Cariboo- Chilcotin All Candidates Forum at 100 Mile House

Lorne Doerksen (L) of the BC Conservatives and
Micheal Moses (R) of the BC NDP 

Last night from 6:30 to 8:30pm in 100 Mile House inside a packed Creekside Seniors' Centre nearing capacity limits -- residents' in the 100 Mile House and surrounding areas listened to a lively debate between the two candidates (Micheal Moses of the BC NDP and Lorne Doerksen of the BC Conservatives), as to why they should be elected as the local MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin... 

Topics covered at the All Candidates Forum included:

* Healthcare 

* Education  (SOGI, lack of teachers,) 

* Amendments to BC's Land Act 

* Jobs in the Cariboo-Chilcotin

* Indigenous Reconciliation

* Justice System/Homeless Camps

* Wildlife Management (science based vs public opinion) 

* Auto insurance policies in B.C.

* Vacant Downtown Buildings/Provincial incentives 

* Housing Policies 

* Support for Local Infrastructure (roads, utilities, etc) 

* Single use plastics policy / returning to plastics products (straws, etc) 

Unfortunately, Mr. Moses had to leave the Forum half way through for reasons that were not publicly disclosed 

Following answering submitted questions -- Mr. Doerksen agreed to answer questions from the floor including:

* ICBC, 

* Roads at Deka Lake 

* negative election campaigning, 

* SD27 public communications 

* more teachers in SD27

* tuition incentives for healthcare workers based on location, 

* incentives to mentor new nurses

I am not currently aware of any future All Candidates Forums - either in Williams Lake or 100 Mile House prior to Advanced Voting starting on Thursday, October 10th, 2024 and General Voting Day happening on Saturday October 19th, 2024 

~SF

BC Election 2024 gets underway

 

Royal Proclamation dissolving
42nd BC Legislative Assembly 

Earlier today -- the 42nd Parliament of BC was dissolved by Royal Proclamation of BC's Lt-Gov, the Hon. Janet Austin - thus kicking off BC's 43rd General Election (see attached picture)

Some related background:

i) What happens now to MLA's who served during the 42nd BC Legislature (BC Parliament) -- https://members.leg.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Transition-Guide_Members-seeking-re-election_V2_2024-09-19.pdf

ii) The BC Government enters into a period called the "Caretaker Convention" -- while this is written in a federal government context, the principles are the same. In short, a provincial government between Provincial Parliaments' (Legislative Assemblies), may only act on matters that are:

routine, or
non-controversial, or
urgent and in the public interest, or
reversible by a new provincial government without undue cost or disruption, or
agreed to by opposition parties (in those cases where consultation is appropriate)

https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/insights/articles/what-you-need-know-about-caretaker-convention

Also -- Elections BC has all the information you need to vote in the October 19th, 2024 provincial election at https://elections.bc.ca/2024-provincial-election/

Finally -- as of 1:30pm today, the MLA candidates in the Cariboo-Chilcotin Region are:

1) Prince George-North Cariboo (officially/unofficially)

* Coralee Oakes, Independent (Incumbent)
* Sheldon Clare, BC Conservatives
* Randy Thompson, BC Greens

2) Cariboo-Chilcotin (officially/unofficially)

* Lorne Doerksen, BC Conservatives' (incumbent)
* Micheal Moses, BC NDP

The deadline to register as a MLA candidate with Elections BC is 1pm on Saturday, September 28th, 2024

All the best to candidates running for election/re-election in the October 19th, 2024 BC Provincial General Election

Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerksen joins BC Conservatives!

Courtesy of the BC Conservative Party:

Lorne Doerkson, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin, has joined the Conservative Party of British Columbia.

“Today, I am making a change because I believe this upcoming election is simply too consequential,” said Doerkson. “I have spent countless hours listening to my constituents in the recent months. The response has been overwhelming. The residents of Cariboo-Chilcotin want to see David Eby defeated and they want to see a common sense Conservative government in Victoria,” he continued.

Doerksen: “I look forward to working with John Rustad and the Conservative team. Whether it is axing the carbon tax, revitalizing our resource sector or reforming our broken healthcare system, it’s never been more clear that BC needs a common sense government.”

“My priority is defeating the radical BC NDP and it is now clear that the Conservative Party of BC is the only vehicle capable of getting the job done. I call on all British Columbians to join me in standing with the Conservative Party of BC,” concluded Doerkson.

