It has been more than 40 years since Vaughn Palmer became part of the The Vancouver Sun’s Legislative Bureau. He is still there, and BC journalism is all the richer for that.
At a time when today’s “political” reporters are increasingly dwindling in number and too many of those remaining have basically become political “messengers” … delivering the scripted spins of the day … Palmer still directs his bright light into those dark places politicians would prefer remain in the shadows..
This past week, BC’s media reported the numbers/projections of Finance Minister Brenda Bailey’s Budget update this past week … and her spin: that BC is “undoubtedly” feeling the pinch from American tariffs, and the government is focusing on new trade partners, major projects and reducing inefficiencies as B.C.’s economy is expected to grow at a “measured pace.”
Palmer didn’t buy it.
“Donald Trump not to blame for BC’s financial woes, David Eby is,” shouted The Vancouver Sun headline above Palmer’s column.
And he too produced numbers … evidence to back his contention that, under Premier David Eby, BC’s financial state (as I have also pointed out on this blog) has gone severely downhill.
Palmer pointed out that when Premier John Horgan left office in 2022, BC had a $6 Billion Budget surplus; now, under Eby, the deficit is now $11 Billion.
“The $17 billion turnaround in just three years ranks as the most dramatic reversal in the B.C. government bottom line in the more than 40 years I have been covering provincial finances,” Palmer told Sun readers.
“Note, too, that Bailey only managed to cap off the deficit at $11 billion by bringing forward almost $2 billion in future payments from the settlement with Big Tobacco.” (And some of that tobacco settlement won’t accrue to BC for another 18 years!)
That’s a horrible financial record that deserves some ongoing very hard questioning from BC’s “working” media! Yet, I suspect Eby’s feet barely feel warm.
And Palmer delivered more revelations of how/why BC got into such a mess … not just clips outlining the government’s list of “accomplishments”.
By the way, Palmer also noted that under Horgan, BC’s total debt stood at $90 Billion.
“Eby has already boosted the debt to $155 billion, up 75 per cent, and again, he’s done so in a mere three years.”
“New Democrats would have one believe that Eby’s debt loading was mostly undertaken to pay for schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, transit lines and other capital projects,” Palmer wrote.
“In fact, the budgetary fine print shows that about half of the increase ($32 billion out of $65 billion) was to cover successive operating debts from program spending, not capital projects. Eby is outspending revenues at a record pace, making for record deficits,” the veteran Sun columnist revealed.
(You can read Palmer’s full analysis in The Vancouver Sun here: https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/donald-trump-not-to-blame-for-bc-financial-woes-david-eby-is. )
British Columbians owe Palmer …and the few others who still keep politicians’ feet to the fire … a great debt, as they shine the light on the truth, and don’t just parrot their spin.
Meanwhile, BC’s debt soars and our international credit rating has taken a hit, yet NDP has increased the size of BC’s public service by 50% .
Yet, hospital Emergency rooms keep being closed; urban streets remain unsafe; homelessness mounts; child care and affordable housing goals continue to lag
Now, I realize some blog readers feel I’m to hard, too critical of our current Premier.
So for the closing words of this blog, I’ll yield to those my esteemed colleague from The Vancouver Sun used to conclude his own:
“A comparison of this year’s books with the results from three years ago shows that the main perpetrator of B.C.’s fiscal fiasco is a fellow named David Eby.”
Harv Oberfeld
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(Follow @harveyoberfeld.ca on “X” for FREE First Alerts to new postings on this Blog.)
To put things in a nutshell, it’s the backstab to the 95 percent of British Columbians, in favour to pandering to the 5 percent and siphoning off supports and money to the FN special interests that have turned off people in droves and high numbers. These land and fee simple property ownership issues should be cause for much concern, and yes, even fear in some cases for many British Columbians. Its the big story now.
