BC’s economy, since David Eby became Premier, leading his version of an NDP government, has slid steadily downhill … beginning well before US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Eby became Premier in November, 2022 … inheriting a $6 Billion SURPLUS from John Horgan’s NDP government: just a year later, 2023-2024, BC recorded a DEFICIT of $7.3 Billion … that’s a $13 Billion swing; for 2025-2026, the DEFICIT is projected to reach $11.6 Billion; and in 2027, a staggering $12.6 billion!
The province’s total debt in 2023-2024 stood at $71 Billion; and now, it is projected to reach $155 Billion by 2027!
Holy sleepless nights for future generations, Batman!!
And not a penny of that reflects the Eby government’s BIGGEST … and, possibly soon to prove MOST COSTLY gaffe: bringing into Law (with the support of the Liberal and Green parties too) the disgraced and radical-controlled UN’s pie-in-the-sky Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA).
Eby … and his minions … assured British Columbians the new law would facilitate/expedite reconciliation with First Nations, without impacting/hindering private land ownership, investment and development.
Oh… how the Premier and the NDP were snookered by BC’s militant Indigenous nations!!!
While Eby and his Ministers were fawning over them, including loudly/publicly proclaiming First Nations land acknowledgments, Indigenous leaders were busy too … hiring lawyers to invoke and enforce DRIPA and other pandering government moves/decisions … to uphold TWO Court claims for ownership/jurisdiction over “unceded” BC lands, starting with a huge tract of developed industrial and residential land along the Fraser River in Richmond.
They won!
“The B.C. Court of Appeal declared today that the provincial government’s current mineral claim-staking system is inconsistent with Indigenous rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has immediate legal meaning in provincial law,” the Daily Hive reported Dec. 5th.
“According to the judgment, UNDRIP now provides a lens through which all provincial laws must be interpreted and sets the minimum standards the provincial government must meet.”
Oops!
The First Nations have made a fool of Eby and his ideologically-driven pandering government.
Major industrial investment/development projects have already been cancelled. (Who in their right mind would commit millions to “buy” and develop projects on land that that future Court decisions could turn over to a First Nation!)
“We write to you on behalf of thousands of British Columbians whose livelihoods, communities, and futures are tied to the natural resource sector. Today, those livelihoods are at risk,” the letter begins. “A series of federal and provincial policy decisions have destabilized the industries that sustain our province and are eroding the economic foundations of British Columbia,” a BC Resource Coalition wrote Eby last Month.
““We’ve got this lull in the economy, the private sector is really lacking confidence about making investments in B.C. and layering on top of this, we’ve got these really fundamental questions about how our democracy works and how our system of property rights works here in B.C., all of which would lead investors to pause,” David Williams with the Business Council of B.C. told Global News in December.
But First Nations are fighting back … saying “any repeal or amendments … would have a negative effect on reconciliation.”
And yet, the government is still not prepared to repeal DRIPA … proposing instead “amendments”.
“I think we should be driving forward in terms of this relationship and really I think doubling down in terms of our efforts in terms of fully implementing the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act,” Terry Teegee, Regional Chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations said last week.
And the BC government soon afterwards gave in … again!
“Repealing DRIPA wouldn’t make title claims, like the one involving the Cowichan, go away. Repealing DRIPA would return us to a dark time and set us back a generation in our relationship with First Nations,” Minister of Jobs and Economic Growth Ravi Kahlon said Friday.
I put it to you it’s time Eby and his government starting putting its relationship with ALL the people of BC first … not just the First Nations!
Not that he has a great record of listening, learning … and altering course!
Unless DRIPA is FULLY repealed, major investment in BC will continue to be too risky; the province’s deficit and debt will continue to swell; BC’s 6% unemployment rate (13% for under 24s) will continue to flounder; and BC’s tax-paying population, which dropped in 2025 for the first time in the province’s history, will continue to shrink.
And that will ALL be Eby’s legacy.
