The News Rundown

BC Conservatives present united front after messy caucus dispute goes public

This past week and a half has revealed a potential rift within the BC Conservatives that the media has utterly failed to completely explain. It all started when Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko said she supported the ousting of Vancouver Police Board vice-chair Comfort Sakoma over controversial social media posts about multiculturalism and gender.
13 Conservative MLAs then penned a letter to leader John Rustad suggesting Sturko had participated in “cancel culture” and pressing the party leader to have her apologize to Sakoma.
On Monday, Rustad shared photos and videos of him meeting with Sakoma, writing that he disagreed with her removal and suggesting Sturko meet with the former police board member, but he added that his MLAs are free to speak their minds.
A meeting of the 44-member caucus was held behind closed doors at the legislature on Tuesday and while Rustad wouldn’t talk about the agenda, he said members were free to speak their minds: “They have the right to bring forward issues and I look forward to discussions. I look at it from the perspective (that) the NDP would be whipping everybody. They would make sure that they all say the same thing.”
Sturko responded with a social media post of her own saying she stood by her comments and would not meet Sakoma.
Rustad said Tuesday: “All members of the caucus have the right to say things, and the right to be able to bring forward issues, and I look forward to the discussions. We don’t whip our people to say what they want to say.”
As for how the 13 rebel MLAs handled the matter, Rustad chalked the issue up to inexperience.
“With 36 new people, it’s going to be expected that there are going to be some issues in terms of how everybody learns the ropes and what they do, so this is just one of those things that happens,” he said.
Both Rustad and Sturko downplayed suggestions that the incident had exposed a rift in the caucus. Sturko’s defection from the BC United party to the B.C. Conservatives ahead of the fall election had been a pivotal moment for the party and Rustad’s efforts to create what he called a “big tent” party.
Sturko said: “I joined this party to work side by side with John and I intend to do that. We’re going to continue our discussions behind closed doors of caucus and I have no trepidations or hard feelings against the members I’m working with.”
University of the Fraser Valley political scientist Hamish Telford said the MLAs’ letter represented a direct challenge to Rustad’s leadership.
“This is a real fundamental moment when John Rustad has to decide what kind of a party this is going to be — quite clearly the baker’s dozen want it to be a socially conservative party and they’ve issued that challenge to him,” he said.
Rustad, he said, now faces the tricky job of presenting a clear party identity to voters, while adhering to his position that the caucus can speak freely on issues where they may not agree.
“It’s difficult to run an open, pluralist party with people running hither-thither with different viewpoints. It doesn’t look like it’s a coherent party, a coherent opposition. And if they can’t agree among themselves, how can they run a province is always the challenge for a pluralist party committed to free votes.”
While this may seem like an incoherent party to some like Telford, it's clear that a big tent party after a merger with many new MLAs was always going to have some growing pains. With the resolution to this issue, Rustad has shown that he won't muzzle his MLAs, but that he also won't force MLAs to go against their own beliefs. So is it really a rift? Time will tell, but it appears that the chaotic nature of BC politics is continuing for a little while longer.
Meanwhile the BC NDP look for stability in a new deal with the Greens that would see the two parties working together. Called the 2024 Co-operation and Responsible Government Accord, the document outlines a list of priorities agreed upon by the parities, including health care, affordable housing and the economy. The term of the deal is four years, to be renewed annually.
The agreement announced on Friday is different from the confidence-and-supply agreement reached between the two parties that propped up the John Horgan-led NDP minority government in 2017.
It names initiatives such as more community health centres, expanded mental health care coverage, non-profit housing, homelessness, updating the Clean B.C. climate plan, protecting Fairy Creek and discussing electoral reform.
Things will be pretty interesting once the legislature finally resumes in the new year.
Supplementals:

