People promoting continuation of “energy self-sufficiency” are really saying that British Columbia should continue giving a unique and costly advantage to one particular industry, a sector that has grown used to taking in close to a billion dollars a year in above-market payments…
Norm Farrell
Gwen and I raised three adult children in North Vancouver. Each lives in our community with seven grandchildren, 12 years and younger. I have worked in accounting and financial management and publish IN-SIGHTS.CA with news and commentary about public issuesv.
You have no choice; you have owners.
George Carlin: “It’s called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.”
Privatizing natural resources, by stealth
Despite the NDP promise that resource development must provide a fair return to the public, John Horgan’s Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources functions just as it did under Christy Clark…
Absolute disregard for transparency and accountability.
Had BC Hydro executives chosen to, the annual report and financials could have been released one to two months ago. Much of the report is boiler plate that is substantially reused each year and key business information is created internally within days of period end…
Words to die by
This comes from a person who got it from a person who got it from a place unknown. Apologies to the original creator but I think it’s worth a look.
Hippocratic oath for policing
Sgt. Jeremiah P. Johnson of the Darien Connecticut Police Department responded to a discussion about the policing industry having its own Hippocratic Oath. Given the extent of misconduct now revealed in North America, this is worthy of wider attention…
When a gun is not your tool
Wife Gwen, who’s practised as an RN for over 50 years, said much the same thing as the nurse in this Seattle demonstration. Perhaps it is time to disarm most of the police and assign nurses to train police in de-escalation techniques.
More destruction of prime farmland
Today, a message from Cedar Isle Farm near Agassis BC landed by email, telling about another effort by real estate developers and their allies in municipal government. The aim is destroy yet more prime farmland. This one is a monster that seems immortal. Locals have thought it dead numerous times in the past 20 years, but it has risen repeatedly…
We tolerate our own racism too easily
Vancouver witnessed a large but peaceful protest against the Floyd killing. It is easier though to be critical of racist behaviour elsewhere than in our homeland…
Postmedia, still allied with BC Liberals
It is not the first time a Postmedia newspaper has presented a misleading report on public affairs. This one doesn’t rise to the level of Brian Lilley’s ugly dog whistle implication that Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam is more loyal to China than Canada, and should be fired. Rob Shaw authored the latest…
Media matters, in ways not mysterious
A comment on my article at The Tyee is repeated here along with some hints about how dollars might have influenced reporting on IPPs by members of the corporate media.
Simple facts about BC Hydro
Despite flat electricity demand since 2005, BC Hydro increased dollar value of IPP purchases by 185%, added 17% to its own generating capacity and bumped total assets from 12 to 38 billion dollars and is spending 15+ billion more on capital expenditures…
Billions lost – bad luck, incompetence or fraud?
Electricity ratepayers, mostly residents and small to medium sized businesses, suffer because of failures by politicians and major media. The public was badly informed and that has enabled losses that will ultimately measure in the tens of billions of dollars. This should be British Columbia’s largest ever political scandal but the people responsible for it will never be held to account. On the contrary, the scoundrels have departed or will one day retire in unsullied comfort…
Corporate welfare
Despite newspapers being longtime supporters of Fraser Institute teachings that call for reduced public spending, they are now more than happy to get in line for corporate welfare. That’s not surprising. While many Canadian journalists are principled professionals, rather few of their employers share that virtue.
Dream of tomorrow
The best four minutes you can spend today.
Too soon M. Legault
Premier François Legault has started to prepare Quebecers mentally for the gradual lifting of the province’s lockdown…
More methane? Meh!
In British Columbia and other western provinces, we will soon be working to reshape the economy. Now is a perfect time to commit to reduced production of fossil fuels and move vigorously toward a clean energy economy. Instead of public relations campaigns, we need action. Real action.
Apparently Sweden’s answer is no
Sweden has refused to join the rest of us in a lockdown. How’s that working?
Hidden cost of fighting Covid-19
Numbers are imprecise but in normal times, 10 to 12 thousand patients are in BC Hospitals. Around 1,500 of those are discharged each day and replaced by new people needing treatment. If 75% of now vacant hospital beds were occupied and a pandemic surge occurred, the current number of empty beds would be restored within three days. Trends experienced elsewhere show there will not be a massive single day spike…
The Fierce Urgency of Now
The financial crisis is about more than money. It is also about morality, casting an uncomfortable light on the links between the activities of bankers and the wellbeing of society as a whole. The idea that economics is morally neutral or that finance should be above ethical scrutiny deserves to be challenged.
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