New BC Political Discussion - POST BC Election 2017

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by GMD

But I don't care much if people flip-flop as long as they eventually do the right thing, which in this case means getting rid of the stupid and ridiculous time changes.

Which option would you pick - standard / winter time or daylight saving / summer time all year? I would definitely pick summer time all year.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

True. On second thought, he really IS a douche.

Looks like he's doing his darndest to earn that Douche label. Seriously, how out of touch is this guy? From today:

Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson pans speculation tax at West Van Yacht Club chat

No doubt served with a healthy dollop of Gray Poupon.

[misher]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Looks like he's doing his darndest to earn that Douche label. Seriously, how out of touch is this guy? From today:

Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson pans speculation tax at West Van Yacht Club chat

No doubt served with a healthy dollop of Gray Poupon.

So he’s only allowed to go to poor people events?

Every politician visits a mix of events and I doubt they let the wealth of the attendees stop them from coming. Horgan recently went to a resource extraction company event https://roundup.amebc.ca/attendees/invitation-from-premier-john-horgan/

The event was hosted by the yacht club they invited him to come speak there and guests were allowed just at the full price.

Next every politician will be required to drive a beater and rent or become a douche in your eyes.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Looks like he's doing his darndest to earn that Douche label. Seriously, how out of touch is this guy? From today:

Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson pans speculation tax at West Van Yacht Club chat

No doubt served with a healthy dollop of Gray Poupon.

A couple of particularly noteworthy quotes. On the speculation tax:

Rather than forcing more properties into the rental market, the tax is a disincentive for landlords that will cause the province’s rental supply – particularly in terms of home and basement suite rentals – to shrink, Wilkinson warned.

Wha


Employment and economic growth:

While conceding “this crazy government” has balanced the budget and overseen Canada’s lowest unemployment rate, West Vancouver-Capilano MLA Ralph Sultan sounded a warning about what he judged as unbalanced economic growth.

Jobs have grown in health, education, arts and what Sultan called “the barista sector.” However, Sultan said the NDP has operated as though a think tank devised ways to “screw the manufacturing sector.” Sultan also noted job losses in the construction and resource sectors.

“Good heavens, are we going to have people living in West Vancouver who are employees of Starbucks and that will sustain the economy? I don’t think so,” Sultan said.

Ian Richardson was awesome!

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by misher

I guess there's a disconnect here. I feel that its wrong to force Canadians to sell for little to no benefit. You feel that if it doesn't hurt them much it shouldn't matter. Difference of opinion I guess? So there can be no meeting of the minds.

Are you also against parking metres? Most of Vancouver used to be free parking; now the increasing population and traffic means it's mostly either paid, leased, commercial, or free but residents-only.

Ditto cabins. The time when the middle class could afford a second house has come and gone. They can either try and get an exemption (which if allowed, may opens up loopholes), pay the tax, make better use of the land, or sell it to somebody who can do one of the above... by your logic, wouldn't a market for vacation homes boost the economy?

Originally Posted by misher

So he’s only allowed to go to poor people events?

Every politician visits a mix of events and I doubt they let the wealth of the attendees stop them from coming. Horgan recently went to a resource extraction company event https://roundup.amebc.ca/attendees/invitation-from-premier-john-horgan/

The event was hosted by the yacht club they invited him to come speak there and guests were allowed just at the full price.

Next every politician will be required to drive a beater and rent or become a douche in your eyes.

If he DOES get invited and attend a "poor people" event, let us know. Everything he's said and done so far has pandered to the ultra-rich BC Lib base and alienated everybody but the diehard NDP-bashers.

[misher]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Are you also against parking metres? Most of Vancouver used to be free parking; now the increasing population and traffic means it's mostly either paid, leased, commercial, or free but residents-only.

Ditto cabins. The time when the middle class could afford a second house has come and gone. They can either try and get an exemption (which if allowed, may opens up loopholes), pay the tax, make better use of the land, or sell it to somebody who can do one of the above... by your logic, wouldn't a market for vacation homes boost the economy?



