The NDP say it is history repeating itself as they accuse the provincial government of dropping ball in making sure businesses are ready for the PST. Finance critic Bruce Ralston says the Liberals have only themselves to blame after the BC Chamber of Commerce said businesses were scrambling ahead of the April 1st transition. "Well the … [Read more...]
No progress between mayors and the province in Translink funding
December 5, 2012 by
Slow progress so far from Metro Vancouver mayors to agree with Translink and the province on how to fund transit expansion in the region. Transportation minister Mary Polak has met with the mayors council for Translink for the first time since the mayors voted no on hiking property taxes to pay for plan. She says the mayors haven't yet come up with … [Read more...]
Men sue Province, former corrections officer, over alleged abuse
November 19, 2012 by
Ten months after a judge refused to certify a settlement agreement reached with the Province, individual civil claims around abuse at Burnaby’s Oakalla Prison are showing up in the court system. Five claims have recently been filed in BC Supreme Court naming former corrections officer, Roderick MacDougall and the Province as … [Read more...]
New West parents ask province for help
November 16, 2012 by
Parents at New Westminster Secondary have made it official: they have no faith in the school district to manage its finances. The district has run a deficit in three of the last 11 years, with the latest hitting 2.8 million dollars. The Parent Advisory Council has passed a motion of no confidence, and asked provincial authorities to help get things … [Read more...]
Province modifies tsunami notification process
November 12, 2012 by
The province is changing how it alerts communities to tsunami threats. Minister Shirley Bond says the government will forward information from Emergency Management BC to local authorities, media and first responders using e-mail and social media. "None of us think that any system of notification is perfect, so our job is to make sure that we take … [Read more...]
Tofino mayor says delay in nofication from Province led to District’s decision to activate tsunami sirens, phone notifications
October 28, 2012 by
Tsunami sirens in Tofino went off last night, alerting residents to seek higher ground following the 7.7 magnitude quake in Haida Gwaii. Mayor Perry Schmunk says they made the call to alert people via siren and phone notifications after having trouble getting more information from the province. "It took about 45 minutes before we got kind of … [Read more...]
UPDATED: Province interested in a study looking at raising alcohol prices
October 20, 2012 by
Provincial Health Minister Margaret MacDiarmid says she's interested by a new report which found raising minimum prices for harder alcoholic drinks could help offset healthcare costs for alcohol-related illnesses. "Certainly we know that direct and indirect costs of alcohol abuse and alcoholism are tremendous in our healthcare system, so anytime … [Read more...]
Mayors give province a deadline for Translink funding solutions
October 18, 2012 by
The Mayors Council for Translink has voted to pass the "hot potato" issue of transit funding back to the provincial government. A motion tabled by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson passed, setting a hard deadline of February 28th for the province to help solve transit funding woes. Robertson says it also rules out any new property taxes to fund … [Read more...]
Province “disappointed” after another day of cross examining Enbridge officials
October 17, 2012 by
The province is still not happy with the answers they are getting from Enbridge at the review panel into the Northern Gateway proposal. Environment minister Terry Lake says Enbridge officials didn't have much to say when grilled about oil spill response. "Well I would say we were disappointed in the level of detail that Northern Gateway was able to … [Read more...]
BCTF wants province to focus on cause of bullies
October 13, 2012 by
In the wake of the tragic suicide of 15 year old bullied student Amanda Todd, the President of the BC Teachers Federation says it's not good enough to simply intervene when there is a bullying problem. Susan Lambert says bullying needs to be stopped from happening altogether. "It's not a matter of trying to identify bullies. What we … [Read more...]
