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: B.C. has 11 days left to spend all of its unprecedented surplus. It likely can't
The B.C. government has embarked on an unprecedented spending spree over the past four months, shovelling billions of dollars of an unexpectedly large budget surplus out the door to community groups,...
Rob Shaw: Surplus spending not yet moving the needle on crises – or BC NDP’s popularity problem
How much support can $6 billion buy you? It’s a question Premier David Eby must be asking, after shovelling a good chunk of that cash out the door recently in a bonanza of feel-good announcements –...
More resources needed to keep big rigs safe on our roads
If it requires more resources to increase inspections and enforcement to force some of these owners and operators to smarten up, then so be it
Data points: Housing activity picks up but correction too early to call
Is the housing market turning the corner after 2022’s severe slump? It is still too early to say, but Lower Mainland home sales gained some traction and prices notched higher in February – signs...
Canadians' support of capital punishment for murder ticks up after several years of stability
Over the past couple of years, discussions about the death penalty have carried on in some countries. The United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (EU) precipitated a debate on the...
Opinion: The bell tolls for drivers – again
Every time I think I’m off the TransLink file, they pull me back in. This time, you can blame B.C. Premier David Eby. At a news conference Wednesday announcing a half-billion dollar bailout for the...
Rob Shaw: Even the NDP base is frustrated with NDP brass inaction on crime
B.C. launched its repeat violent offender teams on Tuesday, in a bid to quell public unrest over crime in urban centres. It couldn’t come a moment too soon for the government. Even NDP supporters...
Fewer than one in five Canadians support country’s continued monarchy status
Once a year, Research Co. and Glacier Media ask Canadians about the monarchy and the members of the Royal Family. In February 2021, the proportion of the country’s residents who expressed a desire...
WestJet’s complaint response provides critical corporate lessons
WestJet, congratulations on 27 years. Your vibrant teal, competitive rates and world’s friendliest crew had me at hello. Sadly, a flight from Calgary to Vancouver changed things. The passenger...
High spending triggers avalanche of debt in B.C.
The most striking aspect of the Eby government’s first budget was the eye-popping deficit and debt projections. The budget forecasts a cumulative $11 billion deficit over the next three years....