PolitiCoast

It's an election year so that means the BC Liberals budget is all about tax cuts and spending increases. Who wins and who loses and what will the opposition do? Next, we look at the sad state of the BC Conservative Party and wonder how a party can survive on 45 Twitter followers. And in our quick takes, a BC-federal health deal, Vancouver votes to file a judicial review to stop the Kinder Morgan p...

The final throne speech before the BC election has come out but we're left wonder, are the BC Liberals just running on cruise control? With nearly every Conservative leadership candidate tripping over themselves to be the most opposed to denouncing Islamophobia, we delve into whether the Conservatives are courting the dark forces by stoking debate over M-103. Then, did Trudeau actually do anything...

Why are BC's political parties so incompetent? Christy Clark spent much of the week claiming the NDP hacked her website when really, the BC Liberals probably just didn't update their WordPress plugins. Meanwhile, Micah comes back to discuss the return of the Court Challenges Program (sorry for the audio quality Micah!) and we discuss what the census data mean for federal representation and the Van...

Our first segment: Ding dong, electoral reform is dead. We all sort of expected a long, slow process, but Trudeau seems to have given it a compassionate assisted death (which is legal now). Will this egregious promise breaking bite the Liberals? Was there possibly a more unceremonious way they could have killed this? In our second segment we examine the what's in the BC NDP's Climate Plan (or more...

What has the first week of Trump's presidency meant for Canada? Did the government's MyDemocracy.ca survey find anything useful? It's time for another edition of PolitiCoast!

Sick of President Trump already? Let’s talk about who everyone’s calling Canada’s Trump instead: Kevin O’Leary! Yes, he’s finally entered the Conservative Party leadership race, but will he get eaten in the shark tank? Next, a real newspaper - The New York Times even - noticed BC politics. Will their expose on BC’s “kafkaesque” fundraising rules swing the election? And Prime Minister Justin Trudea...

Trudeau shuffles his cabinet to to get burned by the Washington dumpster fire. The Prime Minister’s ethics are questioned after revelations of a secret vacation with a family friend, the Aga Khan who also runs a nonprofit receiving government funding. The Prime Minister’s flight to the island on Khan-Air likely broke the Conflict of Interest Act. The BC government gives approval to Kinder Morgan w...

Ian and Scott share their thoughts on the year that was 2016 and what to look forward to in 2017.

Fundraising scandals continue to plague the Trudeau Liberals, particularly as new controversy surrounds the Trudeau Foundation. Next, Micah calls in to add a legal take on BC NDP leader John Horgan’s claim that the federal government would have to invoke the notwithstanding clause to force the Kinder Morgan Pipeline through. Then we take another look at the state of the Conservative leadership rac...

Alberta premier Rachel Notley comes to BC to win support for the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion. The Trudeau Liberals launch MyDemocracy.ca, yet another tool to consult Canadians on electoral reform, this time to wide ridicule on social media. Then Ian & Scott discuss cash for access controversies and the dark side of Alberta politics.

The honeymoon might be over for Justin Trudeau as his government announces its approval of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline and the wheels come off the electoral reform bus. He's also attracted controversy for a glowing eulogy for Cuban President Fidel Castro. Meanwhile, BC posts a budget surplus while Ontario's Auditor General delivers a scathing indictment on the Kathleen Wynne Liberals...

Justin Trudeau kills the coal industry. The Globe and Mail exposes how many farms in Agricultural Land Reserve are being used for mansions and hotels. Trudeau bought some new fighter jets, Charlie Angus mulls an NDP leadership bid, Vancouver mayors announce the start of the first phase of transit expansion and the BC government puts money into affordable housing.

Vancouver has introduced its empty home tax, but is it a solution in search of a problem? Former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge thinks it’s a supply problem and BC NDP leader thinks dumping cash into co-op housing is the solution. Meanwhile, the Trudeau Government seems to be continuing to find ways to walk back from its electoral reform promises, with vague statements by Minister Maryam Mons...

A bonus long weekend episode with a focus just on BC & Canada! Ian and Scott discuss the Conservative Party Leadership Debate, the BCTF vs BC Government Supreme Court of Canada verdict, PEI’s electoral reform vote and the new spill response plan for the west coast.

Scott and Ian share their thoughts on the recent US Election and the implications for BC and Canada. Warning there is a lot of swearing.

The Trudeau government has doubled down on deficits in its latest fiscal update. Ian & Scott look into what’s in the document and what it means. Next, it’s been a year since Trudeau took office. What have they accomplished and what is the state of Canada’s opposition parties? Finally, in the quick takes, we look at Michael Chong’s carbon tax plan, the new Senate appointments and the BC Conserv...

Ian and Scott sit down with Jackie from Lead Now to discuss electoral reform. In the first of our monthly episodes where we examine a single topic in detail we examine the current reform efforts in Canada, the systems under consideration and other tweaks for how Canadians vote. The Liberals promised in their 2015 platform “that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-...

Did the Canada-Europe trade just get torpedoed by an obscure region of Belgium? Wallonia is being blamed by Canada’s Minister on International Trade for making agreement on the CETA deal impossible. With the Conservatives throwing mad shade, what will the Liberals do on the trade file? Also, Michael Chong presents his democratic reform proposals, which look much like his earlier democratic reform...

Ian & Scott are joined by Micah to discuss all things politics, both in BC and across the Canada. In this episode they discuss the firing of the Vancouver School Board, reactions to the third US presidential debate, the Supreme Court of Canada appointment, new BC leadership candidates for the federal Conservatives and NDP, Trudeau’s backing away from electoral reform and a bridge to the sunshi...

Ian & Scott delve into a post second presidential debate review even as the Trump campaign meltdown shows no signs of abating. They also respond to some of the feedback on carbon pricing, the state of the Conservative Party of Canada's leadership race, Uber's lobbying the BC government, Trudeau's Bombardier Bailout, the Tsawwassen Mills chaos, an update on CETA the Canada-EU free trade deal, f...

Ian and Scott delve into the Trudeau government’s announcement that there will be a price on carbon. How did the provinces react and what does it mean for BC? Plus: What can you learn from a nomination meeting? What’s the point in having a politics podcast if the legislature isn’t sitting? What’s going on at the Vancouver School board? Is there any universe where taxing developers will help solve...

Ian and Scott are joined by Trevor for a special teaser episode of PolitiCoast. Tonight's commentary is focused solely on the first US Presidential Debate. Which Trump showed up? Did Hillary have the stamina? And why are we still talking about NAFTA in 2016? Check back later this week for the first official episode of PolitiCoast.

This is not the PolitiCoast podcast but just a short teaser or test to make sure we're good to go. Come back on Friday for our first official episode.