The Legislature Raids

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BC Mary comment: Dearie me, what's come over the good Reverend Palmer today?? Has he seen some significant handwriting upon the wall or something?

The government of ‘accountability’ taken to task for its bookkeeping

By Vaughn Palmer,
Vancouver Sun columnist - Sept 30, 2011

VICTORIA - Auditor-General John Doyle’s latest verdict on the B.C. Liberal government’s bookkeeping can be reduced to a single word: “Unacceptable.”

The longer version of the independent financial watchdog’s “observations” on provincial financial accounting was spread over a 54-page report, released Thursday in Victoria.

Doyle cited the Liberals for a range of accounting errors, some major, some minor, some debatable, others falling under the heading of just plain wrong.

One of the latter concerns prompted him to brand the B.C. public accounts with the most damning label in the auditing lexicon — a “qualification,”  meaning that in one key respect, “the information is not auditable or is misleading.”

Such findings are supposed to be a “rare occurrence” in the realm of public-sector auditing, but that has not been the case in B.C.

“During the last 15 years, this office has issued qualified audit reports on the provincial financial statements 12 times,” said Doyle, referring to his own tenure and that of four predecessors. “For a government that strives for transparency and accountability, this is unacceptable.”

Some overlap there with the term of the previous New Democratic Party administration. But the B.C. Liberals took office a decade ago promising to implement the highest standards for public sector accounting. Whereas Doyle rounded on them for several decisions that defied those standards.

He challenged the government’s recent decision to exempt itself from a key provision in accounting standards, thereby continuing the practice of deferring hundreds of millions of dollars in costs at BC Hydro. Without that escape clause the deficit would be half a billion dollars larger this year alone.

He also elevated a growing concern about long-term contractual obligations, undertaken as part of public-private partnerships and other contracts. They currently total $80 billion, an almost three-fold increase in five years, largely because of long-term power purchases by BC Hydro.

The government reports a running tally in the fine print of the public accounts, a point noted here previously. It thereby meets the bare minimum requirements of public sector accounting standards, a point Doyle concedes.

But he goes on to say that’s not good enough to satisfy the broader public interest in accountability.

“The expected payment streams associated with these obligations directly impact the remaining amount of discretionary funds available to government to meet future needs,” wrote Doyle, as he urged the government to disclose considerably more detail to help taxpayers better understand the multi-billion-dollar commitments being undertaken in their name.

The Liberals insist that many of Doyle’s findings — he cites 77 errors of one kind or another — amount to no more than a clash of accounting philosophies between the auditor-general and the in-house comptroller-general.

Doyle acknowledges that sometimes “we agree to disagree.” Still he insists that all errors should be fixed: “Call me old-fashioned if you like.” According to the running tally in the report, only half of the identified errors were rectified, the rest being dismissed by the government as “not significant” (25) or a matter of opinion (14).

On the clash of philosophies, Doyle says “that’s a nice line,” but sometimes the government is “just plain wrong.”

Heading that list is the matter that provoked his decision to put a qualification on the books, namely the government’s persistence for the third year in a row in treating the Port Mann Bridge project as a self-supporting enterprise.

The B.C. Liberals maintain that the overseer agency for the Port Mann, the Transportation Investment Corp., qualifies as “a government business enterprise” because “it is able to maintain its own operations from revenues raised outside the government reporting entity. The corporation will support its operations from toll revenue.”

Doyle: “The new bridge is under construction. Until it is built and the toll booths are operational, it will not be ‘selling’ a service to anyone. The only revenue source the corporation has at present is the interest income being earned on the funds provided by government debt.”

Moreover, a lot of “high-risk assumptions” have gone into the assertion that the twinned Port Mann, when fully up and running in 2013, will bring in enough tolling revenue to service a projected $3.3-billion debt plus hefty operating costs.

Just think of the way TransLink’s new Golden Ears Bridge has fallen short of delivering its projected revenue streams, never mind the precarious  state of the economy overall.

The financial shape of things to come was very much on Doyle’s mind as he prepared his report, he told me during an interview Thursday.

These are times of “very limited financial flexibility.” Provincial spending, debt and obligations are on the rise. Only revenues are flat. “Good financial management is critical.”

{Snip} ...

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Opinion+government+accountability+taken+task+bookkeeping/5480274/story.html#ixzz1ZSPfTmrH

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BC Mary says: Please, I beg you, please tell me (so I can believe it) that we, as citizens really can trust this campbell/christy government to take best care of the province we love! 

Start with the uplift and smack-down of Harry Bloy ...  

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-politics/after-his-one-bright-insight-bloy-gets-left-in-the-dark/article2185882/

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BC Mary comment: The BC Place History, packaged, and available only in the smaller news media outlets in BC. I wonder how thrilled the northern citizens feel about it. Read about it here. Well worth a read. 

A stadium reborn

By Bob Mackin, Contributing writer
Vancouver Courier - September 30, 2011


With a $563 million price tag for a massive retrofit, B.C. Place Stadium has never stopped making history since its debut in 1983. It likely will again when it reopens Friday night.


Read much more HERE:

http://www.vancourier.com/stadium+reborn/5478606/story.html#ixzz1ZRw6vg1H

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BC Mary comment: When Ian Mulgrew writes a new column, I pay special attention. And here's why: because Ian Mulgrew is the only journalist who picked up on my finding: that "Mr Big" i.e., Jasmohan Singh Bains (the guy police were tracking when they raided the BC Legislature) had been put on trial for drug trafficking, found guilty, and sentenced to 9 years plus heavy fine. That's correct: Mulgrew was the ONLY Big Media journalist who filed that  significant story, even crediting me with the finding. Even so, it was Feb. 17, 2009 edition of Vancouver Sun (8 months after the trial) before Ian Mulgrew wrote that first and only mention of this significant figure (who also happens to be Dave Basi's cousin) in the BC Rail story. I understand that Bains has long ago been paroled ... but we don't hear about that, either. Things like this still make me go Hmmmmmm ...


