Northern Beat Weekly 4
Bill 7 power grab, secret land deals, and two ministerial listening tours
Hello there!
It might be spring break for legislators and students across the province, but BC’s wild news cycle never rests.
Cabinet ministers were touring the Thompson Okanagan region this week, chatting forestry, jobs and American tariffs. We caught up with a couple of them, along with a local mayor and MLA, to hear how it went.
The fallout of the consumer carbon tax elimination is making waves, the NDP’s contentious Bill 7 continues to raise alarm bells and the BC NDP government continues to axe programs it can’t afford while blaming Donald Trump.
Hope you enjoy!
- Rob Shaw
Northern Beat Roundup
Fast action needed in forestry, mining, interprovincial trade, ministers told
Forests Minister Ravi Parmar and Jobs Minister Diana Gibson visited Canoe, Vernon, Salmon Arm, Kamloops, Merritt, Barriere, Clearwater and Kelowna on spring break tours to get a better handle on rural issues and what should be done about them.
First piece of advice from Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell: Fix what everyone knows is broken – BC Timber Sales and the stumpage system – and stabilize the fibre supply… for starters.
Aaron Gunn doesn’t need your approval, he knows who he is
“Aaron Gunn is a lightning rod for his critics and fans alike. He seems to infuriate and inspire them in equal measure.” So begins Fran Yanor’s fascinating profile of Aaron Gunn, a name you probably have seen online as a Youtube, political commentator and candidate for the federal Conservatives in the next election.
He’s made waves in BC and federal politics during a relatively short time on the scene, influencing the demise of the BC Liberals/United, and the rise of the BC Conservatives. This profile takes you on a deep dive into who he is and what he believes.
The Legislature
Opposition to Bill 7 ramps up
The Opposition BC Conservatives have ramped up their attacks on Bill 7, NDP legislation to give the premier and his cabinet extraordinary decision-making powers to bypass the legislature for two years. The party has launched a petition, as well as a fundraising drive, against the bill, calling it an undemocratic power grab. Outside of his original press conference, Premier David Eby has not responded to the concerns.
One of the things the bill will do is enable the province to tax supply trucks headed to Alaska. Northern Rockies regional mayor Rob Fraser told CBC’s All Points West this week such a move would severely impact the forestry, oil and gas and travellers in the region that use the Alaska Highway, cutting into local B.C. economies at the worst time. He said the bill is vague and his community is concerned — a common theme so far in criticism of Bill 7.
Republican US senator Dan Sullivan weighed in, warning Premier Eby to tread very carefully before pulling the trigger on any tolls affecting traffic to or from Alaska. “You know, Canada, you don’t want to mess with Alaska,” Sullivan told the Alaska Beacon.
Secret land deals continue
Once again the BC NDP government officials have been caught keeping controversial deals out of the public eye when it’s politically convenient for them to do so. Despite having reached a $104 million deal dock management plan with the Shishalh Nation last August – five weeks before the election – the NDP couldn’t pull a communications strategy together quick enough to share the contents with voters before they cast their ballots. Oops, they bad.
Maybe because British Columbians, particularly residents in the Sunshine Coast region, would have been upset. Besides $104 million over four years, the dock deal also transfers Shishalh six square kms of public land and includes a commitment to transfer exclusive jurisdiction to the nation. All done without the public – or even the NDP’s own Sunshine Coast-Powell River candidate Randene Neill knowing (until she became minister of land, water and resource stewardship in November).
The Vancouver Sun’s Vaughn Palmer has the story.
Secondary suite program eliminated
First it was the $1,000 grocery rebate, and now a grant to encourage secondary suites, as the BC government begins pulling the plug on promises and programs due to lack of money. The secondary suite program opened in April 2024 with the goal of providing up to $40,000 in rebates to homeowners willing to build rental accommodations in or around their house, and agree to rent them at below-market rates. The province set aside $91 million. But this week it announced it was closing the program due to “uncertain financial times” caused by U.S. President Donald Trump. In reality, instead of producing the promised “thousands” of long-term, below-market rent units, the program only approved or pre-approved 200 applications in the first year and earmarked more than $7 million for disbursement.