Horgan was just as guilty for letting things take off like an out of control fire when he and his wacko party of drunken sailors introduced DRIPA in, that married up to UNDRIP for First Nations and Eby as Attorney General must have been salivating while being a major component of legislating it in. I think a strong grounded Conservative leader, with a party that has their act together as an acceptable semi normal grounded party minus any wackos is needed. Now! Eby is completely high on his extreme ideological drug, and the people have to kick him out because he’ll never come down from his high. Just like Nathan Cullen got his butt shined by his district and lost his seat to conservative Sharon Hartwell, because of the NDPs approach towards First Nations land rights and issues. I think it shocked the stunned MLA Cullen right out of his political trousers, but that’s what happens when people like Cullen are high on that ideological drug and themselves as Eby is, and not paying attention the everyone elses interests and rights. We need that to happen more than ever to Eby and his ideogically addicted wackos. And we don’t want two governments with one having as much sway and say as the one government that is supposed to be, by democratic standards, one for all, and not just for the 5 percent. To bad Eby hasn’t picked up on that. Should we tell him. Hell yes.
blacklocks for national oversight for one
Jack Webster 9 Am precisely!
Cant wait till your comments on the BC Conservative party putsch. Almost like they want the hapless NDP to keep wrecking the place.
(Response: Monday. Ho)
I forgot to say “Good on you Mr. Palmer”, do not let the NDP get away with it. I wish more of the corporate media, are not Fox News North!
David Eby, will probably go down in BC history as one of the most incompetent premier’s in the province.
He has done great damage to the province fiscally and even greater financial damage for the future.
He was the NDP’s “fair haired Boy” and the party brass made sure he was elected. Like most prodigal sons, he has been more of a disappointment.
I just hate to repeat this, but the NDP are now spending $4 billion to extend the Millennium Line to Arbutus, basically to carry the present B-99 Broadway express bus customers. Ridership projections were so poor that the experts at TransLink cautioned publicly not to build the subway, but they were fired.
Contrary to the popular NDP spin, Broadway is not the busiest transit corridor in Canada or the USA!
The 99 B-Line bus only had 10,623,737 boardings in 2024. That’s 34,161 to 40,861 passengers per business day, depending on your daily numbers conversion calculation method. Which puts it in at best, 4th in Toronto in 2024 or 9th if you use the lowest number, compared to other T.T.C. surface routes. Second place in 2024 Ottawa, if you use the arithmetic mean. This works out to an average traffic flow of 1,708 to 2,045 per hour, on both East and West bus services, over twenty hours of operation.
Subways really need traffic flows in excess of 15,000 pphpd to be not a financial burden on taxpayers.
The NDP took a $1.63 billion light rail project in Surrey and made it a now $7 billion SkyTrain project! To add to this the “full program” to extend the Expo and Millennium Lines a mere 21.7 km is now passing $17 billion!
But wait, the NDP may soon approve to complete the Broadway subway to UBC at a cost of $8 billion.
Then there is the ferry debacle, with the government through BC Ferries, is ordering the boats from China! no encouraging the building of ferries here as the stale taste of the badly mismanaged FastCats still haunt the NDP’s backrooms.
The NDP’s housing policy is based on sparkle ponies and fairy tales as they slowly take over all planning for the province, to expedite their utter stupidity.
According to VanPoli, there could be as much as 30,000 vacant apartment/condo units in Metro Vancouver and what I can see, the NDP favours high rise condos and towers, providing the wrong type of housing, and is completely ignoring family needs.
Then there is a Lapu Lapu outrage where the government has literally abandoned victims who have had life altering injuries due to a mentally ill person. My wife is from the Philippines and knows one of the families involved and the lack of anything from the NDP is more than shocking. it seems Eby’s NDP do not like to be associated with bad press, so they are just ignoring the great suffering.
Eby, either by ennui or just plain inept politcal doctrine is strangling this province financially. so bad is Eby’s mishandling of BC finances, one can almost believe it is a deliberate strategy to give more of the province away to the first nations!
If the NDP were smart (which they have proven not to be), they would dump Eby and find someone who is not from metro Vancouver, who has a financial background to guide the good ship British Columbia from foundering on a financial iceberg.
(Response: The truth is the public don’t care much about the cost of new subway/skytrain lines once they are up and running. Everyone these days expects cost over-runs, delays and disruptions: but once they’re riding …and getting to their destinations a lot faster, all is forgiven. As for dumping Eby, I can see him deciding not to run again … but the party won’t dump him unceremoniously, especially while the Conservatives are in such disarray! Ho)
You are right, those living in Vancouver don’t care much for cost the subway or SkyTrain lines, but those in the “Hurtlands” with closed Emergency Rooms and and the abandonment of the provincial government are beginning to draw a straight line from SkyTrain largess to their lack of service.