Opinion: B.C. judge deems Harper’s crime bill ‘strain’ on system

Chief justice’s remarkably candid comments are further evidence of growing concern that more discussion needed on controversial measures


By Ian Mulgrew,
Vancouver Sun - Sept 28, 2011


The federal Conservatives limited debate on their sweeping omnibus crime bill on Tuesday, at the same time as B.C.’s top trial judge was raising concerns about its consequences.

B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman flashed an ever-so-subtle “danger” sign at Ottawa over its 102-page plan to put more people in jail for longer.

“Certainly it will put a strain on [the bench],” he said in a conversation with CKNW radio host Bill Good Tuesday.

“It will put a strain on Corrections Canada and on the corrections in British Columbia actually housing these people. Those issues are probably even more serious than the strain on my court from the point of view of a manpower issue.”

The chief justice was remarkably candid given that judges rarely comment on political issues and that controversy is raging over the crime bill.

He underscored the views of correctional officers who insist jails and prisons are already bursting and that without more cell space, the new mandatory sentences will worsen the overcrowding problem.

If nothing else, Justice Bauman’s comments were further evidence of the growing concern that more discussion, not less, is needed on these controversial law-and-order measures.

The raft of changes the Tories are ramming through the Commons includes nine bills that died with the old minority Parliament.

But the ability of MPs to review and scrutinize the contents of this all-inclusive package has been severely curtailed for no good reason.

Passing the legislation within 100 sitting days was a Conservative campaign promise and Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says he intends to deliver — sensibilities be damned.

The Tory MPs used their majority Tuesday to restrict debate and pave the way for the bill, though its stiffer sentencing measures ignore the best evidence on public safety, crime prevention and corrections.

There also are absurd anomalies in the hodgepodge — pot growers are being penalized more harshly than child molesters.

Nor has the government provided a clear cost estimate for this punishment-oriented approach that will put taxpayers on the hook for billions in correctional spending because of the vast increase in mandatory sentencing.

Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page is investigating that aspect of the legislation and hopes to report back in 60 days.

The lack of proportionality, perspective and other flaws in the government’s approach discourage non-partisan support for measures in the grab bag that are positive — new offences to protect children, putting victims’ rights in the parole process into law, and changes to lengthen the time period in which offenders must show good behaviour in order to become eligible for parole.

But perhaps more importantly, the federal strategy seems bereft of any understanding of what’s happening in the provinces, which are responsible for delivering justice and maintaining the legal system.

And that may have triggered Justice Baumann’s restrained but sharp comments.

The B.C. legal system has been subjected to severe restructuring and cutbacks since the provincial Liberals took office a decade ago.

The problems have made headlines, be it courtrooms closing because of a shortage of sheriffs or dockets so clotted you can’t get a trial date in less than year.

Cases are regularly thrown out in Provincial Court because it has taken too long for them to get to trial. Heck, we had a riot in Vancouver and three months later, not a single charge has been laid yet.

And generally, too many serious cases take far too long to prosecute — three to five years is standard, and sometimes it’s much longer, as in the case of BC Rail.

As Justice Bauman said, Parliament and the legislatures have a constitutional obligation to ensure that the judiciary, which is a separate and independent pillar of our government, is able to bring people to justice in a timely fashion and that citizens have access to justice.

Both the criminal and civil legal systems are cornerstones of a civil society and they are both in jeopardy.

This crime bill will not make the country safer — we are already experiencing the lowest crime rates since 1973. It will exacerbate the problems.

In Canada, we need a serious discussion about how to fix the legal system, not a slew of ideologically driven laws that handcuff judges and drive up the prison population.

Source is HERE:

http://www.vancouversun.com/Opinion+judge+deems+Harper+crime+bill+strain+system/5467361/story.html

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BC Mary comment: It's becoming more clear, why Stephen Harper looked to the  devastated Province of British Columbia, liked what he saw, and decided to promote the despised, cast-off premier to be Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Something doesn't sit right. Why aren't there permanent pickets around Gordon Campbell's posh new residence at Canada House on Trafalgar Square. And the picketers' signs should read, NO TO GORDO! and like Brigette DePape's, STOP HARPER!

It also becomes more clear why Gordo and his good pal David Emerson were pushed with an almost vulgar haste into their Order of British Columbia awards. How much of this can we take?  



Quote:

... There is no real domestic need for the excessive electricity generation and "upgrades" being called for in Canada, but, under the radar, something much bigger is going on. It has to do with "energy convergence." We tend to think of the electricity sector as separate from the oil and gas sector. But increasingly, the same corporate players are involved in both.

What they are planning is literally continent-transforming and would drain Canada of oil, gas, and hydro  - all without any public involvement except that taxpayers are expected to foot the bill ...


To continue reading this excellent article, recommended by Erik Andersen, click HERE:

http://www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/plans-renewable-energy-spin-and-lies-global-energy-grid

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By Robin Mathews
September 26, 2011


Brigette DePape’s 24 page message to Canadians has much in it that is very, very good.  She is wonderful!

The ex-page who held up the red sign saying “Stop Harper!” during the budget speech is daring, thoughtful, and dedicated. But in her message she plays into Stephen Harper’s court dangerously, says what he wants said, and backs his whole agenda without even knowing she’s doing it.

You may have read her gigantic blooper (part of her message) without even noticing. Look at it:

 “Harper will not be stopped within Parliament.  With a Conservative majority in the House of Commons and the Senate, he is free to implement the most damaging parts of his renegade program.”

Pardon?  Does Brigette DePape forget some of the most glorious events in 800 years of Parliamentary history?  Has she spent too much time in present parliamentary chambers where pomp, ceremony, protocol, rank, hierarchy, and ‘rules’ anaesthetize even the most dedicated lover of democracy?

