Is David Eby still Premier of BC? Too often, whenever I hear him these days, Eby sounds more like a spokesman/agent for militant First Nations … not the workers/taxpayers of BC!
And … once more … the BC NDP are lining up on the WRONG side of history.
Have we already forgotten how in 2013, they … along with militant First Nations leaders… doubted/mocked/opposed former Liberal Premier Christy Clark’s enthusiasm for LNG? But then, in government, embraced it … and BC began to cash in. (Interesting reading from just this past July: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/christy-clark-takes-a-deserved-victory-lap-on-lng).
Today, the NDP, and the majority of BC First Nations, not only embrace LNG but seeks to substantially expand BC’s exports of it! They sure like the Billions of dollars it brings BC!
And then there was Site “C”.
The BC Liberals approved the project in 2014 … once again, over NDP/militant First Nations challenges/criticisms/opposition. In 2016, “Premier Christy Clark’s stated intention was to get dam construction “to the point of no return” by the time of a scheduled general election in May 2017,” says Wikipedia.
The Liberals lost that election and the new NDP government, under Premier John Horgan, now had to face reality!
“”We’ve come to a conclusion that, although Site C is not the project we would have favoured or would have started, it must be completed”, Horgan concluded, thus guaranteeing the completion of the project.”
Today, the NDP government … and most of the people in the the province … are happy to have Site “C” and the electricity it generates, and there is even growing evidence that, as AI and electric vehicle use expands, Site “C’ won’t be enough to handle BC’s needs.
And what about the TMX oil pipeline expansion from Alberta to Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet?
Once more, the NDP/militant First Nations opposed/blocked/challenged the project.
In fact, Eby (a lawyer who should have known better) wasted MILLIONS of taxpayers’ dollars to fight right up to the Supreme Court the federal government’s Constitutional power to proceed with the project … and lost.
Today, Eby supports dredging Vancouver harbour so even bigger oil tankers can plow right through Burrard Inlet to load up with more and more oil!
How ludicrous!
BC’s coastline is more than 25,000 km long … and yet, fearing that even a tiny part of those highly remote shores might one day suffer from an oil tanker accident, Eby and the NDP government think it’s safer for those same oil tankers to navigate Vancouver’s busy, crowded narrow Burrard Inlet????
It’s nuts!
Surely, the potential damage from a collision or mechanical failure of an oil tanker in an urban harbour is GREATER than a remote inlet!
And BC needs EVERY boost to its economy, jobs, royalties, and revenues it can get.
As I wrote on this Blog in early October:
“The 2025-26 Budget deficit is projected at $11.6 Billion and expected to increase to $12.6 Billion in 2027; the debt reaching $134 Billion in 2025 … UP more than 50% in two years.
Horrible!
“And BC taxpayers are paying the price: the province’s Credit Rating was recently dropped by Fitch to an AA+, with a “negative” outlook, while S&P rated BC at A+, also with a “negative” outlook. A lower rating raises debt interest costs.”
BC is in a financial mess!
It’s about time Eby and the BC NDP put the interests of the majority of people in BC FIRST and stop pandering to First Nations militants.
In fact, a poll done just weeks ago, showed 56% of British Columbians SUPPORT a northern oil pipeline (as do 59% of Canadians overall). Take a look; https://angusreid.org/pipeline-push-alberta-bc-eby-smith/.
BC should work WITH Alberta, the federal government and supportive First Nations to find the best/safest way to build a northern pipeline.
Let’s cut our dependence that forces us now to sell our oil to the US … at a discount!
Harv Oberfeld
🇨🇦🇨🇦 Buy Canadian! 🇨🇦🇨🇦
(Follow @harveyoberfeld.ca on “X” for FREE First Alerts to new postings on this blog. )
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/eby-dripa-gitxaala-ruling-9.7005087