Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 12:00 AM in Views by 250 Views
Comments
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 12:14 AM by P Val with a score of 0
Fantastic budget .. Thanks JT for making Canada something to be proud of instead of the embarrassment the cons turned canada into. Very strange to have a prime minister that doesn’t want to violate our privacy..and respects our elders, veterans, parents etc.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:11 AM by Hart Guy with a score of 0
Oh P Val, you’re such a jokester, haha!
JT and something to be proud of, in the SAME sentence, haha!
You’re too funny P Val, toooo funny! ;-)
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 6:23 AM by Veritas with a score of 0
Not so fast, P Val. Just wait until middle class Canadian families realize they are losing the sport/arts tax credit next year, along with the millions of students and/or parents of college and university students who will no longer be able to claim the education/textbook tax credit in 2017. They don’t call them tax and spend Liberals for nothing, you know!
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:51 PM by Hart Guy with a score of 0
P Val, I posted this for pgboy, but thought that you would appreciate it as well:
A comment for you to digest:
“No fiscal targets. No plan for fiscal consolidation,” Kevin Page, the former parliamentary budget officer, said shaking his head.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 12:40 AM by metalman with a score of 0
I wish everyone a safe and happy long weekend.
metalman.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 12:40 AM by findme with a score of 0
Terrible budget. Thanks Justin for spending tax payer money like it was going out of style. Very strange to have a PM trying to buy votes at the beginning of his time in office instead of before an election.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:14 AM by pgboy with a score of 0
Findme must have voted for Harper that’s the only way it’s a terrible budget. Jt is putting the money where Harper took it from. Previous government cut back so many programs it felt like 3rd world country. You know what they you have to spend money to make money. People will have jobs and that means they will spend there hard earned money on thing that will keep the country moving forward. Canada is the best place to live on earth and Liberals are even going make it better than ever and findme I voted to STOP HARPER JUST LIKE LOT OF THE STOP SIGNS SAY IN TOWN. All my fellow Canadians have a great long weekend be safe and have fun.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 2:22 AM by findme with a score of 0
I see you’ve swallowed the liberal pill. You are basically reading right from their propaganda. I’m glad you’re happy with a 30 billion deficit every year. I hope you’ve prepared yourself for cutbacks and tax increases in a few years. The liberals have out NDP’d the NDP.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 7:32 AM by Stompin Tom with a score of 0
yeah, great budget, those who dont pay tax’s get more freebee’s and those who do pay tax’s get to pay even more tax’s.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:15 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
Hey Stompin, I saw your comments awhile back regarding commercial vehicles and illegal lighting. You claimed they don’t use illegal lighting because they are continually inspected at the scales every time they go through. You were just kidding right? I laughed for some time over it.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:49 PM by Hart Guy with a score of 0
pgboy, here’s a comment for you:
“No fiscal targets. No plan for fiscal consolidation,” Kevin Page, the former parliamentary budget officer, said shaking his head.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:37 AM by Give more with a score of 0
Ha, ha. Try asking THEM for something before they get a chance to ask you! And as for the leaders, well, they have their hand out too!
I guess its part of their culture. Not everyone but some of them.
Don’t know what they did with them in the old days.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:38 AM by Give more with a score of 0
Oh, and have a really good weekend everyone! Looks like the weather is going to be nice too.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:11 AM by Eagleone with a score of 0
I thought the mayors response to the call out from the Prime Minister for shovel ready projects was a weak response on the part of our mayor.
It sounded more like mayor Hall has more of a social arts wish list, but he didn’t come right out with any specifics… costing us another year delay in important infrastructure projects for Prince George. IMO.
The new bus transfer station is small potatoes and I thought was already fully funded?
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:14 AM by Eagleone with a score of 0
Why not a strong call out for a solution to the choke point of Peden Hill at the Cowart road intersection. As the highway to College Heights gets more and more busy this intersection will pose more and more of a problem.
I suggest an overpass at the Cowart road intersection with the purchase of the old MrG lot to facilitate that. The would go a long way to spacing out the traffic and allow for no need for chains in the winter after stopping at the bottom.
We should get it done before the focus turns to a south Fraser crossing and they no longer want to fund the highway in the city limits.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:19 AM by Eagleone with a score of 0
Why not a strong call out for the 40-year project to complete the last half kilometer of Ospika, which is the main cross city boulevard, its much safer than the Walmart over to Tyner traffic cutting across the highway, and if we are going to do it eventually then why not with federal dollars.
Make the city look like its moving rather than stalled for 40-years like we advertise with that space currently.
Put in an overpass for Ospika to Walmart and complete the highway redundancy needed for Peden Hill, and alleviate the congestion at Domano and Tyner.
IMO
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:20 AM by Eagleone with a score of 0
If the city is bending home owners over backwards on the cost of adding to the city sewer grid, then why not make a specific ask for federal 50% sponsorship on that kind of infrastructure shovel ready projects?
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 9:46 AM by seamutt with a score of 0
Sewer or PAC, sewer or PAC, decisions decisions decisions.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:22 AM by Eagleone with a score of 0
If continuous cell coverage is the biggest personal safety issue on our Northern highways, and we spend millions talking about it… then why not a strong call out for completing the cell coverage West to Prince Rupert, and North through the Pine Pass.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:26 AM by Eagleone with a score of 0
PG has its infrastructure priorities totally out of wack. We have about 15km of city traffic lights on the Boundary Road and North Willow Cale… full city services for build it and they will come light industrial… Yet 40+ years after amalgamation we still don’t have proper street lighting to the Hart.
Street lighting is important, because often when the roads have lots of sand on them… the head lights get covered often in minutes and illumination fails. With Street lighting at least one still has reliable lighting for both ones self and the on coming traffic straining to see the missing road lines.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:42 AM by ice with a score of 0
good to see that some of us wake up early wide eyed and bushytailed.Drive safe and have a great long weekend everyone.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:29 AM by P Val with a score of 0
With all the concern about texting and driving it amazes me that Chevy is bragging about thier vehicles are a wifi hotspot.. Kind of like selling your vehicle with a fully stocked bar in it…Also the wifi cost once the “free” runs outs is very expensive.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 7:37 AM by Stompin Tom with a score of 0
no law against passengers using WIFI.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:30 AM by P Val with a score of 0
If city hall really was concerned about our safety then start painting the damn lines on the city streets..
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:46 AM by Saywho with a score of 0
and use the old paint that works .
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:44 AM by ice with a score of 0
Dearth don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccassins
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 7:20 AM by Dearth with a score of 0
If you want we can meet for coffee and as a matter of fact I can tell you exactly how it feels to walk a mile in their so called moccasins
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 7:25 AM by pgboy with a score of 0
I talked with a guy from the city about putting lines on the road and he said it won’t be starting until May. I also asked why the white lines last so much longer on the highway and he said that use rubbery paint so it sticks better. The paint they use on the city streets has no lead so it doesn’t stick very good. We train driving in town and I see drivers all over the road. My students who are just learning to drive have no idea where they need to to be on the road. I email the city about certain intersection or they should put up a school zone sign or there is a wrong sign and usually I get a big email back saying some bull shit answer explaining why it is the way it is. The traffic guy at the city does not want to look stupid. One time I emailed the city about 2 yields signs missing the intersection 5th and Opkila I got an emails they have been missing for a long time. To this day they are still missing or a new lane sign starting which is put on the wrong side of the intersection by 1st Ave and Ospika. That’s my rant of the week. Have a good weekend.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 9:15 AM by Bent with a score of 0
If you are an English teacher it certainly explains our young peoples’ illiteracy when it comes to writing.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:27 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
What lines on our hwy’s?
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:30 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
I reported a missing stop sign a few years back that took the city a week to replace. I also asked them why there was a playground sign on a certain street in College Heights that didn’t have a playground on it. They said it was a mistake and it would be removed. That was ten years ago. They still have the same sign.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 7:36 PM by slinky with a score of 0
Probably the same person in the city who designed the turn lane at Carney where it intersects 15th. Not designed by the same person who put in the turn lane at Carney where it intersects 5th. The city has no clue sometimes.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:00 AM by Brother Gecko with a score of 0
While researching something completely different, I came across this little nugget on how some of our tax money is being spent.
It called the Canadian Periodical Fund through the Department of Canadian Heritage. In a nutshell, it’s described as this:
“The Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) provides financial assistance to Canadian print magazines, non-daily newspapers and digital periodicals to enable them to overcome market disadvantages and continue to provide Canadian readers with the content they choose to read.”
