A rift? Try to imagine the chasm that would be there if Councilor Skaken was involved!

>Kinsley admitted there seems to be a rift between his office and the local federal M.P.'s...<

The latest city council meeting did not clarify why there are conflicting versions as far as the Mayor's applying for beetle funding is concerned.

Who do we believe???

Councillor Skakun got on the wrong side of the Mayor (in my opinion) when he objected to the "fisticuffs on ice" thing (Hockey Enforcers) and when he took a contrary stand on the RV parking ban issue. Both matters had to be re-visited and modified, to the great chagrin of the Mayor.

I'd rather have Councillors who think independently than a bunch of yes men/yes women who rubberstamp everything that the Mayor puts in front of them.

The present disharmony and dysfunctionality may be a good thing in the long run - it is the only way we will get a complete makeover when the next municipal election takes place.

Finally there are some councillors who are willing to stand up to the little dictator. Kinsley knows that business is where his bread is buttered and his glass is filled. His positions on most things are neanderthal at best and rarely in the best interests of the community at large. Watching council perform last night was a pitiful act of old boys club politics performed admirably as many of our veteran councillors blabbered on but weren't prepared to do anything, most noticably Basserman, Zurowsky and fence sitter Krause. They were not prepared to do anything that resembled action on most of the issues that came up last night but only to shoot at those who were. As usual councillors Scott and Gratton didn't have a clue what was going on all night. Sad,sad ,sad !!

"Council has approved calling on the M.P's to come to Council for an update on the efforts of the City and increase the level of communication"

I think that in the interest of communication with both the federal government as well as the provincial government it would be a good idea to have representation from the 3 local MLAs and the two federal MPs present at Council about twice per year for each group or group representative so that there is a public venue for a "how's it going" opportunity plus a questioning opportunity.

Calling on local representatives of higher levels of government to come to a public venue only when there is a "hot" issue sends the wrong message, in my opinion. Very little of substance will be said. It is unlikely anyone is going to move from a position they have created for themselves at such a gathering in front of all to see. It will more typically be a pissing match couched with PC words of partnership and working together - as long as it is their way.

The real lobbying is done in private meetings, likely more one on one or with a small task force of two or three, where one can speak much more specifically. Political negotiation simply does not happen in public.

With regular appearances it is much easier for all Councillors to be in the loop rather than to only get info second hand through some administrative meetings or to possibly breach protocol and speak to senior government representatives directly about specific issues being handled by others.

Then again, a similar situation does not happen between feds and the province as far as I am aware. I have not heard of the prime minister of the country being invited to speak to the various provincial legislatures and take questions from the members of the legislative assemblies. There is obviously discussion & negotiation of issues, but not in such a forum.

So what makes the municipal situation different? We must remember that the local MPs and MLAs are elected by the people and not by Council. I think I have just as much right to have an opportunity to ask our MPs and MLAs how certain issues I am interested in are dealt with as Councillors do.

So, we can all walk into their offices, just as we can all get in touch with Councillors, to discuss our most important issues. If we are reasonable about them, there may even be movement or support for others who have said the same thing. I might be naive about that, but one still has to have some things one can believe in.

Should there be a public state of the union address at least once a year by some of our MLAs and MPs? I think it would be great if there was. However, I think the provincial representatives are out there often enough that it might not be necessary and be too "artificial".

I cannot say the same thing for our federal reps.. They are non-entities from my point of view. I would love to get a list of things they have accomplished which would not have gotten done if they were not involved.

Postman: >"His positions on most things are neanderthal at best and rarely in the best interests of the community at large.

Well said, Postman! My additional comments evaporated into cyber space! Just as well, I presume, because the Mayor never pays any attention anyways!

Its highly unlikely that any MP'S or MLA's are going to come to City Council and kneel before King Kinsley, to get an update. Who do these people think they are>??

I have never heard of MP's or MLA's appearing before a City Council for any reason, however I suggest that if we start a trend they can spend the rest of their lives travelling between Citys in their ridings attending Council meetings and filling their heads with drivel. Does Kinsley want them to sit in on Regional District, and School District meetings too. Maybe they could attend a few meeting of the Airport Authority.


In regards to what our local MP's have been able to accomplish in this area, I think that you would have to go back quite a few years before you would find anyone elected from this area that wasnt in opposition. It is only recently that we have elected MP's and the Government in power at the same time. This is prety rare for this part of the Country.

Having been in power for about a year, just how much would you expect them to be able to accomplish.

Palopu, I agree. They have really only had less than a year in power. They have done more in 10 months than other governing party's have done in years.

I'm not so quick to criticize them. I prefer to give them my support and an opportunity to make some significant changes to how this country is run. Chester

"Having been in power for about a year, just how much would you expect them to be able to accomplish."

These are not neophytes. They are experienced members of Parliament who should know what the areas they represent need since they have hopefully been touring the region, know the key movers and shakers in the various communities they serve, know their wish lists, know what parts of the wish lists are achievable and will support the direction the government wishes to take.

It appears they were not ready or, once they saw that it its easier to be in opposition and speculate on what should be done than it is to know how to do something based on fact rather than wishful thinking, they discovered they were really not prepared at all. In fact, they discoverd how powerless they are as westerners and northerners and rural representatives.

