I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — COPE is back! Last Saturday was election day and for the first time since 2011, COPE had candidates elected not just to Vancouver’s city council, where Jean Swanson came in fourth, but also to the city’s school board, with Barb Parrott, and park board, with…
Category: Canadian politics
A little technology, a lot of independence
With the recent passing of world-renowned physicist and cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, there have been many very interesting interviews on CBC Radio over the last few days. One of them was Tuesday, March 20 on The Current. Anna Maria Tremonti interviewed Gary Birch, the Executive Director of the BC-based Neil Squire Society. For more than 30…
Getting to first base with basic income
It’s been two weeks since the provincial budget was released. Many of you may be unaware of the fact that the new budget contained $4 million to “test the feasibility” of a guaranteed basic income for all British Columbians. The basic income movement has been around for many decades. In the 1970s, the federal government…
Calling the federal budget “progressive” doesn’t make it so
Many have suggested that Tuesday’s federal budget was a progressive one. I am not so sure. While it contained many welcome initiatives, such as improved parental leave and significant increases in funding for indigenous issues, I was very disappointed to see three critical items omitted. First on the list is a national childcare program. I…
Gregor Robertson: 10 years of disappointments
A week ago, Mayor Gregor Robertson announced that he would not be seeking re-election this fall. So now is the time to reflect on what his 10 years in office have meant. I’ll tell you up front that I do not look back with any degree of fondness at Gregor Robertson’s time as mayor of…
Vancouverites, get out and vote!
Today, October 4, is the first of two advance voting days for the Vancouver by-election October 14 to elect one new council member and nine school board members. The second advance poll will be held October 10. Both advance polls are located at City Hall. Of course, regular voting day is Saturday, October 14 and…
Three cheers for regulating campaign donations!
During the recent provincial election campaign both the NDP and the Green Party made strong commitments to electoral financial reform. Tuesday, the NDP came through with a bill that will go a long way towards creating a level playing field in that regard during provincial elections. The legislation tabled by the NDP will eliminate all…