'Issues' By-Election Shaping Up

Friday, October 29, 2010 03:58 AM

Federal NDP Energy Critic, Nathan Cullen, on-hand for Boone's announcement

Prince George, B.C. - If anyone can crack the Conservative strangle-hold on the Prince George-Peace River riding, federal NDP MP Nathan Cullen believes Lois Boone will be the candidate to do it.

The Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP formally introduced Boone at yesterday's news conference to announce her intention to seek the party's nomination for the riding in an as-of-yet unscheduled upcoming by-election to replace Conservative MP Jay Hill. Hill held the riding from 1993 until his retirement this month. Prior to that, Frank Oberle served as the area's Tory MP from 1972 until '93.

Cullen says, "Lois really represents a huge sign of hope for people who are looking for a choice, for an alternative in the northeast." He says by-elections tend to be driven by one or two issues, "And, I suspect, this one will likely end up framing around the HST, will likely end up having something to do with Enbridge and the vision that people want to see for the northeast."

Cullen says Boone's experience, her 'attraction' to a diverse group of voters and the issues she's centred her campaign on (the HST, Enbridge, and removing the tax on home heating, "All speak volumes to the chances for the NDP in the northeast."

"It's a battle, there's no doubt about it," the MP admits, "But when I won in 2004, people were saying the exact same thing, 'Oh well, the northwest has been Conservative for a long time, it's going to stay that way.' And, we actually got ourselves a campaign that spoke to some pretty powerful issues for people."

The federal Energy critic says the fact that Stephen Harper didn't set a date for the by-election this week is the first sign that the Conservatives no longer consider the riding a so-called 'safe seat'. "This would have just been a foregone conclusion normally -- it isn't anymore because they knew Lois was coming."

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Posted on Friday, October 29, 2010 03:58 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: SummerSoul on October 29 2010 6:28 AM

Whoever wins Jay's seat it would be good to have someone with loyalty to this region.
Jay Hill was a carpetbagger who, once he relinquished his seat, ran back to the precious Alberta whose values he pursued.

Posted by: Municca on October 29 2010 8:23 AM

It really does not matter who takes over the seat anyway. All politicians are corrupt and self serving. It should be auctioned off to the highest bidder and the money donated to the children's hospital.

Posted by: pggo56 on October 29 2010 8:52 AM

HST come now get real,even if elected there is not a snow balls chance in hell that HST will be or even could be over turned its a cash cow and far to costly to reverse. Lois will be running in a very Conservative area understanding what the majority of workers and family s want and need will dictate the vote when it comes. People earn their living from the resource industry's so coming out and slamming them is not a good start.Talk to those working in Dawson Creek, Fort St John and Chetwynd then tell them your apposed to the Pipeline. There are 2 years or more of hearings lots of time to view the project and provide an opinion and come up with some realistic ideas not just a STOP sign, seems they just never learn

Posted by: He spoke on October 29 2010 9:32 AM

If anyone believes that the Federally elected person is going to reverse the BC-HST..... your smoking way to much of our # industry.

Why would the Feds, pay 1.6 billion dollars if it was not also a great deal for them as well. Don't be so naive.

I have no problems with Lois, she may be on the other end of my spectrum on politics, but she is a political survivor.

Posted by: crazylegshinch on October 29 2010 10:07 AM

It's not about repealing the HST at the federal level, it's about the fact that the BC Liberals out-and-out lied to our faces before their last election, and the Federal Conservatives colluded with them to implement it. They cut a huge cheque to the provincial government to do it too. Both levels of government should be accountable for that.

The feds could work to get the HST taken of heating bills. And that would do something to help out families in the north instead of rewarding big business at the expense of the working poor. That's the BC Liberal's and the Conservative's M.O.

Posted by: gus on October 29 2010 11:09 AM

"The feds could work to get the HST taken of heating bills"

I would think that would be easy. I believe if the GST portion of the HST were to be removed, then the PST portion would be automatically removed.

Anyone have some better knowledge of the agreement that would need the province to agree with the feds to make a change to the GST that would see it removed totally for a category?

Posted by: Andyfreeze on October 29 2010 11:49 AM

HST on heating costs was a huge mistake by the Liberals.
That was just plain greed on their part,especially after Campbell had already stuck us with a 'carbon tax'.
Maybe not a major issue on the lower mainland with their shorter winters, but it sure is here in the north.
Particularly for low income people and seniors.
A question...can businesses claim back the HST on thier heating costs?
I would assume they can?

Posted by: He spoke on October 29 2010 12:31 PM

Should be interesting, but the HST is here. We the people demand that our government needs to do more. Well, that's why they need to collect more taxes. If it was not the Carbon tax, it is the HST, or any other form of taxation. Its money in and money out.

So the masses complain that there is tax dollars being wasted.... really. if it is being wasted by too many people working for the government, it could be you or your neighbour that is being employed by one form of government or another. They get paid well, and they contribute their taxes and buy things, and keep the wheel of our economy turning.

