How does a government decide who has an essential enough job to jump to the front of the line for a vaccine? And how can the province's single largest increase to disability and social assistance rates still end up being a bad news story for the minister?
Rob Shaw, Jillian Oliver, Katy Merrifield and Maclean Kay break down the week's biggest political stories, as well as look at David Eby's decision to overrule the City of Penticton on a housing project that is a sign of larger fights to come.
Rob Shaw has spent more than 13 years covering BC politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for The Orca. He is the co-author of the national best-selling book A Matter of Confidence, and a regular guest on CBC Radio.
Jillian Oliver is a political strategist who co-managed the last BC Green Party provincial campaign and Sonia Furstenau’s leadership campaign. She was Communications Director on the federal Nanaimo-Ladysmith by-election that elected Paul Manly and was the BC Greens Press Secretary in the 2017 provincial election and in the BC Greens legislative office from 2017-2019.
Katy Merrifield is the Vice-President for BC at Wellington Advocacy, who has served as Communications Director to Premiers of both Alberta and British Columbia, and was the youngest woman to run a winning leadership campaign in BC.
Maclean Kay is Editor-in-Chief of The Orca, and is an 11-year veteran of the BC legislature both working in government and now covering it.
SWIM ON:
- Last week's episode of Political Capital dialed up call centre problems, and mental health question.
- Rob Shaw: BC’s latest vaccine plan update is an example of the difficult decisions that must be made by provincial health officials – and an unambiguous win for the BCTF.
- In 2019, Bob Price looked at a then-underdiscusssed issue: homelessness in the Interior.
