AbeBooks.com. Thousands of booksellers - millions of books.
Feed on
Posts
Comments

Why the BC Liberals could easily win the next election

Jan 12th, 2016 by

Christy Clark announcing her cabinet in 2013 (Flicker CC Licence / Government of BC)

Christy Clark announcing her cabinet in 2013 (Flicker CC Licence / Government of BC)

Can Christy Clark, the Gumshoe (Rich Coleman) and the other sad cast of characters occupying the cabinet offices in Victoria win the next election, about 17 months away?

Your damn tooting they can and the way things look right now, I think they will.

This certainly isn’t what I want to happen nor, if the social media are any indication, is it the wish of the public. Experience tells us, however, there are other traditional forces at play that somehow always surprise us when they happen.

“Not a dime without debate”

The “right” has done a masterful job of convincing a substantial segment of voters that the NDP are wastrels and incompetent when in office.

This takes me back to younger days when I went to a federal Liberal rally where one of their cabinet ministers, Lionel Chevrier, gave the main speech. He made just one point: “It is said, ladies and gentlemen, that Liberal times are good times and Tory times are bad times – the Tories claim this is just a coincidence but I ask you, which coincidence will you be voting for?” Continue Reading »

Tags:

Posted in The Common Sense Canadian | 3 Comments »

Liberals’ broken promises should make for tough election year

Jan 3rd, 2016 by

Christy Clark being sworn in as premier in 2013 (Province of BC / Flickr CC licence)

Christy Clark being sworn in as premier in 2013 (Province of BC / Flickr CC licence)

This is the time of year and the point in the government’s mandate that analysis of the months to come is de rigeur.

Time will demonstrate that Christy Clark’s big mistake, when assuming the premiership, was not nullifying Gordon Campbell’s Energy Program which has, predictably, enriched large international corporations and bankrupted BC Hydro. Had Clark tackled this issue, with a courage of which we have seen no sign, restored BC Hydro’s obligation to make new power and abrogated the sweetheart deal with the private companies, BC Hydro would be in decent financial shape and site C would still be the pipe dream of pointy-headed BC Hydro energy assessors.

In over her head

Ms. Clark’s second mistake was seeking the premiership in the first place, it now having been clearly demonstrated that she had none of the necessary skills. Past premiers who’ve been able to operate with limited skills surrounded themselves with talented advisers who understood history, world affairs, and the psychology of the public. This the premier has clearly avoided.

The Clark government has been a calamity on social issues: education, welfare and health, with the Ministry of Children and Family Development being the most tragic. Given Clark’s record as Education Minister, this is no surprise. Continue Reading »

Tags: ,

Posted in The Common Sense Canadian | No Comments »

New Year’s Message for 2016

Jan 2nd, 2016 by

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton

I wish you all the very best for 2016 – may you have sufficient wealth and 100% good health.

Some political predictions for the coming year:

  • There will be moves to replace both Christy Clark and John Horgan, neither of which will succeed. In the case of Clark there is no obvious heir nor any discernible backbench revolt. The party itself will do nothing as long as it’s in power. It’s very difficult to dislodge a party leader at any time but especially when she’s premier.
  • John Horgan likewise has no obvious successor nor any apparent backbench revolt. That’s because no matter what kind of a leader Horgan may be, he has a good chance of winning and no political party dumps a leader who might win.
  • The bloom will be off of the Trudeau rose – this is simply the end of the honeymoon when the lovers start taking the odd jellybean out of the bowl instead of putting one in every night.

Continue Reading »

Tags: , ,

Posted in General | 3 Comments »

The perfect job opening for Christy Clark

Dec 23rd, 2015 by

Premier Christy Clark, hard at work building an LNG industry for BC (Flickr CC License / Govt of BC)

Premier Christy Clark, hard at work building an LNG industry for BC (Flickr CC License / Govt of BC)

I am a daydreamer who has had far too much time to daydream over the last months. I find I have brilliant ideas which seem fairly ridiculous once I move onto a new set of dreams, but every once in a while I find an idea which had merit that should have been explored. I’m also a political junkie and some people pay me to write or speak on this subject although, I’ve noticed, not so much these days as before.

A political issue of considerable note and worldwide import has crossed my febrile brain fairly often for the last couple of years and it’s bothered me that no answers seem to pop out. Well, my skull gave me another brainwave as I bashed the hell out of it a couple of weeks ago and have been looking at a hospital ceiling much of the time since. Brilliant! And, you note, that this comes at Christmas time and the spirit of generosity fills the air as well as the tummy. Put all this together and I have this proposed Christmas present from British Columbia to the sports world, all but wrapped up and on Santa’s sleigh. Continue Reading »

Tags:

Posted in The Common Sense Canadian | 1 Comment »

Premier Clark right for opposing Trudeau’s Senate plans – but she’s going about it the wrong way

Dec 8th, 2015 by

Christy Clark, Justin Trudeau

Premier Christy Clark (left) meets with PM Justin Trudeau ahead of Paris climate summit (Photo: Flickr CC licence / Province of BC)

Premier Christy Clark is quite right to reject prime minister Trudeau’s silly games with the Senate. It’s just a pity that she must always add irrelevant political mumbo-jumbo to water down and detract from the impact of BC’s decision.

Our position has nothing to do with improving the economy or creating jobs but somehow it’s her political nature to throw in this sort of stuff. It’s harmful because it distracts attention from what is a very serious issue and forecloses the possibility of a rational discussion.