[I don’t want to draw attention to myself in this piece.  But perhaps Miss DePape and readers should know that both my wife and I have been jailed for actions undertaken to preserve and extend Canadian democracy and freedoms.  We have engaged – partly as a result – in all the implications of what Miss DePape calls “civil disobedience”.  Actions of the kind involve the police, the law fraternity, the media, the courts, AND ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, PROVINCIALLY AND NATIONALLY. I report our involvement so I may claim just a little “experience”.]

Elected representatives can be among the most important adjuncts to activist undertakings.  They can be enlisted for loud public support, for questions in the House of Commons (and other legislatures), for organizational skill in building movements and other forces for change. They can play a role even more important than the ones just mentioned ….

No one (except the paid media and brain-dead reactionaries) denies that the Stephen Harper forces seriously endanger Canadian democracy, Canadian independence, and the freedom of ordinary Canadians.  No one denies he wants to wrench Canadian democracy from its foundation and create what is, in fact, a neo-fascist Canada.  A Fascist State is simply a state in which government and corporations are one, and in which police and military are used openly and brutally to prevent any interference with government/corporate policy.

(One need only cite police action at the G8/G20 meetings, and recent Harper interference in collective bargaining to assure Corporate domination. His intention to open Canada’s borders to U.S. policing … speaks for itself, as does his appointment of Gordon Campbell – former B.C. premier – as Canadian High Commissioner to London. Not only is Campbell believed by many to be a criminal, but he dedicated himself for nearly ten years to selling off B.C. to - often U.S. - private Corporations, wrecking B.C.’s financial stability.)

MLAs and MPs can be absolutely central to the fight for the preservation of democracy. They are the elected representatives of the people.  They can stop Parliament – and at times have to do so.
They can ignite public interest and alert the public to dangers as no one else can. They can force a ‘majority government’ to show a repressive and brutal hand or to pause and re-think policy – forced to do so by the threat of complete loss of power.  In either case, the ‘majority government’ loses, for brutal and repressive response by government in a democracy spells its end.

Many presently believe Parliamentarians are powerless – because they have given that indication, and because the corporate-controlled press wants you to think that. We have watched the failure of Parliamentarians over and over and over.  In B.C. – for ten years, while the sell-out of the Province has been going on full force – the NDP Opposition has either been in a coma or pleading that they need to be “polite” and to conduct ‘business’ in the Victoria parliament with good manners! Courteously presiding at the betrayal of the people of British Columbia.

In the federal House of Commons … the same.  Silenced by the Corporations who back them, by the domineering (unelected!) “back room”, by the destructive “parliamentary club atmosphere”,
or – in some cases – by sheer personal greed, the Opposition parties have failed in their task … failed Canadians.

But that has often been the case in Parliamentary history.  And then the beast rouses itself and sees clearly the real dangers before it.  And – more easily than it believed possible – it has broken the shackles on it put there by habit, by greed, by inside pressure, by, finally, outside, monied and power interests, by thugs and criminals – by “the Corporations”.

If we resign the possibility of Parliamentarians rousing themselves, we (almost) resign the possibility of saving our democracy. Action by the population can change history – as Brigette DePape says.  It has done so in the past.  But if Parliamentarians fail us the task is much greater.

It is perfectly reasonable to believe that in the fight against any of the major “police state” changes the Harperites will try to bring in, some Opposition members would call Stephen Harper a liar and a traitor and a despot.  The Speaker would demand they take back those words.  It is perfectly reasonable to believe they would refuse.  Then the Speaker would demand they leave the Chamber.  It is perfectly reasonable to believe they would refuse – and force the ‘guardians’ to drag them from the Chamber.

And then watch the lightning-fast education that would go on in Canada about Harper/Corporate sell-out of the country!

If Bob Rae and three or four other MPs (for instance) did that – and then spent serious time telling Canadians why they did it – the popularity of the Liberal Party, its membership, and donations would soar.  (And Canadians would be informed, as the Corporate Press and Media intends they will not be informed.)  When the media won’t report, you seize the media.

If a clutch of NDP’ers did the same, the NDP would form the next government.

Opposition Canadians are begging their elected representatives for real action.

“Oh,” you say, “the Party Whip and the House Leader would never permit such goings-on.”  But if some dedicated MPs decided on that kind of action, no one could stop them.  And once they had made their case to Canadians, the Party would be forced to back them.

We must DEMAND action from our Parliamentarians – as part of the renewed public interest Brigette DePape calls for.  We must ask for constituency meetings at which we push our representatives up against the wall and DEMAND action from them.  We must threaten to replace them.  In doing those things we are taking action. In doing those things we are undertaking the kind of public responses to policy that Brigette DePape calls for.  By doing those things we are NOT saying “Harper will not be stopped in Parliament.  With a Conservative majority in the House and the Senate, he is free to implement the most damaging parts of his renegade program.”

By doing those things we are setting up the machinery to STOP Harper in Parliament.  What else did Brigette DePape mean when she stood in the Senate Chamber with a red sign saying “Stop Harper” - if she didn’t mean that?

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Dear BC Mary.  


You may post this if you wish.  In the early 1950s (whenever the Kemano Project was being built) my father was there as someone experienced in "stores" management.  I believe I was at UBC then.  


He wrote to tell me that the Vancouver papers and the media all arrived to show the wonderful work and the many, many jobs for Canadians.  


Then when the media was all gone, he told me, anyone in any kind of supervisory position was fired ... and replacements were brought in exclusively from the U.S.A.  He was in the kind of non-worker, non-supervisory position to be ignored - and able to tell me what was really going on.

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BC Mary comment:  While Christy was touring around British Columbia announcing her jobs, jobs, jobs strategy, I don't recall hearing her mention this problem ... Thanks to "Gary E" who forwarded this eye-popping column from Kitimat Daily detailing the situation where U.S. workers are given priority over Canadians in hiring for the jobs available at Alcan in Kitimat, B.C. ...