The Alberta government is looking at plans again to make changes to the electricity market in the province.
In one of the proposed ideas power plants, not consumers, would be responsible for the cost of adding more transmission where it’s in short supply.
Legislation to enact the changes is expected in the spring.
Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf said, “It doesn’t matter what project we’re talking about, ratepayers will be the ones saving money. In every scenario, this is an affordability measure for them.”
Typically in the past if more capacity was needed the rate payers (otherwise known as consumers) would pay.
The changes are also aimed to correct for the huge shortages we’ve seen in recent high peak periods.
The market would move to a day-ahead market where power generators would commit their power 24 hours in advance rather than a couple hours beforehand.
This would give clear information about how much power is available so that the system could respond to fluctuations with increased reliability and stability reducing the chance for grid alerts.
This would also prevent power prices from spiking when supply is taxed.
The Alberta Electric System Operator or AESO has been told to bolster power inter-ties with nearby jurisdictions, including already planned upgrades to the line to B.C., allowing the line to Montana to function independently from the B.C. line and replacing equipment on the tie to Saskatchewan.
Presently Alberta imports more power than it exports and under the new plan Alberta could benefit from exporting.
The critique of the plan is that it could cause issues for smaller producers that produce with wind and solar.
Vittoria Bellissimo, of the renewables association, said adopting the changes in the proposals would take Alberta in the opposite direction from provinces like B.C. and Ontario, which are bulking up on renewable power generation to bolster supply.
She continued, “It feels like death by 1,000 cuts. You can't get your product to market and you aren't going to get paid what you expect to get paid, and then you're going to have additional costs thrust upon you."
Small wind farms, small solar farms, and other pushes to bring in modern energy generation are no doubt part of the problem as to how we got to where we are now.
There needs to be an acknowledgment of that.
Comparatively though most of the United States operates on a day-ahead market as do key European countries like the UK, France, Germany, and the Nordic countries.
A real-time pricing model has been in place since 1996 when the electricity market was de-regulated. This of course has also allowed smaller providers through wind and solar to come online.
In 2001 the province auctioned off the Power Purchase Arrangements or PPAs and these allowed the existing utility owners to own and operate their facilities but auctioned the dispatch rights of the associated energy to new buyers.
This story, while some in the media and opposed to the government are painting as an anti-renewable energy policy, is setting a portion of the power delivery market to how things were in the past.
As well as how things are in the majority of the developed world.
The reporting on this story scratches the surface of the debate and power situation but doesn’t go deep to say what the true objective is.
Supplementals:

CBSA lost track of nearly 30,000 people wanted for deportation orders

One thing that's becoming more clear at the end of 2024 is just how porous our border is with the United States. While a lot of the talk of tariffs from incoming president Donald Trump has been examined on a surface level, when we get deeper, it's actually about border security, and a host of other problems that the Trudeau government has let fester over the past few years and now we're having to deal with the fallout of those problems.
Let's start with the CBSA, or the Canada Border Services Agency, which is self described as a government agency that "facilitates the flow of legitimate travellers and trade". They are the ones that do the body scans at airport security, they're the ones that do searches of international packages and are supposed to be making sure only legitimate people enter Canada.
With the immigration woes that Canada has seen over the past, it appears the government has been having a hard time keeping track of the people that it's let into the country.
In a response to an order paper question filed by Fort McMurray-Cold Lake MP Laila Goodridge on deportation cases currently before the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), 29,731 people are listed as “wanted” by immigration authorities — described as those who failed to appear for deportation proceedings, including those with immigration warrants issued against them. The vast majority — 21,325 — went missing from Ontario, the largest cohort of immigration absconders in the country.
While Canada’s affordability crisis, plus threats of punitive tariffs from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, has Canadians rethinking Canada’s problematic and ineffective border policy, the Trudeau Liberals’ plans on slowing Canada’s record population growth and tightening our immigration space involves relying on the voluntary departure of nearly 2.4 million people over the next two years.
In October, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced plans to cut the number of permanent residents coming into Canada from current targets of 500,000 — down to 395,000 next year and 380,000 by 2026.
According to the newly-released data, there are 457,646 people in various stages of being deported from Canada as of Oct. 21 — 27,675 people are listed in the “working” category, or those in the final stages of the removal process; 378,320 people being “monitored,” or those awaiting refugee status decisions, pending permanent status resident or facing “unenforceable” removal orders; 20,921 people granted a stay from removal proceedings; and 29,731 who were ordered removed but their location isn’t known.
Yes, almost 30k people are unaccounted for in Canada.
The problem with the Liberals' strategy is that it relies on immigrants following the rules, and voluntarily leaving the country once their visas are up, which is not something that comes naturally to those from low trust societies where rules are put in place for corruption.
While foreign nationals are “expected to respect the conditions of their entry and depart at the end” of their stay, this is clearly not always the case.
This week, the CBSA has also been in the media a lot, trying to boost their image in the wake of Trumps' tariff threats. Aaron McCrorie, vice-president of intelligence and enforcement at the Canada Border Services Agency said to a House of Commons committee studying the impact of Trump’s plans for border security and migration that: “Canada is not a significant source of fentanyl in the United States.”
Still, Canada's premiers recognize the need for stronger border security. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he and other premiers support the need for stronger border security to deal with illegal migrants and street drugs.
Meantime, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, when announcing Alberta’s own new border security plan Thursday featuring a new patrol unit and drones, said the province doesn’t support retaliatory tariffs and prefers the diplomatic route.
As the Canada Border Services Agency highlighted its work in stopping illegitimate goods and people from entering the country, one former officer suggests much more is flowing across the international boundary than is officially known.
Kelly Sundberg, a criminologist at Mount Royal University says CBSA doesn’t have the personnel to “adequately search” at the border, and Canada doesn’t have a “border patrol.”
“What they’re intercepting and what actually is crossing the border is hugely different,” he said. “We can’t trust the numbers.”
He argues that Canada needs one agency at its borders, one that’s responsible for migration, border security, and has final say on who and what comes in and leaves: “The CBSA should be converted into a border police agency, ‘Canada Border Security Agency’, not ‘services’ agency,” he said.
The numbers coming from CBSA show a need to really step up on border security. While our border with the US is quite long, it shouldn't be as difficult to solve the problems as the Liberals are now realizing. The media seems to be content with replaying the CBSA propaganda, but the numbers don't lie. We do have a problem and we're only just beginning to realize it.
Supplementals:

https://calgaryherald.com/news/cbsa-and-officials-provide-breakdown-for-alberta-border-crossing-sites

