Commentary
Tune in regularly to Commentary on BIV.com, where you can find the latest insight into issues facing Vancouver, British Columbia and Canada
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....
Carson Binda: Eby blowing surplus on wasteful spending instead of paying down debt
Think of provincial finances like your family budget. Right now, Premier David Eby has a big debt to settle. However, instead of paying down the balance, Eby is showing all the fiscal restraint of a...
It’s time to prepare for the worst to protect against a downturn
Storm clouds are gathering over B.C.’s construction industry as we enter 2023. For more than a decade, cheap money has helped fuel a booming sector. Although COVID and material escalation created...
Housing remains atop the priority list for B.C.’s young adults
Since 2015, housing, homelessness and poverty have dominated the issue landscape in B.C. In the second half of 2022, we saw a bit of a jump in the proportions of residents aged 55 and over who were...
Rob Shaw: Pressure to address housing crisis mounts as affordability gets worse
Despite all the announcements on housing affordability from the new David Eby government in Victoria, a recent report by one of Canada’s largest banks shows things on the ground have never been...
B.C. nets ‘impressive’ population growth
After faltering early during the pandemic, population growth in Canada’s large urban markets regained their mojo as immigration returned with a vengeance. On a July-to-July basis, Canada’s...
Rob Shaw: BC Greens’ continued COVID focus raises questions about party’s political well-being
The BC Greens are moving to shore up their credentials on the health care file, by naming a high-profile surgeon to be deputy leader of the party. It’s not a bad idea, and it might help the Greens...