Good Riddance Liberal Party of B.C.!!!!

Finally someone (or many) might get sent to jail for BC Rail. We finally get to see the BC Rail contract. We finally get to find out exactly how much we are paying the IPP for electricity. We finally find out exactly how much the Liberals lied to us about the HST.

No wonder they are all resigning. Bond and Bell would be smart to get while the getting is good as well.

The BC liberal ponzi scheme is unraveling… good riddance to the monopoly capitalist party of the elite.

IMO the fixed election date idea used by the BC liberals was an epic failure for the people of BC…. all it did was allow them to continue to govern without a mandate of the people. Its the only thing that gives any mandate for the BC liberals at this point.

Can you please explain how a fixed election date allows a government to govern without a mandate?

Prior to the 4 year fixed date, a government in Canada and trhe provinces was able to stay in power for up to five years. Most provinces and Canada have now fixed an election term to 4 years, a process started by BC.

However, it is really not fixed at all since a government can still call an election anytime before the maximum term is complete. If it were otherwise, then we could have a situation where a government would lose a majority or the confidence of parliament and we would be stuck in limbo.

I do believe that the BCLiberals still hld the balance of power. No one has crossed the floor or has given up their seat yet, although the media makes it look that way.

So, again, eagleone … tell me how they are governing without a mandate.

Unfortunately we still do not have a viable alternative we can turn to. The NDP will be no better for BC….

So someone visiting the city told me this week that they are surprised that we were building a performing arts centre. I did not understand what he was talking about until I realized by the description he was talking about the RCMP station. He was totally surprised when I told him it was a new police. He laughed.

I had to agree that it was a rather ostentatious looking for a police building. That is becoming more obvious by the day. Just look at that wood galleria that puts the public galleries in Rome to shame.

I had thought that there were cost cutting measures taken with the design which was originally presented to the City. A special committee looked at that, I thought. They obviously did not know what they were doing. They cut secure, covered parking, a practical function, and kept a functionless internal gallery made from wood imported into this community from god knows where because we cannot even produce such products.

While the rest of us are supposed to travel on potholed streets, we are building buildings with wasted volume to heat.

The fixed election dates prevent the party in power from calling the election based on poll numbers, sometimes barely half way through their mandate.

And now for something completely different….I know a person must be in a fog to spend actual money on a truck with a goat on the front but that does not give them the right to drive around with the fog lights on all the time.

I have a question

Why has there been tons of media coverage on the negative effects on the Enbridge proposal yet not one media outlet has printed positive effects of the pipeline? And you cannot tell me there are no positive effects

Maybe they will get it right in 20 years when the next police station gets built( due to lack of maintenance the palace is fubared:)

Dearth wrote: “And you cannot tell me there are no positive effects.”

Okay, so you tell us the positive effects.

I would love to see a minority government in BC … interested in seeing how long they will try to work at it while there is a supposed fixed election day.

Have a look at the new BC Hydro building. No wood in sight ….. so much for wood first for government buildings …. very spartan …… looks like a police station ….. ;-)

Even the new RCMP division E headquarters looks like a police station …….

http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/biens-property/nouvelles-news/frpdgrc-rcmpprpfs-eng.html

But PG has to have a diamond studded building…… why would that be??

So after the NDP gets in, how long will it take BC to go back to have-not status? I predict 2-3 years.

Johnny how long is that since BC was a have not province under the BC liberals… during a hot global economy none the less. 3-4 years they managed that too.

Gus, it was the common norm that when a party elects a new leader that they would go to the polls with the new leader to obtain a mandate. Christy Clark has no mandate to have the powers of the premiers office since she has never faced the voters in a provincial election to give her the mandate.

Getting the power of a dictator (the premiers office) through a party vote only is not democracy.

Clark relies solely on the BC liberal change to the rules to have fixed election dates otherwise she would have had to seek a mandate already.

And maybe the drivers will learn not to park in the bike lanes….

Some things in BC grew in the last NDP decade.

Deficit….

Civil service….

Welfare rolls….

Transfer payments from Ottawa….

Well, I dont know how we found the paving dollars to fix up the streets, but thank you to the Sheri and the city for fixing up so much more this year. I think we did a bit more this year than just keeping up, we actually did some preventitive maintenance. Good job.

