Rob Shaw

2 weeks ago | vancouverisawesome.com | Rob Shaw

British Columbia is urging the federal government to resurrect a controversial law to regulate social media companies for the harms they cause, saying the country needs a national approach to the issue. Attorney General Niki Sharma has spoken to her federal counterpart Sean Fraser about salvaging parts of Bill C-63, which died earlier this year when the federal government prorogued Parliament to call an election.

2 weeks ago | cheknews.ca | Rob Shaw

Better double-check your summer staycation plans. Airbnb has begun sending thousands of people cancellation notices for stays in British Columbia, amid a dispute with the provincial government over a short-term rental registration process the tech giant says the province has botched. “Airbnb has already initiated some cancellations at properties that are failing validation. Unfortunately, even those that are experiencing technical challenges,” said Alex Howell, Airbnb’s Canadian policy lead.

2 weeks ago | northernbeat.ca | Rob Shaw

“[A new pipeline] is not an economic project… it has high risk and it’s disruptive.”–Adrian DixThe B.C. government does not support a new oil pipeline from Alberta, but it does support expanding the capacity of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline and dredging Vancouver’s harbour to maximize tanker exports, says the province’s energy minister.

2 weeks ago | castanet.net | Sylvain Charlebois |Mario Canseco |Kirk LaPointe |Rob Shaw

When it comes to supply management and trade policy, Canada seems trapped in a cycle of repeating the same costly mistakes. Before Mark Carney’s arrival as prime minister, the previous Parliament adopted Bill C-282, introduced by the Bloc Quebecois. The bill granted blanket immunity to Canada’s supply-managed sectors — most notably dairy — against any future concessions in trade negotiations, regardless of the partner or economic context.

2 weeks ago | biv.com | Rob Shaw

The B.C. government’s elbows-up, Canada-first, buy-B.C. policy is about to undergo its first serious stress test, with news Tuesday that BC Ferries signed a multibillion-dollar deal with the Chinese government to build four major new vessels. Ferries CEO Nicholas Jimenez said he’s been assured China Merchants Group (which on its website describes itself as a “key state-owned enterprise directly administered by the central government”) can build the ferries in a quick and cost-efficient way.