Firing Line

A plan to secure Alberta’s southern border

“Canada” is preparing retaliatory tariffs according to the Canadian Press news organization.
With this as well Ontario Premier Doug Ford has threatened to shut down the electricity inter-connects enabling Ontario to send power to the US. Normally Ontario exports power to 5 states.
The messaging comes after another meeting between the Premiers and Justin Trudeau plus some federal cabinet ministers.
Chrystia Freeland highlighted some Premiers identifying their key resources they sell to the US and lining them up for tariffs including critical resources and minerals.
Public Safety Minister Dominic Leblanc painted a similar picture that the premiers are onboard with finalizing the border plan and sharing that with both the Trump administration and Canadians.
But not all Premier’s are seeing it as a tariff for tariff response.
Quebec Premier Francois Legualt who has spoken to Trump has said he won’t threaten to cut off electricity and that Trudeau needs to respond to Trump’s concerns with a plan and that he “[prefers] that than starting a war and stopping sending energy to the United States.”
Last weekend Legault met with Trump in Paris when both were attending the re-opening of the Notre Dame Cathedral. Legault said that Trump told him "very clearly that we can avoid those tariffs if we do what needs to be done with the borders."
Newfoundland Premier Andrew Furey agreed, saying that “certainly from Newfoundland and Labrador's perspective, we have no interest in stopping the flow of oil and gas.”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a plan to patrol the border with Montana including 51 uniformed officers equipped with carbine rifles for tactical operations, 10 support staff, 4 drug patrol dogs, 10 cold weather surveillance drones, and 4 narcotic analyzers.
The goal of the team will be to detect and intercept illicit drugs, illegal firearms, and unlawful attempts at illegal international border crossings.
Alberta will also create a two kilometre-deep critical border zone, deemed critical infrastructure, to enable the sheriffs to arrest individuals found attempting to cross the border illegally or attempting to traffic illegal drugs or weapons, without needing a warrant. This critical border zone will be created by amending regulations under the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act. This will not apply to people travelling legally along Alberta highways and roads.
Alberta Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis said, “I look forward to working with our partners in law enforcement and across government as we send a clear message to prospective offenders that criminal activity, such as fentanyl trafficking, will not be tolerated at our borders or anywhere else in our province.”
Danielle Smith was asked about Canada imposing an export levy on oil and gas and called it a “terrible idea” because that money received on those tariffs would go to Ottawa and “under no circumstances” will Alberta agree to cut off oil and gas exports.
Unity crisis vs. P.E.T.
She also highlighted addressing the border, the opioid crisis, and getting to 2% defence spending could help address the situation and highlighting the need to double down on working together on shared interests and if Canada succeeds on maintaining strong border security she expects a strong relationship with the United States.
This shouldn’t be difficult. The federal government had 4 years to figure out the Trump administration as did the media.
Trump’s entire play is to get us to do something here in Canada so that he can tell Mexico that Canada is doing things and because so much more trouble comes over the Mexican border they really need to double down.
It’s not complicated.
But apparently it is for the federal government. On Tuesday Justin Trudeau said that Kamala Harris’ loss was a setback for women’s progress and said that women’s rights are under attack by “regressive” and “reactionary” political forces.
He gave the address to the Equal Voice gala in Ottawa, an organization that tries to get more women elected to public office.
With that and the guns-blazing approach by Premiers like Ford, Kinew, and Eby we have no idea what will happen.
Trudeau is absent.
The adults in the room look like they are Danielle Smith, Francois Legault, and Andrew Furey.
Trudeau’s comments were a huge mistake but those combined with the tariffs seems to be what “team Canada” in the media and federal government wants.
Supplementals:

Quote of the Week

“All members of the caucus have the right to say things, and the right to be able to bring forward issues, and I look forward to the discussions. We don’t whip our people to say what they want to say. I look at it from the perspective (that) the NDP would be whipping everybody. They would make sure that they all say the same thing.” - BC Conservative leader John Rustad on the importance of diverse opinions in a party caucus

Word of the Week

Retaliatory - characterized by a desire for revenge

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Show Data

Episode Title: Hither and Thither
Teaser: A potential rift in the BC Conservatives is overblown by the media, The UCP want to strengthen power generation, and 30,000 people are unaccounted for by CBSA. Also, Alberta makes plans to secure the border.
Recorded Date: December 13, 2024
Release Date: December 15, 2024
Duration: 56:23
Edit Notes: None

Podcast Summary Notes

Duration: XX:XX