Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Here's my synopsis of the televised election debate last light, between BC Liberal Christy Clark, the Green Party's Andrew Weaver, and John Horgan for the NDP.   Lights -- Cameras -- Action.   And then basically the same thing played out over and over, through-out the 90 minutes. Christy Clark                                     Jobs             sickly smile                                                 You'll add more taxes       ...

BC First Party President John Twigg North Island, at the northern end of Vancouver Island, is a long way from where I live here in the riding of Kamloops South Thompson.   Regardless, an individual, a maverick some might say, is running in that riding.   Many are likely aware of him, however for those who are not, here is a bit of a bio on John Twigg:   Before he was even old enough to vote he canvassed for the Pierre Trudeau Liberals in 1967-68 , and was involved in various public and student causes in the 1960s.   During the 1972 BC Provincial election, in which the Social Credit government of W.A.C. Bennett was defeated, he became Press Secretary to NDP leader Dave Barrett, and was then Press Secretary to Premier Dave Barrett 1972-75 (first one in B.C. history) He covered many elections as a journalist, including the Parti Quebecois's first breakthrough win, and several notable elections in Saskatchewan and B.C.   John wa...

The other day, a friend posted a comment to something I had shared online.     They asked, " Why do politicians feel like they need to dress up when in photo ops?   The kind of dress up that I guess is supposed to say Look at me. I'm just like you " Well Christy Clark is NOT just like me ... or the majority of British Columbians ... and she really hasn't had to worry much about getting the kind of job the rest of British Columbians struggle to find; one where they can raise a family, and send their children to schools of higher education. I find her expensive photo ops, where she show up with her phony beaming smile, to be galling. Which is why at another one of her recent hard hat / safety vest events, in Quesnel this past Friday (April 21st) I found her comments to be irresponsible, or at the very least, careless.   Here's what she had to say :

Y esterday's post ( I CAN'T support that kind of campaign, or a party that would allow a leadership team to okay that kind of campaigning )   sure generated a lot of interest, and comments.   From personal emails I received, to comments on my own blog, to comments on the Armchair Mayor's blog, people certainly had thoughts on me spoiling my ballot.   Here's a sampling of what folks had to say: Pierre ... I always maintained that a government not only has the responsibility to “govern” but it also has the responsibility to set the moral tone among the masses. Similarly to a family, where parents cannot expect righteousness in their children if themselves, behave amorally. I never thought much of Ms. Clark, I think even less of her now and it is obvious she has to go. The “X”, no matter how big it is across the ballot won’t help.   Hold your nose, put a smaller “X” where the pollsters tell you to and then pat yourself in the back, because t...

How times have changed. A few short months ago, John Horgan earned the nickname "Say Anything" as he flip-flopped on major issues.   Well, it seems John has added a wrinkle to that little sobriquet by refusing answer questions from a Global TV reporter on the future of the Site C hydro power project in the event of an NDP win in the election. John chose to add "Say Nothing" to his list of nicknames. When pressed for an answer, Horgan simply said it was complicated and wasn't that easy to answer the question.   This response follows the months of him, and his fellow travelers, yapping in the legislature about how and why Site C should be stopped.

The BC Liberal Party "Troll" truck has been showing up at NDP campaign stops in recent days A friend and acquaintance asked me today, " If the BC Liberals are Liberals, then why do the use Federal Conservative 'blue' so prominently on their signs and advertising?   Isn't the Liberal color supposed to be Red? " Let me say, before going further, this individual has not lived in Canada for all that long, and so someone asking the question made perfect sense. I said to them, and I'm paraphrasing now, "BC is kind of a weird place. For a long time we had Liberal party ... the Conservative party ... and then after awhile we had the CCF, which eventually became the NDP. Now the Liberals were Liberal in every way ... the Conservatives were Conservative in every way ... and the CCF was the peoples party made up of socialists, unionists, and what I'll call social democrats. With a Conservative / Liberal coalitio...

Here's a recap of the week ... in case you missed some of these posts from the Thoughts on BC Politics and more blog. April 9th from Sandy Macdougall :   Like many other old guys, nowadays I find my mind more frequently drifting down nosta lgic paths to those good old days when things were simpler and life for most of us was more fulfilling... Monday April 10th from Alan Forseth : The latest fooferaw over bridge tolling policy is a prime example of what has gone so badly wrong in B.C. politics. Wednesday April 12th from Alan Forseth : So, how many watched the Christy Clark Show on Global TV, at the launch of the 2013 Provincial election.  Sadly, I did a search for it at the old link, however it appears to have been taken down, as I can no longer find it. Thursday April 13th from Alan Forseth : Everyone is covering the main political parties in BC (ie: BC Liberals, BC NDP, BC Green Party), so I thought I would take a mo...

