Carole Taylor's Journal

In this edition of Journal, we examine the “horrors that exist on our streets.” That phrase was used by Leonard Krog, the mayor of Nanaimo to describe what he sees every day in his city. Others use the euphemism “the disorder in our streets.” But whatever you call it, it certainly denigrates the liveability of so many communities – and it started way before decriminalization. All across North Amer...

In this edition of Journal, “To Tariff or not to Tariff – that is the question.” With apologies to Hamlet, but it is what people are talking about.  Whatever you think of him, President Trump has certainly turned the status quo upside down. From his point of view, it works. By simply threatening to apply tariffs to all Canadian goods if we didn’t take action on our border and fentanyl issues,...

In this edition of Journal, we take a close look at the challenges that mayors face every minute of every day. There is no such thing as a time-out when you are in that job. It always surprises me when I hear our governments described in this way – most important, the federal level, next the provincial, then the municipal. When I served in Vancouver’s municipal government, I was often asked, “When...

In this episode of Journal, we take a close look at what is happening to city planning. When I was in civic politics, things were definitely not perfect, but I would say the governance structures and roles were clearer than today. For instance, at that time, the federal government did not deal directly with municipalities – they worked through the provincial government. Not today. The Trudeau gove...

In this edition of Journal, we look at the specific complaints of the President of the United States about Canada’s border security and fentanyl exports. Here’s a surprising question: is President Trump right on this? Does Canada have a problem with the protection of our border and are we exporters of fentanyl? He has repeatedly said these are genuine concerns, not a negotiating gambit to get a be...

In this edition of Journal, we take a look at the role the monarchy plays in the lives of British Columbians – bet that hasn’t crossed your mind recently! King Charles III is represented in Canada by the governor general in Ottawa, and in our province by the lieutenant governor. For the past 7 years, that has been the Honourable Janet Austin. It’s not uncommon for people to think this role is pure...

On this episode of Journal, we tell the remarkable story of Marshall Smith, former Chief of Staff to Premier Danielle Smith and the man behind Alberta’s dramatic turnaround in its approach to drug addiction and treatment. What makes Marshall stand out is that he was once one of those individuals that we saw sleeping on the streets of the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver. As an addict, he had been be...

In this edition of Journal, we focus on how we can better serve our seniors. Personally, I feel the longer we can support the decision of older citizens to remain in their own homes, stay in their familiar communities, living as independently as possible, the better. It’s better for them, better for the community, and better for the government all round, given the cost and shortage of long-term ca...

Well, 2024 was quite a year. Painful conflicts around the world, natural disasters of various kinds, and here in Canada, an economy that lags in so many ways – growth per capita, productivity, business investment. In today's Journal, we take a look at what has been holding us back. Chris Gardner is CEO/President of the 4500-member ICBA (Independent Contractors and Business Association) based in Br...

On this edition of Journal, we take a different look at the disorder on our streets – and boy, has it been a bad couple of months. There was the machete killing and hand maiming near the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Then last week, a sucker punch dropped another stranger outside the Hudson’s Bay store, followed by the knife attack on two individuals in a store on Robson Street in the middle of the day...

In this edition of Journal, we take a look at a real life story behind the cold data on retail crime in British Columbia – and the statistics are grim. A report released recently by the Canadian Federation of Small Business states that BC small businesses experienced a 27% increase in crime in just over the past year – and that is above the national average. 8 in 10 small business owners fear for...

In this edition of Journal, we take a closer look at the “safer supply” of drugs in British Columbia. This refers to the distribution to drug addicts, by the health authorities, of a drug called hydromorphone, an opioid some say is as potent as heroin. The idea behind this initiative is to move individuals away from the toxic street drugs that are causing so many overdoses. But are they safe, as w...

In this edition of Journal, a question: Do you remember how you felt when Canada sent our first astronaut up into space? The pride? The amazement? Did you ever wonder what it takes to be one of the chosen ones on this small team of would-be astronauts, when Canada didn’t even have a full space program? The year was 1984 and the man was Marc Garneau, today’s guest. His story is a remarkable tale of...