“I’m thrilled to have Lorne on the team. As the MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin, Lorne has been a tireless advocate for his region and the vital resources within it, “ said Conservative Leader, John Rustad. “Whether it’s natural resources or small business, Lorne is an individual who puts his constituents first and that is exactly the kind of advocate we need in the Legislature. He will be a strong Conservative MLA for the riding.”

The Conservative Party of British Columbia looks forward to running 93 candidates in the upcoming provincial election.

For further information, please contact Angelo Isidorou: angelo.isidorou@conservativebc.ca

General Voting Day/42nd BC General Election

Today, voters across the 87 British Columbia Provincial Electoral Districts are voting, on General Voting Day, for a MLA/Member of the Legislative Assembly.  This after mail in ballots/absentee ballots having been distributed and returned to Elections BC and 7 days of Advance Voting.  

You can locate your specific polling station here while Elections BC has General Voting Day tips for you, the voter, here

After voting closes at 8pm tonight -- preliminary results will be available on the Elections BC website here while final vote results are not expected until November 16th

My personal thanks to the candidates who put their names forward for consideration of election along with their support teams.  All of them must be congratulated for participating in their own way in the thing we call our provincial democracy.... 

Looking forward to hearing the results after 8pm tonight!

SF

Adrian Dix stays on as BC NDP Leader

As I personally suspected and in a press conference held today, Adrian Dix stated that he would stay on as Leader of the BC NDP

View the article from CBC British Columbia here while Mike Smyth of the Province writes on this subject here and former NDP MLA David Schreck writes on this topic here

Meanwhile - watch Mr. Dix address the topic below:




Dix has now called for an comprehensive review of the 2013 Election Campaign and "no stone will be left unturned".  In addition, there is the BC NDP Party Convention this fall which includes a Leadership Review.  Should Dix either step down then or be forced out - there begs the question of:

Who then next as BC NDP Leader?

A couple of obvious choices include Mike Farnworth of Port Coquitlam and John Horgan of Juan de Fuca.  Both Mr. Farnworth and Mr. Horgan are very effective communicators and hopefully Dix will make use of these two gentleman in the 40th Parliament of BC

The NDP have no real reason to rush into a Leadership Race as the next election (at this point) is on May 8th, 2017.  Sufficient time to review the entire 2013 election campaign (and no, you can't blame it 100% on Dix, in my opinion) and determine what steps need to be taken to ensure no repeat of the 2013 Election Campaign for the next election campaign.  In my opinion, the Leader of a political party doesn't solely make for a bad election campaign.  It is usually the result of mis-steps by many to make a election campaign go south.  Methinks that the NDP Party faithful will say that it was Dix's first election campaign but the question will be -- Should you change party leaders after an election loss, like Carole James in 2009 and hope that the change is sufficient to get an electoral win at the ballot box in 2017.  I don't think the answer is that simple when you talk about winning in a province that typically has "divisive politics".  As a BC Liberal - I will be interested to see how the NDP struggle internally with the issue and where they take it...  but let's be clear - simply hoping for a win because of a change of leadership will not, in my view, improve your chances at the ballot box.  A successful election campaign has many elements to it, aside from a very good political leader who is able to connect with not only their supporters but with the 'undecided' vote as well which was roughly 20% in this recent provincial election.  A successful election campaign also needs to put good policies forward and communicate them with the 'apolitical' public in a way that they understand

I should add the BC Conservatives' should be (if not will be) going through the same process themselves like the BC NDP.  Unlike the BC NDP however, it is likely that John Cummins will resign his post and call for a new Leadership Race which the conclusion of this race could result in a better performance for the Conservatives' in 2017

BC Conservatives' in the Cariboo-Chilcotin

This past Thursday - BC Conservative Kamloops area Director Alan Forseth reported on his blog that the BC Conservative Party Constituency Associations for the Richmond & Delta areas have now been formally recognized by Elections BC

Read that blog post here

Meanwhile - here in Cariboo-Chilcotin & Cariboo-North, there isn't a lot of activity from BC Conservative supporters in this area.  At one point, the BC Conservatives' had a Cariboo-Chilcotin Riding Assocation President in Brad McRae (former City of WL Senior Bylaw Officer) while, to the best of my knowledge, no BC Conservative Party activity in Cariboo-North

If the plan for BC Conservatives' is to run 85 candidates in all 85 Constituencies, including Cariboo-North & Cariboo-Chilcotin, they need to very soon get active BC Conservative Constituency Associations in Cariboo-North & Cariboo-Chilcotin, otherwise they risk being seen as a "fringe party" and thus leaving Cariboo-Chilcotin to be fought between the BC NDP (Charlie Wyse) and BC Liberals (Donna Barnett) and in Cariboo-North, having next year's election fought between Bob Simpson, and the candidates for the BC Liberals and BC NDP

SBF

A Proud BC Liberal Supporter...

