How Bad is The Record

100 Mile House Gas Price Gouging

2012-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

After a Letter to the Editor written by some friends about 100 Mile House being ripped off for gas prices, 100 Mile Free Press ran a story on the gas price variations in the Cariboo and Interior. I commented on this article because the responses given, especially by our MLA Donna Barnett, were just rhetoric and government script.

The story can be found HERE

Here is my comment which the Free Press hadn't posted by the time I wrote this piece. Before posting I went back to check and the comment was there (16 hours after I submitted it)

Anyone wanting to check around for prices can do so here: http://www.gastips.com/GasPrices/7/british-columbia

As far as the supply and demand statement goes, that is patently false. Prices are set wherever the gas companies think they can gouge you. 100 mile area can consistently get cheaper prices at the 108.

Years ago when Flora Macdonald was the energy minister for Canada she had to defend prices when they jumped at the pump immediately after a rise in barrel costs. But they were never lowered for weeks when the wellhead price went down. The oil companies in this country are lying to us for the sake of the almighty dollar. Just like Enbridge and their pipeline.end

I think the price gouging is a valid argument and it doesn't just apply to this area. Two years ago because of the prices here in town I made the decision to shop in Williams Lake or Kamloops. I take all my Jerry Cans with me and purchase all my gas for things like my snow blower or Skidoo, my log splitter and emergency generator. The money I save on that volume more than pays for my trip.

Well It's 40 below......

2012-01-18T07:53:00.000-08:00

I got up this morning (at 5 AM because the fire was getting low) stoked the fir and went to the thermometer. It was minus 38C and that's pretty close to 40 below. I remembered back in the day when I actually worked outside in these temperatures. -45C was the coldest I worked in. The secret is you work 20 minutes then get in the truck and have a pull and a toke, warming up for a half hour, then back out for 20 minutes.

You dress for the cold and don't exert too much energy. And ALWAYS make sure the fuel truck arrives on time. If it doesn't come you shut her down and go inside a building. Then you order another truck because you aren't going to get that one running unless you warm it up, inside.

Anyway. In those days a song came out that caught my attention and I post it here for the benefit of the language cops and their headmaster the Kamloops vet. And a little levity for you.

The good thing about these temperatures is that I don't have to go outside in them anymore. I don't get paid for it. The downside is that I won't be icefishing until it drops to about -20C

Harper and Crew Strongly Opposed to"Drugs"?

2011-11-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

     Five Vancouver Mayors (past and present) are now on board to change the Cannabis (Marijuana) laws in this country.

     Doing so would change quite a few things in this country. Everyone knows that it would pretty much cancel billions of dollars in the underground economy and put those billions into government coffers. I suspect trade for cocaine and guns would fall off as well.

     But Harper obviously has his head where the sun don't shine. His blunt statement of not supporting the legalization of "drugs" lumps Marijuana in with the hard "drugs" in circulation. This statement is misleading at the least.

     Let me be quite clear here. MARIJUANA IS NOT A DRUG. It is a herb. A plant. The only people who believe it to be a drug (and I suspect they don' really believe) are the lawmakers who think that criminalizing it will bring them lots of money in fines and property seizures. These folks are amongst the the "Harpers head where the sun don't shine " club. It's a no-brainer here people. The money saved by eliminating spying, smart meters, Lawyers, court appearances, and costs of incarcerated "criminals", I allege would pay off the national debt.

     This draconian law should be repealed. Harper should not be afraid to do so. The US DEA has found too much power and they should lay off the cash cow called Marijuana. It is the DEA that dictates how Marijuana is handled. They have found an easy way to inflate their coffers and they apply it with a vengeance. And the only reason Canada has this draconian law is due to pressure from The United States.

     Way back when I stated this blog I did a piece on Marijuana complete with a brief history of how it came to be outlawed. And that outlawing was fuelled by the power of the press led by non other than Randolph Hearst Followed by the Dunlop family. Seems that Hearst was Pissed off at Poncho Villa for seizing his forests for the revolution and the Dunlops worried about what it could do to their businesses.

     There is plenty of information on marijuana or cannabis online. One of my favorites is Jack Herer
You could also read his book The Emperor Wears No Clothes. Check it out. Get educated.

This Pretty Much Says What The 1% Is Doing To The Occupy Movement

2011-11-12T07:32:00.000-08:00

It is also telling in how the MSM wants to control your thought process.

Sent via e-mail from Rafe Mair. The following lets the 99% know what the1% are doing to the Occupy Movement (and your thought process) through their corporate controlled Media. I believe it is time to start severely attacking that media and their advertisers. And read the op-ed piece in the G&M.

Don't let the corporate media define 'Occupy' ...

Media focuses on camps, ignores issues - as usual

The Corporate Media is the propaganda arm of Corporate Canada. Right now the media is trying to 'define' the Occupy movement in a negative way. And all of the rest of us 99% must remember that The Media is the mouthpiece of the 1%; it is not our friend, it cannot be trusted, and we must always watch the corporate media with an eagle's eye because it never stops trying to lie to us and mislead us about everything of importance.

Since the big 'Occupy Protests' of a few weeks ago, the media has focused all of its attention on 'the camps' that have been set up across Canada. Here in Victoria, the focus is on the camps around Victoria City Hall and in Vancouver. It is relatively easy for the media to make the camps 'look bad', and now someone has died in Vancouver and the officials are saying that the camps have to go. There may be trouble and it will all end with anger which is what Corporate Canada wants.

But the camps are not the Occupy Movement, only a small part of it. The media is focusing on the camps because that is where they want the focus to be. They DON'T want the focus to be on what the movement is really all about, and that's because they want us to forget about that. Occupy is about the lack of democracy in Canada, but there is little mention of that in the corporate media. Occupy is about the corruption of our governments by the billionaires and the elites, and how those people are bankrupting entire nations and destroying our planet. Occupy is about the 'free trade deals' the 1% have imposed on us; deals that have cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs and led to record corporate profits and record homelessness and record food bank use. Occupy is about the nuclear disaster in Japan that is going to kill millions of us, and about how all the Big Media is corporate and how it lies to us and misleads us every day of the year. All of that is what Occupy is about, and The Media's job is to make us forget it - if they can.

The media could be leading us in a discussion about how to improve our democracy and make it work better for us, but they aren't.
The media could be giving us information about how we can fix up our tax system, but they aren't.
The media could be telling us about climate change and fracking and how we can move towards a sane environmental policy, but they aren't.
Instead the media are focusing on a few dozen people living in tents. Why are they doing this? Because that is where they want the focus to be. And until the rest of us come to grips with how corrupt and manipulative the Canadian media is, we are going to keep losing. We've got to keep our eyes focused on our real enemies; and the real enemies are the corporations, their politicians, and their media. And we have to keep some real solutions in mind, and in my opinion two of the best solutions are more democracy and a free press. Let's Occupy That.
jack etkin
jetkino@yahoo.ca

I Remember

2011-11-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

For the past few years I have been worried that the younger kids of today were not interested in what went on during the 20th century. But with the events in the world since 2000 I believe the latest generation has taken up the cry. It has been very nice to see some of the news reports showing children making statements about Remembrance Day. Formerly Armistice Day in Canada.

Tomorrow sometime after 9 AM Pacific Standard time (about noon in my Hometown)I will begin my 68th year on earth. Being a holiday I was able to attend most of the services in the past. One I missed was memorable. I was in the RCAF and had severe ingrown toe nails and the day before I was to go on Parade the M/O removed the nails from both my big toes. I attended in full dress blues in a wheelchair and thought "well at least I don't have to march." But it was my birthday and what the hell, eh. It has sometimes been a stretch but I have survived. Many of my family fought in both of the Great wars and my Maternal Grandfather enlisted in the PPCLI in both the first and second worl wars. He survived. And some of my friends fought and died in Vietnam. I remember them all.My time was served during peaceful years in Canada.(except for the Soviet Union Problems)

The only poem I ever learned is reprinted below.

For those who have not read In Flanders Fields by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae I post it here.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lower Mainland Gets New Tax

2011-10-18T07:51:00.000-07:00

Before contracts have even been Let the government has rammed through a new tax to build the Evergreen line. I was wondering how this could be done so speedily when the HST removal would take up to two years, when I spotted the following comment in a article in the Province.

hunkyleepickle

4:56 PM on 10/17/2011

Funny how a new tax can get legislated in a matter of weeks, but to get rid of a tax it takes a provincial vote and then almost two years.

Not only did I think of the speed of the legislation, but wasn't there a previous tax that was to cover the line? Time doesn't permit me to research this in the next couple of days so maybe some of my readers could help.

ISA (deadly virus) Found in BC Salmon

2011-10-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Tyee is reporting that the deadly exotic virus that wiped out at least 70 % of Chile's farmed salmon has been found in BC Salmon.

After years of denial the lying bastards at DFO have now been found out. Shut down the Farmed Salmon Industry in BC. Clean up the mess and do not allow any foreign salmon eggs into this country. This is not a request. It is a demand. Do it now.

I am urging everyone reading this blog to write your MLA's, your MP's, the Federal and Provincial departments of Fish and Oceans and the ministers responsible. Shut the god dam system down. And keep writing them until they do shut it down.

See Alexandra Mortons Blog HERE

Harper Government Believes That Because They Hold a Majority Of Seats, Other Majorities Don't Matter

2011-10-17T06:29:00.000-07:00

I have reprinted other material by Wendy Holm here, but this one is big and I believe follows to what is happening with the 99% Evolution. Highlighted below are the sections I believe are important I don't remember hearing anything from Harper about dismantling the Wheat Board. Not from any candidates in my area. And for a government to suggest that they have a mandate to do this is appalling to say the least. (Highlighting other than websites are from GaryE)

Western Dairy Farmer - October 2011
Wendy Holm

Column
747 words

Lulled by the spin-cycle?

On September 10th and 12th, two events that will shape the future of Canadian agriculture policy quietly occurred. They warrant the attention of all farmers, particularly those in supply-managed sectorsŠ

The first was a ruling by the Federal Court of Canada tossing out a motion (filed jointly by Canada's Attorney General and Canada's Minister of Agriculture in his Capacity as Minister Responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board) to dismiss an Application for Judicial Review filed by The Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board - a group of prairie grain farmers. This means the promise by Canadian Agriculture/Canadian Wheat Board Minister Gerry Ritz to introduce legislation in the fall session to dismantle its single desk authority for non-feed wheat and barley will be subject to judicial review by the Federal Court. Under Section 47.1 of the CWB Act, any such legislation must first be approved by producers through a CWB plebiscite.

Two days later, on September 12th, the results of JUST such a plebiscite were released, providing irrefutable evidence of what most already knew: prairie wheat farmers overwhelmingly support - by a majority of 62 percent - retention of the CWB's single desk selling authority for wheat. (Support for barley was a much tighter race at 51 percent). Would seem to take the wind out of Ritz' sails, yes? Not on your life.

That very night, on CBC's As it Happens, Ritz told Carol Off that the plebiscite was "irrelevant". "We control 51 of 56 seats in western Canada," said Ritz. "We certainly weren't shy about campaigning on an open marketŠ This should come as no surprise for anyone."

Clearly we should all be surprised at the arrogance in governance that sees a Minister of the Crown vow he will act ultra vires of legislation. Clearly, all farmers who depend on enabling legislation should care deeply about what is happening hereŠ

Put aside for a moment the comforting vision implanted in your brain by Ottawa's spin-doctors of prancing bureaucrats with "I LOVE SM" buttons dancing rings around the DOHA negotiators in defense of Canada's supply management system. Rest assured, they will keep that vision a'spinnin till the bitter end. After which the messaging will switch to: "the-trade-rules-made-us-do-it" in rural constituencies (a complete fabrication but will be well-spun). In urban settings, any opposition (we can only hope from those who eat for a living) will be blanketed with the right wing froth of pundits like William Watson (Time to end supply management, Financial Post, April 1, 2011) and Andrew Coyne (The $25,000 cow. Macleans. August 11, 2011) who are moving the big guns into position.