If he DOES get invited and attend a "poor people" event, let us know. Everything he's said and done so far has pandered to the ultra-rich BC Lib base and alienated everybody but the diehard NDP-bashers.

Lol. If the Liberal voter base is ultra rich then why did more people vote for the Liberals than the NDP? Why does the poorer interior vote for the Liberals while the rich cities vote NDP? Why do the areas with retirees and seniors vote NDP while those that are filled with workers who do hard labour filled with Liberals?

Can you just be a bit open minded? Throwing insults and saying a party only has ultra rich voters is ridiculous.

The NDP and Liberals were pretty close with donations and spending in the past election which should imply that NDP voters are just as rich as the Liberals

Neither party actually spent to the limit of $4.8 million in the 28-day campaign. The NDP spent $4.3 million and the Liberals $4.6 million.

In fact the NDP spent a ton of time criticizing the Liberals for actions they were doing more of

The NDP spent much of 2017 fiercely criticizing the governing Liberals for party fundraising and cash-for-access donation events for the premier and cabinet ministers.

However, election finance forms show the NDP actually out-fundraised the Liberals during that period, bringing in $9.4 million in contributions compared with $7.9 million for the Liberals.

Just goes to show you that some people base their beliefs on perceptions and accusations instead of facts. Never trust anything a politician says Liberal or NDP.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by misher

Lol. If the Liberal voter base is ultra rich then why did more people vote for the Liberals than the NDP? Why does the poorer interior vote for the Liberals while the rich cities vote NDP? Why do the areas with retirees and seniors vote NDP while those that are filled with workers who do hard labour filled with Liberals?

Can you just be a bit open minded?Throwing insults and saying a party only has ultra rich voters is ridiculous.

Poorer, despite Prince Rupert, the DTES and North Island voting left and the Okanagan and SoF voting right? Retirees are NDP and "hard labour" workers are Liberal? I hope that you merely got upset by perceived generalizations and decided to counter-argue as such, rather than you believing any of that.

If you point out where I actually threw an insult at you, or where I said the Liberals were nothing but ultra rich voters, I will apologize and retract that - otherwise, you're seriously overreacting. A "base," politically, is not "all the voters." It's people who'll vote and donate to a party/candidate no matter what, and our developers and rich homeowners consistently pull Liberal (not counting Vision). With regards to housing and affordability, I can't imagine blue collars anywhere siding with Wilkinson.

Much of what you've said or cited regarding politics either involves apologizing for the Libs or bashing New Democrats and/or unions. Don't act like you're a shining bastion of objectivity here.

Originally Posted by misher

The NDP and Liberals were pretty close with donations and spending in the past election which should imply that NDP voters are just as rich as the Liberals

In fact the NDP spent a ton of time criticizing the Liberals for actions they were doing more of

Just goes to show you that some people are idiots that base their beliefs on perceptions and accusations instead of facts.

Link for those quotes? Every party accuses the others of corruption and overspending, but overall the Liberals outspent the New Democrats.

There's a lot of ways I could interpret that last statement and respond; I trust that you mean what you say and want to keep things civil, so I will too.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by misher

So he’s only allowed to go to poor people events?

Every politician visits a mix of events and I doubt they let the wealth of the attendees stop them from coming. Horgan recently went to a resource extraction company event https://roundup.amebc.ca/attendees/invitation-from-premier-john-horgan/

The event was hosted by the yacht club they invited him to come speak there and guests were allowed just at the full price.

Next every politician will be required to drive a beater and rent or become a douche in your eyes.

No, but when he's taking a beating for being out of touch with average BCers, doubling down by speaking at a yacht club in one of the richest ridings in the province doesn't really do much for dissuading people that he might be out of touch with average BCers.

[GMD]

Originally Posted by Sheba

Which option would you pick - standard / winter time or daylight saving / summer time all year? I would definitely pick summer time all year.