I think Eby might have to offer free ferry rides for next election. :/
(Response: Or maybe free transit .. like Mamdani! Ho)
Yes, Harvey, Palmer’s article was full of facts. The CBC coverage of the war in Gaza is also filled with facts. But as you argue, they leave out facts or choose to report on certain events while leaving out others.
My question was how much do our own personal biases effect how we view columns like Palmer’s. He is commenting on something. If we like his conclusions, we will praise it. If not we will find ways to dispute it. Palmer has been reporting for 40 years and at least half of it has been writing similar columns like this. As I said, I don’t read The Sun regularly, but what I have read of Palmer in the past, this is vintage Palmer. He lays out a case and uses facts and quotes to support his idea. He is excellent at his job.
But he isn’t infallible. The government and other (left leaning) commentators will have a different viewpoint. As I said, there was no mention of the lost revenue from the carbon tax that most everybody here wanted gone. There was no mention of what was driving the deficit – whether other lost revenue or added expenditures. As e.a.f. has been saying forever, what are we going to cut?
Anyway, my whole point, is who do we trust to get to the meaning behind a story?
One last point. nonconfidencevote mentioned a story on Global about a payment to First Nations bands in the Vancouver area dealing with FIFA. I don’t watch Global so I googled.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11554985/questions-fifa-costs-host-first-nations-6m-each/
This is what I consider good journalism. It lays out all the facts. It interviewed the minister who appeared vague. It interviewed or tried to interview band leaders who mentioned legacy projects but nothing specific. There is nothing here that shows a personal bias by the reporters which is as it should be. I don’t want reporters telling me what to think. I just want the facts. Palmer and similar columnists can follow up with a their opinion piece that we can accept or reject.
(Response: of course, a columnist is different from a reporter and can express personal opinion. But both should hold politicians’ feet to the fire, not just be satisfied with a clip … any clip … to fit into their story. I believe that too often these days reporters do not press politicians enough … challenging things they say. For example, on the pipeline issue, I have heard Eby so many times say that if the pipeline goes ahead, it will place in jeopardy other projects that the government has deals on with first nations. What I have not seen are reporters responding immediately saying what evidence is there for that statement? Why in the world would a pipeline threaten these other totally different resource projects? Has he heard any information from first Nations saying they would pull out of approval for these other projects? Eby should be challenged on that every time he says that total red herring! Msybe Palmer will! Ho)
I didnt realize how quickly Eby has embraced the Debt hole.
Reversing a $6 billion dollar Horgan surplus to $11 billion hole?
The provincial debt swelling from 90 Billion to 155 billion?
As the provincial union membership bloats even more?
The result?
More strikes, more hospital closures, and endless excuses from the Ministers de Jour.
( I actually miss Adrian Dix twisting in the wind as Health Minister )
More rising taxes and user fees.
And the 6 pm News …….reports on the millions of dollars shovelled at First Nations for World Cup ……..peace?
When are voters going to wake up?
When the last large company shuts down and moves to Washington State?
( I spoke to the owner of a small manufacturing plant in the Lower Mainland on the weekend. He’s leaving. Taxes, overregulation. environmental extortion, on and on and on. He is selling his property for 10 million and moving 35 minutes south to Trumps’ America. To start up his business in a low tax, low govt reg environment that is happy for the business……And I’m sure he wont be the last.)
Sadly,
I suspect ANY other leader for the PC’s would have gutted the NDP in the last election.
One can hope something will happen in the near future to both enrage voters and force a few minority govt MLA’s to save their own skin and bring this financial disaster of a govt to its knees.
It cant happen soon enough.
(Response: Sadly, I believe Palmer‘s latest column demonstrates the problem exactly. He spoke truth to power! Bravo!!! There are far two few experienced reporters covering politics these days in BC… And many of those who do are too uninformed, bored, co-opted to really keep the politicians’ feet to the fire … challenging their spin or lies or just their terrible record! B.C. needs new educated Millennial-age reporters (who aren’t rich!) to take on the Premier and the Ministers when they say everything is getting better! Not!!! Ho)
How much of our own personal biases effect how we read someone like Vaughn Palmer.
