News & Events - Legislative Watch
January 19, 2009
Issue: 1
This special edition of Legislative Report was produced because of the marathon sitting of the Legislature this weekend (from noon Saturday straight through until 8:30 am Sunday). It was held to amend the Vancouver Charter so the city could borrow funds for the Olympic Village project without having to get approval via referendum.
Because the special session occurred on a Saturday, there was no Question Period. The NDP argued at the opening that the session should be delayed until Monday since it was not an urgent matter. The government tabled a letter from Carole James to Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson from earlier in the week that said “we support an urgent recall of the Legislature”. The matter was deemed urgent – which allowed the House to sit, and to pass the bill in a single day (it usually requires three).
Government Announcements
- B.C. company turning wood waste and pine beetle timber into clean electricity. Read more
- Mineral exploration activity in B.C. was $367 million in 2008, with 98 projects spending in excess of $1 million. Read more
- Coastal stumpage rate dropped more than 70% to reflect market realities as part of wider plan to introduce new measures to expand the use of B.C. wood in construction and support growth and diversification in forestry. Read more
- Construction begins on $1 billion South Fraser Perimeter Road, a 40-km, four-lane route linking ports, rail yards and industrial areas to Highways 1, 91 and 99. Read more
- Partnership between Province and Steelworkers will provide skills-training for job-threatened forestry workers and others in Northern B.C. Read more
- Province-Boeing partnership will create 100 internships over next five years with Boeing’s Richmond-based AeroInfo Systems division to aircraft efficiency and reliability. Read more