British Columbia Minute: Issue 115

British Columbia Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of British Columbia politics.

📅 This Week In British Columbia: 📅

• Municipal officials across northern British Columbia are pressing the provincial government to let them tax data centres at the higher industrial rate rather than the current business category. Mackenzie Mayor Joan Atkinson brought a motion to the North Central Local Government Association demanding the change, arguing that an operation drawing as much power as heavy industry should not be taxed the same as a coffee shop. Mackenzie, which runs on a budget of about $15 million, lost roughly $1.7 million in heavy industry tax last year as forestry declined, and has had to close its recreation centre on Sundays. The facilities, operated by Australian company Iren, draw 80 megawatts in Mackenzie and 50 megawatts in Prince George, where Councillor Brian Skakun plans a similar motion in early July, noting that draw is enough to power between 5,000 and 7,000 homes. Iren's Chief Operating Officer said the company is generally supportive of assessing data centres' taxable values and is installing redundant power equipment expected to raise its taxable value significantly.
  
  
• A Business Council of British Columbia report found that youth unemployment in the province has reached 14%, a level not seen outside the pandemic since the financial crisis. Council policy director Jairo Yunis said youth labour force participation has fallen to its lowest level since 2002, dropping British Columbia from the third-highest rate in Canada to the lowest. Jobs and Economic Growth Minister Ravi Kahlon acknowledged the province wants the number to come down and pointed to investments in trades training, while expressing hope that reduced use of the federal temporary foreign worker program will help. 
  
  
• A new federal report concludes that the most significant barriers facing Canada's forestry sector are homegrown, pointing to unstable access to affordable fibre, excessive regulations, underinvestment in manufacturing, weak innovation, and inadequate domestic demand rather than US tariffs alone. Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson released the report alongside nearly $130 million for 56 forestry projects, about $67 million of it flowing to British Columbia, including $37 million for a Kamloops-based project to expand the use of low-value fibre. Hodgson said more than a dozen sawmills employing 2,000 workers have closed since August despite $2 billion in federal support, alongside 40 curtailments and another 1,000 temporary job losses. US softwood duties and tariffs currently total around 35%. British Columbia Forests Minister Ravi Parmar has introduced legislation aimed at the barriers identified, including changes the government expects to increase the province's fibre supply by as much as 17,700 truck loads annually.
  
  
• BC Ferries will add a 5% fuel surcharge to all fares on all routes beginning June 16th, citing elevated fuel prices driven by the US-Israel war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The surcharge applies to both foot and vehicle passengers, including reservations, saver fares, and terminal fares, and comes on top of an average 3.2% annual fare increase that took effect April 1st. Chief financial officer Dallyn Willis called it the most balanced approach to managing sustained fuel costs while minimizing impacts to customers, and said it could be reduced or removed if prices decline for a sustained period. The surcharge is authorized by the BC Ferry Commission under the Coastal Ferry Act. A transit advocate noted the cost will be felt most by those driving cars aboard, who pay higher fares.
  
  
• The BC Conservative caucus have presented a largely united front since Kerry-Lynne Findlay, a lawyer and former Conservative MP, won the party leadership on the fourth ballot with 51% of the vote. Findlay takes over from interim leader Trevor Halford, who had led since John Rustad resigned in December. During the campaign she promised to end sexual orientation and gender identity programs in British Columbia schools, and in her victory speech she vowed to stand up against socialist overreach. A key early decision is whether to invite back six MLAs who left or were removed from caucus. Independent MLA Elenore Sturko warned that Findlay's populist brand could alienate centrists, saying voters now face two extremes between Premier David Eby and Findlay. Party membership swelled to 40,000 during the race, up from about 7,000 under Rustad, though only 26,000 new members were identity-verified.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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