Tuesday, November 09, 2010

 

Public inquiry into BC Rail political corruption

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BC Mary comment: a question for readers. Have you paid attention to the recent beautiful TV advertising on CTV and CBC Newsworld ... not of cars or beauty aids or even fabulous travel destinations ... but bald-faced advertising of mine-sites as if our Natural Resources are available over-the-counter anytime. Well, maybe they are! 

I've wondered what those expensive adverts. are aimed at ... like, is something up for sale? By whom? To whom? And what is the message we TV viewers in our armchairs should take from these well-tailored and smoothly-spun  advertisements?


Why are these sacred lands being offered up like Pepto Bismal or another laxative? They're talking about the oceans, the mountains and rangeland, the rivers, the forests, the fisheries ... 

weren't they considered sacred, in the past? Holy smoke, this is scaring me ... please scroll down and see

Campbell pushes industrial legacy ... and start plotting and planning for w.t.f. we're going to do to save, preserve, protect the province we call "home".

Start here, read from the top down, to take the pulse of people around the province who are worrying ... then work your way down, down, down to what the unmentionable Gordon Campbell has planned for our future ... 
 
Labour group demands B.C. Rail inquiry

The Daily News, Kamloops - Nov. 9, 2010

Read about it HERE.

http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20101109/KAMLOOPS0101/311099995/-1/KAMLOOPS01/labour-group-demands-bc-rail-inquiry

Excerpt:

Kamloops and District Labour Council has added its voice to those demanding a public inquiry into the B.C. Rail scandal.

The group representing 10,000 workers in the region submitted an emergency resolution to the 2010 B.C. Federation of Labour annual general meeting this month.

First vice-president Peter Kerek said members and citizens all over B.C. were shocked and appalled at the quick guilty pleas by Dave Basi and Bobby Virk and the deal by the province not to pursue them for legal costs.

"A lot of folks feel cheated by the payout of $6 million. It was a combination of that and the fact no real knowledge came from this process. There was a complete avoidance of testimony from some very important folks."

Among them was former finance minister Gary Collins, who was scheduled to testify at the trial.

{Snip} ...

Kerek said transparency of what happened is more important than cost considerations of an inquiry.

"As much as justice can be expensive, it's necessary."

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Bill Tieleman writes:


Nine years of hypocrisy

The Tyee - Nov. 9, 2010

Visit the full story HERE for embedded links.

Quote:

...  Gordon Campbell's record is a massive contradiction between the good intentions he claimed and the actual road to hell he paved for so many unfortunate British Columbians while his friends and backers waved from the steamroller ...

The 2001 Throne Speech promised that: "My government will act in this session to make good on its commitment to initiate merit employment legislation to ensure that British Columbians are being served by a professional, non-partisan public service appointed strictly on merit."

But last month Campbell's chief of staff Martyn Brown, who has been the premier's top political advisor for 13 years, was appointed deputy minister of tourism.

Brown was paid $170,544 in the last fiscal year and while we don't yet know his new salary, we do know that former tourism deputy minister Lorne Brownsey was paid $230,664 and that the average salary for deputy ministers in 2008 was $217,758.

___________________________


BC Mary comment:  Talk about hypocrisy ... this is the premier who made Gordon Wilson's life torture, because of the Wilson-Tyabji love affair which ended in marriage ... so my question is, well ... let's begin with what's the current salary of Gordon Campbell's longtime Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive Assistant, Lara Anne Dauphinee (the mysterious lady who is "never far from his side", all these years)? Isn't it time her employers were informed? 

Not recommended: a web-site published in U.S.A. and protected under U.S. Freedom of Speech Laws: 

Premier Campbell's Mistress / Escort / Concubine - Lara Dauphinee ... which asks: If you have information on Lara Dauphinee please share it with us. It is a matter of public interest to know exactly who this woman is, why she is paid ...


gordonlara.blogspot.com/.../is-there-psychiatrist-in-house-beca...


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BC First Party Press Release says:

PRESS RELEASE: BC FIRST UNVEILS PLAN TO CHANGE SYSTEM

November 8th, 2010

PORT COQUITLAM – BC First has unveiled its’ [sic] plan to overhaul the system that permits the concentration of power in government witnessed under the BC Liberals – an approach which has severely damaged BC’s democracy says party spokesman, Chris Delaney.

{Snip} ...

“Our strategy for democratic renewal will begin with the creation of a new BC Constitution that will be controlled by the people, not the politicians. It will lay out the powers of government – both what they can and cannot do. And any change to the BC Constitution will require the approval of the people in a province wide vote. Never again will a single person be able to create a tax through an executive order, or thwart the will of the public on major issues.”

Delaney continued, “A BC Constitution that is created by the people, for the people, and is owned by the people will restore our democracy, our prosperity and our freedoms. It will protect our environment, our resources and our communities for the people of BC. It is the single biggest change we can make to ensure the return of sound fiscal management and prosperity to BC again.”