The BC liberal party has the mandate to govern, CC is just the first minister of the party. We do not have an election every time there is a cabinet shuffle.

Happy labor day weekend everyone. If it wasn’t for the workers demanding better working conditions way back when, we wouldn’t have time to be in our computers as we would still be at work.

@Dearth
The benefits aren’t worth the risk. BC takes all the risk for very little gain.

Eagleone …. you realize of course that the party lesader is not electe by the general public but by the party members.

The party members voted in the party leader. There is nothing that says that the party leader who is a member of the governing party has to have a seat.

However. what is the norm is for that person to get elected in a riding. Clark did that and has a mandate.

The same as City Council, where the Mayor has only one vote, the Premier has only one vote. She/he may speak on behalf of the government but the premier cannot dictate nor does the premier have veto power such as the president of the USA.

So, I am still not sure what you are gettiing at. I know, you may have your own interpretation of what shoud be, but that is not necessarily the way it is in practice.

The international day of labour unions (the workers) is May 1. But hey, we are Canada … and the USA… ;-)

“We do not have an election every time there is a cabinet shuffle.”

Hey, that would be a great idea lonesome sparrow. And how about budget time? We could do it then to …. LOL

“And maybe the drivers will learn not to park in the bike lanes….”

And maybe the City will put up no parking signs ….. and paint a bikes symbol on the lane … and a direction arrow to remind everyone which direction they are supposed to bike in ….

Oh, and a warning signs to bikers and motorists when a bike lane suddenly turns into nothingness … that warns people that the bikes will be merging into the motorized vehicle lanes.

Hey! Remember when Gordo and the Fiberals campaigned on getting rid of gold plated pensions! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!

Yeah, if there’s one issue the NDP and Liberals are in agreement on, it’s pensions.

I love our newly paved roads, but the reduced lanes now make it difficult to make a right hand turn if the car in front of you is waiting to go straight through. Especially at Winnipeg and 4th. And that can be such a long light to wait to turn.
But hey, can’t really complain, at least City Hall finally paid attention to the state the roads were in this summer.

Happy Friday everyone and have a safe and happy holiday. Enjoy this wonderful city and take a moment to blessed you how lucky you are to live here.

The City transferred $1.6 Million dollars from a reserve fund that was sent up to beautify 4th Ave. This money wasnt being used. At the time they stated that it would have to be returned to the reserve fund. In addition this amount of money will not be available for roads next year, so we will be back to our regular road maintenance budget of $3.5 Million.

$3.5 Million is approx 1/4 of what is necessary for infrastructure costs per year, so each year we fall further behind.

Enjoy the paving that you received this year. The City does not have any idea where they will get the money from to bring the roads up to standard.

At the very minimum it would require a 10/15% increase in taxes. Thats not likely to happen.

So whats the solution?? The Core Reveiw will help a little but will not solve the infrastructure problem.

As I stated in previous posts. The City for all intents and purposes is insolvent.

And maybe the drivers will learn not to park in the bike lanes….

Yea that’s a great idea. They could park in the middle of the street instead.

The new Police Station with all it frills, shows that without a doubt, the Politicians in Prince George have a total disregard for tax dollars.

$40 Million cost of construction, property, etc; Plus $25 Million plus in interest charges over 20 years.

Building located on a busy intersection (4th and Victoria) and adjoining a one way street (4th Avenue). Parking???

Captain was a 2-year-old German Shepherd who was starved, stabbed, and brutally beaten. He was then left in a dumpster in the heat, and passed away the following day. Although Captain’s owner’s residence was the subject of a search warrant and the SPCA has recommended charges in this case, nobody has as yet been charged. Please consider signing and sharing the petition at the link below to lobby our BC and Canadian governments to enact and enforce stronger animal cruelty legislation. If you prefer to sign in person, you can do so at the PG Farmer’s Market tomorrow. Thank you.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/justice-for-captain/

Looks like these clowns are getting ready to dig up Victoria & leave it for the winter. Oh well, not like it’s a main road or anything.

“dig up Victoria”……gotta heat that big open space that gus was talking about in earlier post with the green heat that will help the airshed(trucked in from Isle Pierre:)

On a lighter note:
Definition of “then”

1.At that time; at the time in question: “I was living in Cairo then”; “by then I was exhausted”; “Adams, the then president”.
2.After that; next; afterward: “she won the first and then the second game”.

