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B.C.

Michael Smyth »

Smyth: 'Whatever it takes to win' — the ugly underbelly of B.C. politics

British Columbia's Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon, right, is greeted by Premier Christy Clark prior to the throne speech in the B.C. Legislature in Victoria, B.C., Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016.

“Do whatever it takes to win.” That was the overriding credo of life inside the Christy Clark government when Tim Duncan worked as a high-ranking political operative in Victoria.

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Michael Smyth

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark meets with media during the Western Premiers' Conference in Vancouver, B.C. on Thursday, May 5, 2016.

Smyth: Does Premier Clark really care about Vancouver's hyper-inflated housing market?

The long list of big-business donors to Premier Christy Clark's Liberal Party is peppered with property development companies and big real estate agencies.

Expo 86: Its legacy is all around us 30 years later

Whether you love the luxurious tourist mecca Vancouver has become or hate it for having lost its small-town rough edges, it all starts with Expo.

B.C. Housing Minister Rich Coleman says he's "stunned" homeless campers are vowing to stay at the Victoria courthouse in spite of an offer of alternatives that include free meals in some cases.

Smyth: Who's bankrolling Premier Christy Clark's B.C. Liberal Party?

Across Canada, provincial governments are finally moving to take big money out of big politics. In Ontario, Premier Kathleen Wynne has cancelled private fundraising events, where generous backers of her ruling Liberal Party could chat with her over an intimate dinner for $10,000 a pop. After a public outcry, Wynne announced the province will ban all corporate and union donations to political parties and cap individual donations at $1,550 a year.

BC Liberal Leader Christy Clark greet supporters at the party headquarters at the Wall Centre Hotel at winning the last B.C. election in 2013.

Smyth: Can Christy Clark be beaten? Topsy-turvy pollsters can't decide

It was two days, two polls and two vastly different results in the topsy-turvy world of B.C. politics.

Andrew Weaver, leader of the B.C. Green party, listened to the angry attacks from the NDP and shook his head in disgust.

Smyth: Is Premier Clark underpaid? Green party leader Weaver thinks so

The opposition benches were in full mouth-foaming fury over Premier Christy Clark’s $50,000 salary “top-up” from the governing Liberals, but not all opposition members were upset.

Gordon Clark: NDP attack on salaries is cheap political stunt

For a guy who grew up on the west side of Vancouver in relative affluence, NDP MLA Adrian Dix sure loves to model himself as some kind of socialist class warrior.

Premier Christy Clark and Jobs Minister Shirley Bond announce an increase to the minimum wage at the legislature on May 4, 2016.

Smyth: Premier Clark hikes B.C.'s minimum wage — but the NDP wishes she hadn't

Premier Christy Clark is hiking B.C.'s minimum wage by 40 cents to $10.85 an hour starting Sept. 15, with another increase next year, pushing the minimum wage to a projected $11.25 in 2017.

File photo: The governing Libs acknowledged for the first time last week that the party pays Clark a $50,000-a-year “stipend” on top of her $195,000-a-year taxpayer-financed salary as premier.

Smyth: B.C. Liberals on the defensive over Christy Clark's party cash

Christy Clark's Liberals seem very sensitive to any criticism about all that money they're flowing into the premier's personal bank account.

Kash on Christy's cash: Trouble for B.C. Libs, says former top cop

British Columbia's former top cop is blowing the whistle on out-of-control Liberal fundraising and Premier Christy Clark's big-bucks party paycheques. The governing Liberals admitted for the first time last week that they have paid Clark more than $300,000 as a “stipend” since she became party leader five years ago.

Premier Christy Clark greets supporters at her annual fundraiser dinner at the Vancouver Convention Centre West in 2012.

Smyth: Guess who got an 11-per-cent raise last year?

The B.C. Liberal Party confirmed for the first time Wednesday how much they pay Christy Clark to be party leader on top of her premier’s salary.

Ivan Drury, with the Alliance Against Displacement, speaks to residents at the homeless camp, also known as InTent City, during a block party at the camp in Victoria, B.C., Thursday, February 25, 2016.he planned soft eviction day. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Smyth: A calendar of chaos at Victoria's tent city

Last November, the Victoria police department warned the B.C. government about a growing tent city on the lawn of the provincial courthouse a few blocks from the legislature.

Canadians spent more than $440 million in 2013 travelling abroad for treatment, according to the Conference Board of Canada.

The dark side of medical tourism: How quick and cheap treatment abroad can prove costly to health — and B.C.'s health-care system

When Mike Watson chose to go under the knife on the other side of the world, he made the decision “out of necessity.” After doctors in B.C. told the Okanagan father-of-three that, for medical reasons, he would have to wait six months to have a liver transplant done here, Watson looked elsewhere for options.

Smyth: A long hot summer for Victoria's tent city and its angry neighbours

When the first few tents popped up in his neighborhood last fall, Stephen Hammond figured the homeless camp a few blocks from the B.C. legislature would be a temporary problem. But a month went by. Then two months. Then three months. Christmas came and went and the tent city only got bigger. Earlier this year, the B.C. government announced a major effort to house tent-city residents, spending millions of dollars on new shelters and low-barrier housing options.

Google Maps image of location of Topley Landing.

Two dead after confrontation with police in B.C.'s Northern Interior

TOPLEY LANDING, B.C. — The RCMP says the Independent Investigations Office is probing a confrontation with police that left two people dead in northern British Columbia.

The average detached home in Vancouver now sells for over $2.2 million, and Canada's Immigration Investor Program is partly to blame.

Canada is subsidizing foreign millionaires

Our taxes are buying their champagne and caviar.

File photo of NDP leader John Horgan in Vancouver, BC., December 3, 2015.

Smyth: Can Horgan stop the NDP slide?

It's amazing how quickly a political party's fortunes can go from dazzling to dismal. Consider the dizzying tumble of the New Democratic Party at both the federal and provincial levels.

Kamloops drowning murder case ends in mistrial with hung jury

The judge presiding over the first-degree murder trial of a former New Zealand politician has told a 12-person jury to keep trying to reach a unanimous verdict after jurors passed a note to the court saying they were hung.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about the firm's Messenger app at a conference in San Francisco last year. He's now worried people aren't sharing enough on the website.

Gordon Clark: If you love Facebook, keep sharing those kitten videos

Facebook executives, according to media reports last week, are in a bit of a panic. Apparently, the 1.6 billion users of the social-media behemoth aren't being, well, social enough.