Delaneys says a BC First Government will also restrict political party donations to citizens only, and will implement a full, open and televised public inquiry into government corruption committed under the BC Liberals over the last 10 years.

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BC Mary comment: This is what an ethical, honourable media is supposed to do.  Forewarn the public, I mean ...  for example, must we start thinking of our sacred public forests as "wood waste".  Scarey? Yes. But it gives us a fighting chance when we KNOW what's coming at us ... 



B.C. VIEWS: Campbell pushes industrial legacy

By Tom Fletcher
BC Local News - Nov 09, 2010

VICTORIA – Gordon Campbell isn’t going to get close to W.A.C. Bennett’s record of 20 years in the premier’s office, but he intends to leave a footprint at least as large on B.C.

Campbell’s surprise resignation last week came as I was attempting to sort out his latest reorganization of resource ministries. His comments since then have made me even more convinced that this is the key task he intends to push to the point of no return before he goes.

While the city media obsess over the horse race of potential candidates to succeed Campbell, this much more significant story is unfolding quietly in government offices around the province. Thousands of provincial employees are being moved and shaken to build the new Ministry of Natural Resource Operations.

Here’s a partial list of what this ministry is now legally responsible for: wildfire management, Crown land and forest permits, independent power production, road and bridge engineering, mineral and coal titles, resorts and alpine ski developments, fish and wildlife management, drought management, watershed restoration and aboriginal consultation on resource development.

And here is a partial list of what Campbell intends to see develop through this ministry: the Site C dam, a province-wide network of new mines, forest tenures, liquefied natural gas production and export facilities, new independent power projects, and all the roads, power lines and pipes needed to connect them.

This is a wave of industrialization on a scale with Cecil Bennett’s creation of BC Hydro, BC Ferries and BC Rail.

An internal memo circulated to staff in the forest, transportation, environment and other ministries gives assurances that the B.C. Forest Service will celebrate its 100th anniversary as planned in 2012. But by then it will be effectively broken up, divided between the ministries of forests and natural resource operations, and traditional jobs such as forest enforcement officer and conservation officer will be merged.

Before this reorganization was announced, I asked Energy Minister Bill Bennett about the government’s plans for a feed-in tariff  program for new sources of electricity. Bennett (no relation to the two former premiers) said he intends to have it in place as soon as possible, perhaps by the end of the year.

It will be nothing like the Ontario program, which heavily subsidizes farmers for putting solar panels in their fields, Bennett said. The B.C. program will subsidize development of emerging sources, particularly those using wood waste.

“You put a First Nation together with a community that's lost a bunch of jobs from the pine beetle, together with a form of electricity producing technology, and as long as you can generate the electricity for a reasonable price, you might have a winning project,” Bennett said. “That to me is how you encapsulate the feed-in tariff program.”

For years there has been debate about the decline of small communities, loss of industrial jobs and wildfire management in B.C.’s vast hinterlands. In short, how do you keep smaller, remote communities economically viable, and how do they protect themselves from fire?

Here, at least, is a plan that offers a way to tackle the huge problem of accumulated forest fuel, waste from traditional logging, and jobs and energy supply in remote areas. It will be subsidized by the vast majority of electricity users who enjoy the benefits of the urban economy.

There will be plenty of talk in the weeks to come about Campbell’s legacy. The income tax cuts, the HST, both are designed to  create an environment for private investment and employment.

The resource development plan may be the most important piece of the puzzle.

Tom Fletcher is legislative reporter and columnist for Black Press and BCLocalnews.com.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca

Read more HERE.  Recommended.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/newwestminsternewsleader/opinion/106962818.html

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Comments:
For sure, the Constitution means nothing. Our Civil Rights and Liberties, have been taken away from us, the people. Democracy and Freedom, is totally gone. None of the above, is on Campbell, Hansen, De Jong, and the BC Liberals radar. Campbell may have resigned, in words, however his word means nothing. He does not intend to leave. This is just another dirty tactic, Campbell used to stall for time. We had better do an extensive recall, to bring this corrupt and evil, BC Liberal government down, wipe them completely out. That is what the BC people need to keep, on their "radar".
 
Yes, for sure, Anon 10:47:

what you say is true. Except where you paint a picture of each BC citizen as a helpless victim.

The heck with that.

So the question now is: what should we do next? You, me, each of us: what's next?

It doesn't need to be huge, but it needs to be SOMETHING ... every day, every citizen.

OK?
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Re the BC Constitution...the last constitutional convention in BC, other than the Citizens' Assembly I suppose, was the Yale Convention of 1866, which was where the pro-Canada settlers lobbied (and won) against the independent dominion/colony factions that didn't want to join Canada. Needless to say, the meeting was stacked and various people "found it difficult to come"....