Harv Oberfeld
(Follow @harveyoberfeld.ca on “X” for FREE First Alerts to new postings on this blog. No spam .. just alerts to new topics up for discussion,)
Why anyone would buy property in this province with the current legal mess we’re in….escapes me.
And apparently the money lenders…are having the same reservations.
Banks denying corporate loans on contested land…..is the first step.
Wait til people can’t get a mortgage for a house…or a condo.
Then the ramifications of the NDP’s embrace of all things UNDRIP will be revealed.
An utter farce.
(Response: No doubt, the only real solution that we were restoring investors confidence in BC is for DRIPA to be completely refilled. But frankly, I don’t see Eby as competent, intelligent or ideologically mature to realize or do that… but hope I’m wrong! He will tinker, make amendments and then watch business investors continue to flee BC. Ho)
This whole thing is very upsetting. Eby just gave away more of the Island to the natives in another secret deal. The natives are asking for more money from the owners of the land in Kamloops where some bones were found. It is getting out of control.
Why, as an owner?? of my property do I do any renovations or upkeep if the natives are going to just take it anyway? We have no rights in this country to property that we worked hard to pay for and upkeep while the government just can give it away. The judge in the case in Richmond was a native and ruled with bias as far as I am concerned. The party that was suing didn’t even ask for private property to be included but now the precedent has been set. This is not going to end well. Also, why should I pay property tax if I don’t own the property in the eyes of the government? Ridiculous.
(Response: Eby and his ideologically paralysed government are blindly destroying BC’s economy as a place to invest, buy or own property or spend big bucks to develop major resources… and creating a whole new level of un-elected government. This is not reconciliation … it’s a give-away! And I believe the ultimate outcome will be MORE conflict and MORE social discord, not less. Ho)
Just a couple of thoughts here, bouncing off Marge’s observations.
I think she’s right that the NDP will try to clobber any MAGA connection. With that in mind, OneBC could easily be tagged with MAGA support, because Dallas Brodie attended the AmericaFest 2025 in December when she had just been deposed as leader of OneBC. She came back claiming political rejuvenation. This convention featured the widow of Charlie Kirk and I think Tucker Carlson. Here’s hoping she keeps away from the Conservatives so as not to contaminate them with her american connections. Interestingly, while I found her post on that in December, I cannot find it now.
In addition, what does it mean strategically, that BC is so indebted, while negotiating land claims. If we’re so broke, how can we make a deal with the natives?
(Response: British Columbians are mostly middle of the road: extremists .. either right or left … harm the parties that embrace them. Of course, each will zero in on these vulnerabilities … and I think the BC Conservatives will be under great scrutiny in that regard. But the NDP also should be concerned: Eby’s personal stubbornness, dismal fiscal record and excessive pandering to First Nations is increasingly being noticed … and resented. Ho)
I found the Dallas Brody link on her Facebook page. I should not have implied that she was being covert.
DRIPA has its problems. But the way people are talking here it has dissolved into an us vs them problem with THEM (Indigenous people) being the problem. Greedy, radical, extremist militant First Nations holding the rest us hostage.
DRIPA was supposed to be a process, not an immediate solution to every problem that has ever existed involving the Indigenous people of BC. The idea is to reconcile some of the historical problems that have affected First Nations. And it not just economic, although BC without any kind of treaties for the most part, have a more difficult time than other provinces when it comes to land claims and resource development.
There are still plenty of things that our governments can do to include First Nations people beyond the token land acknowledgements and renaming of buildings or throwing money at FIFA related activities etc. We have improved and can continue to improve school curriculum by including First Nations art classes or teaching how Indigenous people used the flora and fauna of a region in science classes or reading stories written by Indigenous writers in English classes. The teaching of the history of mistreatment of Indigenous people does not have to be a negative. We don’t beat ourselves up because our British ancestors had a feudal system that discriminated against 90% of our population. We look at how democracy developed from those horrible times and how societies improve to become more fair. History is history and current events are future history. We can teach the “bad” history while studying the current events that are trying to correct the mistakes of the past.