At the age of 18, without parental consent, what legal rights do individuals in British Columbians have?   JANE PHILPOT: " I am proud to stand up for our drug policy that is informed by solid scientific evidence and uses a lens of public health to maximize education and minimize harm " Well it's pretty minimal ... basically you have the right to vote in a Municipal, Provincial, or Federal general election. HOWEVER ... without parental consent ... you must wait until the age of 19 for the following rights as an individual: - to get married - to get a drivers license - to join the Armed Forces - to purchase alcoholic beverages - and to purchase tobacco products As many are aware, this week,   the federal government announced it will be making it legal to purchase Pot (cannabis) by July1st of next year; the wheels are fully engaged to have that happen by that date.   So then, at what age has the Justin Trudeau Liberal governm...

SOME PEOPLE are concerned about the fact B.C. Liberal candidates Peter Milobar (Kamloops North Thompson) and Todd Stone (Kamloops South Thompson) haven’t accepted invitations to attend certain forums. It came up again with respect to last night’s (April 13, 2017) forum at TRU co-sponsored by the TRU Faculty Association, CUPE 3500, CUPE 4879, and Kamloops Thompson Teachers Association. I’ve commented here a couple of times about the Liberal record on avoiding some of the forums, but I can see their point of view. There are, actually, several good reasons why candidates should not attend so-called single-issue forums: Single-issue forums get too detailed. You have to do way too much homework on whatever the topic is. It’s too hard to use weasel words at forums, so if you can reduce the number of forums you have to attend, and have a plausible-sounding excuse such as “I’d rather be door-knocking and talking to people on their doorsteps,” it really helps. ...

Everyone is covering the main political parties in BC (ie: BC Liberals, BC NDP, BC Green Party), so I thought I would take a moment to shed some light on the BC Conservative Party ... BC First ... and YES, the Social Credit Party First to the BC Conservative Party for a moment. Nels Harrington, who was running for the party in the riding of Vernon Monashee announced he is dropping out of the race due to an unexpected increase in work commitments.   Harrington's Campaign Manager was to have been Scott Anderson.   Anderson was the Conservative candidate for the riding in the 2013 election; he placed third on election day winning a respectable 11.75% of votes cast. As for another former 2013 BC Conservative candidate (Chilliwack - Hope riding), Michael Henshall has confirmed to me that he will be running for the BC Social Credit Party in the riding of Fraser Nicola.   That will pit him up against current BC Liberal incumbent Jackie Tegart ... and...

So, how many watched the Christy Clark Show on Global TV, at the launch of the 2013 Provincial election.   Sadly, I did a search for it at the old link, however it appears to have been taken down, as I can no longer find it. Snapshots of Christy Clark and 2013 election campaign I did watch it though back then, and looking back at social media comments I made at the time, I noted that I believed she was deserving of ... the Best Female Actress award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s new CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS (recognizes excellence in film, television and digital media productions). So what did I have to say that night on April 14th -- 2013 Comment #1  Just watching the taped version of Christy's 1/2 hour info-mercial. Well right off the bat I'll ask the same thing you did Christy ... "Why is it okay to for our government to leave our kids with a debt?" You (Christy Clark) should be ashamed because YOU h...

The latest fooferaw over bridge tolling policy is a prime example of what has gone so badly wrong in B.C. politics. Kamloops MLA, and Minister of Transportation, Todd Stone on hand for "Completion" notice of the Port Mann Bridge It began with the B.C. Liberal Party government's pronouncement Sunday, by Finance Minister Mike de Jong, that if they are re-elected in the May 9 provincial election they will put a cap on bridge tolls of ("only?") $500 a year, saving some regular commuters about $1,000 a year but doing nothing to help less frequent users. That the Liberals should have such a conversion on the eve of an election campaign is kind of like Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus: it reverses many years of an opposite policy. But of course it still doesn't address the underlying problems in financing transportation projects in Metro Vancouver and around the province, namely that the Liberals' new quasi-privatized bridge...