We in Prince George should not be beaking off about government waste..... I do believe we are benefitting well because of it,... considering our surrounding communities, were getting our lion share from the Provincial coffers... but we will try to keep that a secret.

Posted by: gamblor on October 29 2010 1:55 PM

Maybe "Alberta values" are just what this area needs. Robust employment, excellent infrastructure and very low taxes are all things we desperately need. What we don't need are Robin Hood politicians who think they are going to rob the rich to pay the poor and are so delusional they actually think it will work.

Posted by: hood rich on October 29 2010 2:12 PM

do Alberta values come with a muslim mayor?

Posted by: WorkingWoman on October 29 2010 9:06 PM

as a taxpayer I am a wee bit fed up with the Conservative/Liberal alliance. None of our 4 elected officials stood up for us they did what the were told, jumped and rolled over rather than say another tax isn't fair to working people. I know the rich get richer but it is time to for change and Lois will be the change we need.

Posted by: omygod on October 29 2010 9:16 PM

Hey ..hood rich...what a stupid question of course it does the people voted for it or did you think they didn't vote in that Province.

Posted by: Palopu on October 29 2010 9:45 PM

The HST has nothing to do with the Liberal Government needing money. (Other than the $1.6 Billion transferred from the Feds)

Why is it that people cannot make the connection that this tax is a transfer from business and corporations to consumers.

It has been stated time and time again that this is a tax transfer, pure and simple. The money used to be paid by business and corporations, and it is now being paid by consumers. So forget about the BS that the Government needed the money for Health, Education, etc, what they did was pay off big business.

This is a very simple tax shift, however it seems people cannot get this simple fact through their heads.

You are now paying the tax that business and corporations used to pay. Get it?????

Posted by: supertech on October 29 2010 10:27 PM

We have always paid the tax of businesses. That is a fact of owning a business. You have to factor all your expenditures into your budget before you set consumer prices in order to make a profit. If you didn't add taxes in to your prices, a small business wouldn't make any money. The consumer pays for everything in a business, heat, electricity, phone, computer, furniture, wages, stamps,envelopes and staples; name it.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on October 30 2010 8:48 AM

Boone never did anything for PG when she was the provincial Minister of Highways. No highway improvements. Potholes & cracks everywhere and no proper shoulders & painting of lines identifying lanes...

Posted by: gimmeabreak on October 30 2010 4:39 PM

Lois Boone partnering up with Nathan (against every imaginable natural resources harvest) Cullen is not smart...but then who ever suggested that ol' Lois was smart.....she supported Harcourt, Clark, and Dosanj 3 back to back losers. No test of brain power there.

Posted by: Harbinger on October 30 2010 5:39 PM

Recall Ramsey bumper sticker available. Cheap! The only crack in referring to Lois Boone was the smile I "cracked" after reading her announcement.

Posted by: socredible on October 30 2010 7:17 PM

The issue isn't whether Consumers ultimately pay all the taxes levied on business ~ which they do ~ it's WHICH Consumers.

With PST it was Consumers OUTSIDE BC receiving our exports that paid that tax. Not as an additional charge on the price, as we did, but whatever was levied in PST on the business's capital and operating costs. Those sums had to be included as a component of the price of those exports. With HST they don't. We've given the foreigner a tax break, at our FURTHER expense.

Carry on with that kind of thinking and we'll all be working for nothing, and the politicians will be telling us we should be happy. Because we're all "working". Theirs' is the kind of thinking that elevates a mere "means to an end" ~ work, the "job" ~ above the "end" itself ~ getting the actual products we need and desire to consume ourselves.

Posted by: gamblor on October 30 2010 8:27 PM

um, no. Remittance of PST was up to the individual consumer and was never enforced by any province. You only paid PST if you bought goods from a supplier in your province. At least I did, and everyone I know. If you ever remitted PST to another province, I hate to break it to you but you got ripped. You sent that province a cheque they never expected.

Posted by: gus on October 30 2010 9:56 PM

Palopu wrote: "You are now paying the tax that business and corporations used to pay. Get it?????"

Many of us got that a long time ago. it is amazing that you did not get it until now Palopu.

Supertech and socredible make two different points that I totally agree with and are important to make.

The government is acknowledging both of those and is relying on competition to cause businesses to pass on the savings so that the reduction in cause and the increase in tax will cancel each other out. In the case of foreign markets, the argument is that the product will become cheaper in those markets and will increase their competitiveness and thus increase their sales.

It has also been written by economists that if that is true, it is not an immediate cause and effect. It will take 5 years and longer to work its way through the system wherever it does occur.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Documents+adopted+despite+warnings+negative+impact/3470614/story.html

Posted by: gus on October 30 2010 10:00 PM

When I wrote "Many of us got that a long time ago." I meant that to confirm Supertech's point that we have been paying that all along by paying the price of a good or service which had those tax costs incorporated in them as "hidden" taxes.