Similar things can be done within the justice system, health care, children and family services etc to include First Nations.
This is supposed to be a collaboration. Maybe I am naive, but I don’t believe that the majority of First Nations are greedy militants that some of you are portraying them as. Like all of us, they want to be listened to, they want their concerns if not addressed, at least understood. When it comes to a pipeline or the rescinding of a tanker ban, governments have to alleviate concerns that people (and not just Indigenous people) may have. Most of BC doesn’t live in the north/northcoast region so don’t have the same fears as those that do. But the world is not risk free. And governments do have the right to make decisions that some of us may not like and that includes Indigenous people.
In other words, Harvey, I think I am leaning toward “tinkering and amending” rather than repealing DRIPA. Before DRIPA we were always going to court and worrying about big projects being abandoned because of uncertainty. Repealing DRIPA isn’t going to prevent those things from happening again.
(Response: The problem with tinkering and amending is it will not impress or alleviate the fears of major investors interested in resource or development projects worth hundreds of millions or billions of dollars, especially if other provinces or countries offer similar projects/resources without the angst and risks that DRIPA poses in any form. Remember, Eby promised it would not affect property rights in ANY way. Look how that turned out! Ho)
First nations or just environmental front? https://nationalpost.com/opinion/carney-coastal-first-nations-environmentalist-group
Interesting and I hope the NDP read this because you have comments from a wide spectrum of politcal briefs and not one is supporting Eby and the NDP. (did I miss something?)
If I were in the NDP, I would be very nervous.
For the Cowichan/Richmond decision, well the Tsawwassen First Nations and the Lummi Indian Band are now claiming that this land in Richmond is theirs and not the mean old nasty Cowichans. It is going to be a lawyer’s delight for decades to come.
Yes a lawyer’s delight on the taxpayer’s dime! ………… Ka-Ching!
Dripa will be the issue in the next election and with all property owners across BC at risk, the NDP stands a good chance of being wiped out, a la 2001.
The Conservatives had better get their act together because they maybe one term wonders if they run the anti-vax/science, anti climate change, holy roller crowd.
I did not vote in the past provincial election because I strongly felt that the Rustad Conservatives and the Eby NDP were unfit for office (and yes our right wing farmer was a shoe in) and there was no one else to vote for.
I still think the current Conservatives and the NDP are unfit for office and prove it day by day, but until the population at large start demanding quality politcans, we are left with a cadre also-rans, nutters, and shills running for office and when elected, demonstrate this over and over again.
The Stanley park miniature railway saga fully demonstrates how utterly incompetent politcans are in Vancouver and it is the same for the province.
Unfortunately, the electorate isn’t all that bright or all that informed to say the least. The people who post here are one of the very few who actually know a bit about politics and actually think for themselves, for the most part. Try asking an ordinary citizen what is going on in BC with the FN and they won’t have a clue.
Today’s public has no knowledge really of what is going on the province to say the least. They will vote the NDP back into power because it’s their welfare check, it’s their medical guarantee (and I almost choked at writing that but they believe the government is doing its best for us because isn’t that what Global tells them), and it’s their guaranteed thrust against Trump because after all aren’t the BC Conservative really MAGA people too.
All of the above will be put into their minds over and over by the media, be it written or on tv. After all it worked for the federal liberals and it will work for the BC provincial NDP for sure if there is a spring election. And if people could have been that stupid, then, don’t believe for the least that they have improved any since. The NDP will be in power again in BC. The island and the Lower Mainland will guarantee it because of their socialist leanings and old hippy attitudes. For most of them, all of BC is FN land no questions asked. We should all just be leasing from them and that to them is what all they need to hear to vote NDP. Nothing about their kids’ futures, nothing about their province’s well being at all. BC is the Oregon of the north and it will vote accordingly. You are wearing blinders if you think otherwise Harvey.