Watson's column went ga-ga over a recent luncheon speech by John Manley, former industry minister, former finance minister, former foreign minister, former deputy prime minister, current chief executive of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. According to Watson, Manley argues it's "well past time to begin to phase out supply management, the marketing board system that keeps our production of dairy and poultry products artificially low so their prices can be jacked up artificially high." Claiming Canada's support for SM commodities has resulted in Canada becoming "a outcast' in the evolution of international trade rules, Manley suggests if "a given regulatory regime no longer serves the public interest" the main task is transition measures. Does Watson question any of this? Nope. His conclusion is downright tail-wagging: "Š if the spokesman for 150 of the country's biggest companies, representing half its GDP in sales, says it's time to do something about marketing boards, that's encouraging news."

Pointing to Australia and New Zealand, Maclean's Andrew Coyne jumps on Manley's bandwagon, concluding "Šthe question cannot be avoided: why we should have one set of rules for some farms, and another for the rest; and why, if our aim is to keep farmers on the land, we should have chosen the most inefficient, unjust, counterproductive, and internationally obnoxious way to go about it."

Of course it's aggravating to read such froth. But it is important to understand where this is all heading and not be lulled to sleep by the spin-cycleŠ

If Ottawa gets away with dismantling the rights of grain farmers, their next target will be supply management. Sure, it will "look" different from the CWB fight. But it will come to the same end.

Consider becoming a Friend of the Canadian Wheat Board (www.friendsofcwb.ca )and putting a few coins in their hat to fight this fight. We all have a stake hereŠ

- 30 -

Wendy Holm is an award-winning columnist living on Bowen Island.

May be reprinted with attribution.

Kitimat Dailys' Merv Ritchie on the Worlds Money Problems

2011-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have just read the following article in the Kitimat Daily and recommend all who visit here to read it

http://www.kitimatdaily.ca/show5011a/DOING_NOTHING_FOR_PROFIT__WORLD_MONEY_PROBLEMS_EXPLAINED

Not only does Merv give a background of his early political education at the end of the article he gives solutions. This is by far the best article I have seen on the world financial crisis. It's right up there with the seminar I attended while involved in the HST debacle. Left leaning politicians (and right leaning as well) would be well advised to read this article.

My own political leanings were formed pretty much along the lines of Mervs' although I grew up in a Liberal family in North Van. I still have healthy arguements with one of my brothers over Left vs. right.

And I met Dief the Thief during his Follow John campaign when he and a couple of suits arrived at our door to solicit votes. I being the only one home at the time, and I think I was thirteen or fourteen, shook his hand and told him that when I was of voting age I would vote in every election I could although I probably wouldn't vote for his party or policies. With that he left and went to the next house.

I think today it is time to act on some of Mervs' suggestions. Start Now because it will soon be much too late.

Labour Problems in the North

2011-09-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

Because of time constraints I recently sent BC Mary an article from the Kitimat Daily that I thought would fit with her recent column on Rail in the north. She ran with it posting parts and referring to the Kitimat Daily.

To my complete surprise Professor Robin Mathews has weighed in on the subject with a short story about the Smelter and the labour troubles back in the day when they built the smelter. His main question is where is the NDP and the Media. I might add "Where is the BC Federation of Labor and Jim Sinclair?"

Getting Back On Track (so to speak)

2011-09-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

     The past few months have been trying times for me. Personal and political problems erupted in the lead up to Recall causing me to back off and confront them. Politically I just stopped getting involved feeding things to other bloggers when I could and letting them run with it in their own way.

     On the personal end, just when I thought things may drag on for a year, things did a complete 360 in my favour. As I suspected, the main cause of the problems was initiated by others. I will be filing injunctions and a lawsuit is not out of the question, yet. At this point in time I am winding down these problems and will be ramping up this blog in between the continued saga of building Gary's Daughters house. (now two years in the making).

     Just as Gordo the "wannabe great" had decided to stick you and I, the low and middle income people, with a draconian money grab that he claimed was revenue neutral, I had commenced procuring drawings, permits, and materials for construction. All this on a very meager set of pensions while working on the initiative petitions and recall. I don't use credit simply because in a project like this any cards I might have would be maxed out and I simply can't afford 27% interest on unpaid balances. So I pay cash and build it one step at a time. Or in this case one block at a time.

     Six months before I decided to move forwards with drawings and permits I had decided to go as green as I could. So I am building this home with ARXX Blocks. They are styrofoam fire resistant blocks that you snap together like leggo, and fill with concrete and rebar. When it is finished I will conceivably be able to heat the building with matches.lol. Not quite but I certainly will be able to heat it with much less than the three cords of wood I am now using.

     I am also going solar. I have already acquired the hot water solar panels and an emergency propane "on demand" water heater for now. I will be using composting toilets and have purchased the one for the main bathroom. And the big kicker is I will be GOING OFF THE GRID.
For those of you who may be wondering I will eliminate BC Hydro from my life. I won't even sell them back any excess electricity I may have because they don't pay you shit for it.And they want a surcharge.

     So, I haven't been sitting on my duff. Just been a little busy personally. I hope to pump out a lot more on the sorry state of the Campbell/Clark reruns we are now watching but I will be coming back slowly as the other problems wind down.

Stay tuned and go green.

People Still Want to Twist the Facts

2011-09-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

Following is my response to a LTE in the 100 Mile Free Press ( which by the way is not monetarily free)

Mr. xxx appears to be making statements without checking some facts.

First, the biggest thing we gained was not monetary, but the right for British Columbia to set their own provincial taxes. If this were left to the Federal government there would be little we could to to hold back any government that wants to tax and spend.

Second, the "enormous amount of money to defeat the tax" is a misstatement at best. The enormous amount of money used was not done by the the "yes " side. It was the government and their big business biddies that spent well over $50 Million to try and save their tax. A tax by the way which has been described as the biggest money shift in BC history.

Switching back using an enormous amount of money, I allege, is a government/business scare tactic. Put more succinctly it is a lie. People need to get the fact through their heads that removing this draconian tax will remove the burden from the middle and lower income people and make business pay closer to their fair share. And taxing the air we breath is not far off. Look at what is happening with our water.

WE WON!!!!!!!! The HST IS Toast

2011-08-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

After two long years listening to a government lie to our faces, an initiative petition, recall (which I maintain no politician wanted to succeed) and a referendum in which a new Premier also lied to us saying she wanted to give us a level playing field and all the spending would be equal, we won. Handily.

Many volunteers gave up personal time and suffered domestic problems yet they forged ahead. Seniors who had been die hard liberals all there lives reactivated themselves in opposition to the BC Liberals robbing them of there meager income.

The people were "mad as hell and weren't going to take it anymore." In spite of a huge infusion of cash by the only ones to benefit from this robbery, big business. In spite of threats by politicians and in particular the bird man of the legislature, in spite of out and out lies to us, we won.

And weeks before the count was official, the government started their spin on the results. Falcon claiming that he wouldn't take the PST off restaurant food. Christ, he's got to be stupid to say that,. Why? Because the question was, are you in favor of eliminating the HST and returning to the system that was used prior to July 1 2009?

Lies like his no doubt affected the outcome. And the big bribe by the premier after saying "it might look like we were trying to bribe the people" She offered to reduce the tax to 10% from 12%. People not following the situation too close may have been appeased by this but it is a total lie. If this robbery were to pass, the Feds would have control over all our taxes and if the feds did not want to reduce them we would be shit out of luck.

So my friends as I see it our next step is to pressure the liberals as hard as we can to turn this tax around. If that means another round of recall, so be it.

After getting this done once and for all, I will be turning to pressuring the governments to step in on the gas prices. I've about had it with those guys as well. We need to have a national organization that will keep the pressure up, not just make noises once in a while. We need to target the oil companies with boycotts.

We have all witnessed what has happened in the middle east and Egypt. And I am convinced that social media was the turning point for the average person fighting the dictators.

I wish to thank all the people of my crew for the valiant effort they put into everything we worked for prior to the referendum. (after the referendum I took a smaller role) I would also like to thank all those who sacrificed time and money to make this day possible. that would be 54.7 % of the voters who voted to get rid of this Tax. It's significant and in spite of BALDREY's ranting this Tax better be gone ASAP or else.

Let's Get a Few Things Straight Here

2011-08-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to Baldrey (chief lapdog for the Libs)

He seems to think that to get rid of the HST and put things back the way they were will take 1-1/2 to 2 years. So lets have a look at that. Just days before the may 2009 Election Campbell and Hansen swore that the HST was not on their horizon. In spite of the fact that they were warned by everyone that the economy was about to tank.

Then just days after the election they announced that they were going to change the tax system (without any consultation with the people) to the HST system. Not only that, they were going to further decrease taxes (which were already near zero) for big business, and dump that burden on the people who elected them and told them pretty much that they could love it or shove it. Now they want to know how they will pay the bills without the HST. For christs sakes just start making business pay their fair share of the burden. Is that so god damn hard to fathom? Take the burden off the backs of the poor and middle income folks. It's so simple. Recall the Legislature and pass legislation to fix the Liberal screwup. It didn't take them long to fuck it up. Why should it take any longer to fix it?

If CC thinks her plan B is to raise the people taxes to cover the loss instead of putting things back the way they were then she is committing political suicide. We still have the option of recall.
If she calls an election before fixing things she will lose.

They were so arrogant they didn't even fight or register to fight the more than 700,000 people of BC who signed a petition to get rid of the money grab. After the unprecedented success of that petition in which a newly appointed TEMPORARY Chief Electoral Officer manged to cancel almost 200,000 signatures they further brought out their big guns (and big money suits) to have the results overturned. Even in the face of a probable defeat in a referendum they forged ahead. Still not listening.

Then came the recall campaign. They twisted the facts to suit their agenda, still not admitting that this was going to hurt some businesses and would not generate jobs as they told us. In fact the jobless rate got worse but they spun that to say it was improving. And prices were going to go down because of the saving to business. What a total crock of shit. The first business owner I talked to (and every one since) said they hadn't had an increase in a while and they would be using their windfall profits on the backs of the people as a virtual increase.

They used smear tactics in the recall campaign. In the case of "How Bad Is The Record?", they pointed to my usage of sometimes fowl language in my posts. That smear went viral but the overwhelming majority of respondents said "so what? He's just voicing what most people think of the situation." They quickly shut their mouths when they saw that backfire. There were numerous requests for interviews but I just ignored them. Why? Well first off they were trying to set me up and I don't play that god damn game. Secondly, I don't believe for one second that Terry Lake happened to find my blog all by himself as he professed. I happen to have a tracker here and I know exactly when the spooks in Victoria visit my site. Most bloggers have the same.

They were wrong in everything they did. Campbell resigned over it and some people in the movement thought that was good enough. It wasn't.

Now as we await the results of the referendum Clark has a plan B and Baldrey thinks he knows all (as usual).
I believe that Baldrey should actually spend time in the trenches away from his pals in government and he may get a real perspective on matters in the province. Lets have him get in to real investigative reporting instead of pimping the party line. In fact that could go for 99.9% of the reporters in the BC mainstream Media. Stop the spin and report the facts.

We used to have a beautiful province here. In the past 10 years we have gone from real work in the leg to basically no work at all. My next cause would be to get the people together again and have legislation in place to have the Legislature sit a minimum of 70% of the working days in this province. Lets stop the photo ops and bullshit that is now spewing from Victoria. Get the fucking job done and stop pissing around.

That's my rant for today. And now I'd like to take time to thank Bill Van der Zalm , Bill Tieleman, Chris Delaney, Cheryl Baron, their crews, all the area captains and their volunteers, (that's right, volunteers not paid lackies) that brought us to today regardless of the outcome later today. They did a masterful job with the help of the average joe. I'd especially like to thank the volunteers in the Cariboo Chilcotin without whose tireless efforts we could not have progressed as far as we did.

Is The HST Referendum Being Manipulated By The Government?

2011-07-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

I have been saying it for months now. And now:

Bob Mackin has a piece in the Tyee on the manipulation of the voting process with the HST Referendum.

It seems a top aid to Campbell is in the mix and the Freedom of Information response is heavily redacted.

And while you are at it have a look over at BC Mary's place to see her comparisons of the News Of The World and our own local (lack of responsible) media. .

Seems as well that we "conspiracy theorists"aren't alone. A well known retired journalists has been giving us lessons on what questions the media should be asking of the government. When you hear it from someone as experienced and respected as Harvey Oberfeld it kind of puts water on the fire of some local lapdog journalists in the Mainstream Media

Hit List Of Items Previously Exempt From PST

2011-07-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

From Fight HST

The “Real” Fight HST Hit List

Here is a list of the items previously exempt from PST that will now have HST applied to them at 7% additional.

