#bc ndp

The BC Government has quietly updated its MSP coverage policies for bottom surgery, and has plans to not allow anyone in BC to have MSP coverage for bottom surgery in GRS Montreal after March 31st. There is bottom surgery available in Vancouver, but the wait times are currently at least 3-4 years right now (vs about 1 year in Montreal). Forcing every Trans person in BC to go to Vancouver is going to make wait times even worse. This decision is so shortsighted and illogical.

This may affect me, as I had plans to go to GRS Montreal and have a SRA appointment in a couple of weeks. But not sure if I have enough time to get everything referred now. I really do not want to wait until I'm in my 40's to get bottom surgery.

British Columbia’s government has proposed suspending its Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, according to two sources in a meeting between Premier David Eby and First Nations leaders.

One of the sources says a three-year suspension of the legislation has been proposed, while the other didn’t give a time frame.

Eby said on Wednesday it was “non-negotiable” that the legislation designed to reflect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights on Indigenous Peoples would be changed.

DRIPA has been cited by First Nations involved in two landmark court victories last year that sparked concern about implications for private land ownership and the province’s mining rules.

One of the sources told The Canadian Press that the proposal “effectively places every section of DRIPA” that the government wanted to replace under suspension for three years, and that changes to the legislation would be made later.

The source said the plan was to give time for the Supreme Court of Canada to weigh in, while the second source who confirmed the suspension proposal says there was “complete opposition” from First Nations at the meeting.

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My personal ratings for this BC leaders debate (which you can watch over on Global or listen to here or search "The Mike Smyth Show" wherever you listen to podcasts) are:

Sonia Furstenau (Greens) - I found myself agreeing with her the most and I found she brought up the best points (especially regarding the reality of needing to address the root causes of our ongoing societal issues, like poverty and profiteering, for example)

David Eby (NDP) - He seemed to often agree with Sonia's points (me too!), but he also seemed much more focused on trying to catch Rustad in one of the many areas where Rustad can be called out on (because Rustad is one of those politicians), if only Rustad was someone that ever addressed what he was being asked directly to address

John Rustad (Cons) - I don't understand how people like this manage to always be in the running for leadership spots at ANY level in modern society, let alone at a provincial level, but I guess that's the type of modern society we still live in — a bunch of people clutching desperately at the ways of the old 'Us vs Them' world (the same old world where we just had to have a national day of truth & reconciliation because of how dark life can get when capitalist interests are put in charge of setting the rules for how the game of life gets played).

#BREAKING A new study from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) has revealed that British Columbia, which has a reputation as the most environmentally-friendly Canadian province, spent $830 million on fossil fuel subsidies in 2017-2018 😳😳

- Stand.earth on Facebook

“Each year, BC provides hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies for fossil fuels. In 2017–18, the year for which the most data is available, total subsidies were at least CAD 830 million. 

There is no getting around it: fossil fuel subsidies promote the production and consumption of fuels that cause climate change. They encourage increases in the same pollution that other policies aim to reduce. 

The majority of BC’s fossil fuel subsidies go to fossil fuel producers. 

BC’s subsidies include provincial tax exemptions, royalty reductions and direct investments. When fossil fuel producers receive hundreds of millions of subsidies each year, vital government resources are pulled away from important sectors such as renewable energy and social services. This means that other sectors of the economy must compensate for the vast amounts of government revenue spent on subsidies—which is neither fair nor efficient.

BC has at least CAD 2.6 billion to 3.1 billion in outstanding royalty credits from fossil fuel producers. 

Royalty payments from oil and gas producers are supposed to provide benefits to BC residents, for example by funding social services like health care and education. However, each year, fossil fuel producers claim millions of dollars in credits to reduce the amounts of royalties they pay. In 2018-19 alone, fossil fuel producers claimed over CAD 631 million in deep well credits. These billions in outstanding credits is money that fossil fuel producers will not have to pay in future years and that BC’s citizens will not see put toward social services. “

Summary