Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Reprinted with the approval of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association ** First published in the Province Newspaper Feb 24th Preying on fear and pulling on the public’s heart strings will never make a prescriptive and regressive policy a good public policy. Yet, that’s exactly what the NDP government and B.C. Building Trades unions are doing as they work to sell voters on the need to build key infrastructure projects under a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). Between them, they are touting benefits such as good-paying local jobs, increased hiring of women and Aboriginal workers, quotas for apprenticeship training, and labour peace as reasons to support the CBA. While our association supports creating opportunities for women, Aboriginal workers and under-represented groups, the Vancouver Regional Construction Association does not support this CBA because of the way it was negotiated, the way it’s being rolled out, and its potential impac...

A couple weeks back (February 9 th ) a BC government media release stated, “ 2019 carbon tax relief grants open for greenhouse growers”.   I shared it on social media, and a former BC government MLA promptly stated to me: “ It just puts growers in a financial position similar to not having to pay the carbon tax. They’re lucky to get this “break”. He continued, “ The cement industry has been wanting the same thing, without success. As a result, more and more cement is coming in from Asia .”   That had me then wonder indeed w hat impact the carbon tax had on the cement and concrete industry in BC?   According to Lyse Teasdale, Director of Communications for the Cement Association of Canada (CAC), she informed me this afternoon that: “ Although it is sometimes difficult to define direct impact, only about 5% of the cement used in BC was imported before the BC carbon tax was introduced in 2008 .” She continued, “ However, since then, the l...

The sole objective of every political party is to get a sufficient number of representatives elected to form a government. That’s it – plain and simple. Their strategy is to appeal to as much of the population as possible . Representing Canadians, and responding to their needs, is not what political parties do. Political parties create policies that are attractive to various demographic groups. Those policies rarely make it into governance however, even if the party wins an election.   Governance policies are heavily influenced by events a government cannot control. Conservatives traditionally avoid deficit spending. However, when the sub-prime mortgage scandal exploded and shook the financial world, we reeled into a recession. The government of the day had little choice but to incur deficits to stabilize our economy. Other policies a government might like to address get shoved aside by governance imperatives including dealing with issues raised by the...

Since the beginning of the Spring 2019 session, the BC Green Caucus, has been asking government about money laundering in British Columbia. The focus has been largely on the bags of cash dragged into the casinos to be laundered by so-called "whale" gamblers.   But, as we found out with Peter German's report, the problem extends to real estate and luxury cars. Apparently, you can buy a multi-million-dollar house in British Columbia with cash. Few checks and balances and little enforcement. I asked Minister's Eby and James about these troubling issues again today in Question Period. We must go further, and push harder than we are.   Here is a Transcript from Question Period: Adam Olsen: A mind-numbing line of questioning coming from the other side this morning, almost as mind-numbing as the despicable rot that we've been uncovering in British Columbia over the last couple of weeks. Global's reporting last fall esti...

And another week has come to the end.   Is everyone else getting sick of hearing about SNC Lavalin ... Jody Wilson-Raybould, Darryl Plecas ... and the PMO’s office?   Well I certainly am. Regardless ... here are the story that visitors to the blog read the most this past week, presented once again, just in case you missed them. #10   ROTHENBURGER :   We need to choose our words well. We can’t assume our clever remarks are always interpreted the way we mean them . Some will take them literally when they shouldn’t. They’ll hear what they want to hear #9   PECKFORD :   The public interest is for the elected . The clerk advises the elected. End of story. The clerk erred. #8   DAN ALBAS:   Liberals announced $40 million to Blackberry for autonomous vehicle technology .   Did they need the money?   The CEO of Blackberry gave a candid, “No” #7   FORSETH :   “ Some members of the ...

Today we welcome a regular on Merv Unger’s www.nanaimonet.com ... former Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Brian Peckford.   We’ll be sharing some of his commentaries on a regular basis right here ... hope you enjoy them. This is not complicated, notwithstanding those many who want to make it so. As I hinted in an earlier column, I suspected a major damage-control action by the federal Liberal Government. And we got the first blow from the Clerk of the Privy Council. The clerk is a Deputy Minister; supposedly non-partisan; providing policy advice to the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He is also secretary to the Cabinet. He is not in the Prime Minister Office; he is in the Privy Council Office. C’est la difference. Political advice is the purview of the PMO. Now many want to spin this and split hairs to somehow have it that the clerk was just carrying out his duties when he essentially intervened. No way. Listen: SNC Lavalin ap...

CLERK OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL Michael Wernick said Thursday what everybody else has been thinking but hasn’t wanted to say. “I’m worried that somebody is going to be shot in this country this year during the political campaign,” he said during testimony to the Commons justice committee. He was supposed to be there to talk about the Wilson-Raybould affair but took the opportunity to express his deep concerns about what’s happening to Canada. For his effort, he’s been accused in the media of being partisan, but I say, thank you. We all seem to be afraid of talking about the ultimate potential result of the verbal bullying that has become a part of life in this country, and others — that if we refuse to rediscover civility, leaders are going to be targeted by lone-wolf zealots who take loose talk as license to commit violence. They will see themselves as heroes. A prime example lives south of our border. Many worry about the safety of Donald Trump but no...

'Pay close heed' to words of top bureaucrat on SNC-Lavalin affair, Trudeau says.   Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick said Thursday there was no inappropriate pressure on Wilson-Raybould CBC News ~~ Feb 22, 2019 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canadians should "pay heed" to the country's top civil servant, who testified Thursday there was no inappropriate pressure placed on Jody Wilson-Raybould to override a decision to prosecute SNC-Lavalin  . ..   Trudeau called Privy Council clerk Michael Wernick an "extraordinary public servant" who has served Canada with "integrity and brilliance." .... Trudeau said the government has a fundamental responsibility to preserve jobs and promote economic growth while respecting the rule of law and an independent judiciary. CLICK HERE to read the full story :   This pair of airheads are incapable of recognizing when they are in a breech of ethics. They have...