Progressive Parties in Vancouver reach an agreement to avoid vote splitting. The B-C government presses pause on DRIPA amendments. Our Soapbox Social panel will weigh in on this, and more.
…After losing another of his MPs to the Liberals, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he personally supports recall petitions — a way for constituents to remove a representative if they garner enough local support. Also, Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government to defend private property rights in the face of what he claims is a threat posed by a landmark B.C. Supreme Court decision establishing Aboriginal title on private property.
…Meta and YouTube must pay millions in damages to a 20-year-old woman after a California jury found the social media giant and video streamer were designed to hook young users without concern for their well-being.
The decision, delivered Wednesday in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit, could influence the outcome of thousands of similar cases accusing social media companies of deliberately harming children.
…B.C. Premier David Eby says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has agreed to apologize to the people of Tumbler Ridge, B.C., after it emerged the AI giant didn’t report a mass shooter’s account to authorities. Also, B.C. is permanently adopting daylight time, making its “spring forward” on March 8 the last time change.
…The B.C. government’s 2026 budget announced a series of tax increases, capital project delays, and a reduction of 15,000 public sector jobs over three years.
…Pete Fry is hoping that for the first time since 2005, Vancouverites might elect a city councillor as its next mayor….
…The head of B.C.’s extortion task force is walking back comments he made Tuesday that the region is not in an extortion crime-related crisis after Premier David Eby demanded he step up his urgency or step down from his role…
“…There are situations where something becomes a crisis and that allows government to make emergency orders, which can then allow the government to do more than they would otherwise be legally permitted to do. So, labelling it a ‘crisis’ I think in the legal context, is getting into that dangerous territory…”
The B.C. government has confirmed that its ill-fated pilot program to decriminalize drugs will end on January 31st.
“I find it really hypocritical the way the government is talking about how ‘we don’t want to involve people in the criminal justice system, we want to get them into healthcare’ but they have never made the proper investment into the healthcare, into the treatment… We already have a healthcare crisis in this province with E.R.s shutting down all over because of understaffing…”
“Arresting people and putting them in jail has never gotten people to stop using drugs. It’s never stopped the flow of toxic drugs. Nothing is going to change and I think the number of deaths is going to increase.”
London Drugs Ltd. plans to close its store in the Woodward’s Building in the Downtown Eastside on Feb. 1, following years of the retailer decrying rampant theft and financial losses at the location…
…
On the Coast’s Soapbox Social panelists Mo Amir and Kyla Lee weigh in with host Gloria Macarenko on the splintering of OneBC and the future of conservative parties in the province.
…
CALL ME NOW