Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Canada’s federal lobbying commissioner and the RCMP are under new scrutiny from a national transparency watchdog demanding to know whether the lobbying regulator has concealed rulings in nine violations that were referred to the Mounties — and later quietly sent back without prosecution — in a wide range of cases from the ArriveCAN procurement imbroglio to the explosive SNC-Lavalin affair, in which a former attorney general told the RCMP they could look at criminal obstruction charges. The allegations relate to testimony now before a Parliamentary ethics committee, which has revived long-standing concerns from critics about Canada’s politically appointed watchdogs — and about the RCMP itself. Framing his most pointed suggestion — that the RCMP may be politically neutered ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

In an explosive RCMP transcript, Jody Wilson-Raybould told an investigator that she believed Justin Trudeau and his office had unchecked powers, as evidenced by their potentially unlawful pressure for intervention to block a criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin, and as Attorney General, she believed Canada needed laws to protect its democracy from the excessive power of the prime minister ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Great Debate ... wasn’t great. With a couple of million others, I watched the two-hour marathon of verbal mayhem and am not impressed. We were hoping to get some insight into who we can trust to lead the nation for the next four years and left disappointed. There were no knockout blows and no clear winner. The thoughts of one voter who watched last nights English Language debate In my opinion, Andrew Scheer and Jagmeet Singh fared best. Singh was at ease, comfortable, managed to make a joke or two and overall refrained from constantly attacking his opponents. He scored points by being conciliatory on important issues. Sheer weathered a storm of attacks with aplomb and mostly provided measured and reasonable responses. He lost some points by overdoing attacks on Trudeau. It doesn’t dawn on any of the contenders that we don’t care what they think of their opponents and their opponent’s platforms. We have minds of our own and can assess pa...

Revelations that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has dressed in costume and dark makeup on several occasions have turned into a storm of controversy over implied racism -- as if that is the sole factor of the PM’s behaviour under consideration. It is only one aspect of much deeper problems. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Trudeau has apologized profusely and repeatedly. He has stated that he was unaware of the harm his actions involved, and that his privileged upbringing has left him with blind spots, that allowed him to act thoughtlessly without consideration of the consequences and he is ashamed. Trudeau lacks a moral compass and thus fails to differentiate between right and wrong. He does not recognize personal responsibility which makes his claims of being ashamed and embarrassed by his racism ring hollow. While he claims to accept responsibility for his various missteps, he does not follow through with action to ensure missteps will not be ...

Identity politics is a way of dividing a nation into ever smaller interest groups and then turning them against each other. We call them ‘communities’ to give legitimacy to the new identity. It builds fear, distrust and even hatred between the groups. These can be based on gender, race, sexual orientation or anything else that can be imagined.   Once a level of fear has been built in any given group, it can be manipulated and transferred into votes because the government promises to protect the minorities that they created. Identity politics is devastating because breaks down social structures and stifles the debate and free speech that democracy is founded on. With identity politics, disagreeing with someone becomes proof that you have a hidden agenda against them. The Liberal Party is particularly good at identity politics as shown by John O’Fee’s article, “ What Every Compassionate Conservative Needs to Do .”

As an explanation, this CBC article is an epic fail . First, the Queen’s Privy Council and the Government Cabinet are separate bodies with separate mandates. The Privy Council provides apolitical advice to the Governor General on what is going on in Government. The Cabinet oversees operations of government departments and agencies. Cabinet ministers are usually members of the Privy Council and their duties vary depending on which body they are attending. Privy council confidentiality is absolute. Members cannot disclose what is discussed during a privy council meeting. The Clerk of the Privy Council has no authority over the Government Cabinet. It is outside of his jurisdiction. Cabinet confidentiality is less onerous than Privy Council confidentiality and can be waived by either the Prime Minister or the Courts. In 1940, Prime Minister Mackenzie King amalgamated the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet into one position reporting...

We’ve come to the end of another week and many voices were heard … commentaries from myself, along with op / ed pieces from Stewart Muir, John O’Fee … The Armchair Mayor, Mel Rothenburger … Cathy McLeod … The North matters … and from Adam Olsen. Resource development has been a topic … suicides … the election … and much more.   So here they are once again, just in case you missed any, or would like to refresh yourself once again on any of these topics. Let’s begin and get things underway with #10 … When I joined Amnesty International , it was because you fought for prisoners of conscience in dictatorial regimes. Today, you are fighting on the side of foreign billionaires ~~ Jason Kenney (September 13 th ) … I am disappointed to see that you continue to squander the moral authority accrued in those brave campaigns on smearing the most responsible and rights respecting major oil-producer in the world.   There was a reason I singled Russia,...