Yes, definitely stay with daylight savings time, compress the time zone gap with the rest of the country/world as much as possible.

[misher]

Petrowest numbered company awarded $10 million Site C dam contract on eve of bankruptcy

BC Hydro gave $10.9 million in Site C dam direct award contracts to a B.C. numbered company whose officers and directors were top executives of Petrowest, the Alberta company that went bankrupt and was dismissed from Site C’s main civil works consortium, The Narwhal has learned



Petrowest’s financial woes were widely known when BC Hydro quietly awarded a major contract to a B.C. numbered company — 1054143 — that an investigation by The Narwhal reveals was incorporated by key Petrowest executives. The numbered company received millions in public funds while Petrowest fell into receivership, its assets seized just weeks after the contract award

Former BC Hydro CEO Marc Eliesen described the contract as “astonishing” and called on B.C. Auditor General Carol Bellringer to investigate the award, which was handed out one month after the NDP formed a new provincial government promising increased transparency.

“It’s unimaginable that you would award a contract to a company that you know is in great financial difficulties because it has been reported extensively in the media,” said Eliesen, who is also the former CEO of Manitoba Hydro and Ontario Hydro.

“Why didn’t BC Hydro cancel the $10 million direct non-competitive contract to a numbered company [run by] the same people who went into bankruptcy? Where is the fiduciary responsibility by BC Hydro senior management? Something is not right.”

Expert in business ethics calls lack of transparency ‘worrisome’
BC Hydro awarded the numbered company — 1054143 BC Ltd. — the $10.1 million contract on July 26, 2017, according to the FOI response.

Six months prior to that, on January 26, 2017, BC Hydro also handed the company a $786,141 direct award contract for exactly the same work, the documents reveal.

https://thenarwhal.ca/petrowest-numbered...ite-c-dam-contract-on-eve-of-bankruptcy/

I've always been suspicious of the Site C project. Its shaping up to be another Fast Ferry nightmare.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by misher

I've always been suspicious of the Site C project. Its shaping up to be another Fast Ferry nightmare.

This look suspicious, but so is that website as a legitimate news source.

Did you forget that Site C is a BC Liberal project?

[misher]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

This look suspicious, but so is that website as a legitimate news source.

Did you forget that Site C is a BC Liberal project?

Technically the Social Credit party first proposed it and the proposal has been thrown around for decades. But yes the previous BC Liberal government did start some work on it and I didn't approve of it then. However, the previous BC Liberals were also working off energy forecasts showing our power use increasing, which have been shown to be mistaken. The NDP blasted the BC Liberals for that when they discussed the renewable energy contracts signed by BC Hydro. Yet there using the same forecasts that show increasing energy use in BC to justify Site C which is two faced and plain wrong. Site C is a mistake, plain and simple. We don't need massive amount of extra power.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by misher

Technically the Social Credit party first proposed it and the proposal has been thrown around for decades. But yes the previous BC Liberal government did start some work on it and I didn't approve of it then. However, the previous BC Liberals were also working off energy forecasts showing our power use increasing, which have been shown to be mistaken. The NDP blasted the BC Liberals for that when they discussed the renewable energy contracts signed by BC Hydro. Yet there using the same forecasts that show increasing energy use in BC to justify Site C which is two faced and plain wrong. Site C is a mistake, plain and simple. We don't need massive amount of extra power.

Well the NDP was basically stuck with it because the BC Liberals pushed it far enough that cancelling would be worse.

As for power demands, this will help make LNG clean, and did you forget about this: https://cleanbc.gov.bc.ca/

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Well the NDP was basically stuck with it because the BC Liberals pushed it far enough that cancelling would be worse.

As for power demands, this will help make LNG clean, and did you forget about this: https://cleanbc.gov.bc.ca/

It also makes sense given the NDP/Green drive to push EV sales.

[Henbo]

Originally Posted by misher

However, the previous BC Liberals were also working off energy forecasts showing our power use increasing, which have been shown to be mistaken.