Carbon tax down, BC Hydro rates up
If you were hoping for a break on your wallet April 1 with the elimination of the carbon tax at the pump… keep hoping. Yes, gas prices might drop if B.C. follows through on a promise to end its consumer portion of the carbon tax, alongside Ottawa. But Energy Minister Adrian Dix announced electricity rates will rise 3.75 per cent on the same day - hitting people another $45 per year on their power bill.
That’s not all. Premier Eby says the province will likely have to eliminate the climate action rebate cheques it sends to low-income British Columbians, in the wake of the elimination of the carbon tax. The premier says B.C. will introduce legislation to follow Ottawa on March 31, block a scheduled April 1 increase to the carbon tax, and make up some of the $3 billion revenue hole by eliminating a $1 billion program to provide rebate cheques of up to $504 per year for a single person with an income below $41,000. Still, the province will face at least a $1.8 billion revenue hit, during a forecasted $11-billion deficit year, and nobody is sure how it will address that.
Clearwater creates own wildfire initial attack crew
Three years after losing a wildfire initial attack crew, the District of Clearwater is stepping up to do the provincial government’s job by creating its own crew. The small municipality says it’s at grave risk of wildfires, and so will create its own volunteer initial attack crew, with a wild land bush truck, and operate up to 10 kilometres beyond the district’s boundaries.
“If there’s a fire within 10 kilometres outside the District of Clearwater, we’d call wildfire service, they’d give us a yay or nay to go out, and they’d be paid by wildfire service to respond to that call,” said Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell. “Because now wildlife services is 1.5 hours away, they are based in Kamloops.”
Rural Reads from Around the Web
Blueberry River First Nations approve gas development permits
Blueberry River First Nations, which has won the hard-fought ability to approve natural resource projects on its territory, has granted six development permit applications to gas giant Petronas as exemptions to its cap on historical disturbances on its land. The nation called it necessary to strike a balance. [Energeticcity]
B.C. Wildfire Service sees record high applications for 2025 season
An expansion to First Nations recruitment has helped BC Wildfire Service get the most number of applications for summer wildfire service in its history. [Coast Reporter]
Low measles vaccination rates in Northeast BC cause for concern
Northeast BC has the fourth-lowest vaccination rate across the province for measles, causing worry about the impact to children. [CJDC]
Pouce Coupe is getting a gas plant!
The Pouce 4-19 facility will reportedly produce 40 million cubic feet per day and is expected to be commissioned in mid-2025. [Energeticcity.ca]
May prosperity always reign on our friends in Pouce Coupe.
Ostrich protest
More precisely, a save-the-ostriches protest took place in front of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in Vernon after the agency sentenced 400 birds to death following an avian influenza outbreak on Edgewood Universal Ostrich Farm last December. "It’s about science, public health, and the government’s failure to embrace logic over outdated policies," said a farm spokesperson explaining why the farm owners are pushing back on the cull orders. [Nelson Star]
Side note: Ostriches are apparently low fat, low cholesterol birds that can grow to more than 300 lbs and eight feet tall! Which leads us to this newsletter’s first ostrich shout out: To the tough-looking motherclucker street-fighter screeching its mad dominance off Hwy 97 in Osoyoos – we hear you, buddy, being an ostrich ain’t easy.
That’s a lot of sperm
We’ll finish with some cool science…
Did you know, herring deposit so much sperm during spawning season, you can see it from space!
That’s what geography master’s student Loic Dallaire discovered at UVIC’s Spectral Remote Sensing Lab when he helped develop a satellite-based monitoring system to see spawning events along B.C.’s coast. [Nanaimo News Bulletin]
Bonus
Quotes of the Week:
“One of the big criticisms is there’s not many MLAs past Hope. And that was what I said in election time — come see us in rural B.C., we don’t bite,” Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell, March 19, 2025, comment on NDP ministers visiting his region.
Political Calendar:
● March 14-30: BC Legislature spring break.
Closing
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