Definition of “than”
1.Introducing the second element in a comparison: “he was smaller than his son”; “Jack knows more than I do”.
2.Used in expressions introducing an exception or contrast: “he claims not to own anything other than his home”.

Very surprised how many people mix the two up when posting. Why is this important? I don’t know.
Just an observation.

Lonesome Sparrow and Johnnybelt- BC was a have not province under the Liberals, as a direct result of their decision to cut taxes. BC got equalization payments from the Feds from 2001-2006, when Gordon Campbell was premier. The NDP left BC with a balanced budget. Before that, the last time BC was a have not province was in 1961.

“The Ministry of Finance’s second quarter update on the 2004/05 BC Budget deserves to be put in a museum as a wonderful example of the fine art of government spin. In case you have not seen the commercials on TV, the Ministry’s press release begins with four glowing paragraphs about the BC economy. According to Finance Minister Gary Collins, “BC is on the move.”

The big move in the budget update, however, is in the sizable equalization payments coming to BC this year and next. While the government is implying that its big surplus equals a booming economy, it is a little embarrassing that equalization payments are playing such a prominent role.

It was just a couple of months ago that Minister Collins stated: “We are no longer a have-not province.” Yet, the second quarter update notes that in 2004/05 BC will get a record $721 million in equalization payments, plus $596 million next year.

These hefty cheques from Ottawa are in part due to a new federal-provincial equalization deal hammered out in October that sweetened the equalization pot with more cash. But the painful fact remains: BC is still a “have-not” province.

On top of this year’s equalization take, revised estimates for 2001/02 to 2003/04 also work in BC’s favour, and will provide an extra $259 million in “back equalization” payments. This is one-time money that will be booked in this year’s budget.”
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/bcs-surplus-irony

But PG has to have a diamond studded building…… why would that be??
——————————————-

This building will take your eys off the road when the two inch paving job starts to crumble under your tires….thats why we have a diamondm studed building. A lack og brains also contributes to the diamond mentality.
Cheers

Dearth@Every news item based on an Enbridge press release touts the putative benefits of the pipeline, namely the jobs, cash, and tax revenue that it will allegedly produce. Here’s a CBC story from January: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/01/10/f-northern-gateway-pipeline.html. The reason there aren’t that many articles touting the benefits is that news sources report NEWS, and there haven’t been many new developments as to the benefits. In contrast, every new spill raises further questions about the risks, as do discoveries such as the fact that Enbridge’s cleanup plans assume that the spill is of crude oil rather than diluted bitumen. Similarly, information that casts doubt on the benefits is news, such as the economic studies that raise questions about the viability of the pipeline, and the revelation that much of the construction might be outsourced to Chinese companies. The information about the claimed benefits is readily available, at the Enbridge’s own site (http://www.northerngateway.ca/ among others, but there haven’t been new developments in this regard, except to cast doubt, so there haven’t been a lot of news reports focussed on the benefits.

Herbster wrote:

“The NDP left BC with a balanced budget”

You realize a budget is just a plan. The audited statement provides the actual financial status. Their plan was made for an election. Those are normally plans made through rose coloured glasses.

“Before that, the last time BC was a have not province was in 1961”

Not true. I looked that up and posted in another thread that there were two years that BC got equalization payments under the NDP governance prior to 2001.

I heard on CBC radio this morning that children in Grade 6 in Afghanistan are going to study from history textbooks that have the last 40 years of conflict erased from them.

Apparently, as heard on CBC, the last 40 years of the history of Afghanistan will be dealt with in 1.5 pages that will not mention Russia, the Taliban or the western forces currently there.

The theory behind this is that if the children study the truth about the history of their country, it will cause them to stay true to their ancestors allegiences and the conflicts will continue.

Good idea or bad? What do you think?

I personally think it’s ludicrous. The Aghanistan education ministry (or whatever they call it there) believes that the children will learn about the true history from their families. Huh, you say?! That’s what I thought too.

As Einstien said,”Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”

He also said, “Where they burn books they will soon burn people.”

