Latest news with #BCGreens
Global News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Second candidate joins BC Greens leadership race
The BC Green Party says a 24-year-old advocate for climate justice and Indigenous solidarity has joined the party's leadership contest. Emily Lowan is the second person to announce their candidacy in the race after Comox town councillor and physician Jonathan Kerr. The candidates are seeking to replace Sonia Furstenau, who had been leader since 2020 but announced she would step down after failing to be re-elected in the last provincial election. 0:33 Comox councillor running for BC Greens leader Lowan says in a news release that her campaign will focus on 'stopping major projects that ignore Indigenous rights, implementing vacancy control, lowering the cost of living, and taxing the ultrarich.' Story continues below advertisement She says those changes would allow the province to invest in affordable housing, free public transit and 'good green jobs.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The party says it will release the names of other contestants in the coming days. It says a town hall will be held in August before a contestant debate in September. Voting by party members will run from Sept. 13 to 23, with the results to be announced on Sept. 24.
CBC
25-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
April sees increase in toxic drug deaths in B.C., as coroner reports 165 fatalities
Social Sharing The B.C. Coroners Service says April was the first time in six months that more than 160 deaths were recorded due to toxic drugs. It said in a statement that 165 people died in April, up from 143 deaths in March and 132 fatalities in February. The February and March numbers represented year-over-year declines of more than 30 per cent compared with the same months in 2024, while April's total amounted to a lesser decrease of about 14 per cent. The statement released Tuesday says deaths in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities make up 57 per cent of fatalities so far this year. It says fentanyl continues to be the most common substance linked to deaths and smoking is the primary mode of consumption of unregulated toxic drugs. While Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities have the larger number of deaths, the Northern and Interior health regions have seen the highest per-capita rates of death so far in 2025. The B.C. Green caucus issued a statement Tuesday noting that a growing number of drug deaths occurred outdoors, 21 per cent so far this year, compared with 15 per cent in 2022. "This report underscores the widening gaps in care, housing, and access to life-saving services," said interim Green Leader Jeremy Valeriote in the statement. "The ongoing loss of life is not inevitable — it's a consequence of political choices." The Greens are asking the province to provide a regulated alternative to the toxic drug supply, supervised consumption services that are accessible, and timely treatment for those who need it. New service standards for OPSes Earlier this month, the province released new minimum service standards for all community-based overdose prevention sites (OPS) that receive public funding and all in-hospital sites, laying out a baseline of how they should be operated. The province says there are nine OPSes at hospitals in B.C. It says the service standards are not intended to identify where more sites may be needed, but noted that health-care authorities have been told the requirements for creating new ones. The province says there had been more than 5.6 million visits to OPSes since January 2017, and the services had prevented more than 12,400 overdose deaths since 2019. "Overdose prevention services are critical in saving thousands of lives, connecting people to treatment and reducing public drug use," said Health Minister Josie Osborne in a ministry statement. Doctors for Safer Drug Policy, an advocacy group consisting of physicians who care for drug users, said it was cautiously optimistic over the new standards. The group has been involved with setting up an unsanctioned overdose prevention site at the Nanaimo Regional Hospital, as well as other pop-up sites at hospitals on Vancouver Island. The group's co-founder, Dr. Ryan Herriot, says they agree with the government that the services save lives and reduce public drug use — but Herriot says he has concerns with whether the new standards will mean drawn-out consultation processes for new sites. "Even if these processes are well-intentioned and well-designed, there is the possibility of further slowing things down, which, again, given that it's an emergency, is not ideal," Herriot said in a statement.
