Dogwood News This Week: political mavericks, or more of the same?
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
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Leaders stepping down, new leaders stepping up. It’s the lifecycle of any political system, but there has been quite a lot of changing of the guard lately.
Federal Conservatives have one less candidate to choose from in their leadership race: Patrick Brown, dogged by sexual misconduct allegations and other scandals, was recently disqualified for supposedly mismanaging campaign funds. He’s accusing Pierre Poilievre’s campaign of sabotage and appears ready to fight the decision. Get... your popcorn ready.
Alberta is still in the process of choosing their next premier, replacing popular-opportunist-who-couldn’t-make-good Jason Kenney. And across the pond, after months of political controversy and a slew of minister resignations, Boris Johnson is stepping down as British Prime Minister.
Here at home, John Horgan has relinquished his position as premier, leaving the rest of us to speculate who will compete for the job.
Ravi Kahlon squashed rumors this week that he’d throw his hat in the ring, instead giving his endorsement to B.C.’s attorney general David Eby (who hasn’t officially announced his intention to run… yet). Other names being floated by political watchers include Josie Osborne and Nathan Cullen.
Leadership races shake things up, and can give a small group of voters an outsized voice. If played right, organized people can play a big role in choosing a leader who will go hard on critical issues, like climate change, social justice and affordability.
But left on its own, the system we’ve created will serve up more of the same: political insiders beholden to lobbyists and industry.
In the face of rare and short-lived opportunities, bold action is what we need most.
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High ranking Conservatives are starting to speak out against the absurdity of Trans Mountain leaving only banks, oil CEOs and Liberal cabinet ministers who still think it's a good idea. -iPolitics
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Exxon has known for decades that carbon capture is basically useless. Back in 1991, the company studied the technology and determined it wasn't economic and would lead to "relatively minor" CO2 reductions. But that hasn’t stopped companies and governments from pushing carbon capture as a climate solution rather than what it actually is: a sneaky way to keep extracting fossil fuels longer than we should. -The Tyee
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Crown prosecutors laid criminal contempt charges against more Indigenous land defenders arrested at gunpoint on the Coastal GasLink pipeline route. It’s a serious escalation by the province, with a maximum sentence of five years in jail. The land defenders say it’s Wet’suwet’en territory, not ‘Crown’ land, and a private company has no right to remove them. -The Tyee
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Planting more trees won’t save us from climate disaster. In fact, it’s often used as political cover for more clear-cuts and pipelines. -The Conversation
- Many of the heat dome deaths last June were in public housing facilities. And it appears BC Housing may have turned off their cooling function on the electric heat pumps in some of these buildings to save money. -CTV News
- The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation is being called on to move $2 billion in assets and retirement savings for teachers, nurses and some government workers out of fossil fuels by the end of the year. -National Observer
- A growing number of people are fed up with keeping their money in banks like TD, BMO and RBC that are fueling the climate crisis. If you feel the same way, here’s what you can do about it. -National Observer
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