OH so yah.. Bad idea to remove books and forget history,

Remember history has always been written by the victor’s of any battle through-out time… Each great empire has a life line of approximately 300 years

There’s a new police scam in PG. If you ever get a ticket for something as mundane as forgetting to renew your drivers license (second largest fine by the way, next to no insurance, and probably the commonest infraction, hence the hefty fine)do not take the cops advise and fight the amount in court and ask for a lesser fine. It simply ends up costing you more that just simply paying the original ticket….there needs to be a serious look at how things are done in our courts.

What is going on with the City’s core review?
I read all the info and have more questions than answers. Many areas didn’t have details like no of employees. When i looked at the 2011 finance info on wages some of them are very high. I like to compare what we have to what city has but it’s hard to do that when i don’t know how may HR people they have and how much they make. Does anyone know how to do this?

VestedInterest: it is important because they are two very different words in meaning. Other ones are there, their and they’re. People I guess, are not being taught proper spelling or grammar these days.
It says a lot about peoples’ education and respect for language. Can you imagine what spelling is going to look like in ten or twenty years with all this phone texting and computer language?

Scary.

Nice to finally see the patching they did on Central between 18th and 15th. They did neglect the big hole in the alley by the Camelot though.
Industrial way, for a detour while they work on Pacific is absolutely rediculous! Hope you’ve got a big truck! That really should have been fixed up BEFORE they decided to use it for a detour.

Lonesome Dodo, it’s not a goat. The fog light idiots drive around with them on all the time because sooner or later they will drive into a fog bank somewhere and they will be prepared for it. Did I say idiots?

Dearth, positive effects? How about the rich will get richer?

Hey JB how about posting a link that shows every time BC was a have not province? You won’t because it will show the truth about when BC was a have not province under what government and that would make your BS even less believable that normal.

Remember the BC Rail give away and the Basi/ Virk scandal!

I will now leave all you Liberal hacks and shills to wallow in your misery for a week.

billyinpg, drivers are permitted to park in the bike lanes unless it’s otherwise posted. Just as bikes are permitted to ride on the same streets the cars are.

So its actually a sheep on those hemi powered Fiats.

Can someone explain to me how Dragondolt can not make a post without name calling?
oooops ;)
Just dont say anything bad about Polaris, Dodge or the NDP and you are OK

“JohnnyBelt on August 31 2012 7:05 AM: So after the NDP gets in, how long will it take BC to go back to have-not status? I predict 2-3 years.”

I fully agree!

“Eagleone on August 31 2012 7:20 AM:Johnny how long is that since BC was a have not province under the BC liberals… during a hot global economy none the less. 3-4 years they managed that too.”

I completely disagree!

Blaming the BCLiberals for the have-not status of B.C. and faulting them for the couple of years it took the BCLiberals to restore have-status is like blaming Obama for the unwinnable wars that Bush started and the global financial meltdown which came as a result of Bush’s ill-conceived new mortgage and banking regulations policies!

No way would the BCNDP do anything different from what they did to B.C. in the past, twice!

Hey “billyinpg”. Don’t be so quick to bitch when someone asks people not park in bicycle lanes. (if possible). Prince George built a beautiful park and parking lot just past the round about on the Pulpmill Road. Do you think that all the athletes that climb up the cut banks could maybe park their cars in that parking lot? Now I realize they would have to walk about a hundred yards before they get to the spot where everyone climbs, but hey, your’e trying to get in shape right?! When riding my bike to work, on several occasions I have had to wait for chip trucks and other vehicles to pass till it’s safe to go out into the oncoming traffic lane to get around these thoughtless athletes cars that PARK IN THE BICYCLE LANE!

Prince George, Gus and JohnnyBelt- Figures don’t lie, but liars figure. Go back as far as 1994. BC received equalization payments for 1999-2000 and 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2005-2006. Five years of equalization, the Liberals were in power for four of them. Out of a total of $1.735 billion equalization dollars, the Liberals collected $1.610 billion or 92.7%

If you have a problem with the NDP by all means complain- but no need to try and BS us all. The Liberals have done that for the last 10 years, and we are all tired of it.

Don’t believe me?, do the math yourselves!

http://www.fin.gc.ca/budget04/bp/bpa6-eng.asp

http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/bcs-surplus-irony

Happy long weekend folks. I’m currently sitting in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains in New Hampshire enjoying a quick weekend getaway. It’s roughly 500KM from Ottawa and the trip takes you through upstate New York and Vermont before arriving here in the White Mountains.