That the present Senate is a bad joke, especially to British Columbia  – which has but two more seats than Prince Edward Island and four fewer than New Brunswick – goes without saying. The temptation to simply say to Hell with it is very strong indeed.

Senate has a use – just not in its current form

The easy way to deal with the Senate, obviously, is to simply abolish it. The NDP have taken that position for as long as I can remember but they never seem to reason out what the consequences would be – a country legally dominated politically by Ontario and Quebec. In my view, it’s critical to go back to basics and discuss whether or not we need a Senate, and if so, what form it should take, its powers, the representation issue, and how should it be filled. Continue Reading »

Tags:

Posted in The Common Sense Canadian | No Comments »

When the honeymoon ends with PM Trudeau

Dec 2nd, 2015 by

Justin Trudeau following his election victory (Flickr CC licence – John Tavares)

Justin Trudeau following his election victory (Flickr CC licence – John Tavares)

Without exception, honeymoons – the real ones and the political ones – end. I don’t for a moment believe that the wheels will come off the Justin Trudeau administration but, as happened to his father shortly after his election in 1968, the wheels will start to wobble, the love affair will cool, and Justin will look human again.

Nothing should be taken from Trudeau’s victory – he earned it and the relief that came with the end of Harper has spilled over into the beginning of his reign. It’s important, however, in trying to gauge what will happen to his administration and when, to examine why Trudeau won.

Harper fatigue, Mulcair stumble

First, as mentioned, the public had become very tired of Stephen Harper – tired may not be quite strong enough. In any event, he lost the centre-right, which Conservatives must have and will only recapture with the right leader – along with skill, because the Liberals must have it too. Continue Reading »

Tags:

Posted in The Common Sense Canadian | No Comments »

How does oil-boosting Postmedia boss get into News Hall of Fame?

Nov 28th, 2015 by

Paul Godfrey (Photo: Samja Frkovic / Flickr – Victoria Rose)

Paul Godfrey (Photo: Samja Frkovic / Flickr – Victoria Rose)

In the news recently was an item about Paul V. Godfrey, C.M., the President of Postmedia, the largest newspaper chain in the country, owning some 15 papers in major centres plus a slew of community papers across the land. M. Godfrey has been admitted to the Canadian News Hall of Fame.

I have one or two questions for Mr. Godfrey, arising out of investigations I’ve been doing in recent months.

Mr. Godfrey, can we agree that Postmedia wholly owns the Vancouver Province, the Vancouver Sun, and the National Post, which circulate in Vancouver?

A question has occurred to me, Mr. Godfrey: Does Postmedia have some sort of deal with the Fraser Institute whereby you give that organization a great deal of coverage on almost every issue that deals with fossil fuels and the environment? Continue Reading »

Tags: ,

Posted in The Common Sense Canadian | No Comments »

NDP Leader Horgan’s Site C Dam opposition is a game-changer

Nov 23rd, 2015 by

BC NDP and Official Opposition Leader John Horgan (BCNDP.ca/youtube)

BC NDP and Official Opposition Leader John Horgan (BCNDP.ca/youtube)

I suggest that everyone listen to this immediately – it is John Horgan, leader of the BC NDP, promising to shut down Site C and make up the energy difference through conservation, wind and solar power (listen here yourself to his CBC Daybreak North interview from Monday morning).

Site C is something that never should have happened, certainly not for decades to come. It has always been a bad idea and totally unwarranted based on the lack of power needs of BC Hydro and our province. There have been predictions by BC Hydro to justify this project but they neither justify it nor dispel the reality that BC Hydro always overestimates its power needs by a considerable amount.

The challenge for Mr. Horgan, in my view, is to stop Site C and at the same time decrease, not increase, Independent Power Projects (IPPs) which are ruining our rivers and bankrupting BC Hydro while making foreign investors unjustly rich. I’ve no doubt that Mr. Horgan has addressed this issue – if he hasn’t, there’ll be no shortage of experts addressing it for him. Continue Reading »

Tags:

Posted in The Common Sense Canadian | No Comments »

Review of I Remember Horsebuns

Nov 22nd, 2015 by

By K.Hess at Chanticleer Book Reviews: I Remember Horsebuns by Rafe Mair, a historical memoir

You can purchase it in paperback here.

Posted in General | 2 Comments »

Not all immigrants created equal in Canada… and that needs to change

Nov 21st, 2015 by

Syrian boys at a refugee camp in the village of Atmeh, Syria (Flickr CC / Freedom House)

Syrian boys at a refugee camp in the village of Atmeh, Syria (Flickr CC / Freedom House)

Before starting, let me state that there is no excusing the massacre in Paris, nor 9/11. When it comes to death of innocent civilians there is no equivalency, period.

The Canadian Establishment has always believed that some newcomers are more desirable than others. A small example – my father, aged 7, arrived with his parents in Vancouver in 1914, the same year the Komagata Maru did. They came from New Zealand and were British subjects. The passengers on the Komagata Maru came from India and were also British citizens. My family were white and, nominally Christian – the Indians were not. I needn’t tell you the difference in reception.

Many concerns are raised about the current lot from Syria. They’re Muslims, considered by many to be dangerous in itself. They’re not quite white, although no one mentions that, and there aren’t many Syrian communities where they can settle. Today, I read that these aren’t the best sort of people, all lower class, so we won’t be getting many engineers and doctors. Continue Reading »

Tags:

Posted in The Common Sense Canadian | No Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »