Northern Beat News Podcast

“You can't have two sets of owners having ownership interests, with mutually exclusive rights, over the same piece of land. It just, in our view, doesn't work." As litigator for Montrose Properties, Joan Young has taken on an unenviable but some say, noble task. Last month, Young was in the BC Supreme Court petitioning to reopen the Cowichan Tribes v Canada trial to add Montrose as a defendant. If...

Listen to the 5-minute highlights reel: If you follow BC politics, veteran political journalists Vaughn Palmer and Keith Baldrey need no introduction. For everyone else, Vancouver Sun political columnist, Palmer, and Global BC legislative bureau chief, Baldrey, have chronicled the triumphs and disasters of 11 premiers (“and counting:” Vaughn). “If [BC Conservatives] stick to the economy, I think t...

“The only way that we can create a sustainable long-term situation is if we have this foundation of equality… there needs to be only one class of British Columbians.” —Werner Stump The BC Cattlemen’s Association is throwing its considerable weight behind a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the BC NDP government’s most contentious legislation. If successful, the case could radically chan...

Listen to the audio highlight reel (above) or scroll to the bottom to watch the full podcast Todd Stone is speaking for an embattled industry. The CEO and president of the Association of Mineral Exploration joined our podcast to share how his members are faring under BC Premier David Eby’s handling of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA). In a couple of words: not good....

Hot off the press… Shortly before publishing this podcast, Premier David Eby’s office announced his government will not introduce amendments to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) this session. Suddenly, the issues we discussed in this week’s podcast are all the more relevant for what lies ahead in BC. Aboriginal law expert Geoffrey Moyse sat down with us this week to t...

[Listen to the highlights reel above or scroll to the bottom to watch the full podcasts] Did the BC government order Dr. Julian Somers to destroy vital scientific data? If so, why? If not, then where is it? That was the crux of contention between Opposition critic Claire Rattée and BC Health Minister Josie Osborne during several question periods last week. For four consecutive days, Rattée pressed...

“The federal [Crown-Indigenous Relations] minister is on the record right now saying the [Musqueam] agreement protects private property. There’s not a word in the agreement that does that, not a word, not a comma.” —Tom Isaac Welcome to the Northern Beat podcast. First, a glimpse behind the curtain… we’re testing a few new video and audio formats this week. The audio highlights reel (above) featur...

“We’re paralyzed. Our economy is falling over on its side…. that’s the horror of the position we’ve been put into by the government.” Iain Black has so many concerns with how the province of BC is being governed, he’s jumped back into the political fray to do something about it. A BC Conservative leadership candidate, Black is a former BC Liberal cabinet minister and CEO of the Greater Vancouver B...

“I fully well understand what the role of the Premier is and that's about the protection, and an eye to the protection, of all in British Columbia.” BC Conservative leadership contender, Peter Milobar, has a reputation as a serious legislator who knows his files. A skilled debater, impervious to heckling from the government side, his arguments are logical, often dense with facts and occasionally p...

Dr. Caroline Elliott may not yet be widely known to British Columbian voters, but the emerging frontrunner in the BC Conservative leadership race is no stranger to the BC political arena. Her work as a political staffer in Gordon Campbell’s government evolved into operating her own independent consultancy in BC’s major projects resource sector, which in turn spurred her academic pursuits, and ulti...

“This is a pivotal moment in our history right now that the Premier is absolutely failing to lead on, and my worry is that things are going to get worse before they get better.” Podcast teaser: ‘I see an abdication of leadership’ Listen to a clip from the podcast Into the hot seat Trevor Halford was born and bred in White Rock, B.C., the community he now represents in the legislature, along with a...

“I’m really trying to stay out of the politics of all this, but it’s very difficult to when the behaviour that I see is not acting in the public interest and I believe is negligent.” —Tom Isaac Podcast teaser: ‘Perversity factor’ Listen to a clip from the podcast. [ Upgrade to Paid ] Tom Isaac pulls few punches. He has been around the block on the Indigenous law circuit. Make that many blocks. And...

“We’ve gone through so many dark roads in this world the last couple of years… and eroded, basically, societal norms, political norms, all of those things. It is time for all of us to take a stand and say, ‘This is the bar.’” Like most locally elected officials across BC, Merlin Blackwell is the ears, eyes and voice of his community. As mayor of Clearwater, he grapples with many of the usual issue...