I do not read the Vancouver Sun regularly. but every so often I will come across a Vaughn Palmer article. I enjoy reading him. He is a good writer who is able to make his point clearly and succinctly. And he is certainly not biased compared to some of the writers at the right leaning National Post which like the Sun is owned by PostMedia.
But he is still an opinion writer who like all of us will include facts to support his argument and leave out those that don’t. Most of his article that you linked compares the current budget to the Horgan budgets but does that matter unless the point is to praise Horgan and dump on Eby. Why not compare it to some other budget? According the the Royal Bank “B.C.’s fiscal situation is on a deteriorating path even though it compares well to most other provinces”.
I am more interested in learning what is driving this extra large deficit? Is it increased spending (and on what?). Is it a lack revenues like the $2B that no longer flows to the government due to the “hated” carbon tax being eliminated.
But even if we got that information, we are so disillusioned by the media, nobody will believe whatever is said unless it fits the narrative we want to believe.
(Response: Actually, I liked this particular Palmer column because it was filled with facts, not so much opinion. There were lots of official black-and-white figures … on BC’s debt and deficit and the record under Eby that cannot be denied or spun by Eby the government. My point is we need more of that in reporting, confronting the politicians with reality and demanding answers, not just parenting their statements of the day. Ho)
Palmer has been at it for 40 years????? I was a lot younger then. yikes, 40 yrs younger.
I read Palmer religiously when younger and then didn’t find his writings/opinions so in tune with mine. Guess that has been for the past 15 yrs or so. He still is a dam good writer and does a good job. Writers such as him continue to provide readers/voters/citizens with an opinion which is well researched and not over the top. Agree with Palmer or not here is to another 40 years of his writing.
Ah, yes the budget and the overage. Yes Horgan was a better money manager but he had a different view on things.
Eby is spending in a different manner and I don’t know whether in the end that will be a good or bad thing. I’ll take the wait and see attitude. On the other hand, I’ve not been too concerned about government deficits.
I don’t see an alternative to Eby. Don’t see it in the party and certainly not in the whatever they are calling Rustad and company. My take on that group, a little too much about the leader who isn’t the brightest tool in the political wood shed and there was a parting of the ways with Ms. Sturko. She was about the best think in the B.C. Conservative Party.
Whenever people complain about taxes and government handling of money my response is always, well what would you like to cut or how much are you willing to pay in taxes. How money is spent by a government and the public’s reaction to it usually depends upon people’s personal interests.
Lack of health care professionals, that some could see coming back in the 1990s because some knew the baby boomer doctors were going to retire. Not much was done to prepare for that any where in the country. You can’t force people to work in areas they don’t want to. its about time we looked at young people living in more remote areas and providing them assistance to become doctors, it isn’t cheap. An additional medicals school ought to have been built in the last century. Offering local university bound young people scholarships might be a better way on the condition they return to their community for 5 years.
The homeless and drug problems. The Vancouver Sun wrote a series of articles about homelessness back in the 1980s. No surprise to me there is a problem today, same with the drug problems. I can remember as a kid, like elementary school, Pigeon Park and addicts sleeping there. As the city got bigger so did the problem. Most people didn’t care as long as it stayed out of their neighbourhood. Its every where now. The problem is out of control, gang violence is out of control, the condition of the streets in some areas are out of control. Building “supportive” housing which in many cases are high rises is not the answer. It simply dumps a lot of people with problems in one area. As governments and society try to move ahead, we do have the Constitution to take into consideration and people’s rights, which need to be balanced with the rights of others. There is something wrong with a society which has so many drug deaths and street dwellers.
