Thoughts on BC Politics and More

With global tensions on the rise, Canadians are increasingly turning their attention to the country’s role on the world stage. In response, pollsters have begun gauging public sentiment on foreign affairs and how Ottawa is navigating emerging international challenges. A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute asked Canadians whether the country is keeping pace—or falling behind—on a range of global issues ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Montreal now has 7 Ministers serving in Cabinet On Wednesday Prime Minister Trudeau announced his new cabinet. Anyone who thought having less seats and a minority Government would in turn result in a smaller cabinet will be disappointed to learn otherwise. By the numbers the new cabinet now has 37 Ministers, in contrast to the 31 Minister's announced by the Prime Minister after the 2015 majority. In order to add so many new Ministers, in some cases a new Ministry had to be created. As an example we now have a Minister of Middle Class Prosperity. This is perhaps the first time where a well-known political talking point has now become a Ministry. At this point it is unclear what will be the mandate of this or any Ministry as the official mandate letters have yet to be released. Not counting Prime Minister Trudeau, of the remaining 36 Ministers, 18 are female and 18 are male as the gender quota policy of the Prime Minister remains unchanged. What has changed is...

Here is just a bit of the beginning of a June 22 nd story in the Province newspaper: British Columbia’s mayors and councillors will gather once again this fall at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention. And, when they do, they will once again be wined and dined at a fancy reception put on by the People’s Republic of China. Meanwhile, as municipal politicians mingle with Chinese power players, the UBCM will be cashing a cheque from the Chinese consulate in Vancouver. None of it sits well with Brad West, the outspoken mayor of Port Coquitlam, who thinks mayors and councillors should not be accepting hospitality and money from China. Indeed, it sat so poorly with him that he sent a letter to the Executive of the Union of BC Municipalities, along with all BC Mayors about that Government of China reception held during the convention.   Here’s just a few quotes: I am writing to state my strong opposition to your decision...

Most Canadians are unhappy with their salaries, survey finds. Research conducted on behalf of Indeed Canada says more than half plan to ask for a raise in 2019 Brandie Weikle ~~ CBC News ~~ Mar 09, 2019 Most Canadians are unhappy with their salaries and more than half plan to ask for a raise in 2019, a new survey has found. Conducted by Censuswide on behalf of job site Indeed Canada, the research found that only 13 per cent of Canadian workers surveyed are comfortable with their current rate of pay. That's down from 17 per cent from when Indeed commissioned the same survey one year ago. "As prices increase and the cost of living — especially housing in major city centres — goes up, I think we can attribute it to that." CLICK HERE for the full story A major factor this survey ignores, is the ever-increasing tax burden that is eroding disposable income. We face increasing federal taxes, municipal taxes, provincial taxes, school ta...