DAY SEVEN … a look at the week ending February 16th … and a welcome to MLA Adam Olsen and Ft. St. John Councilor Trevor Bolin

Green Party MLA Adam Olsen arrived this week with a discussion around a, “crescendo of questions raising the spectre of a conflict of interest of one member of the Select Standing Committee on Crown Corporations” … meantime Ft. St, John City Councillor Trevor Bolin talked about garbage, and how a change there would be far more beneficial than attacking a resource industry already working hard to be environmentally and eco-friendly.

Of course along the way we also had the Throne Speech – more on SNC-Lavalin – and a guest visit from the Armchair Mayor as he discussed the difference between listening to city residents, and actually empowering them to have a say, and a voice, in municipal decisions.

So … without further ado … let’s start our review of the past week with #10 ……

#10  ADAM OLSEN  … From the publics perspective this is easily perceived as yet another example of a politician, and as it turns out a political party, putting their interest ahead of the public interest

… Their attempt to own this issue while spending the better part of five years ignoring it, is a perfect illustration of politicians serving their own interests, not the public interest … more on that in a minute…

#9   Government Throne Speech a blend of vague promises, empty of real meaning, around NDP mixture of child care and high-speed rail, and half measures to address the real problems this province faces

The Throne Speech is a blend of vague promises, empty of real meaning, around NDP mixture of child care and high-speed rail, and half measures to address the real problems this province faces, like money laundering.  The NDP merely dusted off the broken promises of last year, like child care and 'poverty reduction', and re-promised them this year. How disingenuous is that?”

#8  FELDSTED:  We now have the Norman case ... SNC-Lavalin ... and a shipyard dispute where the Prime Ministers Office, or Ministers, are accused of interference in legal issues -- or contracts

… we have not seen similar efforts to hide government actions since Mackenzie King issued an Order in Council effectively attaching the Privy Council to the Prime Minister’s Office, rather than acting as counsel to the Governor General and Queen …

#7  DAN ALBAS:  Many consider a DPA to be a ‘slap on the wrist’, only offered to well-connected insiders

… (the deferred prosecution agreement) is also a controversial topic as it this was only recently created in Canada, buried deep within a Liberal omnibus budget implementation bill …

#6   Conservatives Scott Anderson says, “Limiting the use of experts, to reduce costs and delays in motor vehicle disputes, is just is nibbling around the edges of ICBC’s real problem”

“I would say that limiting parties to the use of one expert, makes it hard to mount a claim if the claim is for unrelated damages … How is a Doctor of medicine equipped to speak to psychological issues, and vice versa?”

#5  ROTHENBURGER:  The big difference between listening and empowering -- “We’ll listen to you but that doesn’t mean we’ll do what you say.”

City council can’t always go along with the majority in informal processes. (If, for example, the majority wants to do something that council feels isn’t in the best interests of the City.) The question then becomes, so why ask …

#4  FELDSTED:  Here today, gone tomorrow - Jody Wilson Raybould resigns from Federal Liberal Cabinet less that 24 hours after Justin Trudeau announces he has ‘confidence’ in her

… We have reasonable confidence in our judicial system; no one is questioning the system. We do not have similar confidence in our government. We are questioning the government, and the answers so far are woefully inadequate …

#3  BC NDP government says, “Making life better for people at the heart of throne speech” -- the struggle is real, thanks for your help!

#2  TREV Talks … garbage!  TREV talks … GHG’s!  TREV talks west-coast garbage and turning fluff into energy!

… Imagine a government that is less worried about tickets being scalped and more worried about reducing GHG’s by 20-30% … all while supporting our safe, sustainable and beneficial energy resources?  That’s the question posed by Fort St. John Councillor Trevor Bolin

AND THEN THERE IS THE STRANGEST ONE OF ALL, making a surprise visit to the Top 10 most read posts of the week … one that days back to October 19^th, 2018 … and it’s one where we were deciding on whether to change from First Past The Post, and instead have one of three choices for Proportional Representation.

NUMBER ONE:  First Past the Post works close to home by focusing on electoral districts first … “Proportional Representation” tries to fit a size 10 foot into a size 7 shoe by bastardizing electoral districts

Why this happened is beyond me, however a great number of people from European countries decided to stop by to check that one out – people from France, Germany, Russia, Poland and Ukraine. I’m pretty sure nothing is happening in Europe around PR, however maybe why this has occurred will come up in the days ahead.

Meantime … enjoy the rest of your weekend … and have a great week ahead.

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