BC politics

Renee Merrifield speaking to media on her front doorstep after winning the Kelowna-Mission riding for the BC Liberal Party. (Michael Rodriguez - Capital News)

Health critic, Kelowna MLA Renee Merrifield joins BC Liberal leadership race

Merrifield made the announcement on Aug. 2

 

Beach walkers on Sequim Bay on the North Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

B.C. hospitals, ambulances gear up for weekend hot weather

Use blinds, fans, wet towels to keep cool indoors, experts say

 

Farmgate sales of meat have been restricted in B.C. since new federal rules took effect in 2001. (B.C. government photo)

B.C. issuing new farmgate licences to allow meat sales this fall

Health rules restrict sales to local regional districts only

 

B.C. government program spending, in millions, from 2016 to 2021. (B.C. finance ministry)

B.C.’s tax take continued to climb during COVID-19 pandemic year

Federal billions offset loss in fees, licence revenues

B.C. government program spending, in millions, from 2016 to 2021. (B.C. finance ministry)
B.C. Premier John Horgan listens as Finance Minister Selina Robinson presents the province’s latest budget, April 20, 2021. The budget forecasts $19 billion in deficits over three years. (Hansard TV)

B.C. budget deficit $5.5 billion, less than half last year’s forecast

Province’s COVID-19 spending tops $10 billion for 2020-21

B.C. Premier John Horgan listens as Finance Minister Selina Robinson presents the province’s latest budget, April 20, 2021. The budget forecasts $19 billion in deficits over three years. (Hansard TV)
Firefighter lights a back-burn to interrupt the spread of a B.C. forest fire in the summer of 2017. Preventive burns have been advocated since after the 2003 Okanagan Mountain fires. (B.C. Wildfire Service)

B.C. forest fuel load becoming priority after decades of warnings

Prescribed burning urged since 2003 Okanagan wildfires

Firefighter lights a back-burn to interrupt the spread of a B.C. forest fire in the summer of 2017. Preventive burns have been advocated since after the 2003 Okanagan Mountain fires. (B.C. Wildfire Service)
North Island MLA Michele Babchuk and her Constituency Assistant Fred Robertson stopped in at the North Island Gazette building for an interview. Babchuk's North Island office is located at the old Robert Scott School. (Tyson Whitney - North Island Gazette)

MLA Michele Babchuk talks all things North Island

Babchuk was elected to office in October of last year

North Island MLA Michele Babchuk and her Constituency Assistant Fred Robertson stopped in at the North Island Gazette building for an interview. Babchuk's North Island office is located at the old Robert Scott School. (Tyson Whitney - North Island Gazette)
B.C. Premier John Horgan, right, walks with Hardy Wentzel, CEO of Structurlam in Okanagan Falls, March 2019. Horgan’s NDP government has emphasized value added production and redistribution of Crown timber licences. (Penticton Western News)

Record B.C. lumber profits should go to wildfire fight, Horgan says

Prices have plummeted from May peak, supply tightening

B.C. Premier John Horgan, right, walks with Hardy Wentzel, CEO of Structurlam in Okanagan Falls, March 2019. Horgan’s NDP government has emphasized value added production and redistribution of Crown timber licences. (Penticton Western News)
B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains takes questions from reporters at the B.C. legislature, Nov. 20, 2019. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)

B.C.’s minimum working age going from 12 to 16 in October

Some recreation, farm, administrative, retail jobs allowed at 14

B.C. Labour Minister Harry Bains takes questions from reporters at the B.C. legislature, Nov. 20, 2019. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press)
Trozzo Creek fire 7.5 km northeast of Winlaw in the B.C. Kootenay region, July 17, 2021. As of July 21 the fire is estimated at 1,100 hectares, out of control but not threatening structures. (B.C. Wildfire Service)

Stay out of B.C. back country while fire risk high, Horgan urges

State of emergency is to help move people out of danger

Trozzo Creek fire 7.5 km northeast of Winlaw in the B.C. Kootenay region, July 17, 2021. As of July 21 the fire is estimated at 1,100 hectares, out of control but not threatening structures. (B.C. Wildfire Service)
North Island MLA Michele Babchuk visited the Hardy Bay Senior Citizens Centre on Tuesday, July 13 for an informal chat. (Tyson Whitney - North Island Gazette)

