​Who could visit with the 800+ year-old cedar trees in Pacific Rim National Park in British Columbia and not be overwhelmed by their beauty and longevity? They are situated in a rain forest next to Long Beach on the beautiful West coast of Vancouver Island.Certainly, these majestic and ancient trees should be considered in the current contest sponsored by the CBC, to name the animal, tree, or perhaps a totem pole, that best stands for the province. Other possibilities that also stand tall include the giant Douglas Fir or the Arbutus tree, known for its characteristic red-brown peeling bark.

Then there are any number of distinctive animals such as the cuddly sea otter known for holding hands while sleeping or just staying together while floating on the sea.

Or, consider (pictured above) the black and white Orca or “killer” whales, with large teeth, the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family known for their spectacular breaching.

Also popular on the west coast, is the white “Spirit Bear”, also known as the Kermode Bear, a sub-species of the North American Black Bear. They are rare and non-aggressive animals, unless their cubs are in danger.  The Spirit Bear could be a handsome representative of British Columbia, especially as it is an important symbol for the Haida Gwaii people. As such it would have a cross-cultural appeal for B.C.

While hiking as a teenager in Banff and Jasper National Parks, this writer remembers beating on pots and pans to alert Grizzly Bears to our presence in their territory. Although the Grizzly is an impressive member of the bear family, their aggression and reputation for occasionally attacking unsuspecting visitors might not put them up there with the Sea Otter or the Spirit Bear as a cuddly choice to represent B.C., especially among children. 
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When we look for the symbols that define British Columbia, one which should not be missed is the totem pole, particularly those found on Haida Gwaii. These ancient and craggy examples originating from pre-colonial BC have come to stand for the durability of Indigenous peoples everywhere. 

"They both symbolize, I think, what's the best and the worst of British Columbia history, all wrapped in that one symbol," according to John Lutz, an historian at the University of Victoria who wrote the chapter on totem poles in the book, Symbols of Canada. 
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Lutz argues that totems have come to be seen an important symbols of identity, power and community.  They are now the focus of a modern campaign to return totems to their home communities.

In the last week two political Leaders, Donald Trump and Mark Carney have seen sharp challenges to their political strength. Trump showed he continues to lack a meaningful response to climate change, but more sharply, he faces an immediate crisis with the Jeffrey Epstein file. For his part, Carney struggles to find a better way to work with First Nations as his effort on Thursday to convince assembled chiefs was a disaster.  

Dealing with Trump and climate change, first. Trump was found lacking in an article by the celebrated American columnist, Paul Klugman, and forwarded to this writer—by an American who decidedly is not a supporter of Trump or his administration.

Klugman zeroes in on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) which includes the U.S. National Weather Service. He argues that the terrible cuts to
NOAA “are not an attack on government, but on science.”
 
A full week after the tragic flood in Kerr County, Texas which resulted in the deaths of sixty adults and thirty-six children, President Trump paid a visit to the flood scene.

Trump contends that the failure to predict the flooding had nothing to do with his administration’s plan to cut NOAA’s funding by 40 per cent.

It’s been a dizzying eight months since Susan Holt took the reins of power as Premier of New Brunswick.

Holt has been a breath of fresh air for the province with a sincere, attentive and consultative approach to governing after the rigid, top-down style of former Premier Blane Higgs, leading to defections from his caucus and chaos in his cabinet.

Some of Holt’s larger accomplishments during her brief time in office have been a three per cent rent cap; a freeze on property assessments for 2026 (but without a thorough municipal and rural reform to go with it); and a “comprehensive” review of NB Power, including rates, and debt issues, with a final report from the review due by the end of 2026.

However, the greatest hole in her record to date is the initiation of major reform in the social justice realm on a par with the Equal Opportunity (EO) program of the Louis Robichaud Liberal government in the 1960’s.
 
Holt’s promise of a network of 30 collaborative health care clinics across the province could be that important, comprehensive program. The clinics were intended to cut into the wait list for family doctors and improve primary care, costing $115 million over four years.
 
However, that system has gotten off to a rocky start. Holt counted two existing community health clinics among the 30, and a town such as St. Stephen which has a serious lack of family doctors and is on the list for a collaborative clinic has seen precious little progress toward the establishment of its clinic.
 
The province’s figures on the number of residents who lack a family doctor are shocking. Approximately 180,000 New Brunswickers do not have a family doctor or primary care provider, according to the New Brunswick Health Council. This accounts for over 20 per cent of the province's population. 

Another aspect of the Holt government’s record which has been disappointing has been how it has meshed with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s hunt for projects of “national importance”.  Larger provinces have a leg up in establishing their projects as strong candidates for inclusion in the Carney list.
 
While Premier Holt has put forward several possible projects for this list, so far there isn’t a clear winner for the province. What seemed a very good bet initially was a package giving a further boost to the spectacular resurgence of the Saint John’s highly successful port development.

That proposal appeared to be discouraged by the powers-that-be in Ottawa, and Holt then floated out the idea of a massive (and likely 10-year project), the building of the Point Lepreau Two nuclear generating station. PM Carney does not appear to have the patience for 10-year projects. All that glitters is not gold.