In 2014-2105, $68.8 million tax dollars were doled out to various publications across Canada. I found it astonishing the publications I found that have their nose in the trough. Here’s a just a small sampling of the list of recipients of the fund.
Chatelaine (English) – $2,341,428
Canadian Living – $1,500,000
Canadian House & Home – $1,199,582
TV Week – $1,047,761 (seriously, who reads this?)
Readers Digest – $1,500,000
Sportsnet – $520,882 (because Rogers needs your help)
The Hockey News – $1,278,636
And nothing says Canadian Heritage like:
MoneySense – $423,798
Holstein Journal – $91,845
Plumbing & HVAC – $30,471
Swedish Press – $38,392
Modern Dog – $82,099
Quite frankly, if the periodical isn’t viable without tax dollars, why is it being published?
The full list of 2014-2015 recipients can be found here, if you’re feeling inclined to look it over.
ht tp://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1413377795581#a2
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 10:22 AM by billposer with a score of 0
That is surprising. I knew of such funds but thought they were intended for small, new publications, not well established things like Chatelaine.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:00 AM by socredible with a score of 0
That policy was established by a previous Liberal government decades ago to try to preserve ‘Canadian’ editions of magazines like Reader’s Digest and Time, and no doubt also assist that long un-official organ of Liberal Party propaganda, McLean’s. It also assists many Canadian ‘trade magazines’ which offer free subscriptions to people engaged in various types of enterprises, where the volume of circulation here in Canada is not large enough to offer advertising rates low enough to compete with similar US publications, and there is very limited international circulation. It’s really another selective attempt by government to interfere in the marketplace. While it no doubt does preserve some publications and provide jobs for those involved in publishing them, it’s also creating another ‘hot house industry’, which couldn’t survive if the artificial stimulus were taken away. That’s proven to be unhealthy to do long term in a whole range of situations. A better alternative would be to create the kind of business climate in general where all viable forms of enterprise can flourish on their own.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:26 PM by Eagleone with a score of 0
That’s not all. Closer to home Northern BC Tourism partners on advertising for tourism related organizations in select publications at a rate of 50% of the cost and subsidizes others with generic advertising fully paid by NBCT. The same takes place with every other destination tourism marketing board in the province funded with government tax dollars.
It’s a good way to ensure media loyalty if they want to be eligible for these programs with BC tax dollars distributed by ‘private’ non profit organizations (that is not open to freedom of information act entities) of government friendly appointments.
I think there is a role to play in subsidizing the 5th estate in Canada, but not with public dollars through quasi private institutions. It should be a free enterprise equal opportunity process governed by strict bipartisan oversight.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:03 AM by Brother Gecko with a score of 0
Argh… why is it I find mistakes the second I click post? Chatelaine should read (English & French). And the year is obviously 2014-2015.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:21 AM by Brother Gecko with a score of 0
Sniff sniff… I smell an election in the air. The BC Liberals are going to raise the minimum wage.
BC is about to have the lowest minimum wage in the country when New Brunswick raises theirs April 1. It’s poor political optics for CC to be at the bottom.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 9:30 AM by sparrow with a score of 0
The announcement is not new only an update to revisit the minimum wage on a regular basis. The fact that in may go up more than previously announced again is nothing new as it was said at the time that if economic conditions allow the rate could also change accordingly.
Great article in the G&M how BC is Canada’s new economic powerhouse. So if you want to talk election I think it is the big dipper that should be worried as “It is all about the economy!” is what matters most to British Columbians at the ballot box. What is Horgan going to say, that he longing for a time when BC got equalization payments from Ottawa when the NDP was last in power. He had better stock up on Depends before the election, not for incontenence issues(hopefully) but for the padding properties it offers when Christy kicks his butt.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 10:30 AM by Brother Gecko with a score of 0
Simply stating BC is the economic engine isn’t sufficient enough of a statement. You need to pull back the onion a few layers to see what is what.
Firstly, BC isn’t doing that great. We’ve become the economic engine simply because other Provinces are doing that poorly, and have fallen behind. It’s not like we suddenly strode ahead of them on our own steam.
Job creation in BC has been so-so. Last month 20,000 part-time jobs were created, but 6,000 full-time jobs were lost. So a net gain of 14,000 part-time jobs that pay much less.
Year to year, from Jan 2015 to Jan 2016, 16,800 full-time jobs were created (1% increase), but 32,000 part-time were created (7% increase). Part-time is out pacing full-time by a huge margin.
As baby boomers leave the workforce, a lot of their positions are being divided up into part-time jobs, or are being phased out completely.
The one enviable industry that is making money hand-over-fist is the Tourism Industry. But that’s not because CC and her henchmen did anything correctly. BC is just the lucky recipient of a low dollar value.
Until commodity prices increase, LNG goes forward, and Site C shovels are in the ground, the BC economic engine is nothing more than a “lucky we’re not them” situation.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:05 AM by sparrow with a score of 0
BC economy is no longer a one trick pony depending strictly on the resource sector with all its ups and downs to survive.
BC is a world leader in movie post production work and companies such as google and microsoft are setting up shop beside ones like EA that has been here for quite some time. These high tech jobs now account for more employment than the forestry, mining and oil & gas combined and are not subject to swings in the commodity markets which are currently bouncing along the bottom but a faint heartbeat can now be detected.
While the northern part of the province will continue to be hewers of wood and drawers of water to make ends meet that is not the case in the LML.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:42 PM by Eagleone with a score of 0
The BC economy is fairing better economically for one main reason. It is not necessarily better for everyone though… Just for GDP purposes.
In China the government has been running the printing press for currency. In North America we bailed out the banking sector with quantitative easing where 85% of the capital markets were a result since 2008. In China they floated the markets with over valued real estate financed by the central government.
The Chinese remortgage small 150square meter homes for a million and a half on a flip and the good will profits financed by the central government are reinvested in select foreign markets to buy up real assets with essentially fiat currency manipulation for partisan state economic warfare on trade partners.
Vancouver has been a major beneficiary of this program to wash currency manipulation in the local real estate markets because the BC government looks good turning a blind eye to the selling of the city to the Chinese investor citizens that invest a minimum of $800,000 or employ one Canadian to get dual citizenship. The federal government is complicit as well.
On paper it looks as though we have a booming economy, but in reality we have a flood of fiat currency manipulation being washed in BC that displaces the real long term citizens that go to work everyday to pay the taxes that support this province and hopefully have enough left over at the end of the day to feed their families with the out of reach housing costs and inflation brought about by the Chinese currency/housing manipulation policies.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:41 AM by tliotg with a score of 0
Just as I thought the drunks are out in full force….
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 9:08 AM by sparrow with a score of 0
There was a story on the news the other night that said about 17% of fatal accidents involve drivers being impaired by alcohol but 13% of the drivers involved in fatal accidents are high on marijuana. Being a depressant marijuana slows reaction times and fine motor skills, not a good thing when traveling at highway speed.
Stopping the use of cell phones, alcohol and marijuana and other drugs when behind the wheel will save many lives.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:45 AM by PMack with a score of 0
Just little tid bit, J T will get so much in the next four years, 0 will start to look good!
But did you see this shocking paragraph, tucked away on page 223?
INTRODUCING A BANK RECAPITALIZATION “BAIL-IN” REGIME: To protect Canadian taxpayers in the unlikely event of a large bank failure, the Government is proposing to implement a bail-in regime that would reinforce that bank shareholders and creditors are responsible for the bank’s risks—not taxpayers. This would allow authorities to convert eligible long-term debt of a failing systemically important bank into common shares to recapitalize the bank and allow it to remain open and operating.
Source: Budget 2016, p. 223
That means that if a bank starts to go wobbly in Canada, and you have money in that bank, the bank can take your money to bail itself out.
When you have your life savings, or your kids college fund, or even last week’s paycheque in the bank that you need to pay your rent, you are technically a creditor of the bank. As in, they owe you that money.
But this Liberal proposal says that if the bank has trouble, they can just take your cash, and give you shares in the worthless bank instead.
If you want to know what a bank bail-in looks like, look at Cyprus, about three years ago.
Cypriot banks had made risky loans to Greece, under pressure from the European Union. Those loans were bad, so the banks were in trouble. But the European Central Bank said they’d only help stabilize those Cyprus banks if they seized their own depositors’ assets first.
There was such a panic, such a run on the banks, that bank branches simply closed; ATMs were limited to giving just a few Euros a day to people to buy food. It was a melt-down. And none of it subject to warning or a vote or prior notice. It was massive theft — to bail out the bankers. Or banksters, as they are called in cases like these.