“I get if we were 15 points behind the NDP and the NDP were sailing high… [but] we’re 42-44 in the polls , and we’re not doing well enough?” —John Rustad If the BC Conservative Party were a ship and John Rustad its captain, in the last couple of years he helped refit a paretic vessel, then took it into battle on the high seas; he weathered storms and won bounty; he made crew walk the plank, while...

Pouce Coupe is like ABBA . If you aren’t a fan, there’s something wrong with you. Pouce Coupe is about 1,370 kms from the B.C. legislature, and when locally elected representatives meet up with cabinet ministers to advocate for their residents, they sometimes feel every kilometre of that distance. Most of the province is beyond Hope and Pouce Coupe feels like “the forgotten stepchild,” says Marcel...

“I just want to say to my fellow British Columbians, this is not the British Columbia that our citizens deserve.” When interviewing Premier David Eby a couple of years ago, I opened with a quote from Leonard Krog. For two reasons. It was a powerful insight and Krog is a credible, respected source who holds sway in municipal and provincial circles. “So, what did my former colleague say?” Eby asked,...

“Compassion isn’t allowing [people] to kill themselves on the street… compassion includes some form of mandatory rehabilitation.” —Julius Bloomfield Like almost every other mayor in BC and beyond, Julius Bloomfield has his hands full. Since he moved from Penticton city councillor to the mayor’s chair in 2022, he and his council have been grappling with repeated crime, drug overdoses, homelessness,...

Tom Dyas is one of several BC mayors leading the charge, calling on the province to reform bail for repeat offenders and build mandatory care for the province’s most severely addicted, mentally ill and brain injured citizens. Last week, mayors and councillors mounted an unprecedented, and so far effective, pressure campaign , urging the provincial government to help them tackle the root sources of...

Jillian Skeet has war stories enough to fill a book, make a movie and write a television series besides. Brandished weapons, psychotic rampages, vicious attacks on staff, drug-induced fires, flooded rooms, blocked toilets, destroyed walls and doors, pet rats, olympic-level hoarding, misguided advocates, desperately vulnerable youth, and so much untreated mental illness and addiction, she says the...

Dr. Barbara Kane is a psychiatrist who has spent much of her career in BC’s north treating people with severe mental illness and addictions. During that time, she’s witnessed and cared for people in such deep distress, they are harming themselves in ways the rest of us can only imagine. She’s calling on the province to green light a secured psychiatric facility in Prince George to care for the peo...

“When it comes to leadership, holding your cards to your chest all the time doesn't really help.” –Ronnie Chickite Ronnie Chickite is a fourth generation fisherman re-elected chief of We Wai Kai First Nation in January. No wonder. Under his leadership, investments, partnerships and economic development have shot through the roof. Building on previous successes, his community has grown or diversifi...

“It's about redirecting them to positive sources of influence that over time can be cultivated to be intrinsically meaningful… to the point where the risk of re-engaging with their addiction isn't worth it because of what they now have to lose.” –Julian Somers What if our need for purpose and meaningful relationships is an evolutionary imperative? And what if addiction is our adaptative response t...

Safeguarding the honour and trustworthiness of our election processes has never been more integral or challenging. Disinformation campaigns, foreign interference activities and false online narratives are on the rise in Canada. The job of protecting the integrity of our elections against attack is an increasingly complex, high-stakes responsibility. Enter Anton Boegman. Boegman began at Elections...

“Before you go off and try and save the planet or achieve a major complicated societal objective, job number one for government is to provide basic core services.” –Brad West Fans of Brad West extend far beyond the mid-sized BC municipality he represents. Maybe because he’s willing to go where other elected representatives fear to tread. The mayor of Port Coquitlam, West is concerned on a few fron...

The new MLA for Skeena, Claire Rattée has emerged as a strong, effective voice in the BC Conservative caucus. A powerhouse Opposition critic for mental health and addictions right out the gate, she has been lighting it up since her first Question Period when she held Premier David Eby to account for his government’s inaction on addictions treatment services. Claire grew up in the Lower Mainland an...