There usually are few news issues that interest me enough to comment on them, but last week was a lulu. There were some good news stories — there always are some good people doing good things — but last week had more than its share of the dark side.
Good news was LCSS graduation, a happy occasion to be sure. Watching the dozens of people crowding the sidewalks enjoying the sunshine and the parade, it was easy to forget about break-ins, fires, and other incidents plaguing the downtown area.
The dark side includes wildfires. The land is so dry, and so many wildfires are started by humans, let’s hope we don’t get anything like what’s being called “climate induced hell-fires” raging in the eastern provinces. Do we care that our oceans are getting more polluted and fights are brewing over who has rights to them? And what about the escalating conflicts in the middle east that could truly end up in a Third World War?
Then there’s B.C. politics. Will they be nice or ratty? Two former B.C. Conservative MLAs have formed the OneBC party. With two members, Dalllas Brodie and Tara Armstrong, OneBC has official party status with both MLAs getting a pay raise, funding for staff, and more opportunities to ask questions in the legislature.
It gives us four parties, the NDP, who are “in power,” the Conservatives, who were almost in power, the Greens, and OneBC.
B.C.’s Conservatives are considered the most rightwing party in Canada, but OneBC appears to be even “righter.”
Another new party promotes a centrist alternative. Former B.C. United Party MLA Karin Kirkpatrick has founded CentreBC. They have no one elected. They believe in a balanced approach to government where elected officials work together to “make progress on issues that truly matter to British Columbians.”
