iN DISCUSSION: ‘No new taxes’ declaration getting expensive for cities

This is where cold hard facts give way to the hottest of takes, mostly mine I suppose. I’m the editor, Marshall Jones.

Want to include yours? Listen, this isn’t the comment section, this isn’t social media. Discussion and debate requires context and a wee bit of bravery — we need your name and where you’re writing from. Build it in your account or email me anytime.

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Frustrations with the healthcare system

Nov. 24 newsletter editorial

Have we reached that point?

Have we become so frustrated with our healthcare system, we’re ready to try something else?

That’s what they’re doing in Alberta. It’s complicated and I’m not sure I see the value in it (is this more Agitation Theatre?), but Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is working on a plan to allow doctors to work in both public and private systems.

It’s another step toward private health care and any step toward is a step away from public health care. I don’t think the two can survive together. 

I’m more inclined to bolster the public system, but perhaps it is time for something different. We have emergency room closures, entire wards of hospitals shut down for staffing concerns and lengthy wait times. We have trouble attracting skilled hospital staff.

What are your thoughts? Is the patient beyond saving? Email me at mjones@infonews.ca.

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

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‘No new taxes’ declaration getting expensive for cities

Nov. 26 newsletter editorial

Some of these local government bills are staggering, lacking sufficient deference. 

Ten years ago, I wrote that Kelowna was spending the most money it ever spent on one project, the new RCMP detachment, price tag roughly $45 million. Kamloops wanted a $90 million performing arts centre at that time and it was considered too expensive.

Yesterday we reported a $60 million budget increase on one project in Kamloops among $500 million in new spending. 

Councillors aren’t even pretending to be worried about all this extra money. They’ve even run out my favourite line: NO NEW TAXES to pay for the shortfall.

That always perks my ears up because I know a snow job is coming. That’s what they said in West Kelowna about their new city hall, too. It’s like a desperate hail mary, playing with semantics to make voters feel better.

Well now West Kelowna and Kamloops (and others) are finding problems in their budgets. West Kelowna spent all its savings so it could make political slogans and do close up magic. They’ll be in the red soon unless, you guessed it, they raise new taxes to fill reserves. 

In Kamloops, folks are complaining about another big tax bill nearing a 10 per cent increase because of inflation on its existing services, let alone new bills for new builds. 

All this construction is occurring in a high inflation environment.

That means little in Kelowna, which has paid its bills on time for decades in the form of four per cent budget increases. It’s not counting pennies on its new most expensive building, the $250 million Parkinson Recreation Centre under construction.

Not so in Kamloops. What if costs go up a few points over the next few years of construction? It won’t take much on a half-billion-dollars, let alone operating expenses, before it adds to the tax burden again. They have to be hoping and praying nothing new, no emergencies, land purchase opportunities or new services are required. 

But again, councillors don’t appear to be bothered. Would you? Email me at mjones@infonews.ca.

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

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Prime Minister doesn’t understand British Columbians

Nov. 28 newsletter editorial

Prime Minister Mark Carney was raised in Edmonton, wears an Oilers jersey.

He knows Albertans and clearly he knows politics. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is playing political games with her fantasy pipeline project. She wants to show that Carney and the Liberals don’t care about Alberta.

Presumably that’s why Carney signed this pipeline agreement and made assurances that it would go through northern BC. Rather astute to make a bunch of promises based on ‘ifs’ and ‘whens’ to meet her challenge.

But that agreement shows us something else. 

Carney doesn’t understand British Columbia or British Columbians, particularly coastal. Just talking about oil tanker traffic in northern BC is going to cost Carney politically, let alone including it in this agreement. 

If it ever comes to pass, Carney will have a much larger problem on his hands. Polls might show tepid support for a pipeline, it doesn’t show how strident and resolute the ‘never’ crowd will be on this.

I’m torn on this one. I think Canada needs the wealth Alberta oil brings but not if it could destroy much of what makes BC so special. 

I’d like to hear from you. Email me at mjones@infonews.ca.

Mj

Marshall Jones

Managing Editor

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Never Never Never!  

What a disappointment! 

I still think Carney was the best choice to take at the time to take a huge bite out of Trump’s pompous ass, but this recent act that didn’t allow equal representation of Indigenous peoples and our Premier is an outright outrageous mistake on his part! 

I agree with you he will lose votes over this!  I really can’t imagine this happening to us and maybe he was using this to lower the Alberta temperature, but nevertheless, I don’t trust at this point! 

I say ELBOW’s up BC and be strong and united for our province!

— Diane Courneyeur, via email

I think Carney is trying to play both sides here, he agrees in principle to a new Northern BC pipeline, but when push comes to shove, he knows (or should) that it will never happen due to environmental issues, cost, and indigenous rights.  When that dust has settled he is counting on something else to pull out of the hat for Alberta.  This move has definitely cost him  some political ground in BC.

— Sue Nitchie, via email

Hi Marshall, I don’t think there is enough money in the world worth jeopardizing our coastline. We have a world class jewel there. Not to mention the climate change from burning more fossil fuels.