(Response: No doubt many of the issues facing government today are very complex and very difficult and costly to solve. And we all know that being an opposition is much easier than being in power. However, it is the duty of the media to be sceptical and challenge politicians when they spin their responses, the facts and, frankly, try to put one over on the public! Too many today, either lack the ability and knowledge to challenge politicians when they spin or lie or frankly just can’t be bothered to do so … so the public gets a lot of messenger type stories, where the government said this, and the opposition said that and there is no research or exposure of the true facts or figures to refute the spin. That’s why I found Palmer‘s latest column and so much other writings so refreshing to see him, lay out the facts and figures with such exactitude and then tell us exactly as he sees it… i. e. keeping it real! Hi)
I used be NDP all the way before the Liberals got into power, being a unionist and all. Then when Horgan got in into power, which he didn’t win by the way. He was given the bone because of Andrew Weavers joining the ranks, but their was really no win for Horgan per say, but he sure won during the pandemic when he called an election to take advantage of the people at their lowest in a pandemic crisis so he could get a majority. For me personally, that is sleazy and low. Then he completely lied on Site C, which is probably better to have than not, but it was the outright blatant lying before the election and when in opposition before about shutting it down. The Massey Bridge shutdown was low politics done just to spite the Liberals but actually hurt the public commuters big time. That was disgusting. Athen then in regards to the First Nations Reconciliation policies, which was okay and fine with me, but then, he turned everything sideways with DRIPA and his bright activist goon and Attorney General Eby was right there legislating it all in that started reconciliation getting out of hand. When Eby got in though, everything went south and reconciliation got turned into one big shakedown and diversion of so much public Treasury and power beyond anything I could have ever imagined and beyond the reconciliation standard we were so used to and good with. And just look at the mess now concerning property fee simple ownership and land titles. I realize these issues go farther back and kind of sitting collecting dust, but this Eby maniac has added so much chaos to tye scene, and I hope more British Columbians wake up and speak up about the steamroller that could be heading thier way and put some breaks on it. Eby has a lot to do with the stressors that have been layed across the across rhe province now regarding land title and striking concern into peoples hearts. And the dispserment and discharge of so much tax money has just gotten so far out of hand. It has to be affecting other programs for the everyone across the province. It can’t not be. But touching on these points about the reconciliation game that is at play now, I would be hard pressed to see many journalists touch it with a ten foot pole given the politically charged and correct nature of things. It’s not a good career move for the young journalist and its has sown fear to challenge it , even in older hearts in the the journalism halls. Glad you’ve stayed on the scene though. Not many left out there who have that good old backbone.
The Massey Tunnel replacement has been nothing more than back of the envelope planning by the Christi Clark Liberal government.
In 2017, the estimated cost of the “full program” to replace the perfectly safe, Massey Tunnel with a bridge was $8 billion. That bridge, if built, would not have been completed before 2027, despite the hype and hoopla from BC Liberals/Conservatives.
Yes, the NDP did play electoral games, but at least they had a proper process for the present replacement tunnel.
I like to remind everyone that prior to the Christy Clark, the new bridge/tunnel was planned by the Dept. of Transportation to go from around 80th Ave in Delta, across the south Arm of the Fraser, the parallel the CN tracks and include a second crossing of the North Arm to the Fraser to South Burnaby!
The present tunnel plans do not include a much needed crossing of the North Arm of the Fraser River and all it will do is move congestion about 3 km from Delta to Richmond!
I disagree. The bridge being canceled way back in 2017 with already 100,000,000 dollars of prep work done by the game playing spiteful selfish Horgan government would most likely have been finished close to the time frame. It was started before Horgan got in, so that in itself mades a good case for it being finished some time ago. The NDP have been farting around with the Massey Tunnel thing on paper for eight years now and still only farting. They may as well just sit there drawing tunnels with crayons like kids in class. But it’s confused adult leaders with the paper drawings and crayons. I think the dummies have now gotten us so so far into debt by Activist nut Ebys giveaways to roadblockers of progress, special activist interest and shakedown groups and artists that a tunnel will be to late in coming if it ever gets started. by these fools that have been ducking around since 2017. The congestion issue would have more than likely been sorted out. That’s why we have engineers and people who get paid the big bucks. The congestion and environmental issues, were the hype and hoopla if anything from the NDP progress blockers. I would rather be crossing on a highly stable earthquake coded bridge than a total sealed death trap in a 9.0 subduction earthquake. I also am in complete belief that the budget numbers are bull by the NDP. The numbers aren’t possible given what has to be done. No the NDP especially under Eby has made a mess of things now for the majority and commuters, but made sure everything’s smooth running with the handouts, to the entitled and non contributors, while the elderly, handicapped and hospitals and schools get the scraps. The one thing I could give the Liberals credit for is that they were builders, the NDP destroyers and blockers of progress. Even though I had misgivings in some ways about Christy Clark I am happy a strong willed woman finally had that reign as Premier and she stood up in the apeman ego world of politics pretty darn good. Its amazing how woman are still treated in this day and age especially in politics. But their swinging away and in the fray and making good headway. I’ll never forget the words she through at the NDP one day when she said something like they couldn’t run a popcorn stand in a zoo. That really resonated with me and I even cheered to that statement. I still believe what she said rings true.
I know one of the Engineers who worked for the bridge project and the prep work would still have to be done for the tunnel.
The big problem, as was the reason why the tunnel was built in the first place is that they could not find a firm foundation for the towers.
The cost to stabilize the foundation was truly huge and being on peat, could cause all sorts of future damage to underground infrastructure.
Both politcal parties ignore the sound advice of twinning the tunnel, much cheaper and just as effective, but of course the real reason for the Massey tunnel replacement, was to deepen the channel for Cape Max oilers and coaliers to load American coal and oil at Surrey docks, as the SF&BN would not have to pay wheelage to BC Rail, for using the Superport.
The tunnel replacement had nothing to do about congestion, that was just an afterthought to sell the bridge idea.
That plan fell through when the Port Authority balked at paying over $1 billion to rejig the dikes and levees, increasing the flow to self scour the river.
It could be said that questionable journalism , parrot spinning, and lack of the real stuff is attributable to the likes of most of the Global News and CKNW cheerleadimg team.
(Response: It’s complicated. Because of budget cuts and staff reductions, there are far fewer reporters at newspapers on radio, or on television, and most of them are quite young, without any long-term understanding, experience or knowledge of the history of politics in BC. So it is very difficult to expect them to ask any penetrating questions or have the spine to challenge a politician openly if they believe they are spinning. (Not like us old farts who had the knowledge and actually enjoyed calling politicians out when they were avoiding a question or just outright fibbing.) And then today, I believe there’s another problem: senior reporters who have been covering politics for very long can become too close and friendly with those they cover… and just aren’t aggressive enoughwith them. Clearly, Vaughn Palmer is not one of those! Ho)
No Mr. Palmer is one of those exceptions for sure. I’ve always liked his freindly personality alongside his strong journalistic abibilities.
I remember a couple years ago there was two well known reporters /press gallery/so called journalists (Big laugh there), from the Global, CKNW team who went on a televized history telling tour of the Victoria Parliament buildings with John Horgan, and boy oh boy was that a treat. The buddy buddy soiree and glad handling was so, uhh, throat gagging I exited that program. I like that historical stuff but those two being reporters and journalists, excuse me (Another laugh and gag)), touring all in warm cuddly relations with their politician guide. You might know them, but no need to spell it out. I might gag just trying to put a name to them even it it’s on the keyboard. That was one of the examples of cozy relations at it worse or almost anyways between their profession and a politician. I have never watched or listened to those two goofs ever again wherever they may pop up out of their hole.
Yes Palmer is one a very very few in the MSM to hold this government and others to account and point out the inconvenient truths. There our far more apologists, cheerleaders and press release readers these days. And then they get rewarded while the truth seekers are ignored. Think that happened to you if memory serves.
(Response: You are correct. Nice of you to remember. But I feel proud I never compromised my principles or journalistic integrity to garner favours from those in power, corporately or politically. And I sleep very well! 😁 Ho)
I doubt Eby will ever resign on his own.
The next budget speech is not until Feb 24, 2026. I can’t see the NDP losing a vote of confidence, but I guess you never know.
Personally I’m not too crazy about John Rustad. I sense I am not alone here.
I’m usually a fairly positive person but three more years of this reckless spending?
Yikes!!
I doubt Eby will last 3 more years.
Rising unemployment, taxes, fees , food costs, reconciliation handouts, everything up up up.
Which costs the poor taxpayer more more more.
Trump tariffs shutting down our lumber and mining.
As the real estate (ponzie)sales tank (finally) and low interest mortgage renewals begin to hit at double renewal rates.
No, Eby is stumbling towards a disaster, partially of his own making.
Hopefully the end result will be the NDP wallowing in political obscurity for another 20 years.
(Response: The best thing Eby/NDP have going for themselves these days are the Opposition! The Conservatives are destroying themselves from the inside with endless attempts to dump John Rustad; and then, there’s OneBC, a fledgling alternative that would likely split the right of centre vote. Ho)
Hear, hear!