And that is now coming to Canada. Trudeau says he’s going to change the rules. So that if a Canadian bank, perhaps the most regulated industry in Canada, gets in trouble, ordinary Canadians will be forced by the government to bail out the banks. They’ll just take your money.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 9:43 AM by NMG with a score of 0
Considering it was first proposed by the previous government as part of Economic Action Plan 2013, it’s not all that shocking if you were paying attention:
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 10:01 AM by axman with a score of 0
Plus, the chances of one of the big 5 going belly up are pretty darn slim.
Shouldn’t have all your eggs in one nest anyhow.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:12 AM by socredible with a score of 0
It means that the existing shareholders of a bank that got itself into serious trouble to the point of being, (as a business), ‘bankrupt’, would LOSE THEIR equity. The depositors, whose deposits are the bank’s Liabilities, would become owners of that bank. They would get shares in it in exchange for the amount and type of their deposits not covered by deposit insurance. The existing shareholders, like most of those who held stock in General Motors when it went bankrupt, would lose their investment. Presumably, if the bank had that kind of write-off, and management changed, it could be quickly restored to viability, and the market value of your shares would increase. Who knows, they might even be used as a different form of ‘money’?
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:53 PM by Eagleone with a score of 0
CMHC guarantees bank loses in the housing market, so that to is a problem in a housing bubble with over a billion in highly leveraged real estate guaranteed by the Canadian tax payer. It will bankrupt the country if tax payers have to bail out CMHC.
All that has to happen is for the Chinese to tighten up on their own real estate markets and once they dry up investments in the Vancouver market it will trigger a massive free fall in real estate like we have never seen before….
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 9:04 AM by Palopu with a score of 0
I doubt if it is Trudeau changing the bank rules, as I doubt he understand anything about most of whats happening with this Liberal Government.
Trudeau and a lot of his MP’s are pretty short in the knowledge of how things work. Its the boys working in the back rooms that are making these decisions. These are the same guys who got Trudeau to run for the leadership in the first place.
This whole Liberal strategy has been in the planning for a number of years, and Trudeau would have played a very small part in it. This is pretty obvious when he tries to explain how something works, he is long on rhetoric and short on facts. He gets very little help from his finance minister who knows even less than Trudeau if that’s possible.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 9:17 AM by PMack with a score of 0
True, very true, but it these goof balls that are passing the legislation.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 10:03 AM by gopg2015 with a score of 0
“This is pretty obvious when he tries to explain how something works, he is long on rhetoric and short on facts”
And to think that those comments come from an expert who can make that determination as to what is fact and what is wishful thinking.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 10:45 AM by happy13 with a score of 0
Frankly, I have a nervous twitch knowing that we’re going further in debt. Someday interest rates will rise again. The $30B we’re spending today to service the debt will rise with rates and we’ll be back in the soup just like 1991.
If the Liberals announced that they were going to overspend what they promised on social programs but at the same time they had a plan for economic growth and they were sharing the plan with us then I think most Canadians would be fine with what they are spending.
BUT they have no plan and that is painfully obvious. What is obvious is that they think if they keep throwing money at social issues like clowns throwing candy into parade spectators we will be so happy we won’t notice there is no economic plan. Thank God that there are reporters who are seeing it because the CBC is bought and paid for by the Liberals ($675 million on this budget compared to $8 million to protect us from terrorism).
The bottom line is that it is only through economic growth and strength that we will be able to sustain social programs (that are very needed) but until the Liberals actually lay out that plan we should all be very concerned and keep demanding that they present one to us. And it shouldn’t matter what political party you voted for.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:15 AM by socredible with a score of 0
Bang on, Palopu. Pretty boy is just a front for the real power behind the throne. He’s there to make the deluded fools that elected him feel good that they’ve got ‘their’ Canada back again. The one that’s really being pilfered financially while they’re huffing and puffing about how everyone in the world loves us.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:04 PM by Dirtman with a score of 0
If I recall correctly, the Bank Act needs to be renewed every so often (I think it’s 5 years) and changes are frequent. I recall how a previous Liberal government included the provision that in the event of a currency crisis, the Canadian government was authorized to seize the bank accounts of citizens.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:44 PM by socredible with a score of 0
It’s every ten years, Dirtman. All you need do is look at whose name is on the currency. Those paper notes are the ‘liabilities’ of the Bank of Canada. Which is owned by ‘your’ government. The crisis, WHEN it comes, will be because the current financial system has a correctable flaw in it that prevents it, and increasingly so, from being fully ‘self-liquidating’ as all the ‘Production’ it facilitated becomes the ‘Consumption’ we need or desire.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 9:58 AM by seamutt with a score of 0
With this new budget those on low income will start banging out the kids as now there is serious money to be made with more kids. The bars and casinos must be wringing their hands in collective glee.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 10:08 AM by gopg2015 with a score of 0
I would have thought that you would promote larger families from current citizens of Canada rather than having a negative population growth as many western countries now have and having to rely on foreigners to emigrate to Canada.
I think you are speaking out of both sides of your mouth. Whatever it takes, right seamutt?
Just another ad hominem attack on people who have children, as if that pays no matter what kind of tax benefit may come from it.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:09 PM by Dirtman with a score of 0
A relative of mine was a bingo addict. She overheard a conversation in the Bingo Hall one day between a couple women. One was saying she would like to play more but she just couldn’t afford it. The other said, “Have another kid, you’ll get more money”. There’s some truth in what Seamutt said.
Indeed, a higher birthrate is very desirable, but even moreso is responsible parenting.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 10:22 AM by seamutt with a score of 0
Oh my gopg2015 thought you where still sleeping. Have you ever been out to the bars, casino when the checks come out? I have been in the post office and witnessed a fine upstanding member of society yelling their check was not in the mail.
Trudeau’s handlers know where the votes are and who has the most kids.
Whats your issue anyway with the ad hominem attack on me? Oh right you are always correct, must be lonely in your lofty world.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:25 PM by Ataloss with a score of 0
Who has the most kids ? The middle class . That’s the trudeau base . Only in PG are there people that don’t like people having children . I’m amazed once again . Child haters , really ? And most of us Do Not frequent bars and or casinos . You are really starting to give me the creeps . Ewwww.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:11 PM by Dirtman with a score of 0
Complete misrepresentation of what he said. But then I’d expect as much from you.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 3:47 PM by gopg2015 with a score of 0
“Have you ever been out to the bars, casino when the checks come out.”
Nope. I do not even know when the checks come out, but I do not go to bars or casino, so it really does not matter when the checks come out.
How about those who get a paycheck mid and end of month? Or every second Friday. Or old age security and PPP?
I am not sure what that has to do with children. You are suggesting a stereotype that may no longer exist. It is that stereotype that becomes a Trump-like ad hominem attack in my eyes.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:20 AM by Ataloss with a score of 0
James Dyson resently announced that he has just bought a battery company that claims ( he says its for real ) it has doubled the energy density and lowered the cost by half to a third . His plans are to put in 1.44 billion U.S. there by going head to head with Musks gigafactory nearing completion . We love his products already . soon they are going to be twice or thrice as good and less expensive . We’d buy them anyway because they last three or four times longer than the rest on the market .
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:44 AM by Ataloss with a score of 0
What are the chances of a break through technology doubling a gas cars mileage ? Zero ! They’ve reached the technological wall . The VW cheat was very telling .
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:53 AM by socredible with a score of 0
The chances are pretty good. If that’s what ‘THEY’ wanted to do. The technology existed back decades ago, long before cars were electronically fuel injected. But the patents to it were acquired, and never implemented, because that didn’t suit the agenda ‘THEY’ wanted to follow. And now it’s said that the Rockefeller’s, whose fortune was built on the Standard Oil Trust established by old John D. way back when, are divesting themselves of their ‘fossil fuel’ enterprises. They may be selling, but to whom? And where does ‘whom’ get the money from to buy? And what does ‘whom’ have to do to repay it? With interest, of course, and not the kind your bank is paying you on the pittance you have on deposit with them.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 12:04 PM by Ataloss with a score of 0
I call bs on that cred . If they had the technology to double mileage they would have done it as soon as they could have . The fossils are in a world of risk of being disrupted .the smart money is running like hell in the other direction . They are slowly headed for the courts ala big tobacco . we know how that worked out for them . Eventually they will find themselves in the world court of justice . Polluters will pay .
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:21 PM by Dirtman with a score of 0
I recall hearing about carb technology back in the ’50’s that would get 100 MPG from a V8. A relative of mine read a write-up about it in a reputable magazine back then. Had something to do with extremely fine vaporization of the fuel. Of course, there were denials of the veracity and claims that it was an urban myth. I don’t say it’s true, but having heard it from someone who actually read the article, I don’t dismiss it either.