(Response: One thing I enjoy about this blog is the usually fairly high degree of the discussions … from left and right. As for an election, as the demographics … and economics .. of ridings change, so can the results … even in the Lower Mainland. Even if Global remains the government’s messenger. Ho)
The fact that so many identify Conservatives here as MAGAs is telling me that the media have done their job. All those who use that word are definitely going to vote NDP when push comes to shove, because God forbid a MAGA person gets elected, especially according to the CBC and other media that these folks listen to.
And if this isn’t proof positive of the nut cases on the island….
Read today’s message about the Victoria newspaper letter to the editor about arming ourselves for the coming invasion! NDP voters at their finest I’d say!
https://www.facebook.com/brianlilley
You are correct on all counts.
The next election will be fought on DRIPA, no matter how Eby tries to change the narrative.
Eby’s NDP or as I prefer to call them Vision(less) Vancouver Provincial are the comfy, armchair, government bureaucrat class that lives in Vancouver’s toney West Side and they see the world through a completely different lens than the average voter.
They put the “Lotus” into “Lotus Land”, a land of the Nouveau riche, who live in a land of well paid vacations, ski trips to Whistler and Polo.
for the rest of us and especially those in the “Hurtlands” or the DTES, Eby doesn’t care, in fact he doesn’t even understands the problems.
Eby’s background is one of government funded court cases of those who can make good photo-ops and with the Judges and courts today, this is easy-peasy.
DRIPA puts all land in BC at risk and the First nations, trained as professional victims” get full media support and the taxpayer, us, pay all the bills.
The Conservatives have a chance to defeat the NDP by a large margin, but for gods sake, stop the lies about Carney, stop the F*** Trudeau shtick, stop being Maple MAGA’s and find a leader with common sense; find those running for the party who are not anti vaxers, anti science, or religious nutters.
For once, will a right of centre party run normal candidates who are not racist, not just plains stupid and have a working knowledge on how our parliamentary democracy works because I as see it the Conservatives still do not have a clue what they are doing and they need a centrist leader who can lead.
If not, the Conservatives will snatch defeat, again, from the jaws of victory.
(Response: BC’s economy can’t wait three more years for an election to settle the property rights issues threatened by DRIPA. I have written earlier that I found Eby’s threats to hold a Spring election to be just political bluster: now, I really hope he does it … for the sake of “the people”!!! Ho)
Welcome back. I’m not a lawyer but my understanding is that an change to the DRIPA Law (Bill 41) and the Interpretation Act in BC would not retroactively impact the Cowichan decision or any other issue currently ruled on or before the courts. Any change may only impact future court decisions.
Recommend Dwight Newman’s Substack Law for Breakfast for an interpretation and possible impact on the rulings.
It was interesting to hear on the CBC this morning the north and west coast of BC described as the First Nation’s coast. We are creating a mess which will, I fear, further damage the lives of First Nations peoples.
(Response: I believe that is correct, but repeal of this Trojan Horse piece of legislation would at least contain and stop further threats, blackmail and seizure of the rest of the province. And the lands seized by the Cowichan band can be a permanent monument to the naievety, stupidity of David Eby, the NDP government and the entire 2019 BC Legislature who were snookered by the militant First Nations and the totally irresponsible United Nations. Ho)
I am not a fan of Eby, but we have to get rid of him. Maybe that same “bus” will be carrying a guy from down south.
I have said it before and will again. let the Indigenous people run the country …. in a way they are now …..
History, a factual account of past events. Not open to change, nor should it ever tolerate any attempt to do so.
History in Canada, a record of systemic & racial abuses visited upon First Nations people.
History in British Columbia, an exercise in apologetic rhetoric, run amok!
Soon too, David (once wished to union organize federal inmates) Eby will be but a very sorry footnote, as none of his core belief, implementation attempts, are immune from “The Law of Unintended Consequences”!
He could reverse course like Horgan did with the BC Museum fiasco, a land acknowledgement implementation gone awry, but that would involve telling some of his backroom Visionista Vancouver troupe to zip it, not a reality in David’s house of apologetic vacuums…..