— Deb Oakland, via email

We’re definitely against a pipeline going through BC’s north coast out to our coastline. Pipelines leak, not if but when! Disgusted that PM Carney sat with her (not Eby and the Indigenous as well) and smilingly signed this MOU!
We voted for him to help prevent Pierre Poilievre from getting in!   
Disappointed too as he had been saying the right things about clean, sustainable energy. Now he is pushing fossil fuels. Decarbonized fossil fuels are still polluting our planet. Carbon capture sounds like pushing that pollution down the road for future generations to have to deal with. Terribly unfair! 
Because of his capitulation to big oil and gas, Canada was a laughing stock at COP30 in Brazil!   
We’re not happy either about the advance of new LNG that Premier Eby is authorizing in northern B.C.
We should become a leader in solar, wind, geothermal and hydro in B.C.  Research and development around the world are showing this can be done without an increase in fossil fuels! Canada should be transitioning away from fossil fuels! Is Carney being led by Smith in Alberta, Moe in Sask. and the lobbyists for fossil fuels over his own moral and intellectual convictions?
NOT GOING TO HAPPEN we truly hope will stand!Future generations are dependent on us to clean up the pollution that big oil and gas have created and we should not be allowing more!

— Eileen and Hank Hackett, via email

There will always be a small, loud rump group opposed to any major project. They should be listened to and treated with respect, and then their concerns should be addressed. This means addressing each concern but not necessarily conceding to them.

The “Never support group” has railed against every BC project within my memory. These include, but are not limited to, the WAC Bennett dam, Site C dam, TMX pipeline expansion, etc., etc. 

This group’s weight in the decision-making process and media exposure should be tempered by the fact that 53% of British Columbians support another pipeline if it is financially viable. That decision should be made by the private sector, with all unreasonable obstacles removed by the governments responsible.

— Charles Benham, via email

I am all for Smith and a pipeline. 
BC needs to get over their elite snobby selves and work with other provinces. 
This is in the best interest of the whole country, not just Alberta. 
Good grief! We need to stop living in hypotheticals and move forward. 
Everyone realizes the dangers of shipping oil ‘bitumen.’ We are not stupid. 
There will be the upmost safety in rules and regulations that will be followed. 
Alberta can help Canada get out of this economical mess we are in.  
If we keep our natural resources in the ground and/or land locked we will have a humanity crisis, not an environment crisis, on our hands. 
If we can’t afford to feed our families or keep our homes or have proper health care we lose our hope and our dignity. 
When this happens and it is coming sooner than we think, then who will really give a shit about our environment?

— Elaine Campbell, via email

If the port of Prince Rupert is expanded to accommodate tankers and they exit the facility heading due West and not divert down the coast, wouldn’t that be an acceptable process?

If memory serves me correctly Ottawa discussed this issue years ago and were unable to receive approval from First Nations. Times may have changed to warrant another look, or as you noted, this agreement is totally political and nothing more. 

— Jon McCormick, via email

iN RESPONSE

Kelowna killer convicted in hammer attack back in jail

Steven Pirko has, for some 13 years now, been consistently involved in the criminal justice system. His actions led directly to the death of another person. He was carrying a weapon at that time and used it when that person was no threat whatsoever to him. He has repeatedly been found with weapons in his possession since that time. I’m going to go out on a limb here and take a guess as to Steven Pirko’s future. I see a Long Term Offender designation in his future, and when he messes that up I see potential for a Dangerous Offender designation with an indeterminate prison sentence. In the entirety of his adult life there’s been nothing good that he brought to the City of Kelowna. An indeterminate prison sentence is perfectly suited to such a guy.

— William Mastop via iNFOnews.ca

SilverStar Mountain Resort bought out by another resort conglomerate

Hmm. Pacific Group bought Silver Star in 2025. POWDR bought Silver Star in 2019 so that’s 6 years they owned it. It doesn’t seem a long time to hold a property that involves that kind of investment?

— William Mastop via iNFOnews.ca

Kamloops performing arts centre cost up by 37% as construction set to begin

I may be wrong but I recall the amount for the PAC was 140 million dollars making the cost over run for construction 70 million dollars or about 50%. The additional amount in the AAP proposal was used to, more or less, create a slush fund for city of Kamloops admin to use for previous bills for the PAC and assorted and unreported “Build Kamloops” projects like the McArthur Island ice rink etc. Regarding Hall’s ridiculous claims how does a 50% 70 million dollar cost over run equal a “Disciplined and transparent financial plan”? More money from “future reserves”? In order to create “future reserves” it’s got to come from somewhere…….get ready taxpayers.

Update: I was wrong….the original estimate was 154 million and 150.5 million after the class A estimate as reported on the city website.

— Robert Mitchell via iNFOnews.ca

THOMPSON: Donald Trump will resign the presidency in 2026

And I’m holding a great bottle of champagne to celebrate with!

— Bonnie Derry via iNFOnews.ca

I will be celebrating too!

— Ruth Evans via iNFOnews.ca

Internal strife on Kamloops council over $211M arts centre groundbreaking

Thanks for pointing out that gutting 30 million dollars in reserves will eventually require reserves to be refilled. History in Kamloops shows that means tax increases. I also think I recall the council/admin saying there will be no effect on 2026 taxes…no mention of 2027 taxes. Their credibility is lacking when they claim the increased price is due to not realizing the land is flat and just discovered that utilities have to be moved. The council/admin have had the land about ten years and, according to them, previously spent millions of dollars on a business case with architects and engineers etc. They should ask for their money back.

— Robert Mitchell via iNFOnews.ca

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Tara Armstrong Recall Countdown

Tara Armstrong is currently the MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream. She rode the coattails of the BC Conservative Party, got elected, then rejected and left the party to serve as an Independent within weeks because the Conservatives were too left wing. Now she gets to spout moronic, hateful rhetoric and claim that her riding supports her.

but not for the first 18 months after an election. Some people started an online petition calling for a byelection once she made a shift to independent, then got herself a raise by forming her own party, but it won’t mean anything until the countdown clock hits zero.

So let the countdown begin!

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