As argued previously in this Against the Flow blog, Lepreau One glittered brightly for former Premier Richard Hatfield in the 1970’s mainly because of all the construction jobs. But the project was a financial boondoggle for the province and the already debt-ridden NB Power.

Another project Holt appears to be keen on is development of tungsten and molybdenum mining in the province. According to The Brief, a publication of the N.B. Media Co-op, Premier sent a letter to PM Carney saying that “barriers must be removed” to allow for the development of these two minerals. The prime site for mining “T and M” is the highly controversial Sisson mine in the Nashwaak watershed, a key tributary of the St. John River. Sisson has always been a concern on environmental grounds.

This spring, Wolastoq Grand Chief Ron Tremblay wrote a letter to Carney reminding the Prime Minister and Premier Holt that the Sisson development and other “nation building projects” require indigenous consent.

The point about Indigenous consent has also been made by that “Chamber of Sober Second Thought”, the Senate of Canada.

Carney’s desire for speed is commendable, but at a time when the House of Commons is not sitting, the federal government will not have a budget until the fall and there has been little or no opportunity for debate on such projects among members of the general public about such large projects.
 
A final area of concern about the Holt government’s record is that the Premier appears to stand alone more than she should or needs to. She is strong and effective and doing well with a large governing majority. Yet, she is vulnerable to that quote from William Shakespeare: “On what meat does our Caesar feed that he (or she) has grown so great.”

Premier Holt does not appear to have an easily identifiable and selfless "Brain trust” or “Kitchen Cabinet” of advisors outside her staff and elected members and ministers. These should be well- admired supporters and not only people for private telephone chats.

Louis Robichaud was not shy about importing impressive talent from the Saskatchewan NDP government of Tommy Douglas. Former Premier Frank McKenna relied heavily on Fernand Landry and John Bryden, in his extraordinary 1987 58-0 campaign and then in government.

New Brunswick has five strong universities: UNB, UNBSJ, St. Thomas, Mt. Allison and the Université de Moncton. There are strong minds there that could strengthen the hand of Premier Holt. For instance, the former President of UNB John McLaughlin, through his Next New Brunswick project gave excellent advice to government and the whole province.

Even with Premier Holt’s very consultative approach, the days are long in government. Projects such as the Fundy Trail project in N.B. required many years to complete.

The Premier should note, as well, that some of the most successful political leaders in the country, such as Frank McKenna and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, enjoyed spending an inordinate amount of time with their respective caucus members to stay abreast of the public mood. Far more important than public opinion polls is hearing, in person, the concerns and strong opinions of those listed in the famous Hansard term “some honorable members.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney was lightning quick to cave in to Donald Trump on the Digital Services Tax.

Yes, Carney is a pragmatic man, but perhaps too pragmatic for his and this country’s good.

Trump said last Friday he wanted the tax on the U.S. tech giants like Meta and Amazon to disappear. By Sunday, PM Carney made it happen, one day before the new tax (DST) was due to come into force.

That’s speedy action for the way most governments work. Canada is operating without a budget, Parliament is not in session, Ministers are just feeling their way in their portfolios. Carney certainly didn’t address Canadians on national television to explain why he was abandoning the tax.

The DST may not be the only tool to defend the independence of the Canadian digital media.  But why play, so easily, one of the main items in PM’s negotiating hand.

Afterall, many European counties have a system of DST in place now.  While the Trump administration does not like it, we must consider that the tech multinationals have large numbers of consumers in Canada and European countries, while their production and headquarters remain in the United States.

We have to ask whether these very large corporations should freely earn substantial profits from countries like Canada but pay minimal taxes here.

One can count the tech billionaires present who helped celebrate the inauguration of Trump’s second presidency, to see who Trump is catering to with the “United States First” positions he is taking.

An alternative, which Trump would no doubt hate even more, would be requiring the multinationals to provide an equity share to Canadian firms or governments.

Of course, Carney was putting his priority on reaching a new comprehensive trade deal with the U.S, supposedly by the July 21 target date. If it could be achieved that quickly it would be a miracle, given the extended negotiations in earlier trade agreements.

New Brunswick’s Dominic LeBlanc, the minister heading up the trade file for the Carney government, asserts that the decision to drop the DST should not be viewed as a precedent for another Trump priority: eliminating supply management programs in Canadian agriculture. 

Trump has long complained about Canada’s supply-managed dairy system, objecting to what he characterizes as high tariff rates on U.S. dairy exports to Canada. Trump made this one of his primary issues in the 2018 negotiation of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA); however, he signed the trade deal without addressing it.

Apparently, an elephant never forgets. Trump will not likely forget that Carney let the DST drop as he puts supply management back on his agenda.

PM Carney’s back-track on the DST came just two days before Canadians celebrated Canada Day as never before. We were confident that Carney had put to death Trump’s talk of Canada as the 51st American state.

Local people witnessed the largest and most patriotic Canada Day parade ever in Saint Andrews, N.B.  The town was jammed and the spirit for the event was lofty as never before. The red and white colours and the maple leaf were everywhere.

Our Prime Minister should be careful not to squander this new Canadian spirit which he did a great deal to help create.