Current technology may well have hit the wall, none of the cars on the market at this time actually get the advertised mileage because the tests are conducted under ideal conditions designed to give the best results.
I makes no difference anyway, the world is awash in oil.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:22 PM by Give more with a score of 0
Ataloss: It is not true about gas mileage. Neil Young has an old ’59 Lincoln that he (and his crew) have modified to get 88MpG. He’s aiming for 100.
In about 1958 there was a fellow in South Fort George who designed a system where he got 100 MpG on water. An oil company bought him out and it was never heard of again.
There have been many people who have converted engines to run on water and also greatly improved gas mileage but they mostly got bought out by oil companies and the patents have never been used.
I have a ’79 Chev half ton with a 350 Olds in it that got me 23 Mpg.
Just one simple thing the engine manufacturers could do to improve gas mileage is run a dual ignition system but they won’t. It would greatly improve emissions as well.
So try not to tell us that we’ve hit a wall with fuel mileage. We haven’t but the powers that be won’t let it go any farther.
Back in ’79 my 350 GM diesel got 36 MpG. The 2014 Dodge 5500 gets about 9, at best, 12.
The simple fact is, they want to sell more fuel.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:46 AM by socredible with a score of 0
And that’s still not very long compared to the length of time some of the old vacuums used to go.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:48 AM by Ataloss with a score of 0
Vacuums ? You should read his plans .
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 12:10 PM by Brother Gecko with a score of 0
Interesting battery tech. This could be a game changer for cordless power tools that are currently using 3Ah – 9Ah Li-Ion batteries.
The Li-Ion battery has greatly improved over the years, and has slowly picked away at corded tools, and more recently at air tools.
Having a battery that packs even longer power while on the job site would be excellent.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:23 PM by Dirtman with a score of 0
I still don’t like them, always use corded tools, although they’re getting hard to find.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:16 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
Open your eyes and look for motorcycles……………..
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 3:13 PM by Stompin Tom with a score of 0
Do some homework for youself,
Fort George
360 – 1011 4th Avenue
Prince George, BC V2L 3H9
Phone: 250-565-7281
Fax: 250-565-7280
That is the contact information for the local CVSE. Maybe they can explain to you their policy and inspection procedures for lighting for commercial vehicles. I challenge you to find one commercial vehicle on the roads today that does not meet all DOT requirements. They are very proactive making sure all commercial vehicles are compliant with proper lighting.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 3:48 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
Man you are so, so misinformed on this it’s ridiculous. I’m out there all night long being blinded by the illegally installed HID and LED after market headlights and add on after market eye burners. Loggers are the worst offenders. There are just as many 4 wheelers with the same illegal lights. You must be in the lighting sales business?
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:28 PM by Dirtman with a score of 0
They don’t get inspected every time the cross the scales, but if the weighmaster notices something illegal he/she will pull them in for inspection and order repairs. In some cases they order them parked until the issue is resolved. Also, commercial vehicles require complete semi-annual inspections to be allowed to operate.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:21 PM by Palopu with a score of 0
Births and deaths between 2001 and 2012. 4,262,454 births 2,795,940 deaths. Natural increase 1,466,514. Roughly 133,320 per year.
Canada’s fertility rate over the past 50 years had a high of 3.93 per women in 1959, and a low of 1.49 in 2000, with the present being 1.6.
In order to maintain your population you need a fertility rate of 2.1, so obviously we are losing ground.
Immigration over the same period (2001-2012) was 2,408,175, or roughly 220,000 per year.
Sooooo. Without immigration our population would start decreasing very soon.
Not likely the fertility rate will change enough to make a difference so its up to immigration.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:21 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
Why is it when YRB tries patching bad spots on our hwy’s, their results are worse than the original problem? Take the intersection of hwy 16 and the Blackwater for instance. The patch job beside the left turn lane heading east is atrocious. They should have just left it alone. Drivers are crossing the center line into the left turn lanes to avoid the jolt.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:23 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
Heading “west”
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 1:25 PM by bitter with a score of 0
If you driving on 15th along Connaugh Hill look up it is a mess with dead trees and garbage all along 15th , the question is who’s job is it clean up the mess its City property ? The yellow stairs, they wasted money painting them blue , the paint is all pealing.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 2:19 PM by Outwest with a score of 0
Battery powered Tools ? to lazy to run a Cord, never needed them in all my Years doing IR, tell you what that old Drill will still work after you try to buy a new Battery for the new one. Go on and buy all the new Crap and away in the Dump it goes! All the New Tech in Car Battery will not last , we done the same before ,about 100 Years ago! My Drill and Skill Saw are over 30 Years old and build my House, I like to see this with all the New Stuff, I don’t think so!
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 3:17 PM by Stompin Tom with a score of 0
you will be surprised, you buy quality cordless tools, the results are impressive. I buy and use only Milwaukee, they only coded tool I use now is a chopsaw and table saw. As for impacts, only use air for 1 inch, anything small I use a cordless 1/2 Milwaukee and dont even know where my 1/2 air impact is anymore its been so long since I used it.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:23 PM by seamutt with a score of 0
I found this article and it is interesting in relation to how bigoted universities have become towards conservatives using UNBC as a prime example in the selection of a Chancellor.
“It is pretty simple. About 35% of liberals are intolerant close-minded bigots. That is about 10% of the population. The general population is 40% conservative, 30% liberal, and 30% confused/haven’t-made-their-mind-up-yet.
Conservatives have been driven from academia by this group of small-minded bigots. Except in engineering. Liberals shy away from any field where there is real world pass/fail feedback to invalidate their wishful thinking.”
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:26 PM by seamutt with a score of 0
All bigoted towards free speech in general, for example, as in the climate change religion.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 5:38 PM by Stompin Tom with a score of 0
Dumbfounded
you might be having a hard time coping with LED headlights, but they are not Illegal. Every commercial vehicle you meet is running DOT and CVSE compliant headlights. Its a fact, live with it. Call the number I supplied you with, they will go over with you. Because you may find them bright does not make them nor their installation illegal. FACT.
And yes, every commercial vehicle that passes through an open CVSE site is given a visual inspection as they come up the ramp, and if they see something of concern they are called in for a physical inspection. Take some time some day and go to Red Rock, go insde the building, ask for a tour, you will be amazed at the cameras, sensors and inroad scales they have. They already know every thing about the truck before it hits the onramp up to the scales. The recognition software they use is really something.
The simple fact is civilian vehicles are rampant with illegal HID headlights and CVSE has tried to make it an issue with the RCMP, that is one of the reason we are getting more and more roadside checks with RCMP and CVSE aimed at light traffic.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 7:15 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
“Every commercial vehicle you meet is running DOT and CVSE compliant headlights.” Not true that’s a fact. Most trucks have replaceable bulbs that do not require replacing the glass housing. Installing illegal bulbs is very simple to do and it is getting done every chance they get. I’m out there driving among them every day. You have no clue what goes on out there. Just keep living in your dreamworld of regulations that you think are being followed and you’ll be fine. In the mean time, stop trying to BS everyone.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:44 PM by Stompin Tom with a score of 0
It is very clear that you have not idea what your talking about. Most trucks, especially logging trucks, Kenworth and Peterbilt to be more specific use old style 4×6 two headlight systems. You specifically called them out and you are simply WRONG. Every commercial truck on the highway is subject to inspection and it is now virtually impossible to run non approved lights. THAT IS A FACT. Besides the weight scales we have CVSE officers constantly on the highways day and night and they are very good at spotting non compliant lighting. There are a couple of them who are know as the light cops because it seems to be the only thing they care about.
Your whinning about the 4×6 JW Speaker built LED headlights which the vast majority of loggers use which are DOT and CVSE compliant.
As for my level of expertise in this situation I am a business owner in the industry and deal with such matters day in and day out. I, unlike you, am very aware of what the laws are in the commercial truck industry and have to abide by them.
Face the facts, you have a very singular mind and can not accept the fact that you are wrong.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 7:17 PM by Dumbfounded with a score of 0
“The simple fact is civilian vehicles are rampant with illegal HID headlights and CVSE has tried to make it an issue with the RCMP, that is one of the reason we are getting more and more roadside checks with RCMP and CVSE aimed at light traffic.”