On this episode of Journal, I want to introduce you to a woman I have tremendous respect for: Krista Thompson.  For 16 years she was the President and CEO of Covenant House Vancouver, an organization supporting youth aged 16 to 24 who are experiencing homelessness, meaning they may live on the street, or in cars, or occasionally find a bed with friends but no place they call home. Sometimes t...

In this edition of Journal, we examine what just happened in our provincial election. We should probably start at the beginning – what happened to the BC Liberals? I was elected in 2005 as a BC Liberal, which, at the time, represented a coming-together of the more central Liberals and the Conservatives of BC.  But as we mostly know, it was not a happy or easy coalition. I doubt I went anywher...

In this edition of Journal, we try to lift the numbers off the page and talk about the actual challenges facing families in British Columbia.  Why is it that politicians here and in the US often say inflation is coming down, so all will be fine? Well, to start with, it is each year’s growth of inflation that is slowing. But each year’s numbers are added on top of the previous years’ jumps – i...

In this edition of Journal, I would like you to meet a rather unusual politician – mayor Brad West of Port Coquitlam. In my life in politics and journalism, I have met a lot of politicians, most of whom are decent people trying to do a good job. But once in a while, an individual stands out. At 23, Brad was the youngest Councillor elected to Port Coquitlam city council, where he served three terms...

In this edition of Journal, we take the time to look at some of the complexities surrounding open-net fish farms in British Columbia. There is no question that this is a valuable business, bringing in over a billion dollars in economic activity to the province along with thousands of jobs – many supporting our First Nations communities. There is also no question that open-net fish farming is contr...

In this edition of Journal, we take on the urgent issue of crime on our streets with deputy chief Fiona Wilson of the Vancouver Police Department. There is no denying, even by politicians, that the disorder and stranger violence we see on streets around our province has profoundly upset our communities. Now, there are obviously many complicated causes and many fingers to be pointed at policies or...

In this edition of Journal, we take a close look at some of the recently announced provincial housing initiatives and see how they work/don’t work in the community. The most dramatic is the political decision of the provincial government to override the municipal responsibility for zoning, demanding increased density being automatically allowed throughout even single family neighbourhoods with ver...

In this edition of Journal, we wade into the morass of headlines about ER closures around our province – Nicola Valley Hospital, Chetwynd Hospital, Dawson Creek and District Hospital, Mackenzie, Fort Nelson, Kitimat, Northern Haida Gwaii – just to name a few. The worry is that due to the volume of these announcements that we see scrolling across our TV screens every night, we are in danger of beco...

The Vancouver Art Gallery – what started out more than 15 years ago as a shiny new vision for an internationally-recognized art gallery based in BC has turned into one of those nightmares we have seen time and time again. Its budget started out at around $300 million and has now doubled to a number in the $600 millions – before anything has been built. How did this happen? Was the idea right in th...

I, along with many of you, have been surprised in this election year to see Mr. Rustad in a head-to-head with Premier Eby for the province’s top job… while the BC Liberals/United have basically disappeared. What is going on? And how did we get here? Well, we know some of the backstory from newspapers: the messy split between Kevin Falcon and John, leading to John sitting briefly as an independent...

In this edition of Journal, we are going to jump into the fray and take a close look at the blizzard of housing announcements – 62 at last count, coming from all levels of government in this past year. Many of them promise affordable housing. Finally, our politicians have noticed the angst in our community about the cost of housing, rising mortgage rates, the lack of housing options – but at the s...

Canadians have lost trust in politicians. What can be done to rebuild trust and confidence and make the political system work better? The success of our country, our community, depends on the leaders we elect. It depends on their values, their talent and experience. So how do we convince more, good, people to participate? Join Carole Taylor and Tamara Vrooman, the CEO of Vancouver International Ai...