CTV News
06-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
B.C. gives green light to LNG pipeline, with no need for new environmental assessment
The British Columbia government says a decade-old environmental assessment certificate remains valid for the construction of a natural gas pipeline in northern B.C., in a decision opposed by the province's Green Party and environmental groups. The Environmental Assessment Office says it has determined the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline has 'substantially started,' fulfilling a requirement of the 2014 certificate and allowing the project to proceed without a new assessment. The original approval was for a roughly 900-kilometre pipeline between Hudson's Hope in northeastern B.C. and Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, the site of a liquefied natural gas processing facility that has since been cancelled. The pipeline was purchased by the Nisga'a Nation and Texas-based Western LNG last year to supply natural gas to the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG facility, a project the province says is still undergoing environmental assessment. The province says the office is also reviewing requests by the proponent to change the pipeline route, including shifting its end point to the Ksi Lisims facility and rerouting the eastern portion of the pipeline. The BC Greens say in a statement that upholding the original certificate is 'reckless,' prioritizing the project's American financial backers over Indigenous rights, environmental protection and community well-being. 'It's outrageous that the government is allowing construction to proceed with no approved terminus, using an outdated plan, and threatening one of the province's most sensitive salmon habitats, all to serve the interests of foreign-owned fossil fuel companies,' the Greens' interim leader, Jeremy Valeriote, says in the statement. 'This is a betrayal of environmental stewardship, Indigenous rights, and a threat to sustained climate action in this province,' Valeriote says. The pipeline is partly financed by the U.S. private equity firm Blackstone, which the Greens described as a major Republican donor with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. The Greens' statement also noted that the U.S. engineering and construction company Bechtel had been selected to construct the pipeline. Western LNG called the substantially started ruling 'a significant milestone in the path toward delivering responsible, Indigenous-led energy infrastructure' in B.C. Eva Clayton, president of the Nisga'a Lisims Government, says in a statement released by Western LNG that the ruling was 'an important step — not just for (the pipeline), but for the Nisga'a Nation's vision of self-determination and long-term prosperity.' The project is opposed by the nearby Lax Kw'alaams Band and Ts'msyen hereditary chiefs, who the Greens say claim jurisdiction over Pearse Island, the site of the proposed Ksi Lisims terminal. Gitanyow hereditary chiefs have also opposed the project based on concerns over Nass River salmon, the Greens add. Thursday's statement from the province says the Environmental Assessment Office began its review last November in order to make a determination of whether the project had been 'substantially started' within the 10-year deadline. It says the office looked at construction and other activities by the proponent up to the deadline of Nov. 25, 2024, and found the condition was met. The review included a field assessment of the project, documentation from the pipeline proponent and 'information from First Nations, Gitanyow hereditary chiefs, Gitxsan Wilps and members of the public,' the statement says. The Greens' statement says construction activities moved ahead last summer on a portion of the pipeline's right-of-way in order to avoid expiry of the original permit. The environmental group also issued a statement calling the decision to uphold the decade-old certificate as a 'slap in the face' of B.C.'s climate plan. The decision follows the release of B.C.'s climate accountability report, which showed the province is already set to miss its climate targets, the group says. This report by Brenna Owen of The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
Global News
04-06-2025
- Business
- Global News
Conservatives push back on new B.C. law banning MLAs from holding local office
The BC Conservatives are pushing back on new legislation that bars sitting MLAs from simultaneously holding another elected office. The NDP's Eligibility to Hold Public Office Act passed last week with the support of the BC Greens, and will force BC Conservative MLAs Misty Van Popta and Korky Neufeld to resign, respectively, from positions as a Township of Langley city councillor and Abbotsford school trustee. Van Popta told Global News she felt the NDP had targeted her with the legislation. 1:56 Vancouver voters choose 2 progressive city councillors in byelection 'It's not something (my constituents) wanted. I heard loud and clear at the doors when I campaigned openly that I would temporarily hold both positions to not trigger a byelection, that I was willing to work extra hard for them to save taxpayer money,' she said. Story continues below advertisement 'I was playing within the rules, I was playing within what was allowed and what was done for decades before me, this is not a new concept, an MLA holding a local position.