Commentary
Tune in regularly to Commentary on BIV.com, where you can find the latest insight into issues facing Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada
Rob Shaw: Expect Eby to double down on priorities in throne speech Monday
Premier David Eby has been sprinting through his first three months in office, checking off items from his 100-day action plan with increasing frequency. But where does he go after that? It’s a...
Rob Shaw: Eby offers civil service flexibility – will it help achieve his ambitious agenda?
B.C.’s civil service was abuzz this week after the new David Eby administration changed the rules on remote work, allowing thousands of government staff more certainty to work from home in an attempt...
More than four in five British Columbians are concerned about household energy costs
A particularly cold start of the winter, coupled with growing worries about inflation and a drop in economic confidence at the national level, made British Columbians more aware of their energy use....
Rob Shaw: People are dying – when will B.C. fix its broken addictions treatment system?
B.C.’s addictions treatment system is an infuriating mess that’s not working. Let's start there, and say it out loud, because it’s true. The politicians know it. Two successive governments have...
More than half of British Columbians are ready for a new prime minister: poll
New Research Co. and Glacier Media poll assesses voters’ views toward provincial, federal leaders
Rob Shaw: Asia, the U.S. and Canada on BC NDP's restored trade-junket itinerary
Premier David Eby says he’ll make overseas trade missions an early priority of his premiership, restoring a presence in key markets that flagged under the John Horgan administration. Eby intends to...
Eby's eager-beaver spending spree might be smart politics, but it's bad economics
We are seeing more of the nature of our new premier. He is one-part eager beaver, one-part lone wolf. David Eby was the premier-in-waiting for many years. Had John Horgan not outmanoeuvred Christy...
Rob Shaw: NDP has more questions than answers on Surrey policing issue
The BC NDP government is stalling for time on Surrey policing, as it struggles to figure out what is true amidst all the political rhetoric flying around in the debate over the future of the city’s...
Eby government needs to tackle B.C.’s tax competitiveness problem
British Columbia’s approach to business taxation has long been uncompetitive with other large provinces. Thanks to a poorly designed sales tax, the province has one of the highest effective tax...
Prompt payment legislation needed to keep contractors afloat
It may come as a shock to other industries, but in the Industrial, commercial, institutional and multi-unit residential construction sector, contractors aren’t paid upon completion of their work....