U.S. Workers take rare  Canadian Jobs


By Merv Ritchie
Kitimat Online


Excerpt:

Today the Globe and Mail is quoting John Les (now Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier of BC Clark) [what?!!] with this statement on employment:

"Everybody is looking for work around home, but (they) may not be aware that there are jobs available in Kitimat or in Terrace or Fort St. John. That's not for everybody, but if you're a young person looking for a job, maybe horizons need to be expanded a bit,"

Really?  There are jobs in Kitimat but from all reports to get one and get fair benefits of the employment at the dismantling of the Smelters
at the Rio Tinto Alcan site you need to be an American.   Canadians are being mistreated and for every one Canadian hired at least three are from as far away as Florida.

For three months the Terrace Daily has been receiving calls from Canadian residents; those living in Terrace, Kitimat and the lower mainland complaining about the treatment and the excessive American
hiring practices while locals seem to be sidestepped or mistreated to such an extent they quit ... to continue reading, click on the headline below:  


U.S. Workers take rare Canadian Jobs


http://www.kitimatdaily.ca/go4937a/ARE_BC_LIBERAL_MINISTERS_THAT_OUT_OF_TOUCH


Foreign worker protection urged

By Matthew McClure,
Calgary Herald - September 9, 2011

A new report by a Tory parliamentary assistant calls for better protection of temporary foreign workers in Alberta from exploitation by unscrupulous recruiters. But Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk balked Tuesday at committing his government to tighter regulations for an industry that brought close to 25,000 workers into the province last year. "I will be definitely promoting upgrading and strengthening the law surrounding the entire industry of recruiting and attracting workers over here," Lukaszuk said at a Calgary press conference where the report was released.

"I would be very presumptuous at this point in time to tell you that it will pass the floor of the house." Government documents show that almost three-quarters of Alberta businesses employing temporary foreign workers inspected by the province two years ago were breaking labour standards. Most of the violations were for failing to pay overtime or a premium for work on statutory holidays.

Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said he is disappointed the province isn't following Manitoba's lead in requiring employers to have a good compliance history with employment standards and workplace safety laws before registering to employ foreign workers. That province also requires recruiters to be licensed as immigration consultants and prohibits them from charging workers fees for finding a job.

Source is HERE:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Foreign+worker+protection+urged/5375099/story.html

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Thinking outside the ballot box: Stop Harper

BY BRIGETTE DEPAPE 
Rabble.ca - SEPTEMBER 22, 2011

Activist Brigette DePape was a page in the Canadian Senate when she came to the attention of the public on June 3, 2011 by a protest she made during the first throne speech of the majority government of Stephen Harper. By silently holding up a sign that said "Stop Harper!" she earned dismissal from her job, the media nickname "the rogue page," and the admiration of Canadians concerned with the undemocratic, ideologically extreme tendencies of the Harper government.
DePape has produced an extensive essay for the Council of Canadians on how we can be more engaged in political life and activism. rabble.ca is reprinting the essay in five parts, starting with part one today.

Introduction
My experience discovering the power of direct action has been exhilarating. It has filled me with hope about our collective ability to transform this country for the better.
Many now know me as the page who held up a stop sign against Prime Minister Stephen Harper. But when I first moved to Ottawa to attend university, my aspirations were very different. I had no thoughts about turning Parliament into a site of protest. Instead, I wanted to take a comfortable place at its centre.
When I left my hometown of Winnipeg for Canada's capital, I came in part to join the Parliamentary Page Program. Back then, I saw Parliament as a means of bringing about much-needed social and political change. But living in Ottawa and working on the Hill, I began to understand our parliamentary system very differently. Far from serving to remedy injustice, it often seemed only to perpetuate it.
I was working as a page in the Senate when Harper secured his majority government with only 39.6 per cent of the popular vote. It had been difficult for me to watch the Conservative agenda move forward in a majority Conservative Senate. With a majority in the House of Commons as well, I knew it was about to get much worse. How could I continue to sit idly by as Harper pushed through a destructive agenda? I could no longer stay silent, so during the Speech from the Throne, I held up a bright red sign that read "Stop Harper."
I am moved by the thousands of people who were excited by my action. It shows that people in Canada are burning for change.
Harper will not be stopped within Parliament. With a Conservative majority in the House and in the Senate, he is free to implement the most damaging parts of his renegade program. For the next four years, we can expect corporate tax cuts, cuts to public services and pensions, erosion of public healthcare, free trade agreements that undermine democracy and labour standards, environmental degradation, and the expansion of the military and prisons. Even if all members of the opposition vote against Conservative policies, the policies will still pass.
I have come to realize that the only way to stop Harper is through grassroots activism. I have always been active in my community, but it was not until recently, and especially since my action in the Senate, that I have begun to discover the power of social movements and direct action.
Some people asked me if my being fired from my Senate job left me worried about my future. Actually, I have never been more hopeful. Working on the Hill, I felt trapped in an agenda and a system that I did not believe in. But as human rights activist and songwriter Joan Baez said, "Action is the antidote for despair." Now, working with social movements, I am more optimistic than ever about tomorrow. While the Conservative government tries to make a mess of our country, social movements are working tirelessly to stop it. They are the hope for real change in Canada.
Since my action, I have been excited to deepen my understanding of direct action: what it is, its source of power, and how historically it has led to positive change in Canada and around the world.
In this paper I write about discovering what people power is and the power of direct action; about how our power as citizens extends beyond voting to dissenting, which should be viewed as both a right and responsibility. I will explore direct action in the current Canadian context and how people power can stop Harper. I look at how Harper's agenda is part of broader systemic problems. I explore the rich tradition of direct action in Canada from which our movement can build on and how intergenerational solidarity can be an important part of this. I look at the effects of taking action and the incredible impact it can have on each of us. I conclude with my thoughts about Canada's future and the power a broad-based people's movement could have.
People power is greater than the power of any government.
In our culture, we are misled to believe that power lies in the hands of wealthy politicians and their corporate allies. For example, the prime minister and the Queen give orders to the Usher of the Black Rod (my former boss) who gives orders to the chief page, who gives orders to the deputy chief page, who gives order to the Senate page (formerly me). We are led to believe that power flows only from the top down. From this perspective, workers obey those in higher positions or else we face sanctions: for me that meant getting fired ... CONTINUE READING BRIGETTE DE PAPE'S STORY


http://rabble.ca/news/2011/09/thinking-outside-ballot-box-stop-harper

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BC Mary comment:  Explosive topics are hidden in this crazy-honest column by Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun. I'm not sure where to look for the five (5) big Ministries already amalgamated by Christy's predecessor, which, I thought, is already named Ministry of Natural Resource Operations (See BC Business - Jan. 4, 2011. The new mega-ministry includes Energy, Agriculture, Forests, Environment and (I think) Lands:

Premier Christy Clark said high-debt policies won't work during a speech to the Vancouver Board of Trade on Thursday.


Excerpt:

Clark also announced $24 million over two years to allow natural resource ministries to eliminate a backlog that is keeping many projects from moving ahead.

She also announced a Major Investments Office, meant to offer direct assistance to potential investors, and a BC Jobs and Investment Board, which she said will be running within 60 days.

"[The board] will include citizens from all across the province to promote economic development by holding government's feet to the fire, to make sure we're doing everything we possibly can to make B.C. competitive and not standing in the way of good jobs," said Clark.

"B.C. will only win if we win together. And so this board will bring together business leaders, labour leaders, community leaders and government to fight for jobs like never before."

Clark said she will unveil the final portion of her jobs plan at a speech today, where she is expected to announce a reorganization of the province's foreign trade and investment offices.

"We are launching an investor-focused international marketing campaign," she said in her speech Thursday. "I will have a lot more to say about the specifics of that when I speak to the Business Council's Asia-Pacific forum [Friday]."


Read more HERE:

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Clark+looks+Asia+boost+outlook/5446476/story.html#ixzz1YmyqiA8g

BC Mary questions:  Are all Christy's new Ministries in addition to -- or replacing -- existing ministries? And isn't this a drastic de-stabilization of the B.C. civil service at a time when  some clear-thinking analyses would be critically important? So who's doing all the heavy analyses? Private consultants?

Does anybody else think that Gordon Campbell wrote the U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron's speech to the Canadian Parliament yesterday?

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Rail expansion part of premier's jobs plan

Premier commits 50 million for Deltaport project wrapping up her provincial jobs plan tour

Dave White
News 1130 - Sep 22, 2011

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Christy Clark's highly anticipated jobs plan has a provincial mandate but there's one big announcement for the Lower Mainland that will clear the way for a 200-million dollar expansion of Deltaport.

"This coast is Canada's coast.  And that's why I'm announcing today that we'll invest $50-million to improve the BC-owned rail corridor that connects Deltaport to Canada's transportation network."

The Premier says it will eventually create hundreds of local jobs.

"With this contribution the Port of Metro Vancouver can move forward with a $200 million dollar expansion to increase container capacity, enabling the creation of more than 600 jobs at port operations."

Clark also wants to expedite border movements ...

Read more HERE:

http://www.news1130.com/news/local/article/280424--rail-expansion-part-of-premier-s-jobs-plan

. The Province 1-200 Granville Street Vancouver, B.C. V6C 3N3 Phone: 604-605-2222 Fax: 604-605-2720 www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince

The Vancouver Sun 1-200 Granville Street Vancouver, B.C. V6C 3N3 Phone: 604-605-2111 Fax: 604-605-2720 www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun

or did I miss something when BC Rail got shoved under the door of the Ministry of Transportation?


BC Mary comment:  Nowhere does the following summary mention that the Roberts Bank spur line (now apparently known as the Roberts Bank rail corridor or RBRC) is owned by BC Rail.

Is it really possible that right under our noses, with our own tax dollars, the old BC Rail spur line to Roberts Bank is being readied for sale? It's hard to forget that this priceless BC Rail link was once promised as the "Consolation Prize" to OmniTRAX ... and withdrawn when the Minister of Transportation was warned that the main BCR-CN deal had begun to stink even before it was signed ... which is why, i.m.o., the BCR-CN deal has remained partially hidden and secret to this day.  And why British Columbia needs to have a full public inquiry into how that happened. 


Canadian Manufacturing»Distribution and Transportation»News


Overpass project is a funding partnership worth $20 million

BY MM&D staff - September 19, 2011



DELTA, BC: Construction has been announced for the 80th Street overpass in Delta, BC, a project along the Roberts Bank rail corridor (RBRC). The overpass is a funding partnership worth $20 million, with the Government of Canada contributing $7.2 million, the province of British Columbia $2 million and Port Metro Vancouver $4.8 million. The corporation of Delta is also providing $1.8 million for construction and $6 million to acquire lands.
“Once completed, this grade separation will enhance rail operations and accommodate increased road and rail movements along the RBRC, an integral part of Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor,” said Fast.

One of nine projects in the $307-million RBRC program, the 80th Street overpass, combined with the other projects under the program, is designed to ease traffic in Delta, Surrey, the City of Langley and the Township of Langley. The program is composed of eight overpasses and one railway siding in a 70-kilometre stretch that connects Roberts Bank, Canada’s largest container facility and coal terminal, with the North American rail network. The cooridor is expected to carry increasing volumes of goods from around the world.

The overpass includes the recently completed repaving of 72nd Street, a new intersection at Ladner Trunk Road and 72nd Street, and an warning system on Ladner Trunk Road to divert motorists to 80th Street if a train blocks 72nd Street. The Government of Canada said the 80th Street overpass will benefit Delta by minimizing traffic delays and providing uninterrupted vehicle access to Boundary Airport—a key service enhancement to the airport and the surrounding industrial areas.