Accounting
Admission Fees
Advertising
Airline tickets
Animal feeds (hay is exempt)
Appliance repair & maintenance
Architects
Art Galleries Admission
Attractions / Events
Ballet Lessons
Basic Cable TV
Bicycles
Campgrounds
Cigarettes / Cigars
Catering
Chinese medicine
Clothing –adult sized children
Clothing – used adult (less than $100)
Coffee shops
Commercial Leases
Compost
Computer servicing
Concert Tickets
Condo management fees
Consulting services
Conveyance fees
Delivery Services
Dietary supplements
Dry cleaning
Driving Range fees
Electronics repair
Energy equipment
Esthetician Services
Fast food – Beverages
Fire extinguishers
First aid kits
Fishing charters
Fitness Club memberships
Fitness Trainers
Food producing trees and plants
Freight (in BC)
Funeral services
Golf fees
Grass Cutting
Hair cuts
Hall rental
Health equipment
Helmets
Hockey tickets
Hockey rink rentals
Home appraisals
Home inspections
Home maintenance
Home renovations (Labour)
Horse Boarding
Horse Shows
Horse riding lessons
House Cleaning services
Insulation
Interior design services
Investment Counseling fees
Landscaping
Life jackets
Limousine rentals
Magazines/ newspapers
Marketing services
Massage therapy
Membership fees
Moorage
Museum admissions
Movies / Theatre
Moving Costs
Music MP3 downloads
Naturopathy
New Homes (some rebates applicable)
Nicotine replacements
Non-prescription meds
Painting
Parking
Photography
Postage
Private Bus fares
Printing
Rail travel (originating in BC)
Real estate fees
Reflexology
Rentals for Weddings, Canopy, Tuxedo etc.
Reroofing House
Restaurant meals
RV parks
Safety equipment (Not all safety and Energy Equipment is affected)
School supplies
Shoe repairs
Skiing
Smoke detectors
Snow removal
Solar power
Some groceries
Spa services
Sports Training / Lessons
Storage lockers
Tailoring
Taxi fares
Telephone (Basic Charge for landlines will be affected)
Theatre admissions
Veterinarian
Video downloads
Vitamins
Wedding Planner
Windows (energy star)
Rentals / Strata fees (Though they are HST exempt, most people will notice increases brought on by an increase in maintenance costs and other costs associated with owning Rental and Strata properties)
Used cars / trucks / boats / non-turbine aircraft (Private Sale will have an additional 5% tax, it is not called HST)

Update: here are some interesting graphs and info I found from David Schrecks blog

Something Fishy With The HST Ballot Returns

2011-07-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

From the Globe and Mail

Elections BC’s collection centre for HST ballots in the city of Vancouver is centrally located – across the street from city hall, down the road from Vancouver General Hospital and a block away from a Canada Line subway station.
The referendum may have been hotly contested but you’d never know it at the collection centre. At noon on Monday, the office was empty........[snip]

Further to this, I have been getting reports of only one ballot being sent to a residence where multiple eligible voters live.

If you have not received your Ballot please call Elections BC at 1-800-661-8683 This is the voter registration office. Call to make sure you are registered.. If you are registered and there are no errors then request a ballot be sent to your address. If they say you are not registered, yet you voted in the last Provincial election (May 14,2009) then you must dispute their information. There may be discrepancies in the information they have for you which might cause the delay. Correct any faults and have them mail you a ballot today.

There are too many variables in this ballot that can cause it to fail. I allege that these variables were put in place to sabotage this vote. Certainly Clarks claim about having a level playing field in this campaign went out the window in a hurry. $5 Million+ for the No side and $250,000 for the people on the YES side.

VOTE YES TO EXTINGUISH (GET RID OF) THE HST

Commentor Responds to Stockwell Days Comments on HST

2011-07-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

From Kamloops weekly

Concerning Stockwell Day’s pro-HST editorial of July 14th, 2011. Mr. Day was kind enough to take time from off from his Federal government indexed pension and retirement to tell the British Columbia electorate that the HST will drop 2 percentage points if it is brought into law. He goes on to say how much it will save the citizens of BC, when the actual reduction of the HST rate is finally reached; 2 years into the future. Anything could happen in 2 years to negate that reduction including a Provincial election.

What Mr. Day fails to mention is that the HST is now 12% and that since the HST was passed into law each British Columbian (baby, toddler, child, teenager and adult) is paying a minimum of $443.37 more a year in taxes. Because of the HST British Columbian’s tax free day is increased to June 6th, so each British Columbian works over 5 months for the government... that's too much!

What Mr. Day also doesn't mention is the currently British Columbia needs Federal government approval to get the HST reduced to 10%. Chances of a reduction in the HST are slim to none; if you believe it will occur I have a house in the US you might like to buy. You have to remember as the electorate that this is the same BC government that gave as an election promise there would be no HST brought in, yet here it is and we are paying it. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Concerning Mr. Day’s main argument about job creation by the HST. Let`s start with the projected job gains by 2020. Jack Mintz in his twelve page, twelve thousand dollar report paid by the BC taxpayer forecasted that the HST would create 113,000 jobs by 2020. Well, we all know what happened to that well thought out projection; it disintegrated, like it was infected by the Ebola virus.

The new report released by Jim Dinning declared that Jack Mintz’s forecast was wildly incorrect; the Dinning report claims the HST will create a mere 24,000 jobs by 2020, roughly 2400 new jobs per year. That’s a heck of a correction from 113,000 jobs to 24,000… HST isn’t looking that good is it? No it’s not looking good at all. Two different reports full of BC Liberal government propaganda, both paid by the BC taxpayer, that’s you!

This is same BC government that brought the HST in by an “Order of Council”. That means the BC Finance Minister signed the HST into law without consent of the BC legislature. Although legal that equates to taxation without representation, our elected representatives should have debated the HST issue in the legislative assembly at which end they should’ve had a free vote on it. In a representative democracy that’s what we are paying our elected officials to do for us, represent our interests. The HST initiative had an over whelming number of signatures from British Columbia indicating they wanted the tax repealed, BC Liberals are ignoring their constituents wishes.

Back to the “job creation” part of Mr. Day’s argument; those 24,000 jobs in ten years could have been created with the PST in place at no cost to the taxpayer, but let’s give the HST the benefit of the doubt and say it does create those jobs.

How much does it cost the taxpayer for those jobs to be created? The number is a staggering $554,166.67 per job, that’s how much it costs you the taxpayer through HST.

This quote is out of the most recent BC government endorsed report “families now pay a total of $1.33 billion more in sales tax after HST rebates and tax breaks are taken into account” So the math for the cost to the taxpayer for job creation is simple 1.33 billion per year / 2400 jobs per year = $554,166.67 per job, per year for the next 10 years. That’s outrageous…talk about misuse of tax dollars, this is a prime example.

Why not just give each one of those new BC employees the $554,166.67; perhaps they could start new businesses, which would really help the BC economy.

According to StatsCan the nation’s official number crunchers, if you want policy to encourage job creation, cutting corporate taxes is the weakest option (20 cents growth from every dollar of tax cut). But according to the BC Liberal government report “Businesses will pay about $730 million less in taxes”. What happened to ‘revenue neutral” which the BC Liberal government was so proud to point out early in the HST campaign, clearly the HST is not revenue neutral, the entire tax burden is shifted to the BC taxpayer.

Just a side bar to the discussion where are those promised reductions in price of goods supposedly coming back to the consumer because of the HST….they never materialized. Here’s a real example, the British Columbia liquor stores have not passed on the savings of HST to the consumer, if the government of British Columbia doesn’t reduce their prices why would private enterprise… the answer is they won’t!

According to the most recent BC government endorsed report “B.C.’s Consumer Price Index shows an initial spike of 1.1 per cent in the rate of inflation from June to July, when the HST
was introduced. That was higher than the national inflation rate of 0.5 per cent for the
same period” All due to the HST, you can’t make this stuff up it comes from the government of British Columbia.

The Liberal government of British Columbia has spent millions of our tax dollars trying to convince the people of British Columbia that the HST is a good thing, it’s not. It will allow the government to reach right into your pocket and take whatever money they want, whenever they want.

After the repeal of the HST in BC by referendum, the follow up referendum in British Columbia must focus on the electorate having the final approval of any tax submitted by the provincial legislature. Another referendum could propose that British Columbia passes a law enacting that any time there's a BC provincial deficit of more than 3 percent of BC’s GDP, all sitting members of the BC legislature are ineligible for re-election. That would motivate all BC politicians to get a sudden streak of ethics and use the BC provincial tax dollars efficiently.

The citizens of British Columbia need a political process allowing registered voters to propose laws which then can be submitted to the electorate for approval by vote after thorough debate by the BC electorate. This process has worked exceptionally well in Switzerland for over 125 years.

In this time of computer technology the citizens of British Columbia must have an easy and effective process to apply checks and balances to laws passed by their provincial government.

Because the BC Liberal government has purposely confused the referendum question you the voter must vote “YES” to have the tax repealed.

Update: Just now I was watching the Early News and There flew the birdman spouting about all the money the government has raised on the backs of those who can least afford it. He actually had the balls to say that the defecit was only some 300+ million instead of the 1.5 billion he originally stated. But what he doesn't say here is that big business isn't contributing and furthermore the tax is not revenue neutral.

Vote YES in the referendum to repeal HST!

And when you' done that lets work on getting rid of these lying thieves

Falcon And CO. now threatening the masses

2011-07-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

And The Terrace Daily has the story in a letter from The NDP

Honest to Christ(y) Clark, just when I think the Liberals can't stoop any low they come out and lower the bar. The threat is idle folks. They can't keep restaurant meals taxed unless they pass an amendment to the tax act. And if they did that it would mean political suicide.

Give us a break. I think they honestly believe their lies and threats folks. Either that or they are so desperate to hide from us the fact that they have ruined this province for at least a decade to come, they will attempt anything to get you to change your vote.

Errors in the Ballot From Elections BC

2011-07-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

This email is making the rounds and I feel that all bases need to be covered.

*This advice re: the HST referendum*

If anyone gets their ballot envelope and there is no ballot inside.
please contact thand@island.net immediately

This is very important so please pass this along to everyone you know
asking them to do the same.

Also, please read the directions on the envelope and put your
birthdate in the order that is requested – if wrong it could be
rejected.

*More on the HST referendum:
http://rafeonline.com/2011/07/this-advice-re-the-hst-referend

Another thing I have noticed is that some households are getting only one ballot where multiple people should be getting them. When Elections BC is called and challenged on this they say that people are not registered. In one case I know, all people in the house voted in the last election.

All I can say is CHALLENGE EBC to prove you are not registered. Do it on the phone and don't hang up until you are satisfied that an error (if made) is corrected and you are having the ballot mailed right away. The Number to call is 1-800-661-8683 or visit their website at www.elections.bc.ca

If you are having trouble get hold of me. I'll see what can be done. If you don't want your comment posted please mark it "NOT FOR PUBLICATION" But make sure you give all the facts.

This Referendum is your life. You need to vote.

VOTE YES TO CANCEL THE HST. And look at the facts. Such as the HST has not been lowered to 10% and that is not going to happen any time soon. If ever. Remember, if we don't vote this down now we will lose the Provinces ability to set our own taxes. And you as a taxpayer will be shouldered with paying for Businesses taxes.

There are many local (BC) bloggers who have some great input on the HST. Some of whom are listed in my bloglist here.

Christy "Cluck Cluck" Clark Is Now Our "Chicken Premier"

2011-06-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, while in a heated debate with Cristy Clark, the talk show host, over BC Ferries, our friend

the powellriverpersuader branded Clark "cluck cluck"

And now Clark has proved Grant G right. This mornings Province reports that Clark is still hiding. She still won't debate the issues.

By all appearances she is setting herself up as another Photo-op Premier I allege who is being run by the big

business interests in British Columbia . This type of governing is known the world over as "Puppet Ruler".

Just like her predecessor she runs around making meaningless announcements and throwing candy to the

voters which she will take away later. You remember him. He appeared at every shovel turning in the province
for some 9 years. He made his Lackies explain his screw-ups in the Legislature. Invoked closure on Bills so

he could go on vacation and not have to worry about it. Ruled by Order In Council. Had fireside chats when

rumours started like the one where he and his wife were no longer together. telling us how they met and

"clicked" but never dispelling the rumour. Tried to save his job by giving us candy. Like big income tax breaks.

Yes folks, by all appearances the Liberal party is governing on looks, appearances, propaganda, and lies.

When are the voters in this province going to wake up. This is not the way to run a Province, nor a business.

And definitely not a Country.

VOTE YES TO EXTINGUISH (GET RID OF) THE HST

More Liberal Spin On The HST

2011-06-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

The BC Liberal “myths” about the HST just keep piling up.

We don't have the budget to fight the lies, we need your help. Keep the message going by forwarding this link to all the people you know and ask them to do the same.

Following is their latest Top Seven – all new and misleading as ever – HST Myths:

1. The HST is now 10% - False
The HST is 12% and will not be 10% for three years – if ever. There will be an election before that, and even if the HST were to miraculously drop to 10% - it will still apply to hundreds more goods and services than a 12% PST/GST for a consumer tax increase of $1.6B per year. And who says it won’t go right back up again later?

2. The HST will lower taxes – False
This one is hilarious. The HST increases taxes for British Columbians by $2.8 Billion per year. That’s an average annual increase of $500 per person - or $1208 per average family – forever. Finance Minister Falcon says if his side loses he may disregard the result and expand the PST to items previously exempt – and that’s illegal. Do you really trust this guy to cut the rate if he wins?

3. The HST will save you money - False
And the tooth fairy is going to leave you a quarter under your pillow too. To get their numbers to show the HST actually “saving” you money they are calculating only “routine purchases” and that 90% of what you pay in HST will be passed back to you in lower prices. Have you seen lower prices?... We didn’t think so.

4. The HST benefits seniors - False
Seniors and people on fixed incomes are some of the hardest hit by the HST. A one time rebate of $175 if you vote in favour of their tax in exchange for paying it for the next 10-30 years of your retirement is a deal only a snake oil salesman would offer. Why take $175 when you can vote to cancel the HST and keep all your money? How dumb do they think we are?

5. The HST benefits families – False
Next to seniors, working families are hardest hit by the HST because they are among the largest consumers and have dependent children. Bribes of $175 per child when your cost is closer to $400 a year each makes you wonder if they think all of us failed math as badly as they did. And what about a single mom with two kids going to college? She gets nothing while the Premier and Finance Minister who earn big six figure salaries get the rebate. Nice.

6. Business will pay more so you can pay less - False
A temporary increase of 2% in corporate taxes will be passed on to consumers with increased prices. Either way you pay the final bill whether it’s in HST or higher prices.

7. We will owe $1.6 Billion if we cancel the HST - False
The “Independent Panel” says the HST generated $850 million more than budgeted. Setting aside that is the biggest tax grab in history, it means government already has $850 million to repay Ottawa. BC has only received $1B, and Ottawa collected $300M more in corporate taxes under the HST than under the PST. So it’s a wash. And keeping the HST would cost British Columbians a lot more than killing it – over $28 Billion in new taxes in just 10 years.
Vote YES to extinguish the HST and save your province, your democracy, and your money!

You are more than welcome to copy this and paste it to your email and send it to all your friends

For Shame For Shame

2011-06-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

It was only a god damn game

A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion. Grantland Rice

   I have waited a couple of days to write this. The reason for the wait was to cool down. We all know how bad my language can get and in this case I don't need to feed the language cops any more than I have already.

   The destruction was senseless and at this writing I can't comprehend acts of kicking an inanimate object. (Booting an overturned car)

    Breaking windows and looting businesses using sledge hammers is a premeditated act and deserves full and complete prosecution. I see our premier tonight yapping about the same things but using words like the "revolving doors of justice". If you want to fix things Premier then lets start with the corruption in government and the revolving door in such cases as the BC Rail Giveaway.

     The instigators of this riot was instituted by GOOFS. I use that word to let some of these no-minds know that this word will be added to their vocabulary when they are sentenced. Other than Pig, used by inmates to describe the guards, and Maggots, used by the guards to describe the inmates, the word GOOF is used as a derogatory term to describe other inmates. It is most likely the worst word used in the prison system and it suits every one of these morons that caused this riot and destruction.

     I commend the police and guards as well as the people who are donating their movies and photos to catch these GOOFS.

     One thing for the Premier. You had better hire all the Sheriffs back that had been laid off and put out requests for more or none of these GOOFS will get prosecuted

     "For when the one great scorer comes to write against your name, he marks not that you won or lost but how you played the game." Also by Grantland Rice

B.C. LIBERAL HST GIMMICK MISLEADS BRITISH COLUMBIANS FURTHER

2011-05-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

The following came to me via e-mail and deserves printing here.

VICTORIA – The latest attempt by the B.C. Liberals to buy votes ahead of the HST referendum is just further smoke and mirrors, say the New Democrats.

“The B.C. Liberals aren’t telling you that the HST, at whatever rate, means families pay more for countless items previously exempt from the PST,” said New Democrat finance critic Bruce Ralston. “Their claim that it’s a choice between 10 and 12 per cent is absolute fabrication and a deliberate misrepresentation of what the HST vote is all about.

“The truth is voters will be voting to get rid of the B.C. Liberals’ 12-per-cent HST in favour of going back to a fairer system where items such as prepared food, nutritional supplements, basic telephone and cable services and countless other items would only be taxed with a five-per-cent GST.”

Ralston said Adrian Dix and the New Democrats have championed the fight against the HST deception for B.C. families, and people are tired of being deceived by the B.C. Liberals.

“This latest gimmick is just more of the same. The B.C. Liberals are also trying to tell you that the average family only pays $350 more per year under the HST but they don’t tell you that they count one person as a family, artificially deflating the true numbers,” said Ralston. “The truth is a two-income-earning family with both members making $50,000 each – the average B.C. salary – will pay over $1,000 more per year under the HST.

“And that doesn’t even include the increase to big-ticket items such as a new house, renovations or a new roof for your home.”

Ralston noted that Premier Clark’s latest gimmick contradicts her earlier promise, and in her own words is an attempt to buy votes.

In March, just two months ago, Premier Clark said, "We aren't going to be talking about trying to reduce it by a point or two before the referendum. I mean, I think people will see that as buying them with their own money.”

“No one believes anything the B.C. Liberals say anymore, especially when it comes to the HST,” said Ralston. “Families know they pay more under the HST, and no amount of tinkering by the B.C. Liberals will change that.

“The only way to fix this B.C. Liberal mess is to vote yes to ending the HST, then vote them out of office in the next election.”

Christy Thinks She Can Solve The HST Mess

2011-05-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

     Well Ms. Clark I have news for you. I would possibly be able to believe that you could do that if it were not for a few bumps in your road.

   The major problem you have as I see it is that you refuse to repeal the legislation. And that is precisely what the people want. We don't want this tax shift onto our backs. We want it gone. Your government has lied to us from the getgo. The government has said prices will go down. Lie number one. They have said unemployment will be reduced because of this money grab. Lie number two. They have said the province will have to repay the 1.6 billion. Lie number three. They have said that it will attract investment. Show me the proof of that. You have said it is revenue neutral, the biggest lie of all.

      The next problem you have is a finance minister that alludes in the press that he won't remove the PST on restaurants. All he is doing is inflaming the masses and alienating the restauranteurs from the rest of the business community. He makes crass statements and I believe he either doesn't have a grasp of the situation, or he is being deliberately provocative. Most likely the former.

   And your blatant spinning of the situation doesn't fool anyone. It's not that you rolled out this money grab wrongly, it's that you steamrolled it out at all. We don't want it.

     Every time your government opens their mouth on this situation you just keep putting your foot in it. You are fighting tooth and nail to placate the already under taxed big business in this province and the people see this sham for what it is. More money in the pockets of the rich at the expense of the poor.And done without the consent of the poor I might add.

     All the stall tactics in the world will not help you. And that is just what you are doing. Stalling. You are trying to move this as close to the next election as you can. And as I see it right now you know the people will reject the act. So your other option is to hold an election before the referendum. How are you going to run your campaign? By ignoring the voters town hall meetings? By keeping silent on this issue? By professing doom and gloom if it is repealed. Give us a break.

     Well, we're as mad as hell and we are not going to take it anymore.

     Save us the 6 million of our tax dollars that you plan to spend on your propaganda. Stop the lies. Remove the legislation.

Liberals Are Still Playing With Our Lives

2011-05-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

Chrisy Clark and her Finance Minister are still playing the game. I ask how anyone in their right mind can trust these big business shills.

The following arrived in my e-mail from Fight HST. And it pissed me off so much I am seriously considering restarting the Recall Campaign in the Cariboo Chilcotin. So if there is anyone in the Cariboo Chilcotin who would act as a Financial Officer please get hold of me here. We will be doing things much differently this time.One step at a time.

Finance Minister Kevin Falcon won’t rule out adding PST to previously untaxed items like restaurant meals if HST is extinguished
Vancouver – (Monday, May 16, 2011) – In a stunning revelation, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon has admitted he may break faith with BC voters in the HST Referendum if they vote “Yes” against his wishes and extinguish the tax, says Fight HST Leader Bill Vander Zalm.
Vander Zalm says Falcon admitted last week in the BC Legislature he may expand the PST to a number of goods and services that were previously exempted, such as restaurant meals, if British Columbians vote to repeal the HST in the Referendum.
“That is a total betrayal of what the whole HST citizens Initiative petition and Referendum are about and he knows it. More than 700,000 people signed our Initiative because they wanted to return to the PST and GST exactly as they were before the HST. The proposed legislation attached to our Initiative petition specifically laid this out as what we intended.”
“Furthermore, when the question for the Referendum was drafted by Acting Chief Electoral Officer Craig James, he clarified to us that it means to restore the PST and GST to their previous status with the same exemptions,” said Vander Zalm.
Following is the email response from CEO James in answer to our concerns about the Referendum question meaning to include the previous exemptions for PST:
----- Original Message -----
From: "James, Craig EBC:EX" <Craig.James@elections.bc.ca>
To: "Chris Delaney" <chris@chrisdelaney.com>; "Boegman, Anton EBC:EX" <Anton.Boegman@elections.bc.ca>
Cc: "Bill Vander Zalm" <billvanderzalm@dccnet.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2010 11:11 AM
Subject: RE: Draft HST Referendum Question - Changes Need to Be Made
Chris -
The dictionary meaning of "reinstate" is to restore to a former position. I therefore don't see anything "implicit" in the question and thus no reason for the concern you have raised.
Sincerely,
Craig James
“The Referendum is a legally binding process. The Finance Minister cannot change the meaning of it at his own discretion. If Mr. Falcon does not heed the result of the Referendum he will be breaking the law,” Vander Zalm charged.
Vander Zalm says the HST mistakes that cost both Gordon Campbell and Colin Hansen their jobs as premier and finance minister are now being repeated by Premier Christy Clark and Falcon. “The names and the faces have changed, but the lying hasn’t. These people are pathological. Every time I think I have never seen anything like it before, they top themselves. It is the height of arrogance and lawlessness for Kevin Falcon to tell people he will decide what the Referendum means. It’s unbelievable!”
Vander Zalm says his group will consider a legal challenge if the government breaks the law by not following the Referendum results.
Vander Zalm said an editorial in Friday’s Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper should serve as a warning to the government:
“Falcon won't say whether the government would impose the PST on restaurants if the HST is rejected by voters,” the editorial read. “The HST initiative petition certainly called for the restoration of the tax and exemptions. The government claimed [it was] willing to accept the referendum results as binding. If that commitment is not to be honoured, then voters -and the affected businesses -have every right to know.”
Vander Zalm called on the pro-HST business lobby group the Smart Tax Alliance to tell voters if it supports Falcon’s position that even a “Yes” vote to extinguish the HST will not bind him from removing the tax on restaurant food and other items previously PST exempt.
“If the Smart Tax Alliance is actually smart they will immediately tell Minister Falcon he is wrong and they profoundly disagree with his statements,” Vander Zalm said.
“What is the point of having a referendum if you won’t regard the result if it doesn't go your way? How can anyone align themselves with people like this?” Vander Zalm asked.

Just in case anyone is wondering, we have the numbers here to recall. What we didn't have was a firm commitment from people. This time we get firm numbers first. This is possibly the only riding that could have succeeded but for a few glitches that were crucial to the campaign.

If Fight HST wishes to back us that would be a good thing. We hope they will. Financing will be crucial.

HST Town Hall Is A Sham

2011-05-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

My phone rang last night. It hardly ever rings at night.

The government wanted me to participate in the biggest spin on the HST to date. According to them the audience was massive. Over 26,000 people online in the Interior (I still choose to use Interior over Campbells' rebranding us the hinterlands.)

I sat through their automated instructions and then it started to get real phony. They asked an automated question about how I would like to redistribute the hords of money they were getting from us. Should they use it for things like Health, Education, Blah blah blah? The whole question misses the point. They assume by asking it that (a) we actually want to be ripped off or; (b) they are not going to get rid of it. Or (c) both of the above They did not give us an answer of "none of the above". And the framing of the question and answers tells me only one thing. They can take this back to the public saying that we want the HST and we want the money to go to specific social programs.

As I type this I am sitting here wondering how god damn stupid do they think we are? They must be looking at some odds and are thinking they may have enough people out there to believe this crap.

So I listened through four people who had questions to ask. It struck me that these were not spontaneous but possibly prepared questions. The reason I say this is because I had a million questions to ask and couldn't narrow it down to one only.

At any rate the answers were bogus. The are obviously framed as an election answer and scare tactics.

The liberal government keeps referring to a question of how we are going to pay back the 1.6 billion bribe they got from Harper.

First of all it's not our bloody problem. It's theirs. My answer is to set a special tax on big business who are benefiting from this and pay it back.

Secondly $235 Million was seed money. A gift. Or as I call it, a bribe from the Federal Government to accept this deal. A deal by the way which was only accepted after the Liberal government mismanaged our economy. And don't give me any of this bullshit about how they were surprised about a recession. They saw it coming just as the rest of the world did. But they needed to get elected at all costs and I allege they did it with a lie.

I finally hung up, yelling some of my choicest words into the phone, when it was mentioned very vaguely that the Federal Government would set the tax rates.

And that to me is the biggest problem other than it's a tax shift from the rich to the poor. If Harper wants more money then he will raise the HST rate. Don't think for one minute that when he says he will raise the GST that is true. As it stands we in BC do not have GST or PST. It's HST period. And the Liberals, nor any future government, having given away our right within the province to set our own provincial taxes can't even protest.

Then thre is this from the CBC

HST costing B.C. families $350 a year

By CBC News

CBC News

An independent government report on the HST has concluded the majority of British Columbians are paying more at the cash register since the introduction of the HST, but low income families are actually paying less. But the report says that while many British Columbians are paying more tax now, rolling...

Click here to view this content.

Following is an added comment by a friend who sent me the CBC report:

The independent report was developed by the Liberal government appointed committee. The report acknowledges that the HST is a taxation shift from business to the consumer that is not revenue neutral as claimed and will only increase in the taxes collected from the consumer as time passes.

And then my comment:

The report also uses unproven statements and gives us words such as "likely" to possibly scare us into thinking that we have a problem in cancelling this money grab. As I said at the beginning it is not our problem, it's the problem for the liberal party of BC.

UPDATE: for a good review on the Dinning Report with a link see our friend Gran G at The Straight Goods

Olympic Green Buses Turning Dirty? Oil Spill In The Peace Country?

2011-05-04T12:24:00.000-07:00

In talking with an acquaintance recently they informed me that those Olympic Green Buses used during the the Olympics, the ones that burn Hydrogen Gas, have ALL been sent to the US for a refit.

A refit that will convert them from Clean Hydrogen Gas to Dirty Diesel Fuel.

I am still trying to get more info on this possible travesty. I can find no public information on this situation, and if I do I will report it here.
Also this just in.....An anonymous user reported at The Straight Goods that CBC was reporting on an OIL SPILL in the Peace Country. I am watching the news right now and can not find anything on this.
MORE TO FOLLOW

Followup:

Rainbow Incident Information Page

On this page you will find a description of the Rainbow pipeline system, the incident that was confirmed on 4/29/11, media statements and remediation efforts. Plains is under no obligation to keep this website updated; however, we will attempt to update this page as the situation merits.

Description of Rainbow Pipeline SystemPlains Midstream Canada, ULC is the 100% owner and operator of the Rainbow system, which consists of a 480-mile, 20-inch to 24-inch mainline crude oil pipeline extending from the Norman Wells Pipeline located in Zama, Alberta to Edmonton, Alberta and 114 miles of gathering pipelines. The system has a throughput capacity of approximately 220,000 barrels per day and transported approximately 187,000 barrels per day during 2010.

Description of the incident/initial responseAt approximately 7:30 a.m. (Mountain time) on April 29, 2011 we confirmed a release of crude oil along a remote section of the Rainbow pipeline, in the Evi area, located east of Peace River, AB.

We have initiated our emergency response procedures. Valves in the pipeline have been closed, isolating the damaged area of the pipeline. Southbound flows from Nipisi remain in service.

Environmental assessment staff, spill response specialists, and monitoring equipment are being mobilized. Our crews are working to contain the spill, minimize its impact, and begin clean-up efforts.

Plains has contacted appropriate regulatory agencies, as well as local municipal government officials.
Updates (In reverse Chronological Order)

12:30 p.m. MST -- Thursday, May 5th

We have recovered approximately 300 m3 (~1900 bbls) of the oil. (approximately 7% of estimated spill volume). Recovery efforts continue 24 hrs per day.
8:00 a.m. MST -- Thursday, May 5th
Physical pipeline repairs have been completed. We are awaiting regulatory approval to restart the line. The oil has been contained and recovery efforts are ongoing.
1:00 a.m. MST -- Wednesday, May 4th

The pipeline has been excavated and examined by the Alberta authorities. Based on this inspection and the recently interpreted results of pipeline integrity tool runs, it appears this is a singular failure and not a systemic problem. Plains is working to repair the line and bring it into service as quickly as possible.

11:30 p.m. MST -- Tuesday, May 3rd

Plains Midstream Canada (PMC) is fully engaged in an aggressive response to a pipeline spill in northern Alberta on the company’s Rainbow Pipeline. The oil is physically contained within a 0.8 kilometers (half a mile) by 50 meter (150 feet) area.

Facts about the emergency response:

Since day one, PMC has engaged in a 24-hour response effort.
PMC Sr. Management was involved from the onset and arrived on the scene within 12 hrs to lead the response effort.
The spill site is located in a very remote and densely forested area, requiring a substantial construction effort in connection with oil recovery efforts.
Two roads were built through the forest so workers and equipment could be transported to the north and south ends of the spill site.
PMC secured 1400 wooden mats (“rig matting”) from across Alberta to build temporary wooden access roads over the soft muskeg conditions.
Approximately 100 response personnel are currently on the scene and involved in recovery and remediation operations.
Specialty all-terrain heavy equipment were on site since day two, including 10 amphibious track-mounted vehicles for transporting workers and material.
Three transfer stations with tanks and trucking facilities have been constructed to facilitate the transfer of collected oil and servicing of vehicles.
Electrical generators are on site and 25 lighting plants are being used so work can continue through the night.
46 pieces of heavy equipment have been brought to the site to support the cleanup.

“We have a full complement of specialists at the scene,” stated Roy Lamoreaux, Director Investor Relations. “We have secured all necessary people and equipment for our response and cleanup effort."
“The oil is in place, and we expect to retrieve a substantial portion of this spill with our recovery equipment. A remediation program will follow the cleanup, which will include removal and replacement of contaminated soil and replanting vegetation on the affected area,” said Lamoreaux.
PMC is working closely with a number of regulatory agencies including Alberta Environment and the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board “ERCB,” and providing reports to other government agencies involved in the spill.

1:30 p.m. MST -- Tuesday, May 3rd

Recovery:
- 3 skimmers are now deployed on site (up from 2);

- Another 2 skimmers are on site and will be established to increase collection rate;

- Oil collection and removal continues.

Repair:

- 1st stopple fitting installed and plug set isolating the rupture from the north side further isolating the rupture from the north;

- 2nd stopple fitting welded, plug to be set Tuesday further isolating the rupture from the south;

- Replacement pipe has been hydrotested.

- 3rd party lab has been appointed and protocols established for analysis of failed pipe section (to be sent to lab post inspection by ERCB);
- Target to have physical line repair completed by end of this week;
- Actual restart timing contingent on regulatory approval.
Other:
- Investigation into cause continues.

5:40 a.m. MST – Monday, May 2nd

-- Oil recovery operation continued through the night.

-- Product collected on site and shipments to Nipisi commenced at 2:50 a.m. (ahead of the 4:00 a.m. target).

9:30 p.m. MST – Sunday, May 1st

--Approximately 100 response personnel on site.

-- Road access with rig matting is complete at South entrance to spill site. (The spill site is located in a wet/muddy and wooded environment, which has required substantial
work to provide vehicle access. Work required to provide access includes: clearing trees and building a road of timber “rig matting” so rubber-tired vehicles can travel on the
newly matted roads);

-- Oil skimmers have been established and oil collection has commenced;

-- Plains Midstream Canada's Nipisi terminal (south of affected area) configured to accept delivery of skim oil;

-- Continuing to place matting to establish road access to the repair site and north end of the spill;

4:20 p.m. MST -- Saturday, April 30th

-- Remediation efforts are ongoing and active 24 hrs per day. The following resources have been deployed to assist in the remediation efforts:

- 63 response personnel are now on site, another 41 are enroute or on standby nearby;

- 46 pieces of equipment are on site including: vehicles, generator sets, office trailers, spill response trailers, medial aid equipment, etc.;

10:50 a.m. MST -- Saturday, April 30th
-- Approximately 50% of the daily volumes handled by Rainbow (movements from Nipisi south to Edmonton) are unaffected.

Harper Trying To Manupilate BC and the HST Referendum

2011-04-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

The following was e-mailed to me and it deserves looking into.

The hated HST put Stephen Harper in hot water today, and his attempts to distance himself from the tax are only making things worse, says New Democrat MP Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster).

Harper told reporters this morning “I want to be clear, I don't want to get involved in this issue.”

At the same time he admitted that BC would be required to repay the $1.6 billion HST transfer payment if British Columbians reject the tax in June’s referendum.

“Mr. Harper says he doesn’t want to get involved, yet he’s holding a $1.6 billion dollar hammer over the heads of British Columbians,” said Julian. “His attempts to distance himself from the HST are falling flat, and that’s why he’s going to lose seats to the NDP in BC.”

Julian noted that the HST came about after Harper approached Gordon Campbell in the first place.

“Mr. Harper worked with Gordon Campbell to impose the HST on BC, he sweetened the deal with a $1.6 billion transfer payment, he rammed the tax through Parliament – and every single one of his BC MPs went along with it,” said Julian.

“Now Mr. Harper is struggling to pretend he had nothing to do with it, but it’s not working. The Conservatives are tripping all over themselves on this issue,” said Julian.

Julian also noted that federal Liberal MPs from BC are also in hot water because they voted for the HST.

“That’s why Mr. Harper acknowledged today that the race in BC is between Conservatives and New Democrats,” said Julian. “British Columbians feel betrayed by both the Conservatives and the Liberals.”

Earlier in the campaign, Jack Layton committed to British Columbians he would not force BC to repay the $1.6 billion back if the tax is rejected in June’s referendum.

So, the way I see it.

First Harper lied to the people when he said he wouldn't get involved then immediately threatened us by saying we'd have to give back the money (1.6 Billion). That statement alone tells me that he is going to rob us of $235 Million. Why? Because that was the amount o the gift/bribe/seed money that he GAVE the province for taking the deal.

Next Iggy has told us that he may raise the GST. That tax is part of the HST in BC. So up goes a tax that we cannot already afford. By the way we have no recourse in BC with the HST if any Federal Government wants to raise our taxes. Gordon Campbell (the best person to anage our money) sealed that fate by forcing this tax on us.

Finally, Jack Layton will not penalize us for reversing this money grab.

I know who I'm voting for. Do you?

It's Time For A Fresh Party To Govern The Country

2011-03-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

     It's no secret that I have voted NDP in the past . Both Federally and Provincially.

     For reasons I won't go into here I will not be voting for the Provincial NDP nor the Liberals but will either vote BC First or a Independent Candidate if there will be one running for the position of MLA.

   But for the upcoming Federal election I will be voting for the Federal NDP candidate Michael Crawford in my riding.of Kamloops -Thompson -Cariboo I will also be actively campaigning against our present MP Cathy McLeod for the sole reason that she openly supports HST in BC.

There is no doubt that the HST is hurting seniors and low income families. There is also no doubt that it is helping big business.

Remember when this ta was being forced on us and Campbell and Hansen were telling us how it will allow business to lower prices. We knew that was a bald faced lie then. and we have the proof now. I'd like anyone out there to prove to e that prices have lowered. So people will say "well liquor was lowered". Bullshit. And it's on record that the Liberals, when they saw that was going to happen, raised the price accordingly.

As far as other prices going down, business is now saying "well we haven't had a raise in quite a while, so we'll use this as a raise." What a pathetic god damn excuse. The HST is nothing but a ripoff of our meager wages and another way to give out corporate welfare.
As for Voting NDP Federally. Their time has come. For more than 100 years, big business money has run this country. They would have you believe that the NDP would ruin the country. What proof do they have?
None. Absolutely squat. It's a scare tactic that is backed by the big business media in this country. There is no evidence of the NDP ruining the country because they have never been elected as the Governing Party

If you disagree with me let me know. Give me some evidence. Otherwise, just gou out and vote anyone but the Bloc, Liberals, or conservatives.

Canada.com won't use the word crap.

2011-03-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

My response to an article in the province about the conservative spin on a "coalition" that defeated them was met by what I think is ridiculous editing by the editors

What's all this (my original post said "crap") BS about a coalition? Had this criminal government been defeated by a predetermined agreement about the budget then Maybe there would be a coalition But they were defeated on a non confidence motion because they were in contempt of parliament. They had contempt for the voters they are supposed to represent and were defeated by the Her Majesties Loyal Opposition.
And I might add here that the NDP are the only party that hasn't had the chance to screw up. All those that keep spouting about doom and gloom if the NDP are elected had better come up with irrefutable proof that they will screw
Crap could mean a few things like stuff laying around or shit. But BS only means one thing. Bullshit.
Go figure

Patience

2011-03-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

We are going through a bit of a crisis in the house of "E". I realize it has been a month since my last post, and will attempt to post more regularly but or now I ask for your patience.
Once the problems have been worked through we will be back in force. In the meantime I will post a ew that are sitting in the que once in a while.

Thanks folks
Gary

Liberal Spin on HST, Unspun

2011-02-19T07:36:00.000-08:00

"All that can be said for certain is that the HST gives a cost break to some businesses with the break being a greater proportion of cost the lower labour is as a proportion of total costs, since labour is not subject to the tax or its credits; the elimination of the HST and return to the PST would give most service and previously PST exempt industries a 7% price advantage relative to the HST system."

David Schreck has a indepth article on the HST HERE

In reading this article there were some things I did not understand. But in general he has spelled out what I have realized for quite some time.

It is a long read but well worth the effort..

And So The Whitewash Of The BC Liberals In The BC Rail Giveaway Begins

2011-02-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

     Almost 8 years of pretrial and closed trial wrangling took another turn yesterday as the Judge (justice Anne MacKenzie released, without any apparent effort, trial Documents to selected media. Media that I allege has been practicing Yellow Journalism for so long that the people have no real idea what is happening in BC.

     Almost immediately the Globe and CTV come out absolving Cristy Clark and the Liberals of any wrong doing.

   An anonymous commenter at Bill Tielemans Blog points us to a Globe article here. And after I read the article I had one huge question.

   "How can they come to that conclusion when the police in the very begining said that "no elected officials" were under investigation. That statement right there tells us that a conclusion that the Globe and CTV came to is absolutely unbelievable.

   How could anyone in their right mind come to a conclusion like that when there was according to the police NO Investigation.

   As I stated on Tielemans blog the can we expect that they will report to us fairly?

If the people in this province want any information on this Farce of a trial I urge you to not believe what you read or hear in the MSM. But go to places like BC Mary's, *Kootcoots, Ross K, Lailas, Grant Gs Tielemans and a ton of other blogs that have reported on this.

*Kootcoots blog House of infamy appears to have been closed. I'll check it out.

It's Going to Be An Interesting Week

2011-02-14T08:51:00.000-08:00

Beginning today, Valentines Day, at 10 AM the BC Legislature will sit for the first time in 256 days. Many people will question just what business the MLA's have conducted in that time for the people who voted for them. Myself included.

All I can come up with is things they didn't do for us. Things like allowing the BC Rail Trial to run it's course. Things like holding a session of the Legislature earlier to deal with the outrageous robbing of the already overtaxed population. Imposing a $200,000,000 per month burden on us and gifting business with that money. Then telling us that prices will fall, and not reducing the price of liquor right off the bat.

I have talked to some business people and in stating that they would not drop the prices told me that they wouldn't drop them because they hadn't raised them in a while.(read "we are taking the profits just like you thought we would")
Some try to justify this money grab by saying the money has to come from somewhere. Of course it does. But on the backs of the people giving business a free ride?

Then there is the new waterworks legislation that I allege they will try to slip through this week. This piece of Liberal policy will surely cause an uprising in the province. It appears to be legislation to not only meter your water but to allow businesses to expropriate land to help business obtain there bottom line. For example, if a rancher need water to water his stock or his fields, and was drawing from the same place as a IPP, theoretically the IPP could expropriate that part of the ranch land that it required to obtain the water required to generate its' power.

Then there is the legislation required to change the referendum act. Fat chance we have of seeing it this week given the Liberals penchant for stalling.

There will be a news release this week to the media, this blog, and at http://reallcariboochilcotin.wordpress.com on the situation here in the Cariboo. And everything is dependent on the political situation in this Province and the country

Fight HST Rally Proposed

2011-02-09T09:47:00.000-08:00

Eddie Petrossian writes.

I wish to organize a protest and FIGHT HST rally in front of the Cheers
> restaurant as Falcon arrives! Please RSVP how many will attend this
> ralley-protest! We will meet at 5pm Friday Feb 11th in front of Cheers!

Date:
Friday, February 11th, 5:30 - 7:00 pm

Place: Cheers Restaurant, 125 East 2nd St, North Vancouver

[Gary E] As Eddie writes, we have to keep these people accountable.
So let's make an effort to get out and show him your displeasure of the Liberal policies.

Recall Cariboo Chilcotin Starts A New Website

2011-02-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

The recall in Cariboo Chilcotin now has its own website.

http://recallcariboochilcotin.wordpress.com

At present this is a work in progress and as I am better a surfing than geeking it may take a couple of days to finish.

If you have any ideas please leave a message on the new site.

Time For A Change

2011-02-06T09:20:00.000-08:00

I had been recently thinking of changing the format of my blog. This morning I had a few seconds and decided to see what could be done.
I chose a simple blogger template for now and as I get time may go to a advanced template. But this one appears to be easier on the eyes.

Enjoy

Terrace Man Writes Open Letter To Falcon

2011-02-05T11:38:00.000-08:00

George Chinn writes in the Terrace Daily Online

Dear Mr Falcon, MLA;

I’ve recently been away to Mining convention in Vancouver (Round Up) and upon my arrival back to Terrace I noticed in our local newspaper an article claiming ‘Falcon Proposes Northern Prosperity’. You have come here looking for support from our local population for your leadership campaign, hoping to take over from Gordon Campbell as the leader of our province, at least until the next election. The people of northern B.C. have already been waiting for ten years for action from you.

Everything we hoped for the people in the north have fought for without help from your Government. Premier Campbell would sneak into Terrace; only talk to selected people, then out the back door. As far as the HST is concerned, your statement claiming people have had time to get over their anger and it is not a big issue any more is wrong. Before the HST came into effect our children were tax exempt on clothing, workers were exempt on safety supplies and clothing; now everything is taxed. The carbon tax is another issue. Clean up the world yet we’re selling all this coal to off shore markets. All these ideas are plain out right dumb and appear to be another money grab.

Kevin, you were the previous Minister of Highways and I am hoping the people in the province remember you. We lost a lot of friends and suffered a lot of problems due to the negligence of our highway contactors, especially in the Terrace area. We, the ‘Sand for Souls Committee’ fought hard for improvements. We gathered over 3000 signatures three years ago and the following year we gathered over 7000 signatures with numerous written complaints. Again nothing was done.

We spent many days, time, and gas trying to work with you; asking for your support. I myself asked the government to shuffle the deck. The Excel drivers, a crew of 50 working 24/ 7 travelling our highways, had many complaints and no one listened. This was along with all kinds of problems expressed from other trucking companies and highway travellers. Since you left we have seen, even this year, improvements; thanks to Shirley Bond.

I believe the government will never admit the ‘Sand for Souls’ made a difference yet I must remind you about the highway tanker fuel spill on the highway to Kitimat, 37 South, which cost tax payers over a million dollars. This accident and clean up was clearly due to the poor highway maintenance, which we continually brought to your attention.

On behalf of the many deceased members of our Northwest communities, who died on our highways and on behalf of the Sand for Souls Committee; it's pay back time. And we still have some issues to deal with yet.

Our conclusion is clear and we want everyone to know, we don't think you would make a good interim leader or Premier of B.C.

Sincerely,

George Chinn

A very informative letter that pretty much sums up a lot of situations in this province. Situations of neglect by the Liberal Government in BC

Clarks Flip Flop On The HST

2011-02-03T10:03:00.000-08:00

A recent article in The Williams Lake Tribune about Clarks flip flop on the HST prompted me to post the following online.

"All this flip flopping on the referendum is nothing but populist manoeuvering. The liberals were so arrogant in the first place they thought the could get away with ramming this tax shift down the throats of an already overtaxed population. The arrogance shifted into fifth gear when they didn't even bother to register as opponents to the Initiative Petition. Then they tried every trick in the book to have the results negated, including the courts. The people, still being angered about being robbed started the Recall Campaign. A democratic process that holds the government feet to the fire.
Now they want to tell us that they will abide by Campbells proposal. What I would like to know is are they going to use the 50%+1 result? Or are they going for the present impossible to reach goals?
My money is on the latter.
It is now 19 months since they began their stall tactics and the people are not going to wait any longer. Nothing has changed. We are stilled being robbed of $200,000,000 per month. And all we hear is they might do this or they could do that. In the Cariboo Chilcotin we have always said that nothing short of cancelling the HST or our MLA crossing the floor and voting against it, would prevent the recall. None of this has been done and we will now start the process on February 15, 2011."

I'm pretty sure that if we had any investigative reporters left in this province they could uncover my allegation that big business money is behind Cristys' change of mind.
The opportunity to have the free vote would arise on February 14, well in advance of any proposed referendum. Which I allege we have already had. And there is nothing in legislation stopping anyone from refiling a recall on any MLA's from havin another recall immediately.

Hansen dodging the questions on the HST

2011-02-02T13:48:00.000-08:00

Hon. C. Hansen: We ran on a platform that was one of supporting families in British Columbia. We ran on that platform to support families, and that's exactly what we're delivering on. We ran on a platform that said we were going to support small businesses, and that's exactly what we we're delivering on. We also ran on a platform that said we would create jobs in British Columbia and that British Columbia would come out of this economic downturn stronger, and that's exactly what we are delivering on.

So Mr. Hansen, where are the jobs?(22,000 lost). Where is the family support? (Highest child poverty rate in the country) 21 child deaths attributed to your failed platform. Where is the small business support? (in my town alone 6 businesses going or gone under)

What happened to your dictatorial implementation of the HST? I can answer that for you and so can every heavily taxed citizen in the province of BC. You failed and so did all the MLA's that voted the party line. And some of those MLA's are now up for the Democrat right of every citizen to recall them.

Cariboo Chilcotin Recall Set to File Papers

2011-01-31T18:34:00.000-08:00

The Cariboo Chilcotin Recall campaign has set a date to mail the application for recall of their MLA.And that date is February 15, 2011

The core group of people that are involved are mostly from the Initiative Petition Campaign and have worked hard since that campaign to develop a system that may help them recall their MLA.

They would also like to thank the people of Oak Bay Gordon Head, Comox Valley, Kamloops North Thompson and the many other recall people involved in Campaigns around the province for their input.

We realize that there is a lot of work to do and to that end there can never be enough canvassers. So if you'd like to help by canvassing or in any other way we will be setting up a Facebook site in the next couple of days and hope to find the means to set up a website.

And it takes money to do these things. Unlike the present government we don't have the support of big business, and small business is hurting badly in this riding with restaurants closing almost every week and small businesses in trouble. There will be information on where to donate, should you wish, on the Facebook Site.
That site is called Recall Cariboo Chilcotin and will be run by the bride. She will feed me all the information from the site and I will give her the answers. So don't despair if we don't get back to you immediately.

The media is already aware of the date and we will see just how they treat us. One thing in our favor is this blog. I will try to get all the information out I can but I know I'm going to be real busy. You see, I am the Proponent.

We will be running a clean campaign and to that end will not confirm or deny anything that is not related to what we are doing.

Although it is between -10 an -30C in some places up here the people are raring to go. And we dress for the cold.

Gary

Comox Valley Starts Recall

2011-01-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

There's an interesting article in this morning's Comox Valley Echo. I'd like to clarify a few errors.

Last June, when the Fight HST petition was sent to Elections BC, the local team counted 12, 051 signatures. That is the number still posted on the Fight HST website.

When the signatures were tallied in Victoria during the period after June 30, there were even more signatures than were reported - 12, 888. The difference was the number of local signatures collected outside of the Comox Valley in other ridings.

So really, Don McRae has raised an interesting fact - MORE people actually signed our petition than we even knew. That information came to us from Elections BC on Monday from Assistant Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman..

At the end of the signature verification period, Elections BC determined that 2, 673 of those signatures were not acceptable, and informed the proponent, Bill Vander Zalm, that the number of verified signatures in the Comox Valley was 10, 215. That information also came to us for the first time on Monday.

We were not allowed to have a voters list during the anti-HST campaign, so we trusted that people were registered voters if they said they were. Of the 48, 367 people who were registered to vote in the Comox Valley a year and a half ago, 12, 888 DID sign a petition protesting the implementation of the HST, more than we have ever claimed in our petition materials. Elections BC disqualified 5.5% of those signatures. When the dust settled, 21.1% of all voters were found to have officially signed the petition protesting the HST. We will ensure that all of our canvassers understand the importance of those numbers.

The question to ask Don McRae and his team is this: "Do they really think that any voter will now sign the recall petition BECAUSE we reported a lower number of signatures on a past petition than was actually counted? Or because Elections BC disallowed some of those signatures? What is he really saying?"

And the question to ask voters is: "What would you rather have your MLA spend his time on - making strange allegations about a past petition or standing up and representing his constituents rather than his party on issues like the unpopular HST?"

I look forward to hearing some answers.

Kathryn Askew

Proponent

Recall Comox Valley

250-334-7891

Kath Askew has started her Recall Campaign with a bang. And it appears her MLA isn't up to snuff on matters.

Anyone in her riding who hasn't volunteered and would like to can contact her and apply. Anyone outside the riding who was registered to vote in the 2009 election and whose current address is up to date is encouraged to volunteer. This is our chance folks. Democracy is at stake.

Is Barnett Giving An Inch On Recall Or Just Blowing Smoke?

2011-01-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

Cariboo Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett has come out with the following statement:

[snip]..Barnett said the public said it wanted a referendum because British Columbians didn’t have a say on the HST. “OK, now they’re having a say.”
Noting Freeston told the Free Press it doesn’t matter what [B.C. Liberal candidates say about the referendum] because it’s non-binding, Barnett said she wanted to go on the public record.
“I stand by what we said about what the referendum would do. If the people say they want to get rid of [the HST] during the referendum and the government doesn’t
abide by those wishes, I’ll become an independent MLA.”

The whole article can be found here:
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_cariboo/100milefreepress/news/114176294.html

The problem with this statement is that the Liberal leadership candidates have been the usual "maybe" statements. Things like "might", "may", "possibly" or the inevitable "could". This type of statement is unacceptable. Using these words mean squat to me. Especially when remembering their past practices.

The 100 Mile Free Press has a comment section and I have left two comments there.

The Cariboo Chilcotin Recall Campaign has always, since the beginning, said we want this act repealed. Put it back the the way it was on June 29, 2009.

The present Legislation is non binding and the public is shoveling $200,000,000 per month into government coffers without ever having been consulted. In Fact when the restaurant and small business associations aske the direct question if the government was going to implement this money grab the were lied to by Gordon Campbell and Colin Hansen. "it wasn't on our radar" they said.

The larger problem I see here is that with this system we have given away our right in BC to set our own tax rates . With HST the Federal government now does that and there isn't a damn thing we can do about it unless we repeal the tax. What's to say after our next election that the Feds won't increase the tax to 15%. If the Liberals are re-elected they will say it was the feds not them. Wake up people.

So in the interests of the people in the Cariboo Chilcotin unless the Act is changed to reflect a 50%+1 binding vote and moved up considerably (say to May 1 2011) at the next sitting of the legislature February 14,2011, then recall will proceed. Negotiations are over. We will recall our MLA then get on with our lives. GaryE

Update The following comment was just posted under the above column

If you think the tax shift created by the HST is bad its nothing compared to what the BC Chamber of Commerce wants. At the recent Liberal leadership candidate forum it was proposed that municipal business taxes be shifted onto residential rate payers. They even went as far as to suggest that Municipalities are a significant barrier to prosperity. Very scary stuff.

Do We Still Have a Double Standard?

2011-01-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

Subject: RE: Complaint re Anonymous Ad in Comox Valley Echo

Hi Colin:

Please accept this email in response to your letter dated January 3, 2011, “Unauthorized Advertisement Placed in Comox Valley Echo.”

The advertisement that you provided with your letter, headlined, “It’s Easy to See Who’s Behind The Recall Campaign,” was determined to be recall advertising in relation to the Oak Bay-Gordon Head recall petition. Our office has confirmed that this advertisement was placed by Kevin Tevington, the anti-recall campaign manager for Don McRae, MLA for Comox Valley.

As a result, our office requested that the Comox Valley Anti-Recall Campaign register as a recall advertising sponsor in relation to the Oak Bay-Gordon Head recall petition. Mr. Tevington has complied with this request and has registered the campaign.

The Comox Valley Anti-Recall Campaign will be required to file an advertising disclosure report in relation to the Oak Bay-Gordon Head recall petition. This report is in addition to any filing that may be required in relation to a Comox Valley recall petition. Our office has also instructed Mr. Tevington regarding the important requirement to include the authorization statement on all recall advertising messages.

I trust that your inquiry is satisfied.

Best regards,

Greg Macdonald

Sr. Electoral Finance Reviewer

Elections BC 1-800-661-8683

The first response I got when I sent this out in my email list was from Terry Hand. And it was the response I was looking for.

Amazing!

They pester and threaten signatories with harsh penalties under the claim of
allegedly signing the
initiative petition more than once, yet they allow this guy
compliance...after the fact!
A continued pattern of double standard and bias.

More News From Oak Bay Gordon Head

2011-01-12T14:09:00.001-08:00

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Town Hall Meeting, with Bill Vander Zalm and Chris Delaney, this Friday, January 14^th at the Gordon Head Rec Center (Bert Richman Hall) from 7:30 to 9:00.

Please plan to attend this is a major media event being held to inject energy and excitement into the final 3 weeks of the Campaign. We need a large, enthusiastic audience, and that’s where you come in. Plan to attend and bring a friend. In fact, if you know anyone who is hesitating to sign the Petition, questions the use of Recall or doesn’t understand the link between Recall and the HST, please, encourage them to come out.

The general public has been invited to get straight answers to hard questions: Why Recall? Why Ida? How will Recall change our democracy?

Let’s show Ida, the Media and the rest of BC that Recall can and will work in Oak Bay-Gordon Head!

Is EBC Sabotaging the Recall Campaign?

2011-01-12T13:47:00.000-08:00

I read in the online news this morning that Craig James was concerned for his safety due to the recent events in the USA. While reading the article I questioned his timing and the repetition of what he perceives to be the Anti HST forces threatening him.

The situation regarding the threats was reported I believe, Last November. Quite extensively I might add. So why is it being repeated at this time?

I wondered if they had done a trace on any of the emails at the time to determine their source. The technology is out there. Why don't they use it?

The following press release was delivered to my in box and after reading it I could not agree more with Mr. Hayes and his crew.

Press Release

Contact:
Mike Hayes, Recall Proponent 250-507-2204
Colin Nielsen Petition Coordinator 250-812-6593

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Recall Committee Decries Threats But Questions Timing

Oak Bay-Gordon Head Recall Proponent, Mike Hayes, issued a statement, today, in reaction to published reports by Acting Chief Electoral Officer, Craig James, that he has received threatening and abusive email.” Hayes said that the Recall Ida Chong Committee condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the actions of anyone using threats of violence and intimidation in our open and democratic society.

“There is no place in a civilized and civil society for that kind of behavior,” said Hayes. “It is difficult to find words that express my contempt for such abusive rhetoric.”

However, Hayes said that he questions the timing of the Press Release from the Acting Chief Electoral Officer. “Why has he waited until the closing weeks of the Recall Petition Period to make a public statement about abusive emails and threats he received in November?” Hayes asked. “It would appear that he is trying to discredit the Fight-HST Campaign and the Recall, currently underway in Oak Bay-Gordon Head.”

Hayes pointed out that the Chief Electoral Officer is supposed to be an independent office of the Legislature. “James does his Office, and the wonderful staff at Elections BC, no favours when he appears to be meddling in the democratic processes he is responsible for overseeing,” said Hayes. “It is, quite simple, wrong.”

Hayes said that the controversy over James actions around the 200 word limit issue, as well as the timing of his announcing RCMP investigations into seven people who signed the HST Petition, just before the launch or the Recall campaign, all show a lack of understanding of his role, at best, and outright interference, at worst.

“How can the people working on Recall, and all those citizens who have signed the Petition, have confidence that this “independent” office will fairly oversee this vitally important democratic process?” Hayes asked. “I would challenge Mr. James to disclose all the emails he has received and to show how many he has received since the Recall Petition was approved and the Campaign has been underway. If the bulk of the abusive communication was a reaction to his changing the word-count rules in November, then I think it would fair to question why he has chosen to make his disclosure at this late date.”

I have no doubt that the people at elections BC are very honest and hard working folks. But what I perceive as a attempt to sidetrack the recall campaign by of all people Mr. James doesn't bode well for the peoples belief that EBC is non-partisan today.

And why is Mr. James still the TEMPORARY CEO of EBC? This temporary position has lasted longer than any other in the history of EBC. Why is that?Gary E

If You're Against Recall, You're Against Democracy

2011-01-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

Period.

The statement in the title here says it all. It was stated to me by one of our steering committee in the Cariboo Chilcotin.
Just while we're her I thought it may be prudent to tell you of something else that was passed on to me.
It seems that there may be people out there that might change their minds on the HST if it was dropped to 8%.
Now, for me that was good news and bad news. The good news is there is not a government in this provinve that would drop the tax to that level. The bad news is that the person who thinks like this is not very well informed.
What they don't see is that ANY government that said they would drop the price tag, would immediately raise it after they were elected. And by government I mean Federal Government. You see these people don't know that with the HST we have lost the provinces right to set our own taxes.
And for those who want to wait for the next election to see what happens to us over this draconian Tax Grab I say, Why do you want to wait more than a year to stop this when they are stealing $200,000,000 every month from us. That's 200 MILLION folks.
They told us that this would create jobs. Did you see the news today? They told us prices would go down. Can anyone tell me which prices went down? Even food is going through the roof.
You are getting gouged every day folks. When are you going to say enough is enough.

BC Liberals Don't Want You To Have Democracy.

2011-01-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

Neither does any other party for that matter. Nor does big money interests.