Yup, they are. They are during the daytime in town. Not out on the hwy at night when and where they need to be.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:46 PM by Stompin Tom with a score of 0
you are aware are you not that in order for a light to be compliant the proper ratings codes must be stamped on the bottom edge of the light and is much easier to view in the daylight than at night by the inspecting officer?
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 8:39 PM by seamutt with a score of 0
The issue is the bright blue white lights used in headlights not the add on auxiliary lights that the cops go after. The other issue is the bright auxiliary lights that come with the vehicle. What is it with the people when visibility is good have these OEM lights are on also. I am thinking these people are stoned and need the extra brightness to see. The bright headlights also make it an issue to see the turn signals.
I have never had an issue with the add on auxiliary lights used on the highway which is an asset considering the wildlife. Whenever I have experienced someone leaving them on when I flash my brights they have always immediately turned their brights down and auxiliary off.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 10:26 PM by Dirtman with a score of 0
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:22 PM by Give more
Ataloss: It is not true about gas mileage. Neil Young has an old ’59 Lincoln that he (and his crew) have modified to get 88MpG. He’s aiming for 100.
============
Actually that isn’t even a gas engine, it’s electric hybrid. He had it in Canada a few years ago as part of his participation in Suzuki’s anti-oil sands crusade. How did he get it to Canada? Did he drive it all the way? Nope. He had it hauled by a diesel burning vehicle to the place where he wanted to demo it. Apparently it isn’t very reliable.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:06 PM by mactac with a score of 0
Bombardier has asked for a very large government hand out and in the same breath they are going to outsource jobs to Mexico and Asia. I say eff em if they can’t keep the jobs in Canada
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 11:46 PM by seamutt with a score of 0
In the last month I have made numerous trips from Salman Valley into town at 8pm and there is a fleet of logging trucks heading north at that time all with the very bright blue white lights. These lights being at eye level are very blinding and dangerous and makes it almost impossible to see the road. These lights are also on numerous highway trucks. They may be legal but that does not make them any less dangerous. Authorities should ban them altogether.
Would be interesting to know what outfit these logging trucks are with.
Comments
Fantastic budget .. Thanks JT for making Canada something to be proud of instead of the embarrassment the cons turned canada into. Very strange to have a prime minister that doesn’t want to violate our privacy..and respects our elders, veterans, parents etc.
Oh P Val, you’re such a jokester, haha!
JT and something to be proud of, in the SAME sentence, haha!
You’re too funny P Val, toooo funny! ;-)
Not so fast, P Val. Just wait until middle class Canadian families realize they are losing the sport/arts tax credit next year, along with the millions of students and/or parents of college and university students who will no longer be able to claim the education/textbook tax credit in 2017. They don’t call them tax and spend Liberals for nothing, you know!
P Val, I posted this for pgboy, but thought that you would appreciate it as well:
A comment for you to digest:
“No fiscal targets. No plan for fiscal consolidation,” Kevin Page, the former parliamentary budget officer, said shaking his head.
I wish everyone a safe and happy long weekend.
metalman.
Terrible budget. Thanks Justin for spending tax payer money like it was going out of style. Very strange to have a PM trying to buy votes at the beginning of his time in office instead of before an election.
Findme must have voted for Harper that’s the only way it’s a terrible budget. Jt is putting the money where Harper took it from. Previous government cut back so many programs it felt like 3rd world country. You know what they you have to spend money to make money. People will have jobs and that means they will spend there hard earned money on thing that will keep the country moving forward. Canada is the best place to live on earth and Liberals are even going make it better than ever and findme I voted to STOP HARPER JUST LIKE LOT OF THE STOP SIGNS SAY IN TOWN. All my fellow Canadians have a great long weekend be safe and have fun.
I see you’ve swallowed the liberal pill. You are basically reading right from their propaganda. I’m glad you’re happy with a 30 billion deficit every year. I hope you’ve prepared yourself for cutbacks and tax increases in a few years. The liberals have out NDP’d the NDP.
yeah, great budget, those who dont pay tax’s get more freebee’s and those who do pay tax’s get to pay even more tax’s.
Hey Stompin, I saw your comments awhile back regarding commercial vehicles and illegal lighting. You claimed they don’t use illegal lighting because they are continually inspected at the scales every time they go through. You were just kidding right? I laughed for some time over it.
pgboy, here’s a comment for you:
“No fiscal targets. No plan for fiscal consolidation,” Kevin Page, the former parliamentary budget officer, said shaking his head.
Ha, ha. Try asking THEM for something before they get a chance to ask you! And as for the leaders, well, they have their hand out too!
I guess its part of their culture. Not everyone but some of them.
Don’t know what they did with them in the old days.
Oh, and have a really good weekend everyone! Looks like the weather is going to be nice too.
I thought the mayors response to the call out from the Prime Minister for shovel ready projects was a weak response on the part of our mayor.
It sounded more like mayor Hall has more of a social arts wish list, but he didn’t come right out with any specifics… costing us another year delay in important infrastructure projects for Prince George. IMO.
The new bus transfer station is small potatoes and I thought was already fully funded?
Why not a strong call out for a solution to the choke point of Peden Hill at the Cowart road intersection. As the highway to College Heights gets more and more busy this intersection will pose more and more of a problem.
I suggest an overpass at the Cowart road intersection with the purchase of the old MrG lot to facilitate that. The would go a long way to spacing out the traffic and allow for no need for chains in the winter after stopping at the bottom.
We should get it done before the focus turns to a south Fraser crossing and they no longer want to fund the highway in the city limits.
Why not a strong call out for the 40-year project to complete the last half kilometer of Ospika, which is the main cross city boulevard, its much safer than the Walmart over to Tyner traffic cutting across the highway, and if we are going to do it eventually then why not with federal dollars.
Make the city look like its moving rather than stalled for 40-years like we advertise with that space currently.
Put in an overpass for Ospika to Walmart and complete the highway redundancy needed for Peden Hill, and alleviate the congestion at Domano and Tyner.
IMO
If the city is bending home owners over backwards on the cost of adding to the city sewer grid, then why not make a specific ask for federal 50% sponsorship on that kind of infrastructure shovel ready projects?
Sewer or PAC, sewer or PAC, decisions decisions decisions.
If continuous cell coverage is the biggest personal safety issue on our Northern highways, and we spend millions talking about it… then why not a strong call out for completing the cell coverage West to Prince Rupert, and North through the Pine Pass.
PG has its infrastructure priorities totally out of wack. We have about 15km of city traffic lights on the Boundary Road and North Willow Cale… full city services for build it and they will come light industrial… Yet 40+ years after amalgamation we still don’t have proper street lighting to the Hart.
Street lighting is important, because often when the roads have lots of sand on them… the head lights get covered often in minutes and illumination fails. With Street lighting at least one still has reliable lighting for both ones self and the on coming traffic straining to see the missing road lines.
good to see that some of us wake up early wide eyed and bushytailed.Drive safe and have a great long weekend everyone.
With all the concern about texting and driving it amazes me that Chevy is bragging about thier vehicles are a wifi hotspot.. Kind of like selling your vehicle with a fully stocked bar in it…Also the wifi cost once the “free” runs outs is very expensive.
no law against passengers using WIFI.
If city hall really was concerned about our safety then start painting the damn lines on the city streets..
and use the old paint that works .
Dearth don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his moccassins
If you want we can meet for coffee and as a matter of fact I can tell you exactly how it feels to walk a mile in their so called moccasins
I talked with a guy from the city about putting lines on the road and he said it won’t be starting until May. I also asked why the white lines last so much longer on the highway and he said that use rubbery paint so it sticks better. The paint they use on the city streets has no lead so it doesn’t stick very good. We train driving in town and I see drivers all over the road. My students who are just learning to drive have no idea where they need to to be on the road. I email the city about certain intersection or they should put up a school zone sign or there is a wrong sign and usually I get a big email back saying some bull shit answer explaining why it is the way it is. The traffic guy at the city does not want to look stupid. One time I emailed the city about 2 yields signs missing the intersection 5th and Opkila I got an emails they have been missing for a long time. To this day they are still missing or a new lane sign starting which is put on the wrong side of the intersection by 1st Ave and Ospika. That’s my rant of the week. Have a good weekend.
If you are an English teacher it certainly explains our young peoples’ illiteracy when it comes to writing.
What lines on our hwy’s?
I reported a missing stop sign a few years back that took the city a week to replace. I also asked them why there was a playground sign on a certain street in College Heights that didn’t have a playground on it. They said it was a mistake and it would be removed. That was ten years ago. They still have the same sign.
Probably the same person in the city who designed the turn lane at Carney where it intersects 15th. Not designed by the same person who put in the turn lane at Carney where it intersects 5th. The city has no clue sometimes.
