PolitiCoast

Ian & Scott break down John Horgan's decision to call a snap general election. Find out how to register to vote by mail Thanks to Mo Amir for permission to use the clip of Sonia Furstenau from the latest This is VanColour

The BC Green leadership contest goes to two rounds but ultimately MLA Sonia Furstenau was victorious. We consider how Cam Brewer did so well despite joining the race so late. Then we pivot to look at the province's StrongerBC restart plan and whether it might serve as a pre-election document. And in quick takes we look at the upcoming Throne Speech and the results in the New Brunswick election. Ch...

Seth Klein's book is out, so we're having him back on the podcast to talk about why he thinks we need a WWII level mobilization to fight the climate emergency and what that would look like. Banner image credit: Meital Smith Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an...

Cam Brewer is the third candidate to enter the race to replace Andrew Weaver as leader of the Green Party of BC. We talk to him about why he's running, why he thinks he's best suited to lead the party and what he's running on. Then we look at the individuals putting themselves forward for nomination races for the BC NDP and BC Liberals amid polls and projections showing that John Horgan could shoo...

The latest updates on the BC Back-to-School plan and Erin O'Toole wins the Conservative Party of Canada leadership. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an exclusive subscription deal if you decide to continue. Start your trial at  politicstoday.news/free-trial A...

Scott speaks to Lisa Lalande, CEO of the Century Initiative, a nonprofit that advocates for Canada to aim for a population of 100 million by 2100. Then we look at the latest shakeups in Ottawa: Bill Morneau is out and Chrystia Freeland is in at the Ministry of Finance and Trudeau prorogues Parliament to either reset the government to present a fresh agenda in the fall or escape further scrutiny by...

Will there be a fall session? Will there be a fall election? Who knows. This may be the last week of sittings of the BC Legislature for 2020 so we brought BC Today reporter Shannon Waters back to talk about what was accomplished, what wasn't accomplished and who had the best Zoom background. Then high school teacher Sonia Milbradt joins the conversation to talk about BC's school restart plan, whic...

Tej Heer is coauthor of Evidence for Democracy's latest report Spotlight on Integrity . We talk to him about the independence and capacity of BC's public scientific profession and what needs to happen to ensure the best impartial evidence is informing our democracy. Then we dig into the second quarter fundraising numbers, which was good news for the governing NDP and quite the downturn for the opp...

Ian and Scott celebrate 200 episodes with Jillian P Stead ( @JillianPStead ) and Stewart Prest ( @StewartPrest ) by talking about political strategy & political science during a pandemic. Watch the video on our Facebook page   Thanks for helping us get to 200 episodes!

We're still in a pandemic and the federal government is still mired in the WE scandal. Ian & Scott catch up on the state of COVID-19 and the latest in the ongoing federal scandal. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an exclusive subscription deal if you decide to...

We speak to BC Green leadership hopeful Kim Darwin about her ambitions to lead the party. Plus safe restart plans, WE controversy, contracts with China, BC's deficit and another record setting month for overdose deaths. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an excl...

Despite a conscious uncoupling, the Trudeau Government and WE Charity continue to receive scrutiny from media, the opposition and now the ethics commissioner. Plus we learn how big of an impact Canada's response to the pandemic has had on our fiscal situation and why it's still maybe not so bad. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up...

(Reuploaded with correct audio - sorry!) BC Today's Shannon Waters returns to talk about covering the legislature as it returns in a hybrid format. We also tease out some of what's expected to come over the remainder of the summer session. Then we look at the controversy that's erupted over the federal government's decision to outsource management of the Canada Student Service Grant to the WE char...

BC Today's Shannon Waters returns to talk about covering the legislature as it returns in a hybrid format. We also tease out some of what's expected to come over the remainder of the summer session. Then we look at the controversy that's erupted over the federal government's decision to outsource management of the Canada Student Service Grant to the WE charity. Note that our conversation happened...

Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an exclusive subscription deal if you decide to continue. Start your trial at  politicstoday.news/free-trial Patron Slack is open to all supporters – Fill out the form for access A transcript will be available soon at politicoa...

One MP stood in the way of a motion that would condemn racism in the RCMP and launch a review of its expenditures. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh called that MP, Bloc House Leader Alain Therrien, a racist and Singh was subsequently thrown out of the House of Commons for the day. We look at the history, the politics and procedure of politicians being thrown from legislatures. First, we do a little follow...

As #DefundThePolice becomes the rallying cry of recent protests, we take a brief look at the history of policing in Canada and BC, how police are governed in the province today and the possibility of reform going forward. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an ex...

Hogan's Alley Society co-founder Stephanie Allen joins us to talk about Black history in BC, racism past and present, police brutality and possible paths forward. Plus in quick takes we look at political fundraising numbers, support for residential & commercial tenants, support for cities, 5G contracts and BC Budget 2021 consultation. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedica...

Pharmacist Sasha Maleki joins us to talk science and pharmaceutical politics during COVID-19. Plus the latest on Canada-China relations, long-term care, Andrew Weaver's meltdown and the return to the legislature. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter dedicated exclusively to BC Politics. Sign up for a free two-week trial and listen to the episode for your code for an exclusive s...

Dr Amita Kuttner is a British Columbian astrophysicist running for the leadership of the Green Party of Canada. We talk to them about their candidacy, the Greens' science policy and how they'd achieve electoral success. Plus quick takes on the return of the BC Legislature, recovery infrastructure spending and the latest mask recommendations. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the daily newsletter...

A new paper from BC's Basic Income Task Force has been published today in the School of Public Policy Paper Series titled "Considerations for Basic Income as a COVID-19 Response". We had a chance to read the paper and speak to Professor Lindsay Tedds of the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy about the paper. Read the transcript

David Eby releases a report on how ICBC's financials are faring amidst the pandemic and the answer is...complicated. The latest job numbers are out and they're clearly bad but perhaps a report from the emerging economy taskforce will provide a path to a new future. And the MOU between Canada, BC and the Wet'suwet'en was signed but what will it mean for the future of Crown-Indigenous relations? Plu...

Premier John Horgan has announced the province's (careful) plan to Restart BC. Trudeau uses an order-in-council to reclassify various firearms as prohibited. And further uncertainty over the tentative agreement between the Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs and the provincial and federal governments as the elected chiefs cry foul over the consultation process. Check out our partner:  BC Today is the d...

Politics continues in a pandemic as MPs meet virtually for the first time and all the media wants to talk about are the views of each MP's home that we got a glimpse at. Then we look at the steps various (non-BC) provinces have announced to reopen their societies. Finally, there's a new study out looking at the costs of restoring the old Island Rail tracks from Victoria to Port Alberni and Courten...

The Mayor's Council has dire warnings about the state of Translink if ridership remains low and its revenue sources have largely evaporated. Will the province and federal government step up? And multiple poultry processing plants in BC and meat plants in Alberta are facing serious COVID-19 outbreaks. This has sparked renewed calls in BC, at least, for guaranteed paid sick leave for workers. Finall...