Frank Oberle, on the other hand, was able to overcome those barriers, became Minister of State for Science and Technology and eventually Minister of Forestry. As a traditional conservative he demanded a sustainable forest management system. He received the Canadian Forestry Achievement award in 1992 and was a founding member of the Canadian Institure of Advanced Research.

http://www.ciar.ca/web/home.nsf/pages/home

Chester .. I am talking about the sitting members who represent this area and now are part of the governing party. I am not talking about the party. That is an entirely different matter.

I remember Frank Oberle as an MP that picked up garbage every other day of the week along the boulevards in town. He was also a prominent member of the Saint Mary's parish and Knights of Columbus. Very visible member of the community.

I hear holier than thou Dick H. on the other hand has a new girl friend, a rental car, and a small rental unit in this riding. He might need a map to find city hall.

The Minister of State for Science and Technology as I recall was a **mini ministry** and the Minister of Forestry in the Federal Government was a joke, because **The Forests of Canada are a Provincial Jurisdiction**. The only thing that Frank had any control over was the trees in Federal Parks. I remember at the time that people thought it was quite cute to be a Minister of Forestry without any forests.

Frank may have been a founding member of the CIAR, however he is not listed as such on their website, in fact he is not listed at all.

I dont recall anything significant done in this area by Frank Oberle, and suggest he accomplished about as much or less than Hill and Harris up to this point in time. Hopefully they will be able to do more.

Frank bailed out of the Conservative Government at the same time as the others, Wilson, Clark, Mulgooney, to name a few. They left the burning ship to Kim Cambell. A sorry lot they were indeed, however Im sure that the present lot will do a much better job. How could they possibly be worse than the Dithering scandal ridden Liberals, tax mad NDP'ers, or the *If you dont give me what I want I'll leave* Bloc's.

Liberals Left of Center
NDP Left of Liberals
Bloc Left of NDP
Green Left of Bloc.

Conservatives. Thats all thats left.

Conservatives ... left of Democrats .....

Reform .... too far right for this country .... so had to take over a respectable party and screw it up too ....

"The Forests of Canada are a Provincial Jurisdiction"

No doubt ... so is education and health .... and virtually everything else.

However, that does not stop the feds from setting a direction for the entire country the same as virtually every other country. And it most certainly does not allow the conservatives from capitulating in trade agreements with the USA that deal with provincial resources ....

>".... too far right for this country .... so had to take over a respectable party and screw it up too ...."<

Hopefully it isn't the Conservatives you are talking about!

No respectable party would have allowed Brian to run it and in just one of its high-flying years to add 60 Billion dollars to our federal debt, never mind all the other years of super deficits after the GST was brought in to be a) revenue neutral b) when that wasn't believed by anybody: to balance the budget!

Nothing but lies, Sir.

All the years of raising taxes, budget cutting and penny-pinching to manage the debt and produce a surplus - by the Liberals and Paul Nartin - has barely paid down the fiscal damage that Mulroney caused in just ONE year!

Some experts also conclude that Brian sold us out to the US of A.

Can't have any respect for that, sorry.

You people will have to learn to **turn the page** or you will forever be reading the same lines.

To suggest that Chretian or Paul Martin were any better than Mulgooney is laughable. They were all good prospects for a Punch and Judy show. Dion would fit in with them without any problem.

The exception to these loser Politicians is Harper, who it appears can effectively run this Country, and at least try to get it back on track.

I suspect Harper will make a serious attempt to get re-elected and bring some good Government to this Country. If he fails then he will go on to something else and leave us to our penchant for self destruction.

The chances for strong representation in Government from the West is now. If we miss this opportunity in the next election, then we will never see it again in our lifetime.

I think it was the City Manager Chester Jeffery who picked up the Garbage around town. It seems to me that Frank Oberle spent most of his time in Ottawa or Mackenzie. In all by years in Prince George I have never seen Frank pick up any Garbage.

If we just "turn the pages" on the errors and misdeeds of the past we will be condemned to repeating them over and over again.

Some people just don't want to be reminded of them as it is a baggage for the latest and greatest propaganda.

Harper is a politician just like all the others and he never hesitates to bring up the history and past faults of the opposition parties.

It is done all the time, although it is not the most productive use of one's time and effort.

"The chances for strong representation in Government from the West is now."

The chances for strong representation in Government from the West is when the proportion of the population in the West increases to a more meaningful figure and the "West" alignes itself with similar issues. The sooner it does the latter, the sooner the population ratio will be closer to parity.

So, give it another 100 years.

The West-East problems, the North-South problems, the rural-urban problems, and the service-primary industry problems are hardly unique to this country. They show up a bit more in countries such as Canada and Australia (Perth versus the metro areas around New South Wales/Victoria in the East) because of the vast expanses of territory with few concentrated population centres.

Even in the USA, with its 10 fold population to ours, there are distinct differences between the regions and many feel alienated from the Washington DC but, other than the mid-west, most have a large enough population to go it on their own quite easily.

Just to add, look at California as a prime example. Same population as Canada in a samll proportion of the land base, an economy considerably stronger than Canada's, whose gold ran out a long time ago and has found more lucrative modern "industries" to replace the "natural resource" based economy of old.

Ya, instead of California Girls and sunshine we have the George Street Dollies and pulp mill smog. Doesn't really sound lucratic enough Owl to replace the "gold".