A constitutional convention needs to be called, irrespective of the federal constitution which doesn't allow for citizens of provinces to change their provincial charters. It's high time, and more than once in the last thirty years (and more) have there been good reasons to get proper constitutional reform in BC going.

The Charlottetown Accord, though rejected by voters, saw its concentration-of-power-in-first-ministers provisions proceeded with, with the media all the while saying we had rejected women, Quebeckers and natives. No, we rejected the politicians (and the media).....

The issue, it seems to me, is how to give that Convention, if it's held, credibility among the rank and file of voters - including those who normally given elections a wide berth, and only deal with politicians if they have to. Because without that credibility, there will be no moral compunction on anybody to recognize its results - and there's no point in expecting the BC government (Lib or NDP) to launch such an enterprise; power over the proceedings must come up out of the people, and in such a way that The Crown (meaning Ottawa) can't ignore it.

Victoria, IMO, has far too many hanging baskets, and not enough hangings....
 
Tax revolt?

General strike? Boycotts?

Legislature Raids? That might be fun. A flashmob on the lawn of zombies in Campbell masks, dancing to Thriller! The Undead. The youtube would go viral.
 
Skookum1,

We owe you big thanks for starting this conversation.

Back soon, after I consult a few history books.

Like, is it really possible (Yes, it is) that a verifiable body of citizens can come together to form the basic discussion group?

And if this group had its integrity and credentials in order, it would need to be non-partisan, I think. You?

And then to develop media which could be trusted to transmit the factual story without bias aforethought.

Back soon.
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Now that is a group I would choose to belong to,

and on that not

http://www.constitution.org/hs/ignore_state.htm
The Right to Ignore the State
1. The Right to Voluntary Outlawry
As a corollary to the proposition that all institutions must be subordinated to the law of equal freedom, we cannot choose but admit the right of the citizen to adopt a condition of voluntary outlawry.
 
1. A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murder is less to fear: Cicero Marcus Tullius

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that Has.” Margaret Mead
 
Big money and big business, corporations and commerce, are again the undisputed overlords of politics and government.
: “You have violated your solemn responsibilities. You have undermined our democracy, spat upon our Constitution, and engaged in outrageous, despicable acts. You have brought our nation to a point of immorality, inhumanity, and illegality of immense, tragic, unprecedented proportions.”
“But we will live up to our responsibilities as citizens, as brothers and sisters of those who have suffered as a result of the imperial bullying of the United States government, and as moral actors who must take a stand: And we will, and must, mean it when we say
“We won’t take it any more.”
If we want principled, courageous elected officials, we need to be principled, courageous, and tenacious ourselves. History has demonstrated that our elected officials are not the leaders – the leadership has to come from us. If we don’t insist, if we don’t persist, then we are not living up to our responsibilities as citizens in a democracy – and our responsibilities as moral human beings. If we remain silent, we signal to the candidates running for office – and to the world – that we support the status quo.
Silence is complicity. Only by standing up for what’s right and never letting down can we say we are doing our part.
Recall Now!
GStrike Now
 
Any party that guarantees a proportional representation referendum will secure my vote.
 
http://www.cn.ca/en/surplus-real-estate-sale-purchase-contacts.shtml
 
Anonymous 3:54,

You may wish to pursue that tip a little farther. It certainly looks legit. But ...

This is the reply I received when I sent a polite inquiry:


To: Anita Fleming

Subject: Surplus real estate

From: BC Mary

Message: We would appreciate receiving your listings of surplus real estate in British Columbia now being offered for sale. Thank you.


and presumably it was Ms Anita Fleming who barked:

CN has no such list and no inventory of surplus real estate.

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If:

"CN has no such list and no inventory of surplus real estate."

If this is the case, then WHY does CN have a whole page dedicated to Surplus Real Estate with contacts for each geographical region?

I would suggest that Anita Fleming gave that answer because in British Columbia there is no "surplus" real estate as it is all spoken for by friend of the Campbell Crime Family!
 
Koot,

It does raise a question: why bother creating an inventory format for surplus real estate,

complete with contact persons and their phone numbers,

if CN has "no such list and no inventory of surplus real estate".

And why is she yelling at me?
 
She probably recognizes your name.....I wouldn't be surprised if there's a blacklist kicking around CN as well as around other companies supporting/benefitting from the BC Liberals....
 
Skookum1,

Well, I suppose it's possible. But honestly, I find it very difficult to believe that even an underling like Anita Fleming would've been instructed to treat BC Mary as a danger to the mighty CN.

Help me up off the floor, please ... although I enjoyed the laugh.
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I thought of that too Skookum1 so I made a request as a prospective investor (which was not a lie, you should hang for lying!) so lets see if I get the promised response on Friday.
 
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