Like many other old guys, nowadays I find my mind more frequently drifting down nosta lgic paths to those good old days when things were simpler and life for most of us was more fulfilling. It leads me to wonder if we, as an urban civilization, are evolving or devolving. Maple Ridge -- photo from years gone by Not that many decades ago, life out here in the suburbs meant that families with three kids probably lived in an affordable 1,200 square-foot, three-bedroom home with an unfinished basement on a large lot. I think it's an important distinction that we called it home, not just a place where we lived.   Some families called the same house their home for several generations without any need to build a bigger house. As property values increased insanely, and more families were forced through economics and other circumstances to live in townhouses or apartments, fewer and fewer people thought of them as homes. It became just a place where they all lived bu...

Late last night, in a post breaking news that John Twigg had left the BC Conservative Party (only to resurface as the Leader of BC First), I let it be known that I was, "... not sure at all about a parallel currency, I can't imagine how it could possibly work ... and the proposal to resurrect the Bank of BC seems like a complete non-starter." He responded to me stating; Reviving Bank of B.C. and issuing a parallel currency  - IMO you shouldn't be so quick to diss something you don't understand. (Yet.) Here, in John's own words, is his rationale for the idea, and in hindsight it does sound like something at least worth looking into. JOHN TWIGG :  I'm a former Financial Editor who is familiar with central banks policy, creation of money, roles of currency and other related topics and have been familiar with these issues for many decades. Interestingly another guy who was knowledgeable about them was Roger Rocan. The creati...

Well it seems like the BC Conservative Party leadership announcement ended up being much ado about nothing -- perhaps? Maybe so, maybe not, as the leadership (being the Board and Executive) have still not been forthcoming on who the new interim leader is, or was to have been.  This afternoon (April 7), after several days of speculation (CHNL newsperson Shane Woodford was also trying to find out details), there was still no word. John Twigg is now the FORMER Director of  Policy and Communications for the BC Conservative Party MEANTIME ... I decided to contact a BC political acquaintance, John Twigg, to see if I could find out even a crumb of information on what had happened.  Much to my surprise he responded by saying to me ...   "Funny you should ask. I was literally at this moment debating on whether or not to tell you about my departure today from BCCP, and decided to not broadcast anything for fear of being seen as disputatious. I have told only a...

A recent BC Government News post, from Donna Barnett (Ministry of State for Rural Development), indicated that the "Province accepting applications to Rural Dividend Fund.  This will happen between April 3rd to May 31st The government plans to provide funding in four different areas: Community capacity building Workforce development Community and economic development ... and ... Business sector development CHILLIWACK:  Is this the face of Rural BC Quoting the government release, it stated: The Rural Dividend was established in April 2016, with input from the Rural Advisory Council, to help small rural communities reinvigorate and diversify their local economies. In its first year, the program has already provided over $24 million in economic development grants Being the government of Christy Clark, " Balanced Budget 2017 " had to get in there right away, (anyone else sick of hearing that term / phrase dozens of...

Get ready ... Get Set ... That's right folks, the most boring election in BC provincial history is upon us. In fact 5, count 'em, 5 whole weeks until the most avid voters among us take their leisurely stroll to their local voting station, turn to their spouse as they stand in line and ask with a shrug - as I've observed far too often - “who am I voting for?”. Yes, we will be putting our well thought out mark beside the candidate or party that seemed the most familiar at the time. The problem is, as you have probably just realized, that many are not aware we are into another election in British Columbia. Sure, in my neighbourhood a fringe candidate from the Green Party has jumped queue and ironically littered civic land with signage weeks before the writ officially will drop, signaling like a referees whistle, that the pleads for your vote will now commence. Oh, I'm sure there may be a few energized poli-sci students and a handful of old ...

This mornings political email avalanche was indeed an avalanche, as always, and it included one from the BC Conservative Party.     The Subject line?   " Electorally enfranchised or no? "   I thought, that's an interesting, what are they up to now?   Turns out I had been made aware of the topic awhile back, in a basic general discussion.   Still I am, and was, surprised that it came to pass. Here is a copy of today's email. What do I think?   Well, first off, it will not be much of a stealth campaign because everyone is now aware of their intentions.   I also have to say however, that the individual that I discussed this idea with, a few weeks back, probably had the best of intention -- however it will NOT work.   And furthermore, I believe it will ONLY INFLICT FURTHER DAMAGE TO THE BC CONSERVATIVE BRAND. The BC Conservatives plan is to endorse individuals.   It's unclear from the ...