won 2 seats. 47 seats are needed for a majority in the 93 seat chamber.

So there are two ridings (Canadian for legislative districts) where recounts are taking place on Sunday and Monday. One of them is Surrey-Guildford. The incumbent NDP member is currently down by just 12 votes.

So if Garry Begg picks up just 13 votes in the recount and counting of absentee ballots, he will win the riding and the NDP will continue in power in British Columbia.

So share this with the vote slackers in your life.

[murderturtles]

British Columbia has a provincial election in a few weeks, and I can already tell many of you are checking out, but bear with me here, cause I think this is kinda funny. Electing a premier is actually pretty important, given how power is configured in Canada’s version of federalism. We don’t have the separation of powers, per se, but rather a system of responsible government where provincial and federal powers work together and keep one another accountable, in theory. That being said, our Constitution has laid out what is under federal jurisdiction and what is provincial. Provincial governments are in charge of pretty crucial things like education and healthcare, so a lot is on the ballot.

The election is on October 19th, with some advanced polling and mail-in options. You cannot vote online.

There are a lot of political parties in BC, but only a few with any real chance. For a while, we had a contest between the BC United Party (who rebranded from the BC Liberals since they were fairly unpopular and trying to distance themselves from the even less popular federal Liberals), the BC NDP (New Democratic Party, the farthest left we have with any kind of clout, and who have been in charge for the past seven years), and the BC Conservative Party (they’re conservative but not cartoonishly so). Note that these are all separate entities from the federal parties of the same name.

With the knowledge that the election is on October 19th, it was a huge and unprecedented surprise on August 28th when Kevin Falcon, the leader of BC United, announced that he was dropping out of the election and backing the Conservatives, which was such a sudden announcement that some of those in his party found out from Twitter. This has never happened so close to election time, so now it’s a contest between the Conservatives and NDP.

The NDP had to scramble to adjust some of their campaign material, and it hasn’t gone smoothly. They have their ads yelling about John Rustad, the Conservative leader, as expected, but they were anticipating a three-way contest. With BC United currently licking whatever is stuck to the bottom of Rustad’s shoe, the NDP has had to shift focus. One of their ads was clearly meant to target the former Liberals, with talks of tons of healthcare cuts in the last twenty years. Now the ad is discussing “Conservative healthcare cuts”, trying to conflate Rustad, who was once part of the Liberals, with those cuts. Sure. But the Conservatives haven’t been in power here since the 1950s. So it’s an interesting tactic.

All this to say that it’s been a bit of a shitshow, despite how tame it seems to our friends down south. We’re having huge issues with housing and grocery prices, the healthcare system is incredibly strained, and Canadians are shockingly hostile to our politicians. Like. All of them. Constantly. There’s quite a bit at stake.

So what do our parties want to do? The NDP have had a hard time trying to fix our economy since the pandemic, and inflation and rising costs of living are stretching everyone pretty thin. Their policies are easing things, but it’s slow, and not everyone is seeing results right away. They want to regulate things, increase the number of healthcare workers, make it harder for corporations to buy residential real estate, and they are! It’s just slow.

The Conservatives want to privatize everything. They think having private healthcare will lower wait times at public clinics and lessen the strain on the system. More likely a lot of primary care providers and nurses will jump ship and go private, but hey, I’m not a politician or economist or lawyer or a fucking conservative, so what do I know.

All this to say that it’s very important to vote if you’re eligible to in BC. Get registered. You legally have time to vote on election day as well. Your employer can’t stop you.

And keep an eye on whatever the fuck is going on federally.