Northern Beat Weekly 8
Rustad talks shop, BC's energy idealism, forest frenemies, and Eby's nothing-to-see-here trip to the Kootenays
Why, hello there!
Welcome back to Northern Beat, where the politics are lively, the forests are thinning, and the hospital ERs are—well, often closed. This week, Opposition leader John Rustad joins our podcast for a surprisingly candid chat about his political rebirth, caucus management and priorities at the legislature.
Meanwhile, forestry advocates are sharpening their axes at big corporations, a former environment minister is warning that Canada’s energy future is troubled, and Premier David Eby is making bold moves on involuntary care — starting with a handful of jail cells, which may not exactly be the kind of sweeping reforms voters were imagining.
Elsewhere, Eby took a very quiet tour of Trail’s zinc smelter — so quiet you’d need night-vision goggles made from its germanium to actually spot him — and ministers fanned out across the interior with a few more photo ops and funding announcements. Rural B.C. continues to grapple with ER closures, school shutdowns, and lawsuits over land acknowledgements, but hey, at least someone in Prince George just won $5 million. Silver linings, people!
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- Rob Shaw
Northern Beat Roundup
PODCAST: In Conversation with John Rustad
Opposition Conservative leader John Rustad sits down with Northern Beat’s Fran Yanor to discuss his priorities at the legislature, how he runs his opposition caucus, his journey from ousted BC Liberal to start the BC Conservative movement, Bill 7, nuclear power, natural resources and more. It’s a long, engaging conversation with Rustad like you’ve never heard him before.
Have a listen here
With friends like these, who needs enemies? asks forestry advocate
The B.C. government needs to make regulatory changes to save the provincial forestry industry from big corporate interests who squeeze out small producers and ship their profits (and our lumber) to other markets, writes forest advocate James Steidle.
Realism meets idealism in Canada’s energy debate
British Columbia faces climate action, energy production and political hurdles as it navigates the new post-carbon tax reality at a time where political forces at the White House and abroad sideswipe our ability to respond, writes former cabinet minister Barry Penner, who now runs an energy campaign for Resource Works.
The Legislature
First involuntary care beds open
The province’s first dedicated involuntary care beds for drug addiction opened this week — but only 10 beds and all are inside a prison. Located at the South Fraser Pretrial Centre, the beds were billed by Premier David Eby as a way to help those suffering severe addictions and mental health challenges who are revolving in and out of the criminal justice system, fuelled by drugs and crime.
Eby faced questions about whether an early focus on the prison population is what voters thought he meant in last fall’s provincial election when he vowed to improve public disorder through involuntary care. He said it’s the first of a series of steps his government is taking, but gave no timeline or indication of future steps.
In related news, Skeena MLA Claire Rattée took Health Minister Josie Osborne to task for the lack of treatment beds, mirroring concerns of a mayor in her riding, who recently told Northern Beat the province needs a long-term plan for how and when it will deliver addictions and mental health services in B.C.
Premier’s hushed visit to Trail zinc smelter
Premier David Eby travelled to Trail on Monday to visit Teck Resources’ lead-zinc smelter — we think. At least, that’s what his office says, though, the Teck barred the media from attending, Eby has said nothing publicly about the trip and it’s not clear what, if anything, he did or saw when he was there.
The smelter is firmly in the centre of ongoing trade tensions with the United States, because it produces the rare metalloid germanium as a byproduct of its operations. Highly-coveted by the U.S. military for things like night-vision goggles, the only other supplier of germanium is China, which has blocked export to the U.S. The trail smelter remains very profitable, with the operation helping increase Teck’s zinc business profits by 79 per cent in the first quarter.
Eby has often cited the Trail smelter and its value in the trade dispute when talking about counter-attacking President Donald Trump. While in the region, the premier also visited Waneta Dam, south of Trail. The only record the trip even occurred comes from the government photographer who posted photos on the province’s Flickr page, and a local mayor who met Eby and commented to the Nelson Star.
Ministers travel the interior
Less secretive were the interior tours of several cabinet ministers this week, including Mines Minister Jagrupr Brar, Jobs Minister Diana Gibson, rural minister of state Brittny Anderson, and Forests Minister Ravi Parmar. Gibson in Nelson announced $11 million towards four forest products that better use the dwindling amount of available fibre. Parmar attended the BC First Nations Forestry Conference in Penticton. Brar toured the Mount Milligan copper and gold mine northwest of Prince George.
Rural Reads from Around the Web
Yet another rural hospital ER closure
There are so many hospital ER curtailments in rural British Columbia these days it’s hard to keep track. But the latest was at South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver, closed April 16 and April 23. [Times Chronicle]
School District 57 closes Giscome Elementary
The very small community around Eaglet Lake, a former mill town 42 kilometres northwest of Prince George, no longer has an elementary school after SD 57 voted to close it and relocate the 10 students. The district says it’s not about cost savings, but rather providing better education for students at a larger school. [Prince George Citizen]
UBC land acknowledgement lawsuit
A group of UBC Okanagan professors are facing criticism from local Indigenous leaders for their BC Supreme Court lawsuit calling on the university to end reference to “unceded” in the land acknowledgements and stop forcing faculty to pledge allegiance to DEI “doctrine.” They also said the university should not take a public stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All of which they call a “political activity” and a violation of the legislation governing universities. [Times Chronicle]
A land acknowledgement, District of Taylor-style
After more than a year of research and consultation with local residents and neighbouring Indigenous nations, the District of Taylor’s first nations land acknowledgement development committee finalized a two-sentence land acknowledgement for the district to use. Tania Finch has been following the process. Spoiler: they removed the word ‘unceded,’ because it was too controversial, even among some nations. [The Broken Typewriter]
$5 million lottery ticket on the loose in PG
Somebody in Prince George is about to get a lot richer if only they’d remember to check the bottom of their purse or the console of their car. A $5 million ticket was sold for the April 23 Lotto 649 draw, according to the BC Lottery Corp, but has yet to be claimed. The winner has 52 weeks to step forward with their ticket to secure the prize. Hopefully, it didn’t end up with bleach and a 3X cleaner Tide pod in someone’s back pocket in the washing machine. [Prince George Citizen]
Bonus
Quote of the Week:
“We talked about the urgent need for more housing in our community, especially supportive housing for people who need extra help. I also brought up the lack of mental health and addiction services — which is a big concern, especially for our unhoused population,” Trail Mayor Colleen Jones, describing her conversation with Premier David Eby this week.
Closing
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