No. of Recommendations: 4
I wrote some months ago how the BC government had been quietly signing deals with the tribes, giving them a lot of control over vast tracts of land in British Columbia. One town, Richmond, BC, suddenly finds itself with a set of new owners for much of its riverine property (and with things in correspondingly legal flux). I also reported on how residents weren't super happy with the lack of transparency in some of the deals being signed by the provincial government on their behalf.
The Premiere called for snap elections in British Columbia and those happened yesterday. The results were flat out shocking. First, note that British Columbia shares a political outlook with Oregon and western Washington, so much so that the region is referred to as "Cascadia" and folks who refer to it that way fly the "Doug Flag". The premier, David Eby, is as big of a progressive virtue-signaling "Elbows up" Canadian politician as you'll ever find.
Anyway. The election results are nothing short of amazing:
msn.com - Conservative party wins first election in nearly a century in british columbiaConservative party wins first election in nearly a century in British ColumbiaThey haven't won there since 1928.
The result marks an end to nine years of power for the left-of-center New Democrats, who voiced opposition to new oil pipelines and supported a ban on tankers along the province's northern coast
• The right-leaning Conservatives won 64 of the 93 seats and the New Democrats won 27. It is the first Conservative provincial election win since 1928
• The Conservatives pledged to double natural gas production by 2032 and more than triple it by 2035
• "I believe in energy... We will cut red tape like it's never been cut before," Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson said in his victory speech
• Doerkson, who will become the next premier of the province, promised to "supercharge" BC. The province will host a business summit in Vancouver next year
• The Conservatives promised to end emissions limits, replace the province's carbon tax framework and reach out to energy providers that had left the province's LNG sector since 2018, including ExxonMobil, Chevron and WoodsideWow. Good for Canada. I had wondered how the energy agenda was going to work up there given the political makeup of their port cities and Canadian voters gave a resounding answer: they handed the Conservatives a
supermajority in the provincial government.
On tribal issues:
bloomberg.com - Bc s left wing leader loses to conservatives in vote he calledhttps://archive.is/ifeD3The Conservatives have promised to cut taxes, end green regulations, and repeal a piece of legislation which mandates the province uphold the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.Yep:
The Conservatives promised to cut taxes including basic income tax, end green regulations including a zero-emission vehicle sales quota, speed permitting, and to repeal a piece of legislation which mandates the province uphold the United Nation Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Conservatives have said that law and related policies cause unacceptable uncertainty for homeowners and investors.
The Conservatives aim to double BC’s natural gas production by 2032. Several large facilities for exporting LNG from BC’s coast to Asia are coming online and in development. In Canada, sub-national provinces have significant power over natural resource regulation.
...
However, the Conservatives’ approach may cause friction with BC’s more-than-200 Indigenous communities, which hold strong legal rights in Canada. That could lead to protests and lawsuits, and perhaps tension with environmentally-motivated members of Carney’s Liberal caucus.Wow. Big shift up north.
