Thoughts on BC Politics and More

It is deeply concerning that the Minister would suggest a five-year timeline for recovering this investment when the actual timeline is much longer In May of this year, I mentioned the announcement from the Trudeau Liberal Government that Volkswagen would receive "up to $13 billion in subsidies over the next decade" to ensure that the automaker builds its electric-vehicle battery plant in southern Ontario. I also referred to the report by the business analyst firm Statista, which stated that Volkswagen's operating profit in the 2022 fiscal year had increased by approximately 14.78 % from the previous year, reaching around 22.1 billion Euros. Shortly after news of the Volkswagen deal became public, Stellantis-LG Energy Solutions (LGES), another electric vehicle battery manufacturer, demanded similar treatment. Like Volkswagen, LGES had obtained a subsidy deal of up to  $15 billion  between the Federal and Ontario provincial governments. At the time, our fe...

  Back on June 3rd I asked the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion a very simple question: “ Mr. Chair, can the minister please tell us the current balance of the EI account ?” I ended up having to ask the Minister three times for an answer to this question. The Minister promised, and I quote: “ out of respect for this House, I would prefer to give (the member) an accurate answer, which I promise to provide as soon as possible .” That was in June and we are now in December and the Minister still has not answered this question. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) also took note of the Liberal government secrecy around the EI account and referenced this topic in last week’s PBO report, pointing out that there was no “ outlook for the Employment Insurance Operating Account .” The PBO has further stated: " Given that forecast EI expenses far exceed projected program revenues, the EI Operating Account is on track for a cumulative def...

And the some-what muted hits by the CBC, on the Conservative Party of Canada, continue unabated.   In fact, they appear to be increasing as we hit the six-month mark before October’s federal election. In a Radio Canada News story dated May 2 nd (please note English translation provided by Liberal supporter John O’Fee) stated: All political parties in Ottawa - with the exception of Andrew Scheer's Conservatives - say they are prepared to submit their election promises to the Parliamentary Budget Officer's analysis for this fall's vote. For the first time ever this year, Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) Yves Giroux will offer parties the opportunity to calculate the costs of their election commitments . Beginning June 23, the government's "watchdog" on financial matters will suspend its regular activities to focus entirely on requests from political parties that want a neutral estimate of the costs of their promises. On Facebook Wed...