While researching something completely different, I came across this little nugget on how some of our tax money is being spent.
It called the Canadian Periodical Fund through the Department of Canadian Heritage. In a nutshell, it’s described as this:
“The Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) provides financial assistance to Canadian print magazines, non-daily newspapers and digital periodicals to enable them to overcome market disadvantages and continue to provide Canadian readers with the content they choose to read.”
In 2014-2105, $68.8 million tax dollars were doled out to various publications across Canada. I found it astonishing the publications I found that have their nose in the trough. Here’s a just a small sampling of the list of recipients of the fund.
Chatelaine (English) – $2,341,428
Canadian Living – $1,500,000
Canadian House & Home – $1,199,582
TV Week – $1,047,761 (seriously, who reads this?)
Readers Digest – $1,500,000
Sportsnet – $520,882 (because Rogers needs your help)
The Hockey News – $1,278,636
And nothing says Canadian Heritage like:
MoneySense – $423,798
Holstein Journal – $91,845
Plumbing & HVAC – $30,471
Swedish Press – $38,392
Modern Dog – $82,099
Quite frankly, if the periodical isn’t viable without tax dollars, why is it being published?
The full list of 2014-2015 recipients can be found here, if you’re feeling inclined to look it over.
ht tp://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1413377795581#a2
That is surprising. I knew of such funds but thought they were intended for small, new publications, not well established things like Chatelaine.
That policy was established by a previous Liberal government decades ago to try to preserve ‘Canadian’ editions of magazines like Reader’s Digest and Time, and no doubt also assist that long un-official organ of Liberal Party propaganda, McLean’s. It also assists many Canadian ‘trade magazines’ which offer free subscriptions to people engaged in various types of enterprises, where the volume of circulation here in Canada is not large enough to offer advertising rates low enough to compete with similar US publications, and there is very limited international circulation. It’s really another selective attempt by government to interfere in the marketplace. While it no doubt does preserve some publications and provide jobs for those involved in publishing them, it’s also creating another ‘hot house industry’, which couldn’t survive if the artificial stimulus were taken away. That’s proven to be unhealthy to do long term in a whole range of situations. A better alternative would be to create the kind of business climate in general where all viable forms of enterprise can flourish on their own.
That’s not all. Closer to home Northern BC Tourism partners on advertising for tourism related organizations in select publications at a rate of 50% of the cost and subsidizes others with generic advertising fully paid by NBCT. The same takes place with every other destination tourism marketing board in the province funded with government tax dollars.
It’s a good way to ensure media loyalty if they want to be eligible for these programs with BC tax dollars distributed by ‘private’ non profit organizations (that is not open to freedom of information act entities) of government friendly appointments.
I think there is a role to play in subsidizing the 5th estate in Canada, but not with public dollars through quasi private institutions. It should be a free enterprise equal opportunity process governed by strict bipartisan oversight.
Argh… why is it I find mistakes the second I click post? Chatelaine should read (English & French). And the year is obviously 2014-2015.
Sniff sniff… I smell an election in the air. The BC Liberals are going to raise the minimum wage.
BC is about to have the lowest minimum wage in the country when New Brunswick raises theirs April 1. It’s poor political optics for CC to be at the bottom.
The announcement is not new only an update to revisit the minimum wage on a regular basis. The fact that in may go up more than previously announced again is nothing new as it was said at the time that if economic conditions allow the rate could also change accordingly.
Great article in the G&M how BC is Canada’s new economic powerhouse. So if you want to talk election I think it is the big dipper that should be worried as “It is all about the economy!” is what matters most to British Columbians at the ballot box. What is Horgan going to say, that he longing for a time when BC got equalization payments from Ottawa when the NDP was last in power. He had better stock up on Depends before the election, not for incontenence issues(hopefully) but for the padding properties it offers when Christy kicks his butt.
Simply stating BC is the economic engine isn’t sufficient enough of a statement. You need to pull back the onion a few layers to see what is what.
Firstly, BC isn’t doing that great. We’ve become the economic engine simply because other Provinces are doing that poorly, and have fallen behind. It’s not like we suddenly strode ahead of them on our own steam.
Job creation in BC has been so-so. Last month 20,000 part-time jobs were created, but 6,000 full-time jobs were lost. So a net gain of 14,000 part-time jobs that pay much less.
Year to year, from Jan 2015 to Jan 2016, 16,800 full-time jobs were created (1% increase), but 32,000 part-time were created (7% increase). Part-time is out pacing full-time by a huge margin.
As baby boomers leave the workforce, a lot of their positions are being divided up into part-time jobs, or are being phased out completely.
The one enviable industry that is making money hand-over-fist is the Tourism Industry. But that’s not because CC and her henchmen did anything correctly. BC is just the lucky recipient of a low dollar value.
Until commodity prices increase, LNG goes forward, and Site C shovels are in the ground, the BC economic engine is nothing more than a “lucky we’re not them” situation.
BC economy is no longer a one trick pony depending strictly on the resource sector with all its ups and downs to survive.
BC is a world leader in movie post production work and companies such as google and microsoft are setting up shop beside ones like EA that has been here for quite some time. These high tech jobs now account for more employment than the forestry, mining and oil & gas combined and are not subject to swings in the commodity markets which are currently bouncing along the bottom but a faint heartbeat can now be detected.
While the northern part of the province will continue to be hewers of wood and drawers of water to make ends meet that is not the case in the LML.
The BC economy is fairing better economically for one main reason. It is not necessarily better for everyone though… Just for GDP purposes.
In China the government has been running the printing press for currency. In North America we bailed out the banking sector with quantitative easing where 85% of the capital markets were a result since 2008. In China they floated the markets with over valued real estate financed by the central government.
The Chinese remortgage small 150square meter homes for a million and a half on a flip and the good will profits financed by the central government are reinvested in select foreign markets to buy up real assets with essentially fiat currency manipulation for partisan state economic warfare on trade partners.
Vancouver has been a major beneficiary of this program to wash currency manipulation in the local real estate markets because the BC government looks good turning a blind eye to the selling of the city to the Chinese investor citizens that invest a minimum of $800,000 or employ one Canadian to get dual citizenship. The federal government is complicit as well.
On paper it looks as though we have a booming economy, but in reality we have a flood of fiat currency manipulation being washed in BC that displaces the real long term citizens that go to work everyday to pay the taxes that support this province and hopefully have enough left over at the end of the day to feed their families with the out of reach housing costs and inflation brought about by the Chinese currency/housing manipulation policies.
Just as I thought the drunks are out in full force….
There was a story on the news the other night that said about 17% of fatal accidents involve drivers being impaired by alcohol but 13% of the drivers involved in fatal accidents are high on marijuana. Being a depressant marijuana slows reaction times and fine motor skills, not a good thing when traveling at highway speed.
Stopping the use of cell phones, alcohol and marijuana and other drugs when behind the wheel will save many lives.
Just little tid bit, J T will get so much in the next four years, 0 will start to look good!
But did you see this shocking paragraph, tucked away on page 223?
INTRODUCING A BANK RECAPITALIZATION “BAIL-IN” REGIME: To protect Canadian taxpayers in the unlikely event of a large bank failure, the Government is proposing to implement a bail-in regime that would reinforce that bank shareholders and creditors are responsible for the bank’s risks—not taxpayers. This would allow authorities to convert eligible long-term debt of a failing systemically important bank into common shares to recapitalize the bank and allow it to remain open and operating.
Source: Budget 2016, p. 223
That means that if a bank starts to go wobbly in Canada, and you have money in that bank, the bank can take your money to bail itself out.
When you have your life savings, or your kids college fund, or even last week’s paycheque in the bank that you need to pay your rent, you are technically a creditor of the bank. As in, they owe you that money.
But this Liberal proposal says that if the bank has trouble, they can just take your cash, and give you shares in the worthless bank instead.
If you want to know what a bank bail-in looks like, look at Cyprus, about three years ago.
Cypriot banks had made risky loans to Greece, under pressure from the European Union. Those loans were bad, so the banks were in trouble. But the European Central Bank said they’d only help stabilize those Cyprus banks if they seized their own depositors’ assets first.
There was such a panic, such a run on the banks, that bank branches simply closed; ATMs were limited to giving just a few Euros a day to people to buy food. It was a melt-down. And none of it subject to warning or a vote or prior notice. It was massive theft — to bail out the bankers. Or banksters, as they are called in cases like these.
