The Hook: Political news, freshly caught
Despite public support for a BC pesticide ban, Clark waffles on promise
British Columbia Premier Christy Clark backtracked today on her promise to introduce a province-wide ban on the cosmetic use of pesticides, despite public support for such a ban. Read more…
Should There Be More Regulations on Big Tech?
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- I don’t know.
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Are you watching the winter Olympics this year? Read the results of that poll here.
BC snuffs out AirCare test program
The BC government is shifting gears on the AirCare program with a plan to phase out tailpipe testing of light cars and trucks at the end of 2014 in favour of focusing on heavy-duty diesel vehicles. Read more…
Genetically modified plants won't take root with councillors in Richmond, BC
RICHMOND, B.C. - Richmond City Council says engineered crops and plants have no place in the gardens of Metro Vancouver. Read more…
Vancouver Public Library says City will foot bill for labour lawyer
The statement comes as part of an ongoing dispute between VPL management and unionized library workers, who were upset by hour reductions for 19 part-time workers and the library's decision to contract prominent lawyer Kim Thorne of Roper Greyell to handle collective agreement negotiations on management's behalf. Read more…
In protest of library staff cuts, VPL workers will leaflet writers fest
Unionized workers at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL) are feeling the bite of $500,000 worth of planned staff hour cuts, which union members plan to protest by leafleting the May 9 Vancouver International Writers Festival at the VPL, said Alexandra Youngberg, president of CUPE Local 391. Read more…
National forestry organization urges caution on BC land use changes
The national organization representing foresters and other professionals is urging the British Columbia government to be cautious about making any changes to how public forests are managed. Read more…
Northern mayors warn Burns Lake timber solution may harm their communities
Mayors of five northern communities have written to Premier Christy Clark expressing concern that finding enough timber for a new mill in Burns Lake may harm the long term sustainability of the places they represent. Read more…
As feds 'sell' CETA, BC's Bell says he can't talk about trade agreement
The British Columbia government is barred from talking publicly about a proposed free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union, Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Minister Pat Bell told The Tyee this week. Read more…
Whistler council stands up to northern pipeline project
Speaking up for tourism, Whistler council is taking its politics to a whole new level — unanimously opposing the Northern Gateway pipeline. Read more…
Forum aims to help local politicians make 'progressive' change
A two-day conference starting Friday will bring together B.C. politicians, policy-makers, educators and others who are at the cutting edge of social change -- and finding that edge close to home. The range of workshops at The Future Is Local Civic Governance Forum, to be held at Harrison Hot Springs, reflects various hot button issues local public officials face these days, said Charley Beresford, executive director of The Columbia Institute, which is putting on the event. Read more…
Cabinet minister blames Elections BC for delay on local election changes
The cabinet minister responsible for local government is blaming Elections British Columbia and the recall initiative for the failure to make changes to the running of municipal elections.
But an EBC official said the agency had no qualms about the timing and was ready to do its part. Read more…
BC spent nearly $50,000 to host mayors and councilors at UBCM party
The British Columbia government spent nearly $10,000 on wine for people who attended a reception at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention for the province's mayors and councilors in Vancouver in September, 2011. Read more…
Councillors in Terrace, BC, vote to oppose Northern Gateway project
TERRACE, B.C. - One of the largest cities in northwestern British Columbia has officially joined the opposition to the Enbridge Inc., (TSX:ENB) Northern Gateway project. Read more…
MLA vows to fight BC plan to use farm land for foreign trade zone
The British Columbia government is likely eyeing precious agricultural land in the Lower Mainland for one of two proposed foreign trade zones, said independent Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington. Read more…
Supreme Court sides with B.C. community in tax fight with paper company
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an appeal Friday by a paper-making company over the property taxes assessed by a British Columbia community against one of its mills.
The court sided with the district of North Cowichan on Vancouver Island in a tax dispute with Catalyst Paper Corp. (TSX:CTL) which had argued its taxes were too high because they bore no relationship to the municipal services it actually used. Read more…
Addict turned expert says mainstream view of addiction needs rethink
The way that North Americans think about drug addiction is "mistaken, nasty, and stupid," says Dr. Peter Ferentzy, a Toronto-based addiction specialist and a recovering "crackhead." This Sunday, Ferentzy will be touting his book and speaking about Canadian drug policy at a lecture in Downtown Vancouver. Read more…
DTES tenants being squeezed by gentrification, says new report
Low-income residents of the Downtown Eastside are being squeezed out of affordable housing by "rapacious" real-estate development, warns a Vancouver anti-poverty group in a report released today. Read more…
Occupy Vancouver leaves art gallery, moves to courthouse
Ordered by the B.C. Supreme Court to shut down the tent city, Occupy Vancouver protesters packed up their belongings and left the grounds of the art gallery today -- only to resettle at the provincial courthouse on the other side of the block. Read more…
Abbotsford P3 water project rejected by voters
A controversial public-private partnership deal for an Abbotsford water works project was rejected in a city referendum this Saturday. Read more…
City election app struggles to interest voting Vancouverites
The Vancouver Votes app was released on Oct. 27 to encourage more people to vote. By Nov. 14, it had only been downloaded 1,000 times, though the city has 400,000 registered voters. Read more…