Readers' on this blog know that I'm a proud BC Liberal supporter and will continue to support them, much to the chagrin to BC Conservative supporters...

BC Premier Christy Clark reviews 2012 in this video blog post - see below:

But I'd point out that as we approach the 1st Anniversary (Feb 26th, 2011) of Christy Clark winning the BC Liberal Party Leadership, she and I would both agree that much work remains to be done but she's insured a good start but the global economy doesn't help and it certainly doesn't help that she has had to clean up a couple of files (HST & CLBC) that she did not initiate under her Premiership but has had to get fixed because that is what the public demanded.

But as Premier Clark notes - BC Liberal Party members', like myself, will have significant input into Party policy going into the 2013 Provincial General Election (good on BC Liberals to use online platforms to gather policy input).

Like any government (and party members having input into that government) - it sometimes moves slower than you want but it very well has legitimate reasons as to why it can't move faster (hint to BC Conservatives & BC NDP on HST Rules... tax law is not as simplistic as you make it out to be...)

Meanwhile, over on his blog - my uncle and BC Conservative Regional Director Alan Forseth has a blog post worth reading:

1) Why I can say this? I'm one of the voters BC Liberals drove away!  - Read here

Having read the article that Mr. Forseth refers to - Warren Kinsella speaks the truth.

Remember the elections of 1991 & 1996 ... when the "right" is split like it regrettably is right now - the BC NDP always win.  Also - think about this - both the BC NDP/BC Liberals had plenty of contenders for their leadership races but yet the BC Conservatives acclaimed their leader... people should ask - Why is that ... ?  People should ask Mr. Cummins and his party what kind of provincial political experience they bring to the table... especially voters' should ask if Mr. Cummins (if Premier) will abandon his "bull-headed" fights over First Nations' rights and fisheries... one of my personal chief reasons NOT to join the BC Conservatives...

So as we progress towards 2013 - should the BC Liberals' lose in 2013 (and it is starting to look that way, based on recent polls), the NDP should thank the BC Conservatives for playing spoiler, just like the Federal Reform  & Canadian Alliances parties played spoiler in the 1993, 1997 and 2000 Federal Elections... until the conservative right parties merged into one Federal Conservative party in 2003 and thus allow like-minded Conservatives on the federal scene to win minority governments in 2006, 2008, 2010 with a majority government in 2011

Finally - Message to BC Conservatives or disenfranchised BC Liberals...

Come back and join the BC Liberal "coalition" before you help indirectly to elect BC NDP MLA's and send BC back to the "lost 90's"

SBF

Latest Provincial Political Poll from Ipsos-Reid

Recently - Ipsos-Reid did a poll on support for provincial political parties.  You can review the particulars of that poll here

Overall - the NDP hold a 36-45% support lead over the reigning BC Liberals who have between 30-38% and voter support for the BC Conservatives' between 9-12% and 16% who are undecided.

But - on support for provincial political leaders:

Christy Clark - 45% support with 46% non-support and 9% saying "Don't Know"
Adrian Dix - 43% support with 36% non-support and 21% saying "Don't Know"
John Cummins - 23% support with 33% non-support and 45% saying "Don't Know"

Finally - by sub-region:

Metro Vancouver:

NDP - 45% support
BC Liberals - 35% support
BC Conservatives - 14% support

Vancouver Island:

NDP - 54% support
BC Liberals - 31% support
BC Conservatives - 8% support

Interior/North:

NDP - 39% support
BC Liberals - 46% support
BC Conservatives - 9% support

Final Comments:

While the NDP have support in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, the reigning BC Liberals have comfortable support in the Interior and Northern BC.  Meanwhile - the BC Conservatives have just enough support to play "spoiler" in Interior/North and Vancouver Island to the BC Liberals' but could have enough support (if developed over time) to elect a few MLA's in Metro Vancouver.  Also - if John Cummins converts his 45% "don't know" into "support", things could get really ugly for the BC Liberals as we approach 2013

