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REPLAY: Liberal plan of action

By on • ( 15 Comments )

Reader Lorne Finlayson provided this to us in 2011, but didn’t indicate when the changes he predicted would occur. With Kevin Falcon and his right-wing friends now in control of the BC Non-Liberal Party, the time may be close.

Being in either a realistic, or pessimistic state of mind this morning – take your pick – I foresee the following events unfolding for this benighted province:

  • Kevin Falcon is elected new leader of the BC Liberals, after making a back room deal with Christy Clark who will become the new Lieutenant Governor. His selection is lauded by the BC Chamber of Commerce, The Fraser Institute, Chartered Accountants Association, the Sun, the Globe and Mail and Phil Hochstein who are pleased that the forward looking policies put forward by BC’s “Greatest Premier” will be carried on.
  • In his first press conference, featuring only Vaughn Palmer and Keith Baldry and broadcast on Bill Good’s program, Falcon declares that the budget deficit is the biggest problem facing the province. With that in mind, the civil service will be cut by 20%, all new hires will not be union members but will be allowed to show their initiative free of those terrible union contracts that cost the taxpayer so much. Present provincial employees, including those employed by school districts, such as teachers, will be required to contribute 15% of their wages and salaries to a special deficit reducing fund, and those who are retired will have their pensions cut by 10% and be required to pay for all benefits, the savings of which will go into the aforementioned fund.
  • These bold moves are applauded by the Media, the Fraser Institute and the Chamber of Commerce.
  • Subsequently, all middle and upper management are awarded 50% pay raises, as well as a month’s paid leave, in order to reduce the strain of carrying out the necessary cuts to the civil service. The Canadian Taxpayers Association “regrets” these increases, but can see their need in times of crisis.
  • The Campbell privatization of BC Ferries having been such a resounding success, Falcon announces the privatization of BC Hydro, which will be sold to the highest bidder, thus freeing the taxpayers from the burden of Hydro debt. A consortium lead by General Electric and Keiwit Construction win the bidding. In making the announcement  of the winning bid, Falcon awards the consortium a 20% increase in hydro billing, to cover the “cost of transition”.
  • The New BC Hydro announces that it will now be allowed to build the Moran Dam, damming off the Fraser River up in the Canyon.
    • This will supply electricity to California who need it to power their electric cars.
    • When tenders are let, only non-union construction companies are selected. They pay such low wages that tradesmen must be brought in from Mexico and Bulgaria. The NDP, in typical gutless fashion, decry the conditions that these workers are forced to live in, even the barbed wire and guards that protect them from  corruption in the fleshpots of Williams Lake and Boston Bar, but says it ” understands the need”
    • On the podium, when the project is announced, is the Premier. Also, we see David Suzuki and Tzeporah Berman. These environmental leaders applaud the foresight of the Premier and New BC Hydro in providing green energy to California.
    • To quell the whining of the environmental crowd over the loss of Fraser River sockeye, the Premier tells them to get with the times, that farm fish can supply the market and that a fish ladder will be built to allow enough fish to the Shuswap to keep the eco-tourists happy.
  • The Premier announces that the Lower Mainland has been declared BCs Growth Future. No more will moneys be spent on the hinterland and that those who choose to live there can look after their own roads, social welfare, schools and so on.
    • Exceptions would be Vancouver Island south of Campbell River, the Okanagan and certain areas of the Kootenays close to the Alberta border. There, monies will be made available to entrepreneurs for the building of luxury condos, gated communities and golf courses to attract wealthy retirees .
    • Logging will be further curtailed in the hinterland. Displaced loggers will be re-trained as computer programmers. In Prince George, Suzuki and Berman are pleased to make this green announcement, then hop into their helicopters to flee the displeasure of the howling loggers, dinosaurs who somehow believe they are entitled to earn an honest living.
    • The Premier announces that BC Liberal supporters in the Lower Mainland will be given rides to work, from their doorsteps, in chauffeured limos. David Suzuki and Tzeporah Berman applaud this green initiative, pointing out that this will help conserve dwindling supplies of fossil fuels and spare these forward looking citizens from the indignity of sharing space with the unwashed in smelly buses.
The NDP, under a new leader who no one knows, or cares about, announce that they are opposed to all of this, but say so in a genteel manner, for they really don’t want to upset anyone. In the subsequent election they are reduced to four seats, but declare this to be a moral victory. The hordes of their advisors, backroom operatives and other hangers- on who give timidity a bad name are forced to find other employment. McDonalds and Wal-Mart are flooded with resumes.
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Categories: Smile