“Along with the port community, we are investing $50 million in overpasses to improve safety and to separate road and rail traffic along the entire Roberts Bank Rail Corridor, from Delta to Langley,” said Robin Silvester, president and CEO of Port Metro Vancouver. “We are pleased to work with our funding partners to advance infrastructure projects, like the 80th Street overpass, which benefit communities and support Canadian trade and jobs in the most sustainable way.”

The overpass is scheduled for completion by June 2012.

Source:

http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/distribution-and-transportation/news/bcs-roberts-bank-rail-corridor-getting-upgrades-42388

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BC Mary comment: Fearing you will not believe it until you see it with your own eyes, I have posted the complete article:


The Harper government is paying a high-powered management consultant firm almost $90,000 a day for advice on how to save money.

Deloitte Inc. was hired on Aug. 15 on a $19.8-million contract to advise the federal cabinet and senior officials on finding enough savings to balance the books by 2014.

The contract, which runs until March 31, is to advise "senior and elected officials on public and private sector best practices in improving productivity and achieving operational efficiencies." There is also an option for a one-year extension.

The federal government invited a select group of 20 "pre-qualified" firms to bid on the work on July 11, rather than use a fully open tendering process. Documents describing the work required were supplied directly to the invited bidders, rather than posted on a tendering website for anyone to see.

The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the so-called "statement of work" under the Access to Information Act.

Deloitte will advise the government on the Strategic and Operating Review, a year-long exercise announced in the March 22 budget that will eventually trim $4 billion from $80 billion in annual program spending.

Tony Clement, Treasury Board president, has asked 67 departments and agencies to submit two scenarios this fall, one with cuts of five per cent, another with cuts of 10 per cent.

A nine-person committee headed by Clement will vet the proposals, and the results will become part of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's spring budget. Clement has said that transfer payments to individuals and the provinces will not be touched.

To date, the government has provided only minimal information about the timelines and process.

Deloitte's final reports are due to be delivered in February next year, suggesting the spring budget is to be released in March, the traditional time frame.

The firm provided training sessions for officials over the last month, as well as management tools to help the committee review the spending-cut proposals expected in October from more than five dozen departments and agencies.

The contract also calls for advice on consolidating the government's far-flung data centres, a centrepiece of the current belt-tightening exercise.

The government has already paid PriceWaterhouseCoopers a $2.5-million fee for advice on how to reduce 308 data centres to about 20.

Deloitte must also provide an information specialist to advise on "disposing of information," and "co-ordinating Access to Information and Privacy Act requirements." The expert will also be "responsible for the efficient and systematic control of the creation, receipt, maintenance, use and disposition of records."

A spokeswoman for Clement defended the contract, saying Ottawa needs the best advice available for reducing costs.

"Engaging private sector advisers who have been successful with cost-saving operational reviews will better enable ministers and deputy heads not only to compile their individual cost-savings proposals but also to provide practical advice on what to look for and how to execute their plans," press secretary Heather Hume said in an email.

"As always, our government is committed to maintaining an open, fair and transparent procurement process while obtaining the best possible value for Canadians."

Hume declined to respond to further questions about the review, saying they are "cabinet processes."

Other firms invited to bid on the $20-million contract included Ernst &  Young, IBM Canada, Bell Canada and Accenture Inc.


Source: The Canadian Press - Sept. 20, 2011

http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Federal-Politics/2011/09/20/Harper-govt-hires-90000-consultant-trim-spending/

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BC Mary comment: Grant Gough -- the Powell River Persuader -- is writing today through the pain of his father's death, and coming home to find his house burned to the ground taking three pets. He is channeling his grief, I think, in this analysis of what's also been happening to the province we love. I hope you will read Grant's full, unabashed column (with comments) at his place ...


Gordon Campbell destroyed BC/Christy Clark continues Campbell's province-killing policies

The Powell River Persuader - Sept. 20, 2011

Excerpt:

The province of British Columbia is dead, that is if you consider Vancouver island part of BC......

When I arrived on the island it was immediately apparent that something was wrong, the weather was gorgeous, the scenery stunning, the fresh air invigorating and the fishing was pretty good too, but all that aside there was a sad undertone so thick you could cut it with a knife..

I was at the Port Alberni Canadian Tire on a Saturday midday, there was 4 young staff in this giant store and I was the only customer, the Safeway store was also barren, Grannies chicken in Port Alberni I was the only customer in hours, 11:00 am to 1:00 pm on a Saturday and I was the only customer, the beautiful people of Port Alberni were their usual friendly self, smiles everywhere and big hello`s were standard fare as always from the locals but this time even the happy facade couldn`t hide their pure fear....Fear of total economic collapse!

The jobs agenda, on CTV news last night they did a story on Nanaimo, apparently they have the highest unemployment rates in BC, 12%, but my gut tells me different, the unemployment numbers are climbing throughout the island, there was no summer tourism bump this year, there was zero summer fattening of wallets and therefor thousands more will be idled very soon and what did we see on Global news...

We saw a Clucking Liberal leader stepping out of a float plane wearing a tight orange skirt and high heels, and the photo-op itself, there was Clucking Christy Clark winking and smiling at the male port workers in Prince Rupert, the only thing missing was a brass pole and stripping music, and what was her announcement, $15 million dollar contribution from the taxpayers of BC going towards CN Rail, all part of a larger $300 million dollar private sector project designed to bring more coal to the port, and yes it was also just a re-announcement of a project long ago slated to happen, although the thought of more freebies to CN Rail sickens me, imagine if we had a provincial railway like say BC Rail, can`t anyone see the irony of the BC Government giving money to CN Rail after Gordon Campbell gave BC Rail to his campaign financier David Mclean(and CEO of CN Rail)...As for the rest of Christy Clucking Clark`s jobs agenda, nothing more need be said, both Palmer and Smyth were quick to note that these announcements are all retread photo-ops, maybe Clucking Clark thinks BCers are too stupid to recognize her deja vu traveling been there done that provincial tour ...