Overall - the BC Liberals have a ton of work to do in Metro Vancouver/Vancouver Island to get rid of the NDP's lead in these sub-regions while watching the BC Conservatives behind them, with little time remaining to do so (with just under 2 years before the next election)

Finally - while not part of this poll - if the NDP/Liberals and BC Conservatives run candidates in Cariboo-North - I wonder if a 4 way race for this riding could spell doom for Independent MLA Bob Simpson come April of 2013...given when he ran in 2009, it was a two way race with only the NDP/BC Liberals...but on the other hand - BC Conservatives could, in a 4 way race, play "spoiler" to the BC Liberal candidate.  But it would come down to how many "NDP" supporters back Mr. Simpson as an independent and not back the local NDP Candidate.  This riding may end up being one to watch - given the only other independent MLA in BC is in Delta South (Vicki Huntingdon)

SBF

Being Civil when discussing issues...

Over on his blog - BC Conservative Regional Director Alan Forseth writes a very thoughtful and useful blog post on how to politely discuss subjects without making it personal

View it here

My take on John Cummins' speech at the 2011 BC Conservative AGM

Last Saturday - John Cummins, Leader of the BC Conservatives gave a speech to about 150 members of the BC Conservative Party

Watch Part 1 here
Watch Part 2 here
Watch Part 3 here

While I sympathize with certain parts of the BC Conservatives, like making BC Ferries part of the highways system and where ferries users pay "at cost" to keep the ferry system running, there are also parts I simply can not support

Cummins stance on Natives:


When I first run for WL City Councillor in 2005 - I literally took the same "my way or the highway" stance on natives and hence, it was one of the reasons I lost that election

In the meantime - many court decisions and the Canadian Constitution requires we, as a society, be accommodating to their needs.  Native peoples are not a "special interest" group but "left-out" Canadian society members' that need to be brought back into the Canadian society fold and efforts to date are not at the place, that even I would like to see them at

I have the funny hunch that Mr. Cummins would not change his stance, even if elected as BC Premier.  I, as a Federal Conservative voter and a provincial conservative, can not support his stance with regard to native issues.  This is what happens when you learn about how to deal with native issues in a positive way.  Note - I have a native member on the CRD Area 'D' Advisory Planning Commission and I've learned plenty on this subject from him

Cummins' stance on policing:


While many would share his frustration with the present state of the Canadian justice system - simply handing over charge-authority to the police is a little scary, from my perspective.  While not perfect - I think the present justice system can be strengthened, but let's be clear - no justice system, no matter where it is exists in the world, is pefect.  It does make mistakes and that's why you have "checks and balances" to ensure the system works for everyone - criminals/victims

Cummins' stance on natural resources:


While I agree with him "in principle" on this - I'm not too comfortable with his stance that provincial police (RCMP) should enforce federal fishery law.  I suspect he has never gotten over his "anti-native" stance on Native Food Fishery on the Fraser River.  A stance, I might add, he is somewhat well known for.  Also - it reminds me of the stance that former BC Premier Glen Clark took over Nanoose Bay - a fight BC lost when it took over Nanoose Bay later on, during the Jean Chretien years

Final Conclusion:


For the above reasons - and many others, I believe that staying with the BC Liberals' is my best choice.  Does my political party make mistakes - Yes, they do as they are just as human, as I am.  But this voter is convinced that BC is best served under the BC Liberals'

SBF

BC Conservatives close Policy Sessions to media

This morning, Vaughn Palmer of the Vancouver Sun - one of the province's most veteran political reporters tweeted the following:

BC Conservative annual convention in Nanaimo Saturday. Policy discussions closed to media. Not the practice with NDP, Liberals.

As a card-carrying member of the BC Liberal Party - I agree that Policy Sessions should and must be debated in public.  After all - it has been the tradition of other political parties, like the Federal/Provincial NDP, Progressive Conservatives throughout Canada, as examples and I reject arguments like We don't need the distraction of the media, when discussing policy, in the room.  Bull___ - most political parties have discussed party policy while the media was in the room and I haven't heard any complaining from party members

Now the real question is - What do the BC Conservatives have to hide??  After all - they want to govern BC, they need to show that they stand behind their policies including debating them, in public


SBF

Update (Fri Sept 23rd at 10:45am):

Alan Forseth, from the BC Conservatives, says that anyone can read the BC Conservative Party Policy here, but again - it doesn't answer the question - Why don't the BC Conservatives want the media in the room when their members debate their policies, unlike what occurs at BC Liberal Policy Sessions...?

Just asking...