But there are still a lot of shifting dynamics with potential energy demands in the future. For instance, I haven't seen any forecasts of this for B.C., but if the province does manage to achieve 100% Zero-emission vehicle sales by 2040, the potential increase in energy could be significant.

Under a scenario where EV's were 100% relied on, Washington would need 25% more electricity, Oregon 26%, and California 47%.

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/12/americas-power-grid-isnt-ready-electric-cars/577507/

[Alex Mackinnon]

Originally Posted by Henbo

But there are still a lot of shifting dynamics with potential energy demands in the future. For instance, I haven't seen any forecasts of this for B.C., but if the province does manage to achieve 100% Zero-emission vehicle sales by 2040, the potential increase in energy could be significant.

Under a scenario where EV's were 100% relied on, Washington would need 25% more electricity, Oregon 26%, and California 47%.

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/12/americas-power-grid-isnt-ready-electric-cars/577507/

I've calc'd using some emissions statistics that about 16% of BC's energy (by joule) comes from renewables currently. Some of the 84% would be covered off by efficiency gains, but 84% is a huge amount of energy to replace.

[misher]

The Petrowest numbered company 1054143 BC Ltd. was incorporated on November 2, 2015, according to documents

The company incorporated under the name “Petrowest Corporation,” using the address of Petrowest’s corporate headquarters in Calgary. It listed two officers, Petrowest CEO Rick Quigley and Petrowest CFO Lloyd Higgins.

Over the next three years, 1054143 BC Ltd. reported seven Petrowest executives as its director and officers at various times.

BC Hydro media spokesperson Mora Scott said in an email that Petrowest Construction was “designated by one of the local First Nations as their business partner to complete the work” given to the numbered company, but she provided no further details.

Scott also told The Narwhal that the contract awarded to the numbered company involved “the implementation of remediation work to stabilize a section of River Road, including the construction of new drainage ditches and sediment ponds, excavation and cleanout of existing ditches, repair and installation of culverts, revegetation works, as well as other erosion and sediment control work defined in the contract.”

The B.C. energy ministry, which is responsible for BC Hydro, referred all questions about numbered company contracts to BC Hydro.

BC Hydro’s latest financial statements, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, list 30 numbered companies as recipients of goods and services contracts.

Conacher, an adjunct professor of law and politics at the University of Ottawa, pointed out that the federal government prohibits direct award contracts worth more than $25,000 unless there is a “special justification” such as a national emergency or national security interests.

That regulation was instituted because federal contracts “were often handed out to friends of the ruling party and at inflated prices, wasting the public’s money,” Conacher said.

Former KPMG partner highlights inconsistencies
Receivership documents say that Petrowest’s main creditors did not have security over the numbered company’s property.

According to the documents, that rested with Crown Capital, described as a “specialty finance company focused on providing capital to successful Canadian and select U.S. companies that are unwilling or unable to obtain suitable financing from traditional capital providers such as banks and private equity funds.”

Eoin Finn, a former partner with KPMG, one of the world’s largest auditing firms, called the numbered company’s escape from Petrowest creditors “odd.”

“Why would the receiver [Ernst & Young] declare to the court in its October, 2017 receiver report that 1054143 BC had ceased operating?” Finn asked.

“This when the company had just been awarded a $10,123,621 direct contract from BC Hydro… days before parent Petrowest went into receivership.”

Petrowest received a notice of termination from the Peace River Hydro Partnership from Acciona on August 11 2017, relating to “a number of events of insolvency and default,” according to a report from Deloitte LLP, the consulting firm hired as part of a fast-tracked independent review of the Site C dam in the fall of 2017.

Two days later, Petrowest announced that its lenders were seeking immediate repayment of all owed debt. The company was officially placed in receivership on August 15, 2017.

https://thenarwhal.ca/petrowest-numbered...ite-c-dam-contract-on-eve-of-bankruptcy/

[Ben Dover]

Originally Posted by CanSpice

No, but when he's taking a beating for being out of touch with average BCers, doubling down by speaking at a yacht club in one of the richest ridings in the province doesn't really do much for dissuading people that he might be out of touch with average BCers.

