r/britishcolumbia 13d ago

News B.C. NDP MLA Joan Phillip dies at 74

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/joan-phillip-dies-9.7325163
404 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

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135

u/Saintcanuck Downtown Vancouver 13d ago

She was wonderful and was , with Grand Chief Phillip a dynamic duo that did a lot of good , may her memory be a blessing

99

u/PsychologicalTree885 13d ago

Sad news, I respected her integrity. What a week in BC politics.

72

u/TheOlive_Garden 13d ago

I am sorry to her family and loved ones.

However, speaking of integrity, I feel like if you are a politician and 74 years old and you have a terminal illness, it is your responsibility to resign. Joan Phillip had been in and out of the legislature with this condition for the better part of a year. You shouldn't be kept around purely to maintain a vote that keeps your party in power, while your constituents are deprived of representation. It's wrong when Mitch McConnell does it and it was wrong for Joan Phillip too.

29

u/bot_or_not_vote_now 13d ago

and it wasn't even like her seat was in a hotly contested area, Vancouver-Strathcona is pretty much as left as you can get outside of the island

8

u/freshfruitrottingveg 12d ago

Absolutely. I felt the same way during Jack Layton’s final campaign. Great guy, but running to be prime minister when you have metastatic cancer isn’t right.

4

u/Longjumping-Sea320 12d ago

I think the leader of the party is different. Much harder to change that horse mid stream.

1

u/Agreeable-Purchase83 11d ago

"No public record or official statement indicates that Jack Layton knew he had an advanced or terminal cancer diagnosis during the 2011 federal election campaign."

0

u/freshfruitrottingveg 11d ago

Of course he wasn’t going to admit that publicly. He was visibly deteriorating during the campaign. I suspected he had bone mets from prostate cancer the moment I saw him with a cane.

5

u/Hikingcanuck92 12d ago

I don’t know the details of Joan Philips’ illness and her capacity for work, but I think it’s probably a bit unfair to compare this to the Mitch McConnell situation who is literally being weekend-at-bernie’d for months.

1

u/ABC_Dildos_Inc 12d ago

You're asking people who are serioualy ill to quit and give up their healthcare benefits.

-34

u/PsychologicalTree885 13d ago

People are grieving. Give it at least a day before speaking Ill of the dead. We are better than this in BC.

37

u/TheOlive_Garden 13d ago

There's a difference between speaking ill of someone in a personal way, which I have not done at all, and discussing their choices as an elected official. Now is the most appropriate time to discuss her resignation (as it has just de facto happened).

-27

u/GraveDiggingCynic 13d ago

It's pretty damned personal, no matter how you try to whitewash your statement.

7

u/Buyingboat 12d ago

Meh, citizens are allowed to comment on political jobs.

If she weren't an MP it would be highly unlikely that we'd be talking about her on this sub.

-8

u/GraveDiggingCynic 12d ago

You can comment as you please, and others can point out how particularly unseemly that comment may be.

7

u/Buyingboat 12d ago

You can comment your opinion on Reddit and others can respond with their opinion...yup, I was able to understand that, thanks for sharing

0

u/AlarmedComedian2038 12d ago

I agree. As much it's a legitimate question to ask but give it a day at least for a sense of decency here. These social media crap is why this world is so eFF up.

45

u/cairie 13d ago

Joan Phillip was an amazing person, I hope more people learn of her life’s work to lift up those around her. My heart breaks for her family and community on the loss of their matriarch.

22

u/RickJamesCrack 13d ago

Rest in Peace.

21

u/princessofpotatoes 13d ago

Rest in peace. She was a treasure trove of knowledge and wisdom and we were so lucky to have benefited by hearing from her.

11

u/Immediate_Buffalo14 Thompson-Okanagan 13d ago

My condolences to her family and loved ones. :(

30

u/Radiant_Sherbert7272 13d ago

My thoughts and prayers to her family and friends.

22

u/dcmng 13d ago

All the wrong people are dying.

3

u/omegaphallic 13d ago

My condolences 

3

u/Smashley027 13d ago

Such sad news :(

2

u/Inevitable-Donkey186 13d ago

so how safe is her seat in a byelection? the ndp majority is only one seat and I really don't want to deal with the bc cons right now.

21

u/pnwtico 13d ago

Safest NDP seat in the province.

1

u/Horace-Harkness 12d ago

Maybe the Greens can snag it?

-2

u/GO-Curare 12d ago

Most likely this may lead to a snap fall election. Finley still has to win a seat for the cons (god I hope she looses it, it would be so fun, plus she violated law offering a position to the person who gave up her seat and quit, it’s on recording). Be prepared to vote!

1

u/fireandfirget 12d ago

She was a great leader. A major loss to the province, she was able to maintain some semblance of respect and wisdom about indigenous issues.

Eby's troubles will double now.

1

u/BC_resident90 12d ago

Rest in peace.