Changing B.C. electoral system should not be easier than a strata bylaw—the public must demand a higher standard One of the basic rules set out in B.C.’s Strata Property Act — which typically comes up during an annual general meeting — is that the strata corporation may amend (as in change, create or delete) bylaws […]
Critics mislabel B.C. election campaign financing as the ‘Wild West’ Of all the tin-pot democracies in the world beset by corruption and influence peddling, which one do you think Canada’s newspaper of record recently described as “political-fundraising anarchy,” lacking a “basic level of morality to fundraising” and where businesses “stand to benefit financially” in a […]
Some thoughts on today’s sad news of the passing of Rafe Mair, who many will remember from his time as the morning talk show host at CKNW radio. It is said Rafe benefited greatly from a ratings powerhouse that preceded his program, the Frosty Forst morning drive show. However, when Rafe took to the air […]
Christy Clark’s departure creates opportunity for party to renew itself With Christy Clark’s departure from public life comes an opportunity for the B.C. Liberal Party to renew itself under new leadership. There is plenty of speculation as to who will run for the job. More importantly, however, we should ask what the candidates will stand […]
You would think that British Columbia — or even the whole country — has sat on the edge of a precipice while waiting for the final count of absentee ballots from the 2017 election. With only three seats in the Legislature, the B.C. Green Party is suddenly the belle of the ball thanks to its […]
“Mr. President, if you run the same campaign as you did in 2008, you are going to lose.” According to former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, he gave this blunt advice to Barack Obama after the U.S. president asked him to run his 2012 re-election campaign. Messina recounted the conversation in a […]
Just two days before British Columbians go to the polls on May 9 to elect their next provincial government, comes exhilarating news from France. Thirty-nine-year-old pro-business president-elect Emmanuel Macron, once an underdog for France’s highest office, served up a stunning defeat to his extremist opponent Marine Le Pen. It was yet another example where voters […]
The recent admission by the B.C. NDP that more than a dozen members of its senior campaign staff have been supported financially by the United Steelworkers Union brings home the messy reality of how campaigns are financed. It also reveals how hard it would be to police these campaigns even if union and corporate donations […]
Originally featured in Vancouver Courier newspaper A year ago it was the time of an auspicious occasion for our city’s political class — the swearing in of the new city council at the Southeast False Creek Community Centre. In spite of the costly and downright testy election campaign that had just concluded, everybody in the […]