British Columbia Minute: Issue 116

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

📅 This Week In British Columbia: 📅

• The federal government has introduced new online safety legislation that would force social media companies to block access for children under 16. The bill would also regulate the companies behind AI chatbots and create an independent federal regulator to enforce the rules through compliance orders and monetary fines. British Columbia Attorney General Niki Sharma says the legislation addresses many of the provincial government's concerns but lacks a requirement for AI companies to report violent content to police. The Province asked for that requirement after it was revealed OpenAI did not flag worrisome interactions between its chatbot and the Tumbler Ridge shooter, who killed eight people and then herself in February. Sharma says federal Culture Minister Marc Miller told her the government wants guidelines laying out the responsibility platforms have to report certain content, even though specific requirements are not in the bill.
  
  
• Canada Post announced that 485,000 more addresses across 37 communities will lose door-to-door delivery and move to community mailboxes in 2027, on top of the 136,000 addresses announced in April. The list includes 81,000 addresses in British Columbia, covering Burnaby, Colwood, Coquitlam, Esquimalt, Kelowna, Langford, New Westminster, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Saanich, Songhees Nation, Victoria, View Royal, Westbank First Nation, and West Kelowna. The Crown corporation plans to convert all four million addresses that still receive home delivery to shared mailboxes within five years, a change it expects to save $400 million annually. Canada Post reported $1.57 billion in losses before tax in 2025, its worst result on record, and is currently operational only because of $2 billion in federal loans. Nearly three-quarters of Canadian homes already get their mail through community, apartment lobby, and post office mailboxes. The company says an accommodation program will allow weekly home delivery in some cases for people who have difficulty accessing a community mailbox.
  
  
• Speaking of Crown corporations, would-be drivers in British Columbia can now take the knowledge test for their learner's licence online and at home, a change Attorney General Niki Sharma announced at an ICBC licensing office in Burnaby that took effect on June 9th. The online option applies to passenger vehicles and motorcycles, while people who want to drive commercial vehicles must still pass the test in person. The online exam is the same as the in-person version, requiring 40 correct answers out of 50, and must be completed on a computer with a camera and a secure internet connection, not on a mobile device. People who pass must still visit a licensing office to confirm their identity, take a vision test, and have a photo taken. Sharma claims the change gives learner drivers more choice and convenience, especially in rural and remote communities, and will free up space at licensing offices for other in-person appointments such as road tests. ICBC president and Chief Executive Officer Jason McDaniel says the Crown corporation also plans to offer online renewals and replacements for driver's licences and identification cards starting in 2027.
  
  
• Premier David Eby says his government still intends to introduce legislation ending "no pet" clauses in purpose-built rental housing before the current four-year term ends. Eby made the comments to media in Nanaimo on June 3rd, following a keynote address at the Indigenous Resource Opportunities Conference. He described the change as part of the government's commitment over its four-year term and promised it will be delivered. Just weeks earlier, in a May 13th email, a Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs spokesperson said only that the ministry was "exploring options", while acknowledging concerns raised about property damage, noise, health, and safety. Eby said some of the government's campaign commitments were interrupted by the trade war started by the United States, which re-prioritized its efforts, but claimed the government remains committed to priorities like pets in rentals.
  
  
• A British Columbia Supreme Court justice has ruled the Province breached its constitutional duty to properly consult the Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Nation before granting "substantially started" status to Seabridge Gold's KSM gold, silver, and copper mine near Stewart in July 2024. The project is one of the largest proposed mining developments in the country and has been called the largest undeveloped gold mining project in the world, with Seabridge saying it has spent $1.2 billion on the site, including $208 million since applying for the status in January 2024. The determination meant the project's 2014 environmental assessment certificate did not need to be renewed. In her June 8th decision, Justice Emily Burke found the determination was based on critically incomplete information and ordered the Province to give the nation 90 days to provide written submissions before any reconsideration by the Ministry of Environment. Tsetsaut Skii km Lax Ha Chief Darlene Simpson said the Province has previously determined the nation's territory would bear the brunt of the environmental risk from the mine's tailings pond, which is expected to be about 52 storeys deep. Seabridge chief executive officer Rudi Fronk says work on the project will continue while the Province undertakes the reconsideration.

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