Several things on my mind today.
One of the great advantages to writing a column somewhere else, at thetyee.ca for example, is that people who respond do so with great candour. It takes care, in part, of Robbie Burns couplet, “O wad a power the giftie gie us, to see oursels as others see us.”
Quite often hostile letters claim that I have a political agenda and am looking for the opportunity. Well, I’m up to my ears in politics as it is thank you very much.
Later this month I’m starting a speaking tour throughout much of southern BC and Vancouver Island fighting against the Liberals’ wretched energy policy and other environmental evils for the Common Sense Canadian (www.thecanadian.org) and that’s what I intend to do for the duration.
Moreover, there is no political party that would have me.
I love living in Lions Bay with my darling Wendy and our pooch, Chauncey and haven’t the slightest intention of living in Victoria or commuting there and back.
And here’s what should put paid to the notion – at the next election, provided my expiry date is as long as my credit cards, I’ll be in my 82nd year.
On another matter. The trouble about telling people about the Campbell government’s energy plan is that it’s so outrageous, so egregiously evil, that people can’t believe it. I constantly have people say “Rafe, you exaggerate – no government would ever do that!”
In fact it’s true: the environmental impact of the Independent Power Producer is severe and ruins the river and the ecology it supports; it’s true that BC Hydro is forced to pay IPPs twice as much as Hydro can get for its power on the export market; it’s true that IPPs produce power when rivers are high, ie the run-off time, when Hydro doesn’t need the power and must export it at ½ what they paid for it: It’s true that Hydro is going broke (as anyone who runs a family budget would see) and that their balance sheet (as found by the Auditor-General and economist, Erik Andersen) only looks as good as it does because Hydro had bundled a substantial chunk of its debt into a package and made it an account receivable! Don’t you wish you could go to your banker and say, Banker Brown, you can safely lend me more money because the money I owe you now has been tarted up to look like an account receivable on my pro forma balance sheet!
And there’s more – equally almost impossible to believe!
Finally, on the question of a new party in BC.
The political vacuum in the middle, which Social Credit used to occupy before they shot themselves in the foot then turned the gun to their temple, is not being filled. It cries out to be filled and the BC Conservative Party which is to the right of Attila The Hun, can’t do it.
The “centre” needs a leader with a fire in his/her belly and with a simple-to-understand message to make – and money.
There are none to be seen.
The vacuum will be filled – by the NDP moving right. And that might not be a bad thing for, to start with, it’s hard to imagine any government as bad as the one led by Pinocchio. Moreover, however bad the last NDP may have been, I believe they’ve learned some lessons.
The next year’s political goings-on bode to be very interesting indeed.
There already is such a party, it is called BC Refederation Party that bases it’s policies upon the Swiss system of direct democracy, a system that has been successful in Switzerland for over 100 years. The party you are supporting is based upon the failed and ever failing California style of direct democracy which we in BC can see is and has been failing since they began. That is not what BC needs, we need a successful system upon which to model our politics, not a failed one.
I truly believe if we do not get behind this B.C. First Party and get rid of the Liberals we will not have anything left of our beautiful province.
Rafe, although you say that the NDP have learned, I offer the example of the city council of Vancouver and their bicycle-lane fetish as an example of why we cannot trust them to run the province again.
Hi Rafe,
Are you coming to Penticton?
Look at the Green Party, you might be (pleasantly) surprised by what is happening there.
Julius
Hi Rafe
Another Liberal lie that has to do with the Finance Ministry(Hansen) promising that there would be no 7% tax on home heating fuels.
Being a pensioner on a fixed income,living in the north,and after carefull research,we bought a pellet wood stove,for our main source of home heating,(2100 square feet).
The stove can only burn manufactured wood pellets for fuel.
These stoves and furnaces are expensive but energy efficient,clean burning,non polluting to the atmosphere.
They are sold throughout North America and thousands are owned right here in BC.Wood pellets are manufactured out of scrap wood,and bettle kill wood.
1 ton of completely burned pellets results in aprox.1.5 lbs.of ash.
Letters to the Ministry of Finance results in virtually no response.Any suggestions by your readers or you would be appreciated.
Thanks for your time
R.D.Machon
Gorman Bros. sawmill in Westbank produces their own electricity from hog fuel and the surplus they wanted to sell to BC Hydro. But, Hydro won’t touch it and come up with excuses like: The power lines are running the wrong way. Obviously Campbell is trying to run BC Hydro into the ground. He did attend the Bilderberg (Read up on these people and go to Youtube or Infowars and you will find out more info) meeting in Spain in May and pretty well was told what he must do.
Isn’t voting NDP much like shooting the other foot after voting Liberal.
I don’t see going back to the original bad party as a good option. I also don’t see any of the fringe party’s in B.C. stepping up with any leadership with ” fire in his/her belly and with a simple-to-understand message “.
This next electon will leave the B.C. tax payer screwed no matter the out come. To bad B.C. politics isn’t like my son etch-n-sketch. Something we can shake up and start all over with 🙂
The jury is still out on Run-of-the-River power.
Your comment regarding envirmental damage caused is a great exaggeration – I suggest you visit one and see that negligible damage is caused, especially in comparison with most other energy producing projects.
Also the power produced need not be exported at the time of generation – the plan is to ‘store’ it in existing dams, usually not full, and sell it when needed at a good price.
While the total amount of such power is really a very small percentage of the total power produced in BC I think it may prove to be good idea.
Vancouver city council and bike lanes for cyclists seems to be a better kind of government than the present government that has been destroying the Salmon, the rivers and selling out our province from under our feet. The bicycle lane can be removed, the Run Of the River is there for eternity.
Re Allen 10/08/10 10:54 A.M Sir you are a fool. Thousands of miles of access roads ,thousands of miles of power lines to hook up all these monstrosities to the power grid mostly through virgin wilderness,destroying habitat . What dams ? These are mostly diversion projects that divert a streams water into a penstock and send it down a mountain side in some cases never returning to the original stream bed . Gee old boy ,where do the fish go in a dry river bed? Obviously there are probably some good sites for r.o.r. but our lying premier does not allow any one but top govt. to decide. NO environmental studies PERIOD. The fact is that hydro still has to sell the power for less than it pays for same makes a lot of sense for sure! You cannot store r.o.r. power . Once the run off is over the water is gone as is the power production. If you want an example of the environmentally r.o.r look at the Ashlu River fiasco. ALso think deeply my good man. If you put together all the proposed r.o.r projects including destruction for the penstockcs , access roads ,power lines and generation facilities and buildings these projects would be the largest clear cut in the province. For what to give California cheap power while we cover the difference from our own pocket books. REDICULOUS