...and his indignation about ICBC, even though THEY were in charge of it for 17 years and used it as their private bank-machine!!!!
Seriously, this guy isn't just out of touch with the commoners...he's out of touch with reality.

[Ben Dover]

Originally Posted by Henbo

But there are still a lot of shifting dynamics with potential energy demands in the future. For instance, I haven't seen any forecasts of this for B.C., but if the province does manage to achieve 100% Zero-emission vehicle sales by 2040, the potential increase in energy could be significant.

Under a scenario where EV's were 100% relied on, Washington would need 25% more electricity, Oregon 26%, and California 47%.

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/12/americas-power-grid-isnt-ready-electric-cars/577507/

When only .004% of the planet's population is "zero-emissions" it still won't add up to a hill of beans.

[misher]

Nice to see what our politicians are taxpayer expensing....

The Office of the Premier (former) charged $368 at Christian Book and Music, while the office (current) spent $347 with Samsonite.

The more popular modes of transportation included Air Canada ($5 million), Helijet ($2.3 million), Harbour Air ($1.4 million) and B.C. Ferries ($296,000).

Half-expecting to see the Legislative Assembly next to the $423 charge at the Savoy Hotel, but this one is in Nelson, B.C., and besides, the legislature doesn't release its credit card charges - so far at least.

Environment billed $185 at Grammarly, while Toastmasters was down for $4,292 from the Finance Ministry and $3,793 from Citizen Services.

After a long day with the scissors, the former ministry of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction seems to have kicked back with the latest copy of the Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Two ministries charged a total of $100 at That's a Wrap, two others spent $560 at It's About Time, while the Attorney General was out $313 with It's Great News.

Ministries charged $12,647 at car washes across the province and cars weren't the only thing that got a wash. Environment charged $78 at Suds & Pups, as in canines.

The Attorney General spent $1,198 at Ancestry.ca for something old, 17 ministries billed $11,144 at Best Buy for something new, a charge of $20.25 at the Abbotsford Community Library appears, presumably, for something borrowed and three ministries were down for $4,145 at Blue Horizon Hotel for something blue.

Municipal affairs and housing charged $11,000 at the Croatian Cultural Centre.

Transportation charged $668 at Phantom Snow, while the finance ministry racked up $5,758 in charges at Phantom Couriers.

Value Village saw a total of $443 from five ministries, while Citizen Services charged $326 at The Gap.

Six ministries were down a total of $2,670 for ice cream, frozen yogurt or gelato.

The Attorney General and Public Safety ministries charged $2,399 at Canada Luggage. They should have called the clerk's office.

Transportation spent $10 at Clever Cupcakes, charged $103 at Victoria's Be Love restaurant and $76,778 at various restaurants in Kamloops.

Forest, Lands and Natural Resources dropped $523 at 1012 Miami Inc, as in the one in Florida.

Children and Family Development can always be counted on for some charges that scream bad optics. The $21 at Tan de Soleil, a tanning salon in Coquitlam, would fall into that category.

Naked Lunch ($1,309) – the name of a Squamish restaurant, not the recommended dress code – is growing in popularity with the ministry. They also dropped $1,300 with Kelowna's Bake Naked Kitchens, while three other ministries charged $543 at WholeWheat&Honey.ca.

The health ministry charged $1,088 – cue the outrage – at Tides Canada.

Seven ministries charged a total of $49,486 with Psychometrics Canada, a firm that conducts personality assessments.

The irony may have escaped the ministry, but Public Safety was down for $267 at Trapped, which bills itself as “a real-life room escape game,” while Finance preferred the real-life rooms at the Union Club ($3,872) in Victoria.

Two ministries may have had a good idea, though. They hung the Gone Fishin ($7,092) sign in the window.

https://www.vancourier.com/gelato-car-wa...overnment-credit-card-charges-1.23671600