Where in the world is BC Premier David Eby?

PENTICTON - Premier David Eby was the only first minister absent from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s virtual meeting with the premiers on Wednesday as they discussed U.S. trade talks, according to reports circulating Thursday. The gap has produced competing claims about whether he is on vacation or still in the fire zone..Former Conservative leader and Nechako-Lakes MLA John Rustad asked the question directly. He said the Globe and Mail reported Eby as the lone no-show on the call, while every other premier participated. Carney asked the group to restore American liquor to provincial shelves and ease Buy-Canadian procurement rules that shut out U.S. bidders. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham all confirmed they were on the call. Eby’s office issued a statement speaking of “substantial progress” and standing with Team Canada without acknowledging he missed the briefing or answering the specific requests.“Where was David Eby? And why has his office issued no explanation?” Rustad wrote. “British Columbia’s softwood lumber industry is under siege. Mills are closing. Workers are losing their jobs. And the Premier of this province was the only one who didn’t show up for the most important briefing of the week.”.Commentator Dimitris Soudas, a former communications director to Stephen Harper, offered a simpler explanation. “David Eby didn’t attend yesterday’s meeting with the Prime Minister,” he posted. “He’s on vacation apparently.”Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee, who crossed the floor to the NDP in July, rejected the claims Eby is missing in action. She said in a Thursday X reply to John Rustad that the premier is with constituents dealing with the Bald Range fire. “John have you turned on the TV? The premier is with his constituents, dealing on the ground with the fires. Some meetings can be an email — not the case when there are scared and heartbroken constituents all over British Columbia and emergencies where his presence is needed more.”.The Bald Range fire, which forced more than 20,000 people from their homes around Summerland and Peachland earlier this month, remains out of control. Some residents have begun returning.Eby visited the Penticton Wildfire Centre, met evacuees and thanked local groups including a Sikh temple that distributed food and supplies. He declared a province-wide state of emergency as the fire exploded in size. Boultbee, whose own family has been evacuated in past fires, has posted regular updates from Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen briefings..Eby posted a statement Thursday on the Canada-U.S. negotiations. His office has not publicly addressed the missed first ministers call or confirmed his precise location. The lumber sector, already hit by U.S. tariffs, continues to lose mills and jobs while the fire season is far from over.The premier's office has so far offered no on-the-record explanation for the absence.

Where in the world is BC Premier David Eby?

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