BC Today

B.C. Health Minister Josie Osborne has announced the province won't extend its drug decriminalization pilot, which ends on January 31. The pilot allowed people to possess small amounts of illicit drugs for personal consumption. But after three years, the province says the project hasn't met its goals. We ask listeners how they feel about the end of decriminalization in B.C and how the province should help people struggling with addiction. Former B.C. chief coroner Lisa Lapointe, SFU health researcher Julian Somers and Victoria Police Chief Fiona Wilson join the program to look at what's next to help people struggling with addictions.

The B.C. government says 100,000 skilled trades jobs are coming to the province over the next decade. But who's going to fill them? As artificial intelligence and tariffs cause economic uncertainty in the province, the Construction Foundation of B.C. says "skilled tradespeople will be the last ones voted off the island." We ask listeners if they think 2026 is the year to learn a skilled trade and whether they would consider one as a career. BCIT electrical instructor Anna Lary joins the show.

Police are investigating a new homicide in Surrey — the third suspicious death south of the Fraser in the last five days, all of which investigators suspect are gang-related. We ask listeners how concerned they are with the violence and what they think is drawing people into gangs. UFV criminologist Wade Deisman, and anti-gang educator Kal Dosanjh from KidsPlay Youth Foundation joins the show.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Prince Rupert this morning to meet with First Nations leaders to open the dialogue about bringing more resource and nation-building projects to the North Coast. We speak with CBC provincial affairs reporter Katie DeRosa for an update.

A coalition of childcare advocates says the progress on $10-dollar-a-day childcare has stalled. The group, including former NDP MLAs, MPs and union leaders, has written a letter to premier David Eby demanding more access to the program. We ask listeners what child care access is like? And Michelle talks to B.C. child care advocate Sharon Gregson about why $10-a-day healthcare has stalled in implementation and what can be done.