Read Grant's statement here:

http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2011/09/gordon-campbell-destroyed-bc-christy.html#comment-form

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BC Mary comment: How does the BC Liberal government get this kind of free election campaign advertising? ... how many bald-faced lies can they fit onto the head of a pin?


Province's new job plan begins with $90million road and rail project
http://mile0city.ca/article/news/2011/09/19/provinces-new-job-plan-begins-90-million-road-and-rail-project
..

'BC Jobs Plan' keys on trade with Asia
http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/130160948.html
..

Ridley Island terminal expansion key to development. Resource companies hail $90million project which will help in exports to Asia
http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Ridley+Island+terminal+expansion+development/5428962/story.html
..

British Columbia to help fund Prince Rupert port rail project
http://www.progressiverailroading.com/intermodal/news/British-Columbia-to-help-fund-Prince-Rupert-port-rail-project--28051
..

B.C. puts $15million into rail development
http://www2.canada.com/albernivalleytimes/news/story.html?id=c1cd34ba-5601-418d-8990-d50d44a600c9
..

Krog miffed Clark's job tour bypasses Vancouver Island
 http://www.canada.com/Krog+miffed+Clark+tour+bypasses+Vancouver+Island/5428648/story.html

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Ha ha ha ha ... (Good one, eh?) From Progressive Railroading, Sept. 19, 2011:

U.S., Canadian politicians praise benefits of government-funded rail projects


Excerpt:

... Canadian federal, British Columbia and local officials on Friday marked the start of construction on the 80th Street overpass in Delta, B.C., along the Roberts Bank Rail Corridor (RBRC). To be completed in June 2012, the overpass will be funded in part by $7.2 million from the Canadian government, $4.8 million from Port Metro Vancouver, $2 million from the province and $1.8 million from the municipality of Delta.

“This grade separation will enhance rail operations and accommodate increased road and rail movements along the RBRC, an integral part of Canada's Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor,” said Canadian Minister of International Trade Ed Fast in a prepared statement.

The overpass is one of nine planned projects in a RBRC program projected to cost $307 million. The program calls for building eight overpasses and one 43-mile rail siding to connect Roberts Bank, Canada's largest container facility and coal terminal, with the North American rail network.

Read more about our RBRC HERE:

http://www.progressiverailroading.com/mow/news/US-Canadian-politicians-praise-benefits-of-governmentfunded-rail-projects--28039

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By Robin Mathews
September 17, 2011


Honours received, the title “Honourable”, and political titles are now becoming criminal rankings in Canada.  Media are now “accessories” to crime.  Police are now often mafia-style “enforcers”.  Opposition parties cooperate in crimes having taken place and presently taking place.

Where do we look to see the picture before us?

Maybe we should begin with the sick biography of B.C. Associate Chief Justice, the Honourable Anne Mackenzie in the (July) B.C. Bar Association journal, The Advocate. (Asked for a professional biography of her in 2009 when MacKenzie ‘replaced’ Justice Elizabeth Bennett on the Basi, Virk, and Basi trial, the B.C. Supreme Court refused to provide one.)  The Advocate (July 2011) presents a highly selective, high-school gossip, “fashion” biography. Such is the state of the B.C. Supreme Court.

Or maybe we should begin with the endless Canadian media celebration of convicted criminal Lord [Conrad] Black of Cross Harbour – a celebration that persistently excuses Black and challenges justice effectively administered (outside Canada). Black is a holder of the Order of Canada.  He surely deserves to be on this year’s Order of British Columbia list with ‘possible’* criminal Gordon Campbell and his close friends the Honourable David Emerson and Ken Dobell.

Or maybe we should begin with the story of activities undertaken by ‘possible’*criminal the Right Honourable Stephen Harper in his role as prime minister.

Or maybe we should begin with the obscene appointment by ‘possible’* criminal, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper, of ‘possible’* criminal, former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell to the post of Canadian High Commissioner in London.

Or maybe we should begin with the naming of ‘possible’* criminal Gordon Campbell to the Order of British Columbia – named by a roster of mostly sychophants and lackies … among them the Chief Justice of British Columbia, the Honourable Lance Finch, who has failed to legitimate the breach of protocol used to effect the stunningly stupid choice.

Put it another way.

‘Possible’* criminal the Right Honourable Stephen Harper appointed as Associate Chief Justice the Honourable Anne Mackenzie.  She (after being fully informed) fronted for illegitimately appointed Special Prosecutor William Berardino in the Basi, Virk, and Basi case.

On looking at the B.C. appointments of Special Prosecutors since the access to power of Gordon Campbell (2001 and on), something disturbing appears.  The Gordon Campbell group may have used (and the Christie Clark government may still use) the process to appoint sophisticated lackeys chosen especially to pollute the administration of justice.  Long-time B.C. Supreme Court judge Wally Oppal – as Attorney General of B.C. – for instance, actively violated the structure of the Special Prosecutor legislation.  So flagrantly did he do so that when the case against the Bountiful (alleged) bigamists went to court, the judge stopped the trial, and, in effect, threw it out.

Oppal was confirmed – in a case taken against the prosecution by the accused - to have acted improperly.

As a result, Wally Oppal has been appointed by the Campbell/Clark government to what will be a long-running and  highly lucrative position – reviewing the treatment of missing, murdered, Vancouver downtown Eastside women.

Those in the magic circle in British Columbia can do no wrong, even when they are publicly exposed for improper behaviour.  But major efforts are made to cover up wrong doing in the magic circle … by the circle itself, by the media, by the police, by the courts ….

The refusal by Associate Justice Anne MacKenzie (and Chief Justice Bauman) to remedy the illegitimate appointment of William Berardino as Special Prosecutor assured an illegitimate and fraudulent criminal trial of Dave Basi, Bobby Virk, and Aneal Basi (in the BC Rail Scandal).  Berardino and Mackenzie, in effect, I allege, covered for Gordon Campbell, the Honourable Christie Clark, and, almost certainly, guilty corporate others.

B.C. RCMP top officer Gary Bass refused (October 2009) a formal request to investigate Gordon Campbell and all others involved in the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to CNR. RCMP Commissioner William Elliott (now shifted to a sinecure at the U.N. – to get him out of sight and mind (?)) refused any communication.

Media and police, I allege, protected Mackenzie, Berardino, Campbell, Clark … and many others …  from 2001 to 2010.

A complaint to the Canadian Judicial Council about the Honourable Anne Mackenzie’s “conduct” was rejected as not being about “conduct”. Chief Justice of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, the Honourable Neil Wittmann had his secretary assert that he (the Honourable Neil Wittman) had no opinion about the illegitimate appointment of William Berardino as Special Prosecutor.

Look at the people discussed above. Top politicians in B.C. and Canada.  Top police officers in B.C. and Canada.  Top officers of the highest courts in B.C. and Canada.  Top lawyers in the B.C. Bar Association and elsewhere. Almost all media in B.C. and Canada.

I suggest they represent a closed, corrupt, cooperating, lawless shop: destroyers of the Rule of Law in Canada.

“Possible* criminal”: Definition.

The term is used because of the failure of The Rule of Law.  Investigation of public officers and the powerful by police forces is often fraudulent and/or inadequate. Court action is often fraudulent and/or inadequate. Recourse to remedy of any kind is mostly cut off by the “closed, corrupt, cooperating, lawless shop”. Media almost always cooperate fully with criminal action, – being part of the “closed, corrupt, cooperating, lawless shop”.

People believed by many serious, prudent, reasonable Canadians to have violated law and/or trust - to have, in fact, engaged in criminal activity - go almost completely unchallenged.  That makes it necessary to refer to ‘possible’* criminal X’.

‘Possible’* criminal, the Right Honourable Stephen Harper.  (1) In the 2006 federal election, the Party headed by Stephen Harper engaged in what is called the “in and out scandal”.  It was, I believe, a concerted activity to engage in criminal breach of trust.  In effect, a highly effective misspending of electoral funds was engaged in by more than 65 Conservative candidates, only a few others refusing to participate in the dishonest activity.

The “in and out scandal” may have been instrumental in bringing the Conservative Party to illegitimate majority power in Canada.

Properly investigated, properly pursued in the courts, Stephen Harper might well be named criminally responsible in the scandal. The destruction of the Rule of Law in Canada, however, has made impossible, I believe, the necessary procedures to reach a full and fair conclusion.

(2) In the G8/G20 meetings in June 2010 ‘possible’* criminal the Right Honourable Stephen Harper oversaw as prime minister the actions of Infrastructure minister John Baird and Industry minister Tony Clement allegedly misusing $50,000,000.00 of Customs funds for pork-barrelling and graft in the constituency of Tony Clement.

Discussion of the activity has been barren and futile.  Properly investigated, properly pursued in the courts, Stephen Harper, Tony Clement, and John Baird might well, I believe, be named criminally responsible in the scandal.  The destruction of the Rule of law in Canada has made impossible, however, I believe, the necessary procedures to reach a full and fair conclusion.

If those matters have substance, the appointment by ‘possible’* criminal the Right Honourable Stephen Harper of ‘possible’* criminal Gordon Campbell to the position of Canadian High Commissioner in London makes sense.

The RCMP in B.C. refused to investigate Gordon Campbell’s role in the corrupt BC Rail Scandal. Campbell probably, I believe, engaged in criminal breach of trust in the destruction of BC Hydro and in the extraordinary “reconstruction” of BC Ferries.  Those are only most evident areas in which serious, criminal investigation has been denied - areas of so-called “privatization”, policy dear to the heart of Stephen Harper.  Other areas, involving infrastructure contracts, road-building, etc. are only less visible.

To many, many observant British Columbians, ‘possible’* criminal Gordon Campbell and his circle shriek for investigation. British Columbians can be sure that the Stephen Harper cabinet will not do anything to further such investigation. The destruction of the Rule of Law in Canada, actively assisted by Stephen Harper, has prevented what – in a normal democratic society – would by now have been fully and fairly undertaken.  The result would have been – many believe - that the whole complexion of B.C. political, business, and legal life would have been transformed.  Instead, the province is mired in the sewage of continuing corrupt practices.

They cannot go on – provincially or federally – without the country suffering major dislocation, civil unrest, and possible bankruptcies created by criminal misdirection of public funds.

Canadians must act – physically – to seize power from the criminals presently destroying the country.  Canadians might begin to get into practice on October 4, by attending the ceremony to present the Order of British Columbia to ‘possible’* criminal Gordon Campbell (whether he is there or not). Canadians should   prevent that ceremony from taking place.

Such action must be done peacefully and within the constitutional structures of the country, of course – but it must be done.

The Opposition parties?

Just look at B.C.  When William Berardino was shown conclusively to have been appointed Special Prosecutor in the BC Rail Scandal by violation of the legislation, the NDP would do nothing.  Solicitor General critic Mike Farnsworth and Attorney General critic Leonard Krog cooperated with Stephen Owen (chosen out of the air by then Attorney General Michael de Jong) in what I insist was a fake review of the operation of the Special Prosecutor process.  Both Farnsworth and Krog approved of the whitewash Report.

Recognized NDP journalist Bill Tieleman publicly asserted that Willliam Berardino had been cleared of suspicion and that I was incorrect in asserting otherwise.  Tieleman’s statements are wholly false.

New leader of the NDP Adrian Dix has stated he does not believe a Public Inquiry into the BC Rail Scandal is desirable.  He should be demanding immediate criminal investigation, and he should be doing it every day.

Plainly, if meaningful action against real corruption in high places is going to happen in Canada, it is going to have to be organized and carried out by Canadians apart from political parties which - like the courts, police, and media – are, to all appearances, supporters of the present deep and widespread corruption in the country.