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The bill was authored by Esquimalt-Colwood NDP MLA and former Sooke city councillor Darlene Ratchford. Ratchford, who resigned her municipal role upon election to the legislature, said she was surprised to learn quitting the local job wasn't mandatory. 'British Columbians expect their MLAs to show up and participate and that was the intention of this bill. I was actually quite surprised when I was elected as an MLA I just assumed you had to step down from local government,' she said. Ratchord said her bill was to ensure that MLAs were giving '110 per cent' at the legislature, and to close a 'loophole' that allowed them to collect two paycheques. She added the new law brings B.C. in line with other provinces like Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba in banning dual mandates. 1:59 Vancouver byelection advance voting sees record turnout 'Thirteen of us (municipal officeholders) were elected during the provincial election as MLAs and 11 stepped down and did the right thing,' she said. Story continues below advertisement But Neufeld said by forcing the resignations, the province is now requiring Abbotsford and Langley to hold byelections with just over a year before the next municipal election. They're estimated to cost $300,000 for the school board post and $500,000 for the township councillor. 'Let the local municipalities, the local school boards where people are elected to define whether a person should resign and trigger a by-election, ' he said. 'It's overreach in my opinion for the province to mandate this, and now our school board is going to have to fork out $300,000. Well you tell me where $300,000 would stretch in a classroom.' No dates have been announced for the Abbotsford and Township of Langley byelections. British Columbians will next go to the polls for their municipal elections in the fall of 2026.
CBC
24-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Royal Roads University Langford location to be named John Horgan campus
Social Sharing Many simply knew him as John from Langford. And now, Royal Roads University's new Langford campus will bear his name. His family and political colleagues say the newly named John Horgan campus will mark the legacy of one of B.C.'s most popular premiers. "The biggest fear is when you lose a loved one, that they'll be forgotten. And this means he won't. So that's good," said Ellie Horgan, John Horgan's wife of 40 years, choking back tears. John Horgan died Nov 12 of last year after a battle with cancer. He was 65. Remembering John Horgan 5 months ago Duration 2:55:17 A five-term MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca, Horgan ushered the NDP back into power in 2017 through a power-sharing agreement with the B.C. Greens. Horgan then secured the party's largest ever majority in 2020. Despite those successes, Ellie says her husband was too humble to think a building would bear his name. She recalls telling Horgan, while the couple was in Berlin as part of Horgan's role as Canada's ambassador to Germany: "You know there's a movement and it's growing to name the campus after you." Ellie says Horgan, in hospital as his cancer worsened, waved his hand dismissively, and said, "Psssh, that's just silly." Former B.C. premier John Horgan remembered at memorial 5 months ago Duration 2:09 Horgan was a long-time proponent of a university in Canada's fastest-growing city, a suburb of Victoria. He stood in front of a bulldozer at the same location in 2022 when the Langford campus was announced. "If you spent 10 minutes with John Horgan, you would know the value and importance he placed on education," said Premier David Eby, standing in front of the campus building, which will open this fall. Horgan often told the story of how his basketball coach at Reynolds High School in Saanich turned his life around when the Grade 9 student seemed headed down the wrong path. "How, despite profound challenges early in life, he was able to overcome them," Eby said. Royal Roads president Philip Steencamp says that's why the university will also establish an entrance scholarship in Horgan's name. "Even when he occupied the premier's seat, he was always John from Langford," Steencamp said. "And this university will carry on that legacy. John Horgan's personal legacy looms as large as his political one 6 months ago Duration 2:48 Students will study business, social sciences and criminal justice at the new campus that opens this fall. Ellie has ideas on other courses Horgan would have approved of, given his love for Star Trek and Star Wars. "Because he was such a science fiction geek, [he'd like] if there were astronomy, space exploration and electives for rock polishing." Steencamp also announced a $5,000 entrance scholarship in Horgan's name. He set a goal to raise $1 million for the bursary by Aug. 7, Horgan's birthday. Also in the crowd, two-month-old Holly, the Horgan family's first grandchild.