And that is now coming to Canada. Trudeau says he’s going to change the rules. So that if a Canadian bank, perhaps the most regulated industry in Canada, gets in trouble, ordinary Canadians will be forced by the government to bail out the banks. They’ll just take your money.
Considering it was first proposed by the previous government as part of Economic Action Plan 2013, it’s not all that shocking if you were paying attention:
https ://www.fin.gc.ca/activty/consult/tpbrr-rpcrb-eng.pdf
Plus, the chances of one of the big 5 going belly up are pretty darn slim.
Shouldn’t have all your eggs in one nest anyhow.
It means that the existing shareholders of a bank that got itself into serious trouble to the point of being, (as a business), ‘bankrupt’, would LOSE THEIR equity. The depositors, whose deposits are the bank’s Liabilities, would become owners of that bank. They would get shares in it in exchange for the amount and type of their deposits not covered by deposit insurance. The existing shareholders, like most of those who held stock in General Motors when it went bankrupt, would lose their investment. Presumably, if the bank had that kind of write-off, and management changed, it could be quickly restored to viability, and the market value of your shares would increase. Who knows, they might even be used as a different form of ‘money’?
CMHC guarantees bank loses in the housing market, so that to is a problem in a housing bubble with over a billion in highly leveraged real estate guaranteed by the Canadian tax payer. It will bankrupt the country if tax payers have to bail out CMHC.
All that has to happen is for the Chinese to tighten up on their own real estate markets and once they dry up investments in the Vancouver market it will trigger a massive free fall in real estate like we have never seen before….
I doubt if it is Trudeau changing the bank rules, as I doubt he understand anything about most of whats happening with this Liberal Government.
Trudeau and a lot of his MP’s are pretty short in the knowledge of how things work. Its the boys working in the back rooms that are making these decisions. These are the same guys who got Trudeau to run for the leadership in the first place.
This whole Liberal strategy has been in the planning for a number of years, and Trudeau would have played a very small part in it. This is pretty obvious when he tries to explain how something works, he is long on rhetoric and short on facts. He gets very little help from his finance minister who knows even less than Trudeau if that’s possible.
True, very true, but it these goof balls that are passing the legislation.
“This is pretty obvious when he tries to explain how something works, he is long on rhetoric and short on facts”
And to think that those comments come from an expert who can make that determination as to what is fact and what is wishful thinking.
Frankly, I have a nervous twitch knowing that we’re going further in debt. Someday interest rates will rise again. The $30B we’re spending today to service the debt will rise with rates and we’ll be back in the soup just like 1991.
If the Liberals announced that they were going to overspend what they promised on social programs but at the same time they had a plan for economic growth and they were sharing the plan with us then I think most Canadians would be fine with what they are spending.
BUT they have no plan and that is painfully obvious. What is obvious is that they think if they keep throwing money at social issues like clowns throwing candy into parade spectators we will be so happy we won’t notice there is no economic plan. Thank God that there are reporters who are seeing it because the CBC is bought and paid for by the Liberals ($675 million on this budget compared to $8 million to protect us from terrorism).
The bottom line is that it is only through economic growth and strength that we will be able to sustain social programs (that are very needed) but until the Liberals actually lay out that plan we should all be very concerned and keep demanding that they present one to us. And it shouldn’t matter what political party you voted for.
Bang on, Palopu. Pretty boy is just a front for the real power behind the throne. He’s there to make the deluded fools that elected him feel good that they’ve got ‘their’ Canada back again. The one that’s really being pilfered financially while they’re huffing and puffing about how everyone in the world loves us.
If I recall correctly, the Bank Act needs to be renewed every so often (I think it’s 5 years) and changes are frequent. I recall how a previous Liberal government included the provision that in the event of a currency crisis, the Canadian government was authorized to seize the bank accounts of citizens.
It’s every ten years, Dirtman. All you need do is look at whose name is on the currency. Those paper notes are the ‘liabilities’ of the Bank of Canada. Which is owned by ‘your’ government. The crisis, WHEN it comes, will be because the current financial system has a correctable flaw in it that prevents it, and increasingly so, from being fully ‘self-liquidating’ as all the ‘Production’ it facilitated becomes the ‘Consumption’ we need or desire.
With this new budget those on low income will start banging out the kids as now there is serious money to be made with more kids. The bars and casinos must be wringing their hands in collective glee.
I would have thought that you would promote larger families from current citizens of Canada rather than having a negative population growth as many western countries now have and having to rely on foreigners to emigrate to Canada.
I think you are speaking out of both sides of your mouth. Whatever it takes, right seamutt?
Just another ad hominem attack on people who have children, as if that pays no matter what kind of tax benefit may come from it.
A relative of mine was a bingo addict. She overheard a conversation in the Bingo Hall one day between a couple women. One was saying she would like to play more but she just couldn’t afford it. The other said, “Have another kid, you’ll get more money”. There’s some truth in what Seamutt said.
Indeed, a higher birthrate is very desirable, but even moreso is responsible parenting.
Oh my gopg2015 thought you where still sleeping. Have you ever been out to the bars, casino when the checks come out? I have been in the post office and witnessed a fine upstanding member of society yelling their check was not in the mail.
Trudeau’s handlers know where the votes are and who has the most kids.
Whats your issue anyway with the ad hominem attack on me? Oh right you are always correct, must be lonely in your lofty world.
Who has the most kids ? The middle class . That’s the trudeau base . Only in PG are there people that don’t like people having children . I’m amazed once again . Child haters , really ? And most of us Do Not frequent bars and or casinos . You are really starting to give me the creeps . Ewwww.
Complete misrepresentation of what he said. But then I’d expect as much from you.
“Have you ever been out to the bars, casino when the checks come out.”
Nope. I do not even know when the checks come out, but I do not go to bars or casino, so it really does not matter when the checks come out.
How about those who get a paycheck mid and end of month? Or every second Friday. Or old age security and PPP?
I am not sure what that has to do with children. You are suggesting a stereotype that may no longer exist. It is that stereotype that becomes a Trump-like ad hominem attack in my eyes.
James Dyson resently announced that he has just bought a battery company that claims ( he says its for real ) it has doubled the energy density and lowered the cost by half to a third . His plans are to put in 1.44 billion U.S. there by going head to head with Musks gigafactory nearing completion . We love his products already . soon they are going to be twice or thrice as good and less expensive . We’d buy them anyway because they last three or four times longer than the rest on the market .
What are the chances of a break through technology doubling a gas cars mileage ? Zero ! They’ve reached the technological wall . The VW cheat was very telling .
The chances are pretty good. If that’s what ‘THEY’ wanted to do. The technology existed back decades ago, long before cars were electronically fuel injected. But the patents to it were acquired, and never implemented, because that didn’t suit the agenda ‘THEY’ wanted to follow. And now it’s said that the Rockefeller’s, whose fortune was built on the Standard Oil Trust established by old John D. way back when, are divesting themselves of their ‘fossil fuel’ enterprises. They may be selling, but to whom? And where does ‘whom’ get the money from to buy? And what does ‘whom’ have to do to repay it? With interest, of course, and not the kind your bank is paying you on the pittance you have on deposit with them.
I call bs on that cred . If they had the technology to double mileage they would have done it as soon as they could have . The fossils are in a world of risk of being disrupted .the smart money is running like hell in the other direction . They are slowly headed for the courts ala big tobacco . we know how that worked out for them . Eventually they will find themselves in the world court of justice . Polluters will pay .
I recall hearing about carb technology back in the ’50’s that would get 100 MPG from a V8. A relative of mine read a write-up about it in a reputable magazine back then. Had something to do with extremely fine vaporization of the fuel. Of course, there were denials of the veracity and claims that it was an urban myth. I don’t say it’s true, but having heard it from someone who actually read the article, I don’t dismiss it either.
Current technology may well have hit the wall, none of the cars on the market at this time actually get the advertised mileage because the tests are conducted under ideal conditions designed to give the best results.
I makes no difference anyway, the world is awash in oil.
Ataloss: It is not true about gas mileage. Neil Young has an old ’59 Lincoln that he (and his crew) have modified to get 88MpG. He’s aiming for 100.
In about 1958 there was a fellow in South Fort George who designed a system where he got 100 MpG on water. An oil company bought him out and it was never heard of again.
There have been many people who have converted engines to run on water and also greatly improved gas mileage but they mostly got bought out by oil companies and the patents have never been used.
I have a ’79 Chev half ton with a 350 Olds in it that got me 23 Mpg.
Just one simple thing the engine manufacturers could do to improve gas mileage is run a dual ignition system but they won’t. It would greatly improve emissions as well.