All Vision Vancouver did was allow rampant, unsustainable, real estate speculation, a practice that is most of the reason for the downstream housing issues seen today, wait for the ones to come… Affordable???? Stable???? Worthwhile investment???? Shhh don’t say it too loud, Bob Rennie’s party boat will hear you….
To admit failure can be freeing, to deny such and soldier on while magically expecting a better result, while not addressing the root choices and the errors within, is …….IDIOCY.
(Response: I have never understood why people, even when presented with volumes of evidence, refuse to admit they were wrong on a particular issue. I think of the old Nazis who still stand by Hitler until the day they die, many decades after WW II, diehard Russians who still love Stalin, defend his murderous purges, MAGA devotees who defend anything and everything the Mad Hatter says and does … and Eby/NDP ideologues who refuse to see the dangers ANY form of DRIPA represents for BC economic investment, BC property owners and taxpayers. Ho)
Hi Harvey, hope you had a nice break!
Regarding Mr. Eby, I cannot for the life of me, understand how someone who is supposed to be intelligent, can keep on making the most obtuse and dangerous decisions. For someone who only retained his government by an eyelash, he is making and standing by, his disastrous, Free Drugs policy, giving away, secretly, the Queen Charlottes, and now Richmond is under attack, after a unbelievable court case was lost by his government, through (probably), incompetence or lack urgency. If his government survives the next election, B.C. will be a lost cause.
(Response: We’ll, as far as ann election goes, there’s an old adage in politics. You don’t have to be at 10: you can be a six and win… If your opponent is only a three or a four. A lot will depend on who the BC Conservatives pick as their new leader. As for Eby, I get the impression he is truly blinded by ideology and his own naivety: just look at how he was duped into believing that adopting DRIPA as law would have no neat impact on home ownership, commercial/industrial investment and multi-billion dollar resource developments! Ho)
I sincerely hope the alleged deep thinkers within the BC Conservative Party are fully aware of the importance of their current internal manifestations. There is so much riding on the next election, and the choices the BC Cons make over the next few months will decide everything.
With all the Orwellian insanity taking place across the border, most Canadians are deeply and rightly concerned about ‘Orangeism’ spreading to our country. If there is even a hint of MAGA within the ranks of the BC Cons, tainting their new leader, the odds are, the NDP will win the next election, too. The new leader must be prepared to purge the party of all ‘ultra right’ baggage.
And that’s going to be very difficult to do.
(Response: The choice of leader the BC Conservatives make will be critical … not for their party, but all British Columbians. The stakes involved in how the Legislature, which in 2019 adopted DRIPA unanimously, are enormous! Property rights … and the future of major investments in the province … hang in the balance. Ho)
Welcome back!
The fact the BC conservative party couldn’t win speaks volumes, same problem as the Fed CPC, far right nutter minority driving the ship.
Eby. Easily the most INCOMPETENT BC political leader in modern history. He and his band of compliant politically correct socialists couldn’t run a lemonade stand.
Tired of the genuflecting for all things aboriginal.
Health care, housing, taxes, investment, fiscal policy, street crime all require far more attention at this juncture.
Nebulous “reconciliation”. A broad brush, highly subjective and used by “first nations” as a cudgel. Used by politicians to promote guilt most of us don’t have given current generations weren’t responsible for the very real historical injustices. Were we to go back further in history the Haida should be apologizing to the bands they subverted (killed/enslaved/ raped) and stole their land. No ethnic group is blameless in history.
Thanking First nations for “allowing” Canucks Games ? Ridiculous politically correct pandering. Naming a Street/Bridge for people who had no written language so had to invent one none of them use, AND they didn’t pay for……
I am sure many first nations shake their heads along with the “colonizers” they live beside.
“Ideological Pandering” indeed!