The setting here is absolutely gorgeous, as you find yourself in valley after valley of lush mountain ranges. The terrain is more rounded and gentle than the ranges in BC, but the mountains themselves are far more prominent than what you see in the area around PG (in all fairness though, PG isn’t in the mountains). The roads also take you “through” the mountains as opposed to beside or around them, so it feels very “closed in” if that makes sense.

I still get surprised whenever I see the age of the cities and institutions out here. Driving through Burlington, Vermont, we drove through the University of Vermont campus as we went down to Lake Champlain and noted the sign saying that it has been established since 1791. You really sense the age and history in these places, which is something that you just don’t get in Western Canada. It’s pretty cool to experience.

Anyway, enjoy your weekend!

Dragonmasterbater

It is a goat and a lot of the people driving them look like they have stood behind a goat many times back on the farm(what kind of truck do you drive?)

NMG, take the drive again in the fall ….

I experienced a similar landscape closeness when driving through the Cascades from central Washington to the coast. Following winding river(s) with people using the river for canoeing/kayaking all along it.

Similar experience for part of the trip from Port Alberni to the east coast of the island. Except in that case, there is virtually no one using the river.

Enjoy ….

“BC received equalization payments for 1999-2000 and 2001-2002, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2005-2006”

Transfer payments are determined at the beginning of the fiscal year, which is april.

The one for 2001-2002 was determined prior to April 2001 when the NDP were in power.

There was also a transfer payment in a previous year prior to 1999. I had posted the source on an other discussion here.

So, please do not call me a liar, otherwise I have to do the same to you.

I will simply excuse you for your ignorance in understanding when the fiscal year is and when the determination is made of how much the provinces and territories will receive.

“The NDP left BC with a balanced budget.”

Good thing it was illegal to fudge budgets. Otherwise somebody might have attempted to do it.

(sarcasm intended).

If a budget is based purely on HOPES of balancing a budget (and the following one too) by including a billion or two not received yet – (instead of realistic past history and fiscal reality) it is not kosher when the revenue is never received.

If politicans do it in spite of repeated warnings from the Ministry of Finance it is…well, no use for more explanations.

To the dude who was asking about Industrial Way as a detour, sorry, that is a private CNR Road and not supposed to be used by private vehicles. The actual detour is through Sintich.

Gus , the year end is March 31, Campbell came to power June 01. But even if you (wrongly) attribute 2001-2002 to the NDP, the Liberal still received over 81.5% of all equalization payments since 1994.

I can find no evidence of other equalization payments since 1991, but if you can provide it I would appreciate it.

Regarding bike lanes, the city is quite happy with the current situation. They keep drivers happy by refusing to force them out of the bike lanes, and they can promote themselves as having x number of kms of bike lanes in the city, to keep the active people happy. Best of both worlds for them.

Regardless, provincial law states that parking in OFFICIAL bike lanes it not permitted, which is why the city plays both sides of this issue. Also, cyclists are permitted to take up an entire lane of traffic IF there is no shoulder or bike lane present. This means that on 10th Ave, for example, when people insist on parking in the bike lane, and I ride around them using the regular lane, I have the right of way as long as I don’t cut in front of oncoming traffic. If I am in the vehicle lane, passing is prohibited unless there is a second lane going the same direction.

A couple more Einstein quotes.

1. The only thing that interferes with
my learning is my education.

2. Imagination is more important than knowledge.

NMG@Mt. Washington there in the White Mountains is said to have the worst weather in the world. The highest wind ever recorded, 231 mph, was at the summit weather station in 1934. I myself have hiked in winds of 100 mph in that area.

“But even if you (wrongly) attribute 2001-2002 to the NDP”

Why do you say wrongly with such certainty?

go to this site
http://www.fin.gc.ca/access/fedprov-eng.asp

Look at the date about half way down the page. It says:

“(Updated December 2011)”

Cna you read that? Hopefully yous can!!

It states, “Federal Transfers to Provinces and Territories – 2005-06 to 2012-13”

See the last date? It reads “2012-13”

So in December 2011, they identified the federal transfers for the next fiscal year. THAT is the way it works.

So the 2001-2003 transfers were made in December 2000