So try not to tell us that we’ve hit a wall with fuel mileage. We haven’t but the powers that be won’t let it go any farther.
Back in ’79 my 350 GM diesel got 36 MpG. The 2014 Dodge 5500 gets about 9, at best, 12.
The simple fact is, they want to sell more fuel.
And that’s still not very long compared to the length of time some of the old vacuums used to go.
Vacuums ? You should read his plans .
Interesting battery tech. This could be a game changer for cordless power tools that are currently using 3Ah – 9Ah Li-Ion batteries.
The Li-Ion battery has greatly improved over the years, and has slowly picked away at corded tools, and more recently at air tools.
Having a battery that packs even longer power while on the job site would be excellent.
I still don’t like them, always use corded tools, although they’re getting hard to find.
Open your eyes and look for motorcycles……………..
Do some homework for youself,
Fort George
360 – 1011 4th Avenue
Prince George, BC V2L 3H9
Phone: 250-565-7281
Fax: 250-565-7280
That is the contact information for the local CVSE. Maybe they can explain to you their policy and inspection procedures for lighting for commercial vehicles. I challenge you to find one commercial vehicle on the roads today that does not meet all DOT requirements. They are very proactive making sure all commercial vehicles are compliant with proper lighting.
Man you are so, so misinformed on this it’s ridiculous. I’m out there all night long being blinded by the illegally installed HID and LED after market headlights and add on after market eye burners. Loggers are the worst offenders. There are just as many 4 wheelers with the same illegal lights. You must be in the lighting sales business?
They don’t get inspected every time the cross the scales, but if the weighmaster notices something illegal he/she will pull them in for inspection and order repairs. In some cases they order them parked until the issue is resolved. Also, commercial vehicles require complete semi-annual inspections to be allowed to operate.
Births and deaths between 2001 and 2012. 4,262,454 births 2,795,940 deaths. Natural increase 1,466,514. Roughly 133,320 per year.
Canada’s fertility rate over the past 50 years had a high of 3.93 per women in 1959, and a low of 1.49 in 2000, with the present being 1.6.
In order to maintain your population you need a fertility rate of 2.1, so obviously we are losing ground.
Immigration over the same period (2001-2012) was 2,408,175, or roughly 220,000 per year.
Sooooo. Without immigration our population would start decreasing very soon.
Not likely the fertility rate will change enough to make a difference so its up to immigration.
Why is it when YRB tries patching bad spots on our hwy’s, their results are worse than the original problem? Take the intersection of hwy 16 and the Blackwater for instance. The patch job beside the left turn lane heading east is atrocious. They should have just left it alone. Drivers are crossing the center line into the left turn lanes to avoid the jolt.
Heading “west”
If you driving on 15th along Connaugh Hill look up it is a mess with dead trees and garbage all along 15th , the question is who’s job is it clean up the mess its City property ? The yellow stairs, they wasted money painting them blue , the paint is all pealing.
Battery powered Tools ? to lazy to run a Cord, never needed them in all my Years doing IR, tell you what that old Drill will still work after you try to buy a new Battery for the new one. Go on and buy all the new Crap and away in the Dump it goes! All the New Tech in Car Battery will not last , we done the same before ,about 100 Years ago! My Drill and Skill Saw are over 30 Years old and build my House, I like to see this with all the New Stuff, I don’t think so!
you will be surprised, you buy quality cordless tools, the results are impressive. I buy and use only Milwaukee, they only coded tool I use now is a chopsaw and table saw. As for impacts, only use air for 1 inch, anything small I use a cordless 1/2 Milwaukee and dont even know where my 1/2 air impact is anymore its been so long since I used it.
I found this article and it is interesting in relation to how bigoted universities have become towards conservatives using UNBC as a prime example in the selection of a Chancellor.
ht tps://judithcurry.com/2016/03/25/campus-unrest-viewpoint-diversity-and-freedom-of-speech/#more-21342
An excerpt from comments
“It is pretty simple. About 35% of liberals are intolerant close-minded bigots. That is about 10% of the population. The general population is 40% conservative, 30% liberal, and 30% confused/haven’t-made-their-mind-up-yet.
Conservatives have been driven from academia by this group of small-minded bigots. Except in engineering. Liberals shy away from any field where there is real world pass/fail feedback to invalidate their wishful thinking.”
All bigoted towards free speech in general, for example, as in the climate change religion.
Dumbfounded
you might be having a hard time coping with LED headlights, but they are not Illegal. Every commercial vehicle you meet is running DOT and CVSE compliant headlights. Its a fact, live with it. Call the number I supplied you with, they will go over with you. Because you may find them bright does not make them nor their installation illegal. FACT.
And yes, every commercial vehicle that passes through an open CVSE site is given a visual inspection as they come up the ramp, and if they see something of concern they are called in for a physical inspection. Take some time some day and go to Red Rock, go insde the building, ask for a tour, you will be amazed at the cameras, sensors and inroad scales they have. They already know every thing about the truck before it hits the onramp up to the scales. The recognition software they use is really something.
The simple fact is civilian vehicles are rampant with illegal HID headlights and CVSE has tried to make it an issue with the RCMP, that is one of the reason we are getting more and more roadside checks with RCMP and CVSE aimed at light traffic.
“Every commercial vehicle you meet is running DOT and CVSE compliant headlights.” Not true that’s a fact. Most trucks have replaceable bulbs that do not require replacing the glass housing. Installing illegal bulbs is very simple to do and it is getting done every chance they get. I’m out there driving among them every day. You have no clue what goes on out there. Just keep living in your dreamworld of regulations that you think are being followed and you’ll be fine. In the mean time, stop trying to BS everyone.
It is very clear that you have not idea what your talking about. Most trucks, especially logging trucks, Kenworth and Peterbilt to be more specific use old style 4×6 two headlight systems. You specifically called them out and you are simply WRONG. Every commercial truck on the highway is subject to inspection and it is now virtually impossible to run non approved lights. THAT IS A FACT. Besides the weight scales we have CVSE officers constantly on the highways day and night and they are very good at spotting non compliant lighting. There are a couple of them who are know as the light cops because it seems to be the only thing they care about.
Your whinning about the 4×6 JW Speaker built LED headlights which the vast majority of loggers use which are DOT and CVSE compliant.
As for my level of expertise in this situation I am a business owner in the industry and deal with such matters day in and day out. I, unlike you, am very aware of what the laws are in the commercial truck industry and have to abide by them.
Face the facts, you have a very singular mind and can not accept the fact that you are wrong.
“The simple fact is civilian vehicles are rampant with illegal HID headlights and CVSE has tried to make it an issue with the RCMP, that is one of the reason we are getting more and more roadside checks with RCMP and CVSE aimed at light traffic.”
Yup, they are. They are during the daytime in town. Not out on the hwy at night when and where they need to be.
you are aware are you not that in order for a light to be compliant the proper ratings codes must be stamped on the bottom edge of the light and is much easier to view in the daylight than at night by the inspecting officer?
The issue is the bright blue white lights used in headlights not the add on auxiliary lights that the cops go after. The other issue is the bright auxiliary lights that come with the vehicle. What is it with the people when visibility is good have these OEM lights are on also. I am thinking these people are stoned and need the extra brightness to see. The bright headlights also make it an issue to see the turn signals.
I have never had an issue with the add on auxiliary lights used on the highway which is an asset considering the wildlife. Whenever I have experienced someone leaving them on when I flash my brights they have always immediately turned their brights down and auxiliary off.
Posted on Friday, March 25, 2016 @ 4:22 PM by Give more
Ataloss: It is not true about gas mileage. Neil Young has an old ’59 Lincoln that he (and his crew) have modified to get 88MpG. He’s aiming for 100.
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Actually that isn’t even a gas engine, it’s electric hybrid. He had it in Canada a few years ago as part of his participation in Suzuki’s anti-oil sands crusade. How did he get it to Canada? Did he drive it all the way? Nope. He had it hauled by a diesel burning vehicle to the place where he wanted to demo it. Apparently it isn’t very reliable.
Bombardier has asked for a very large government hand out and in the same breath they are going to outsource jobs to Mexico and Asia. I say eff em if they can’t keep the jobs in Canada
In the last month I have made numerous trips from Salman Valley into town at 8pm and there is a fleet of logging trucks heading north at that time all with the very bright blue white lights. These lights being at eye level are very blinding and dangerous and makes it almost impossible to see the road. These lights are also on numerous highway trucks. They may be legal but that does not make them any less dangerous. Authorities should ban them altogether.
Would be interesting to know what outfit these logging trucks are with.
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