(Response: The other day I logged in to Lifelabs to book medical tests …and I encountered this message: “At LifeLabs, we care about people’s health and are committed to empowering a healthier you. We humbly acknowledge that our company conducts its operations across the vast and diverse lands of what is now called Canada, home to the traditional territories of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples, each with their distinct cultures, languages, and histories. We are mindful of their unique rights and perspectives, actively seeking engagement and partnership, and striving to build sustainable relationships. Our vision of a more inclusive and equitable future guides us in providing caring, efficient, reliable, and high-quality services, honoring the contributions of Indigenous cultures to Canada’s tapestry.” Really? Land acknowledgement for a medical lab appointment? Ridiculous! The woke politicians and their subservient corporate messengers have gone too far and now we are starting to see reactions and resistance to this. However, land acknowledgements are nothing compared to the economic damage that will occur to BC’s economy if the fawning NDP government keeps ideology and pandering ahead of BC’s economic interests. The damage they have already done by turning DRIPA into law will take years to overcome… And if DRIPA is not repealed, the crippling effects of that legislation will damage investments in BC for decades. Ho)
Premier Eby is a disaster. The opposition needs to find a competent leader. No group of people should be given preferential treatment because of race or history. The premier doesn’t understand that he needs to represent all British Columbians. If he’s wise, he’ll resign.
(Response: We should not forget that DRIPA was passed unanimously by all parties in the Legislature. However the current Official Opposition, the Conservatives, at least have seen the light. Now we need the NDP to open its eyes too … and not be so blinded by ideology! Ho)
All I can say is more people need to know what is going on and the devastation this sorry excuse for a Premier and his goons are causing for BC homeowners, their families and the economic well being for everyone. . He is clearly a reckless and incompetent Premier and treating 95 percent of the population as if they don’t matter or exist can’t stand in our system. Spread the word.
(Response: is it incompetency or just ideological stubbornness and blindness to the negative impact of his policies on taxpayers and businesses? The evidence has already begun to roll in: investments and building projects being cancelled for fear that those providing the funds will spend hundreds of millions of dollars and then have the property turned over by the Courts to a native band or bands. this is far too serious a threat to expect that a few amendments will reassure major investors enough to risk their dollars. Ho)
I just wonder now will Reconciliation be thrown into a really bad state of affairs and damage and potentially bring about large scale mistrust and devisiveness in B.C. because of this blind nut who’s now even trying to back peddle everything, and even trying to change court decisions. Eewhh Ugghh and Yikes almighty. I hope the NDP gets a lot of mud on their face by all sides. May he be sitting on the anvil between Indigenous and non indigenous people now. What a nut. That’s what happens to those wacko types of political leaders when they go so stupid and way over the because of their ideologically driven kookiness. How does this turn out. Heads covered.
(Response: No doubt the controversy surrounding the Cowichan’s exploitation of opportunities provided by dumb laws passed by ideologically self-hating guilt-ridden politicians is hurting reconciliation. More and more non-aboriginals are coming to realize many First Nations militants see it all as a chance to shake down/blackmail/exploit taxpayers for cash, cash, cash … nothing to do with establishing new working relationships. If Eby/NDP don’t repeal DRIPA … and more FN bands use it to score wins in the Courts, not only will BC’s economy/investments suffer more terrible setbacks from it, so will reconciliation! Ho)
I could sum up the complete mess that Eby and his ship of total fools have caused now, as being a result of an ideological driven obsessiveness . I do hope Eby and yes even his party gets deservingly pounded from both sides. They’ve now set reconciliation backwards and have caused possibly insurmountable and irreparable damage to the resulting relations and trust that have been built up over the many years through hard work. How stupid is that. This situation might very well be a main component that results in the defeat of Eby, and that would be well deserved. Who on all sides can trust this extremely self serving politician anymore.
(Response: True reconciliation should be two-sided. In addition to the injustices of the past inflicted on First Nations, it must also address the historic indigenous chiefs’ and band councils’ mishandling of taxpayers’ dollars, refusal to open their books to their own band members, let alone the general public. Anything less will not resolve the mutual fears and distrust. Ho )