15 replies »

  1. Very entertaining speculation, but given the options for a debt soaked society, it has good odds of coming true.
    Our past Auditor General told us about contractual obligations being over $100 billion about 8 years ago but no one in BC would talk about it then or since. A lot of these contracts were designated secret by Campbell so we have no idea of future ownership, which is code for selling/giving away sovereignty.
    Our current Auditor General just released a report on FRAUD in association with Site C. So far nobody is talking about it and we don’t know if the report was generated out of actual evidence or just as a precaution.
    When the Confederation Bridge was built the Feds secured the services of an independent engineering firm in BC to run a continuing audit for adherence to design specs. and it was a good thing they did. By the third pier from the mainland they picked up evidence of mishandling the concrete. The contractor could not walk the talk because of ignorance but he probably was politically well connected.

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      • I think my reason for reminding folks about mistakes made by accident or deliberately, is to make it clear that good practices are better assured, when spending large amounts of money are subjected to third party auditing. I would say that the evidence is that it has never applied to Site C, otherwise why the AG report.
        A missing part to this discussion is the public’s complete belief in Government budgeting, where the opposition is expected to keep governments honest. Long ago governments discovered they could increase GDP numbers by signing contracts that were never to be made part of debt. That is why my reference to “contract obligations” as reported on by a previous AG, who did not have his employment contract renewed.

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  3. Sounds like the Liberal Primer for 2024.

    One wonders Horgan’s current self immolation now taking place and taking the NDP down with him, with his recent Putinesque announcements, will make what was light hearten fun in 2011, come true in 2024.

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  4. We forgot about Boessenkool. He is the Campbell/Clark BC Liberals new steering committee,is he not?

    Deb Grey said, Harper isn't a Conservative, but a Reformer? Campbell works for Harper, so he too is a Reformer? Boessenkool worked for Harper and lobbied for Enbridge. That makes him a Reformer as well. The BC Liberals are Reformers, and not true Liberals. Is the BC Conservative party, true Conservatives, or are they too Reformers?

    One thing about all of this crap…It makes it easy to decide, who you are going to vote for. I can never remember Canada being is such a sordid corrupt and foul mess.

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  6. I don't think this Clark government, one without a real mandate from voters, has credibility to put any giant new initiatives on the table. Too many Liberal MLA's are worried about re-election prospects so they will not approve more giant giveaways. They've already put BC Hydro on the brink of bankruptcy. Any further steps in that direction will anger swing voters and ensure that most Liberal MLAs will be finished with politics, permanently.

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  7. I think that plan is missing one little thing. The current BC Hydro has an enormous amount of future liabilities on its books and the numbers reported by the media are carefully selected to avoid this deficit. (hurray for cushy deals and Independent Power Producers)

    I'm thinking that the BC Libs will look at and learn from what the federal Cons did with Atomic Energy Canada. The BC Libs will sell off BC Hydro's assets to their friends for a song, but leave the province with its liabilities. The BC taxpayer will be purposefully stuck paying a huge debt that'll seem to pop out of nowhere.

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  10. I can only laugh nervously, as I think Mr. Finlayson is closer to the mark than he might realize.
    (OK Norm, I guess I am in the 'pessimistic state of mind'.}

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  13. Mr. Finlayson should be ashamed of himself for eavesdropping on the wet dreams of Michael Walker and Kevin Falcon!

    kootcoot

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