Carole Taylor's Journal

On this edition of Journal: the complexities and needs of our aging population. I’m a baby boomer and to this day, I am astounded that institutions never saw us coming. With at least five years’ warning before this population boom hit the school system, it seemed to be a surprise when we all arrived – not enough desks, not enough classes, not enough schools. But that bureaucratic “miss” is nothing...

On this edition of Journal: an in-depth look at the recent federal budget with one of Canada’s top economists, Jock Finlayson. You know, a lot has changed recently in how budget information is released. It used to be considered a major failure if anything was leaked before the minister stood up in Parliament and officially read the document into the record. This was to prevent insiders from using...

On this edition of Journal, we examine the issue of retail crime and street disorder, and how they are changing the cities we live in. Last year, Caren McSherry, owner of the Gourmet Warehouse on East Hastings, told her story of how retail crime and intimidation is making her reconsider her business after more than 20 years. Broken windows (that she has to pay for), open theft where three big guys...

On this edition of Journal, we look at what is happening in our economy. It is a tumultuous time, quite apart from tariffs. Housing prices, while falling, are still unaffordable for many. Real estate companies have been forced to lay off long time employees. Forestry companies are in big trouble. Youth unemployment hit 14.6% this summer – highest since 2010. And governments are announcing unbeliev...

On this edition of Journal, we try to find truth amidst all of the contradictory data and headlines on housing. Not long ago, there was one newspaper story lamenting the disastrous state of residential construction and another story (the very same day) saying things were looking up. And then, the confusing headline – “Housing starts are up but sales are down.” Huh? What does all this mean? One thi...

On this edition of Journal, we talk with a woman who embodies the gold standard of leadership. What does it take to be a great leader? Crystal Smith, Chief Counsellor of the Haisla Nation from 2016 to 2025, was a major public voice supporting LNG Canada in Kitimat, at a time when opposition was vocal and sometimes vicious. But she stood her ground. Crystal believed that only through economic devel...

On this edition of Journal, we focus on the rural-urban divide in healthcare. Mayor Goetz has spoken movingly about the stress in his community of Merritt caused by the intermittent and unpredictable closings of his hospital’s ER. What do you do when your emergency department is closed and the next nearest is, maybe, a hundred kilometres away? How many times in the last year have we seen these “te...

On this edition of Journal, we look at the looming deadlines for mandatory electric car sales in both our province and in the country as a whole. One headline reads, “Feds on track to eliminate gas cars by 2035” – but are they? That’s only ten years from now – no gas cars being sold? Besides which, the first deadline is in 2026, only 3 months from now. The federal government says by that time...

On this edition of Journal, we take a close look at British Columbia’s recent budget update – and try not to rant in frustration. It is bad news: a deficit of $11.6 billion, the largest in our history. And it would have been much worse except that the government chose to include revenues of $2.7 billion in future payments from a settlement with tobacco companies. In other words, even though the pr...

On this edition of Journal: another look at the growing tension between aboriginal title and individual property rights. This issue was brought to the fore by the NDP government’s introduction of the Land Act just before the last election. It was a bit of a bombshell, as it indicated that First Nations would co-manage all of British Columbia’s Crown land – 94% of the province. Because this was don...

On this edition of Journal we take a look at one of the most challenging jobs in society: policing. Think about it. You take an oath to serve and protect others, even if it means putting your own life on the line. Long gone are the days of peaceful protests, putting the bad guys in jail – and keeping them there as your mission. Police are now expected to be mental health workers, peacekeepers, dru...

On this edition of Journal, we examine two public policy initiatives that are turning the governing of our province upside down. Mayor Mike Hurley is directly affected in his 2 roles: first as Chair of the Metro Vancouver Board and second as mayor of Burnaby. First, an independent report looking at the governance of Metro Vancouver was needed as a result of the tremendous overrun on the wastewater...

On this edition of Journal, a look at our food industry and how it is affected by the US President’s on-again, off-again, and maybe on-again tariff threats. Prime Minister Carney has said our relationship with the United States will never be the same again as a result of this major politically driven trade dispute. Canadians must now rethink our defense policies: our supply chain vulnerabilities,...

On this edition of Journal, we examine economic reconciliation in action – and not just in theory. Derek Epp is Chief of the Ch’íyáqtel First Nations, one of 9 First Nations in the Chilliwack area. What they have managed to achieve is remarkable. The Conference Board of Canada has done reports identifying the factors that lead to successful economic development for First Nations communities. In br...

On this episode of Journal, we try to untangle the complicated, twisted world of transit. I think most would agree that good transit makes for a liveable city or region and also helps with affordability. So when Translink announced that by June of this year, they would be running a $600 million deficit and would have to start cutting service, it got my attention. Already there are some routes wher...

On this edition of Journal: in the midst of political turmoil on all fronts, we take a look at how democracy is holding up as a governance construct. Too often, the phrase thrown at political adversaries is that you or your party are a threat to democracy – overused, in my opinion. As Paul Wells says in one of his thoughtful commentaries, “Democracy is supposed to be a conversation.” But what happ...

On this edition of Journal: a postmortem on our federal election. Wow, what a ride! What started out as an expected pounding of then-prime minister Justin Trudeau by the Conservative Party under Pierre Poilievre ended up with a Liberal Party win for political novice Mark Carney, our new prime minister. Mind you, there were a few bumps along the way – or rather, one big bump: President Trump. If yo...

On this edition of Journal, we look at how we can’t avoid the escalation in violence against police in British Columbia – police who take an oath to serve and protect us, no matter the cost to themselves. In just the last 3 months, there have been 35 assaults on Vancouver police officers. In one horrific attack – one I’m sure we would all like to “unsee” – an officer was doused in a flammable subs...

On this edition of Journal, we look at how inflation and higher costs for just about everything, especially housing, are affecting British Columbians. Right at the pointy end of the stick are our food banks. They are among the first to sense when something is going very wrong. Usually when you say something has had a record-breaking year, it is a good thing. Not so with food banks. In the last 5 y...

On this episode of Journal, we try to understand the complexity of our interprovincial trade barriers – those infamous barriers everyone is now talking about. One man who knows something about this is Colin Hansen, one of British Columbia’s most accomplished politicians. In Gordon Campbell’s governments, he served as Minister of Health, Finance Minister, Minister of Economic Development, Minister...

On this edition of Journal, we take a close look at something we all take for granted: water. That is, we took it for granted until President Trump started talking about taking it away from us.  This is particularly important for British Columbia since he has focussed on the mighty Columbia River, whose headwaters are north of Cranbrook.  This is the faucet that the president suggests co...

On this edition of Journal, we take a look at the dramatic changes we have seen in policing in the last few decades through the eyes of retiring Chief Constable of the Vancouver Police Department, Adam Palmer. 1987 was the year Adam joined the VPD, becoming Chief Constable in 2015. He leaves as the longest serving Chief in the department’s history. Just imagine how the streets have changed over th...

On this edition of Journal, Dr. Julian Somers joins me to examine the need for a province-wide plan to support those with Complex Co-occurring Disorders, or CCDs. This refers to those individuals with substance abuse and mental disorders at the same time. The care required is complicated, involving “medical, psychiatric, housing, social and legal issues,” according to a paper co-written by Dr. Som...

In this edition of Journal, we wade into the fraught topic of city planning, density and affordability by examining Vancouver’s latest efforts to get more housing built – no matter what. In the beginning, when the province mandated more density around transit hubs, people grumpily agreed, even though it was stomping on the right of municipalities to control their own zoning. After all, having peop...

In this edition of Journal, we take a close look at the art of pollsters. You know – if you want to know what your neighbours are thinking, or what Canada is thinking, ask a pollster.  Poillievre is ahead of Trudeau by 20 points. Or now Carney is ahead, maybe. Or 45% of Americans think Trump is doing a swell job.  And then we remember 2016, when the majority of American pollsters said wi...