Political Capital with Rob Shaw

BC is quick out of the gate to rule out following Quebec's tax on the unvaccinated, is this the right move? The BC Liberals face internal controversy over membership sign-ups in the dying days of the party's leadership race - we break down what's going on. And BC raises the threshold for the homeowners grant, is that an admission that housing affordability is still out of control? Host Rob Shaw is...

Has BC lost public confidence and is there anything it can do to get it back? Host Rob Shaw is joined by the panel: Katy Merrifield, Jillian Oliver and Maclean Kay.

The show ends 2021 with a blockbuster year-in-review, as the panel picks the best and worst moments for the BC NDP, Liberals and Greens in a year dominated by crises and extraordinary events. In a podcast extra, we each pick the top performers from each party, and debate their performances for the year. Host Rob Shaw is joined by Katy Merrifield, Jillian Oliver and Maclean Kay. Political Capital w...

BC is sharply criticized for slow disaster response by the Fraser Valley Regional District, exposing flaws in its local-first emergency system. First Nations push back on a 30-day old growth deadline, throwing the province's plan into doubt. And the minister responsible for FOI faces accusations she misled the legislature. Host Rob Shaw is joined by Jillian Oliver and Maclean Kay this week.

The province attempts to do a better job preparing and responding to the next round of storms. A new 5-day sick pay program fails to please organized labour and the business community, but is likely still an important win for the government. And the fall session of the legislature ends with government shutting down debate and ramming bills through, amid controversy. Host Rob Shaw is joined by Katy...

BC is hit by devastating flooding and landslides, how did the province respond and what needs to be improved for the future? As well, major new legislation on bubble zones to protect hospitals and schools from anti-vaxx protesters, a complex new forestry bill that affects old growth logging, and government's shift away from new for-profit childcare spaces. Host Rob Shaw is joined by Maclean Kay an...

BC's new old growth deferral plan picks up criticism from all quarters, the province asks Ottawa to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, and a grab bag of topics this week that looks at controversy on changes to autism funding, the COP26 climate conference and new figures on the summer heat dome deaths. The panel also discusses allegations of sexism in the BC Liberal leaders...

Premier John Horgan has revealed a personal health challenge - we wish him well, while also asking what if anything this means for the functioning of government and the legislature. Plus, the government releases a new climate plan that has its share of proponents and critics, as well as continues its fight to push through contentious new FOI legislation. Rob Shaw is joined by Katy Merrifield, Macl...

Premier John Horgan's government finds itself accused of hypocrisy by bringing in new fees on FOI, BC is off-side with a new federal vaccine passport system meaning people here will have to work with two vaccine cards, and a group of doctors starts alternative COVID-19 briefings to criticize Dr. Bonnie Henry. Plus, we look at the one-year anniversary of the Horgan government's majority election vi...

BC has started its first mandatory vaccine rule in the seniors' care sector, how many people would rather lose their jobs than comply and what does this mean for future vaccine requirements in other public sector jobs? Also, we take a deep dive into conservative pundit Aaron Gunn launching his campaign for BC Liberal leader, what does it mean for the party and what will happen if he is approved or...

BC is under fire for its decision to require 60 different school districts to vote on whether to make vaccines mandatory for teachers and school staff, why is it doing this and what are the political risks ahead? We also take a dive into the first week of the fall session of the BC legislature, what happened, what didn't and is anyone paying attention? Rob Shaw is joined by Maclean Kay, Jillian Ol...

BC Supreme Court has tossed Premier John Horgan the hot potato of continued old growth logging protests at Fairy Creek, what does this mean for his government? Plus a revolt my parents has led to changes to BC’s mask policy for school-aged children, and we look at who won and lost the first BC Liberal leadership debate. Host Rob Shaw is joined by Jillian Oliver and Maclean Kay.

The panel takes a deep dive into the federal election - what should each party take away from the results and what did we accomplish other than virtually identical results to 2019? We also look at the fate of each of the party leaders, and implications for BC politics. Plus, BC is backtracking to provide data for parents on school exposures, but the fight over what information the province release...