North Island MLA meets with Hardy Bay Senior Citizens Society

Rosaline Glynn, president of the society, said the visit went fantastic

North Island MLA Michele Babchuk visited the Hardy Bay Senior Citizens Centre on Tuesday, July 13 for an informal chat. (Tyson Whitney - North Island Gazette)
Faydra Aldridge, CEO of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society, speaks at a funding announcement July 20, 2021. (B.C. government video)

B.C. psychosis intervention to expand with 100 care providers

Regional mental health programs to include rural outreach

Faydra Aldridge, CEO of the B.C. Schizophrenia Society, speaks at a funding announcement July 20, 2021. (B.C. government video)
Google Earth image of B.C.’s Fraser Valley, an area of intensive agriculture and development pressure for housing and industrial needs. (Google)

Eyes in the sky have a future for B.C. farmland, minister says

Satellite surveillance of agricultural use stopped after protests

Google Earth image of B.C.’s Fraser Valley, an area of intensive agriculture and development pressure for housing and industrial needs. (Google)
Cranes guide sections of Coastal Gaslink pipeline into a 1.3 km tunnel under the Murray River in northeast B.C., June 2021. (Coastal Gaslink video)

Coastal Gaslink pipeline nears halfway mark with B.C. river crossing

Tunnel under Murray River one of longest in North America

Cranes guide sections of Coastal Gaslink pipeline into a 1.3 km tunnel under the Murray River in northeast B.C., June 2021. (Coastal Gaslink video)
B.C. Emergency Health Services ambulance station at Langley Memorial Hospital. (Black Press files)

B.C. funds 85 new paramedics, 22 ambulances as demand climbs

22 rural ambulance stations to be upgraded to 24/7

B.C. Emergency Health Services ambulance station at Langley Memorial Hospital. (Black Press files)
Staying at home is preferred by most seniors to moving to assisted living or other care facilities, but B.C. has a shortage of home care staff and some seniors move into care before it is medically necessary. (Office of the Seniors Advocate)

B.C., care homes partner to train more senior home support staff

Entry-level candidates to receive paid work placements

Staying at home is preferred by most seniors to moving to assisted living or other care facilities, but B.C. has a shortage of home care staff and some seniors move into care before it is medically necessary. (Office of the Seniors Advocate)
A farm tractor and baler sit in a hay field on a misty morning, ready for a day’s harvest. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

B.C. to ease restrictions on secondary farm homes – in 2022

Agricultural Land Commission approval won’t be needed

A farm tractor and baler sit in a hay field on a misty morning, ready for a day’s harvest. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Bjorn Dihle inspects the acid mine drainage flowing into the Tulsequah River from a containment pond filled by effluent from the Tulsequah Chief Mine in B.C., October 2018. The mine cleanup has been a point of dispute between B.C. and Alaska for many years. (Chris Miller photo)

Northwest B.C. mines safe for salmon, Alaska legislators told

Projects developed in Stikine, Taku, Unuk River watersheds

Bjorn Dihle inspects the acid mine drainage flowing into the Tulsequah River from a containment pond filled by effluent from the Tulsequah Chief Mine in B.C., October 2018. The mine cleanup has been a point of dispute between B.C. and Alaska for many years. (Chris Miller photo)
A tunnel boring machine drills to accommodate pipelines through Burnaby Mountain to connect to the expanded Westridge Marine Terminal, May 2021. The twinning project is a quarter completed, with active construction in Alberta and across B.C. (Trans Mountain photo)

Latest Indigenous bid for Trans Mountain backed by pipeline company

Pembina Pipeline partners on oil expansion, northwest B.C. LNG

A tunnel boring machine drills to accommodate pipelines through Burnaby Mountain to connect to the expanded Westridge Marine Terminal, May 2021. The twinning project is a quarter completed, with active construction in Alberta and across B.C. (Trans Mountain photo)
Hydrogen fuel pump in Vancouver is one of four in B.C. There were 10 stations funded by the B.C. government in 2020. (Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association)

B.C. targets heavy trucking for next hydrogen fuel development

Mixing with natural gas part of Canada’s first hydrogen strategy

Hydrogen fuel pump in Vancouver is one of four in B.C. There were 10 stations funded by the B.C. government in 2020. (Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association)