The B.C. carbon tax went up again yesterday, adding just over a penny to the price of a litre of gas.  That triggered an attack yesterday from the B.C. Liberals in question period. The Province newspaper's Michael Smyth is here with his take on the day's headlines.

Monday April 1st

Chapter 1:

Today, Liberal government’s controversial Pension For Life compensation scheme kicks in.  We hear from the Minister for Veterans Affairs as well as a wounded vet who believes the new Pension will provide less compensation to the most severely injured veterans than the current system does.

Guests: Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence Macauley & Aaron Bedard who is an Injured Canadian veteran

Chapter 2:

Trudeau’s former senior adviser Gerald Butts says he has more information to throw on the SNC Lavalin pile,  in response to audio of an explosive phone call between Jody Wilson Raybould and Michael Wernick. We’ll dive into the contents of the recordings and I’ll share with you my thoughts on the back and forth conversation.  And In an exclusive interview, Jody Wilson Raybould says she’s ‘absolutely ready’ for whatever comes next in the SNC Lavalin affair.

Guest: Politics Reporter At The Star Vancouver David Ball

Chapter 3:

Changes at ICBC come into effect which means there will be a limit of $5,500 on pain and suffering payouts for injuries that fall under the minor injury definition.  The Trial Lawyers Association says that violates basic human rights.  Does that argument have any merit to stand on?

Guest: Ujjal Dosanjh, Former Premier and Attorney General

They said no new taxes! But the B.C. carbon tax was boosted from $35 per tonne of emissions to $40 per tonne.  That’s 14% in one go! Even if the New Democrat’s say “it’s only a penny per litre of gasoline.” The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer is here with his take on the day's headlines.

As if the B.C. legislature has not done enough to make itself look ridiculous this year, staff are now cracking down on women who – eek!– bare their upper arms!  The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer is here with his take on the day's headlines.

In exclusive polling conducted for Global News, IPSOS has found Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s approval rating sits lower than the US Presidents.  

Despite an all-party committee on ride hailing putting forward ten unanimous recommendations to get the ball rolling on Uber and Lyft, Claire Trevena did not endorse one of them.  She wants drivers to require a class 4 licence in order to improve safety for users. But does it actually improve safety?

In recent weeks, a tough new provision contained in Canada’s strengthened impaired driving laws has been reflected in BC’s Motor Vehicle Act. The change gives police the ability to test you for impairment within two hours of driving.  Does this go too far and infringe on freedoms?

Yesterday, the Liberals spent Question Period attacking the NDP for failing to deliver ride-hailing services in B.C which is pretty tough to listen to considering the Liberals had so many years to deliver these services themselves, but failed.  The Province newspaper's Michael Smyth is here with his take on the day's headlines.

This is Making Cents of the Markets with Senior Vice President & Sr. Portfolio Mgr at Raymond James Lori Pinkowski.  As always if you have any questions you can contact her team directly at 604-915-LORI or visit pinkowski.ca.

The legislative committee actually moved forward on ride hailing yesterday....did they not get the memo?  The Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer is here with his take on the day's headlines.

Back in 2008, a group of senior US Drug Enforcement Agency officers travelled to Ottawa to tell the RCMP that Canada was being used by elite Hezbollah-linked narco-terrorists to launder money.  Was this another example of the Vancouver Model in action?

The ‘growing problem’ of money laundering was mentioned in last week’s budget by the feds while announcing a money laundering taskforce.  But is this really a 'growing problem', or one that is already here and having devastating effects on Canada's economy?

There were reports that relations between JWR and Trudeau began to fray over a Supreme Court pick, but Trudeau wouldn’t comment any further on the reports.  While this is going on, the Ethics committee is meeting to discuss the saga. We get the latest from Ottawa.

A Vancouver driver of a new VW got an ICBC bill for over $8000 after having one accident. Could ICBC privatization be a good issue for Andrew Wilkinson?  The Province newspaper's Michael Smyth is here with his take on the day's headlines.