With just days before the 2021 federal election, the panel offers up their predictions and analysis of the final few days. Plus, why is Premier John Horgan picking a fight with Alaska and why is Alaska coming for BC's cruise ship sector? We also discuss BC Green leader Sonia Furstenau's impact on BC politics at her one-year anniversary as leader. Host Rob Shaw is joined by Maclean Kay, Katy Merrif...

The province unveils a new vaccine passport system to access restaurants, movie theatres and more - how did it land and what does the path forward look like for this program in the face of a small but vocal group of anti-vaxxers? We also break down the federal leaders' debate to see who comes out with momentum for the last week of the election campaign. Host Rob Shaw is joined by Katy Merrifield a...

What should the BC government do in the face of anti-vaccination passport protests that disrupted health care services? And has the time finally come to take drastic action to curb the overdose crisis, in the wake of more record-breaking death counts due to the toxic drug supply? Plus we take a look at week three of the federal election campaign. Rob Shaw is joined by Maclean Kay, Katy Merrifield...

BC's mandatory mask and vaccine strategies draw mixed reactions, and the province's back-to-school plan doesn't seem to land well either. Plus a look at week two of the federal election campaign and whether the issue of Afghanistan will become a leadership problem for Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Host Rob Shaw discusses the week with Jillian Oliver, Katy Merrifield, and Maclean Kay.

We take a deep dive into the new federal election - what leaders, issues and parties emerged from week one with momentum. Plus, Premier John Horgan is under fire for a holiday during the wildlife crisis - is this a big scandal or much ado about nothing? Host Rob Shaw is joined by Maclean Kay and Jillian Oliver.

BC takes one step forward in its fight against COVID-19 with a new "vax to the max" campaign, but also has to crack down with new restrictions on an outbreak in the central Okanagan, so are we falling backwards? Also, what to make of B.C.'s $5.5 billion deficit and the new public accounts report. Should the Governor General refuse an early election request from PM Justin Trudeau, as suggested by t...

BC is now in a state of emergency due to wildfires, NDP strategist Bob Dewar retires after five years of reshaping BC politics and the clown car crash of the federal Greens continues. Plus a fascinating discussion on the changing boundaries of how ministers and politicians can treat their staff, and what is acceptable in this day and age, amid stories of a toxic work environment in a federal cabin...

BC tries to fix its beleaguered ambulance service but are the resources enough to tackle a political crisis? Health officials offer new prescription drug supply in a bid to reduce overdoses. Ottawa opens up our waters to cruise ships, but BC still faces the risk of losing the entire cruise sector due to US legislation. Plus a callback from July 2017 when Premier John Horgan unveiled his new cabine...

Trudeau delivers funding to supercharge BC’s $10-a-day child care promise. The premier commits another gaffe on heatwave deaths but does it matter? And NDP Constituencies could be behind picket lines soon after a strike vote. Rob Shaw is joined by Maclean Kay, Jillian Oliver, and Katy Merrifield to discuss all the latest in BC politics.

Canada's Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister is facing resignation calls for a racist text, BC's finance minister rejects major recommendations to cool the real estate market in a new expert report on housing affordability and election speculation in Ottawa reaches a fever pitch amid a growing number of scandals for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's party. Plus, we examine new BC Liberal leadership...

We review what was accomplished as the spring session of the B.C. legislature ends, kick around whether the rising budget of the premier's office is a big deal and dig into why the federal Green party is imploding and what it might mean for the upcoming federal election. In our podcast extras this week, we jump back into the time machine to June 2018 when Attorney General David Eby released the ru...

Rob Shaw is joined by Katy Merrifield, Maclean Kay and Jillian Oliver to discuss all the latest in B.C. politics, as well as this week's Hot Take question: Should politicians ever cross the floor, or is that the political kiss of death? Our podcast extra topics cover a new B.C. Liberal postmortem into the 2020 election loss, and the launch of Michael Lee's B.C. Liberal leadership campaign. Plus Ro...