More admissions and allegations came to light this week in John Furlong’s campaign against people who claim to be his victims, writer Laura Robinson and the Georgia Straight, publisher of an atypical […]
Battles of unequals
Has Edward Snowden already gained victory?
From Jay Rosen’s Press Think, Edward Snowden, meet Jeff Bezos: “…It’s not enough to defy the government and reveal what it wants to keep secret. When you go up against the most […]
Conflict of Interest Code for Senators
Questions to be answered: Was the payment of $90,000 to Senator Mike Duffy reasonably considered to relate to the Senator’s position or, since the related expenses had been rejected by the Senate, […]
Bridge for sale, cheap
Province columnist Michael Smyth is technically correct about the status of the corporation, when he writes, “B.C. Ferries is a private company that acts independently of government, even though the government still […]
Friday’s session with Ian Jessop on CFAX 1070
Today, we talked mostly about provincial revenues from natural resources. I’ll be back with Ian next week to talk about BC Ferries. You can listen at the CFAX 1070 website or here:
Hansard, February 13, 2013
Hon. Thomas Mulcair (Leader of the Opposition, NDP): “Mr. Speaker, in the Senate, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Senator Pamela Wallin claimed more than $300,000 in travel […]
The Ferry Advisory Committee Chairs
Resources giveaway
Some denounce redistribution of wealth from rich to poor but fall silent when public wealth transfers to the rich. After Telus, Teck Resources Limited ranks as the largest BC company, by sales. […]
FYI
The tobacco industry is being sued by Canadian provinces that aim to recover more than $100 billion in healthcare costs associated with tobacco related illness. British Columbia is one of the plaintiffs. […]
My opportunity to say thanks
A few educators are on the list of unforgettable characters encountered in my youth but none stand ahead of Frank Gumley, my home room teacher in grades eight and nine. This week, […]
Of business, by business, for business
British Columbia’s revenue from natural resources totalled $4 billion in fiscal year 2001. The Bank of Canada inflation calculator shows the equivalent in current dollars is $5 billion. Natural resource revenue received […]
"Revenue neutral" carbon taxes – hollow claim
In its June budget update, the BC Government said, “When the carbon tax was introduced, one of the key principles was that the tax would be revenue neutral – that all carbon […]
Taking care of business (friends)
Source: 2013 June Budget Fiscal Plan, Table A9 Revenue by Source (Page 120) From Auditor General reports, we know that natural gas revenues reported by the province did not account for the […]
They assume we’re feckless idiots and they might be right.
Before the May 2013 election, BC Liberals promised the entire provincial debt, budgeted this year at $62.5 billion, could be eliminated within 15 years with government proceeds of natural gas production. In […]
Broken trust
After shifting his focus in recent months, Alex Tsakumis is blogging again and getting ready to launch yourshow.ca as a 3-hour a day webcast on politics, media and other current affairs. A […]
Consumers targeted by BC Liberals
Governments prefer indirect taxation partly because politicians assume they’ll take less heat if hands of tax collectors slip into our pockets surreptitiously. That’s done in BC by instructing crown corporations to overcharge […]
Punishing electricity consumers
When Gordon Campbell led BC Liberals into the 2009 election campaign, his platform promised, “We will maintain our competitive advantage from low cost heritage power, for residential and industrial users alike.” When […]
Justice delayed: time is money
In the USA today, a black youth was jailed for life after a jury trial convicted him of a March 2013 shooting. The time from homicide to related conviction: 5 months and […]
Lots of shock, tons of awe – You can help!
H/T: Susan H
A weapon to change the world
Those who educate children well are more to be honoured than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well. ― Aristotle This week the […]
in-sights.ca 
The Wall Street takeover of Canada shouldn't come as a surprise. Ex Goldman Sachs executive, Mark Carney, is demonstrating once…