From the Province newspaper. A newspaper that appears to be balancing their reporting, finally

[snip snip snip}. The campaign¹s most recent ad has a blazing red banner that reads: "Recall rules, responsibilities and your rights." The ad warns the pubic that the sole purpose of signing the petition is to trigger an expensive $1.2 million by-election; that it's not a petition against the HST; that it is an offence to intimate or force you to sign; that canvassers cannot mislead you about the purpose of the recall; and that there are stiff penalties for contravening the Recall and Initiatives Act — including voters who sign the petition seeking her removal more than once.
Like earlier ads supporting Chong, the new ads have a threatening tone and appearance, Ruff said.
"Unless you read through them carefully you would think it's an official Elections B.C. ad," Ruff said. He described the recent ad and an earlier one, which suggested personal information given to recall canvassers could be misused, as intimidating.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Campaign+recall+Chong+short+signatures+halfway+point/4054717/story.html#ixzz1ADBKgtEl

Lets have a look at what Elections BC says:

Recall is a process that allows registered voters to petition for the removal of a Member of the Legislative Assembly between elections.
Any registered voter can apply to have a petition issued for the recall of their MLA (the elected Member representing their electoral district in the Legislative Assembly). A registered voter who wants to start a recall petition must obtain an application form from the Chief Electoral Officer. The completed application form must be submitted to the Chief Electoral Officer with a non-refundable processing fee of $50 and include a statement of 200 words or less of why, in the opinion of the applicant, the Member should be recalled. A Member cannot be recalled during the first 18 months after their election.
If the application is complete and meets the requirements of the Recall and Initiative Act, a petition is issued to the applicant (called a “proponent”) within seven days. The proponent then has 60 days to collect signatures from more than 40% of the voters who were registered to vote in the Member’s electoral district in the last election, and who are currently registered as voters in B.C. The proponent may be helped by volunteers when canvassing for signatures.
When all the signed petition sheets are submitted, the Chief Electoral Officer has 42 days to verify that enough eligible individuals have signed the petition. If enough valid signatures are on the petition, and the financing rules have been met by the proponent, the Member ceases to hold office and a by-election must be called within 90 days. A recalled Member can run as a candidate in the by-election.

I don't see anything in the above that states that the Recall Act is done for the sole purpose of causing a $1.2 million by-election. Do you?

As for Giving Personal Information and having it misused.
Every political Party and Every riding association has access to the same voters list that would be issued to a recall Proponent. At the same time the MLA is issued the same list.

So I'm asking here why would the MLA's supporters tell you that the information you give on the signature sheet, which is the same information that is on the voters list, is a dangerous thing? Could it be that they are covering something up like ...say...they are misusing that information?

Given the record of lies and spins by the Liberals in the last 10 years would you trust them with the same information.

Duties of canvassers

7 (1) A canvasser must comply with the following when canvassing for signatures on a petition:

(a) the canvasser must carry the identification issued by the chief electoral officer and, if requested to do so, must produce it;

(b) the canvasser must not knowingly make any false or misleading statements about the petition or the initiative that is the subject of the petition;

(d) the canvasser must not use information obtained in canvassing for signatures for a purpose other than a purpose contemplated by the Act or the regulations under the Act.

(2) A canvasser may divide or group petition sheets for an electoral district to facilitate the collection of signatures if a copy of the cover sheet issued by the chief electoral officer accompanies the petition sheets during signature collection.

(3) The canvasser must ensure that persons who sign the petition

(a) sign in ink on the preprinted side of the signature sheets, and

(b) sign only once.

I will be posting more on this matter just to keep the record straight. I've had enough of the lies. If you feel the same by all means pass this along to your friends or just link them to this blog. I will be happy to answer your questions. After I have researched the answers of course. Gary E

HST, Ida Chong Recall and the BC Rail Trial

2011-01-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

This morning I forwarded an email to some friends containing some information on the upcoming (January 11,2011) court application to have all the evidence, emails and anything else you can think of that found its' way into the hands of the defense in the Legislature Raids (Basi-Virk) trial returned to the courts.

It's my understanding that this application is being initiated by the Liberal Government in BC. And the optics of that presents a huge problem in more ways than one.
Why would the Liberals want to return this evidence? Could it be that they want to get their hands on it to destroy it? Personally (and I'm not alone), I think so. They don't want a public inquiry. Ever. Why? For one thing a public inquiry would expose the whole truth on the giveaway of our railway. Giveaway you say? Yes exactly. The people of this province, I allege, have not received one dime of this Billion Dollars. In fact with all the tax exemptions, write offs, and indemnities we have most likely shelled out about $235 million of our tax (HST) dollars for CN (now a private company) to take our Railway.In other words paid them to take it.

It is also my understanding that once the trial had ended, that evidence became part of the public domain. It belongs to the public. Not the government, because as we know, this government does not act in the best interests of the people who elected them. The public.

So. Why do I connect this court case to The Recall and the HST? It's a diversion pure and simple.
Aside from the fact that the Mainstream Media in this province is trying to hide every piece of news as to what is going on in the riding of Oak Bay/Gordon Head, the Liberals and big business (headed by Phil Hochstein) have pulled out all the stops. Intimidation, completely false advertising, scare tactics, and personal attacks on Proponents, organizers, and canvassers are only part of the plan. The yellow journalism by the mainstream media is appalling. They are supposed to be reporting the news. Not copying Liberal press releases and slanting the news.
The HST and Recall Campaign are the biggest news this country has ever seen. Glen Clarks sundeck (of which he was absolved of all charges) was nothing. Nothing compared to what is going on in this province today.And Gordon Campbell had the complete backing of the Yellow Journalism in this province.
And I'll tell you here as I have said in comments on other blogs, " there are no main political parties in this province, nor in this country that want to see this recall succeed".
Why? Because the politicians will see that the voters now have something that will make them tow the line. Not do what big business or any special interest group tells them to do.

Now, for those of you who have a recall possible in your riding, just have a look at the money being poured into the riding and the Propaganda Photo Ops being done by the liberals for their MLA's. So if there are any ridings that may be thinking about not recalling their MLA at this time I suggest that you don't give up. Just think of the money your area could get.
Let's not forget that any stalling is giving Big Business about $200,000,000 out of your pocket. Money they don't need and that you can ill afford.
The Liberals would have you believe that their problem is that they "rolled out the tax wrongly". Bullshit. Their problem is that they forced it on us at all.
Had the liberals not given away our railway, semi privatized the BC Ferries, dismantled Hydro and raped our rivers, this province would not need the taxes they have forced on us. Nor the user fees or surtaxes.

In closing folks, I implore you to not get placated, and definitely don't believe the spin from either the Liberals or the yellow journalists. Do your own DD. Ask your MLA or even Your MP what they intend to do about the HST. And regardless of what some say, fire the asses of the ones who lied in the first place.
It's time to take back our province and the only way to do that is to support the recall.

I fully expect to get attacked for this post and I will be commenting on all of it.

Have a nice day, Ice fishing
Gary E

Oak Bay Gordon Head "Burma Shave" Signing Location Tuesday Jan 4th

2011-01-03T08:37:00.000-08:00

From the Ida Chong Recall organizers

We want to hold a 'Burma Shave" - (lots of people with signs) on Shelbourne St (just south of Cedar Hill Cross Road - there is a McDonalds on the corner) - we need a good turnout. For those who can make it, turn onto Church Ave (first street southwest of Cedar Hill X Road, directly across the street from the Fairway Market sign and park on Cottonwood, which is the first street off Church on the left. Start time would be 7:30 AM (make your best time, as traffic really picks up, at 07:45 AM. THIS WILL BE A "DRIVE THRU SIGNATURE MOBILE OPERATION". The idea is to put a number of volunteers along Shelbourne to catch lots of people going back to work after the holidays, and get some signatures. Michael Krancevic will be coordinating this and the motor home will be there(hot chocolate / apple cider /coffee) - he will bring signs, clipboards and vests. Some may go to schools after the Burma Shave is over. Please let us know if you can make it to join the crew.

MLA's Running Scared :Supported by Big Business

2010-12-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

Anon 6:39You have hit on something here that needs a little expansion."the wishy washy people in this riding who claim that Ida is so nice, she works hard and should be left alone."
That statement is being used by virtually every MLA that is up for recall. It's the party spin right out of the PAB in Campbells office.
(The same morons that visit this and other blogs that regularly dis the government in this province)

And therein lies two problems. These MLA's either can't or aren't allowed to think for themselves.So for a party that is run by big business who would these MLA's be backing.You guessed it. Big business.

Now say a business has 20 employees. Those 20 employees voted for someone else other that the sitting party. They expect to be heard because they are voters just as are the people who voted for that MLA. But the money lies in the donations to that party from big business. So 20 people who voted for something don't mean diddley squat in BC. One vote from the business owner means everything. Why? Because he has the money.

So the MLA can't think for themselves and big money, not the voter is driving them.

Now. Here in BC we have a mechanism for getting rid of any MLA for any reason should the electorate so choose. That mechanism is called RECALL.
But something else comes into play. Big money could lose their voting power if recall is successful. So they pull out all the stops and start a slander machine that is fully geared to discrediting organizers and telling you how good your MLA is. How much they are doing for you. They aren't doing $&!% for you. They are running scared and (with the full backing of the Mainstream Media) are slanting interviews and having photo ops the like of which we don't even see in a full election. They have their pictures taken with projects that they weren't even involved in.
Historically people have believed in what they read in the papers. I contend that the majority have never heard the saying that "you can't believe half of what you read in the news."
Just look at what happened in the BC Rail Trial. The only time you read anything was in a blog or an online paper. If the buzz got loud enough it was sparsely reported in the MSM Even then they twisted the facts and called bloggers names like "conspiracy theorists" "nut jobs" "wacos". And Why? Because the reporters who were supposed to be reporting facts to you were manipulating their columns so that what you read inferred that something else was being done.
It was only when the government shut down the trial that the papers would report on the case and even then they twisted the facts.
I have perceived something else that has come into play. And that is that NO MAJOR PARTY wants recall to work. And my friends that is for very obvious reasons.
Things have gotten so bad in this province that some very good bloggers have been attacked. Bill Tielemans'
office was rampaged during the discovery protion of the BC Rail Trial.
BC Mary, GrantG, and Kootcoot have been threatened. And most recently Laila Yuile, who uncovered the shadow tax, was physically attacked. And I'm fairly sure that others in the blogosphere that hold the governments feet to the fire have been the subject of , if not attacks, then at least investigation. Even I have not escaped the dirty tricks.
So, it's time to wake up the masses. Tell you friends where they can get the real news and discuss it with others. Unlike the MSM, who, if they don't cut you off. will cut off the whole comment section.

Elections BC Acting CEO Has Now Sat Longer Than Any Other Acting CEO

2010-12-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

It's interesting to note the span between Appointments of Elections BC CEO's and under whose watch. Craig James has now used the office (temporarily) longer than any other temporary Chief Electoral Officer. Many people, including myself question this appointment. And now we are questioning it's length. If things had been done properly the previous Assistant CEO would have been (with her 28 years experience) appointed the new CEO.
November 7, 2002 - June 5, 2010	Harry Neufeld
May 2, 1990 - June 6, 2002	Robert A. Patterson
April 15, 1980 - May 2, 1990	Harry Morris Goldberg
June 1, 1968 - October 1, 1979	Kenneth Loudon Morton
April 1, 1947 - June 1, 1968	Frederick Harold Hurley

Ida Chong Oak Bay Recall Good News and Other Things:

2010-12-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

Following is a update from Colin Nielsen For the Oak Bay Gordon Head Riding

Hi Volunteers

On Friday, a gentleman came into the Lillian Street office and offered us a signing location in the heart of south Oak Bay - corner of Central Avenue and St. Patrick Street. This is central to hundreds of Oak Bay residents, making it very convenient for them to sign the Petition. That corner hosts a popular restaurant, a beauty salon, Casey's Market, etc, hence attracts lots of people via car and on foot. People will still be able to sign at Lillian, however our main signing point will become this new site - the address is 697 St. Patrick Street. It is a nice storefront and sandwich board signs are allowed on the street and there is good parking. We will be moving to this site on Monday December 27th (2 days after Christmas) - volunteers currently working at Lillian Road will continue working at Lillian Rd until Thursday December 23rd. We feel we will get many more signatures at this new site due to its convenient location.

To clarify

Schedule for Lillian Road:

Monday December 20th - open 10.00 am to 8.00 pm

Tuesday December 21st - open 10.00 am to 8.00 pm

Wednesday December 22nd - open 10 am to 8.00 pm

Thursday December 23rd - open 10 am to 8.00 pm

Friday December 24th - closed

Saturday December 25th closed

Sunday December 26th - open 10 am to 8.00 pm

END OF SCHEDULE FOR LILLIAN

Schedule for 697 St. Patrick Street:

Monday December 27th - 10 am to 8.00 pm

Tuesday December 28th - 10 am to 8.00 pm

Wednesday December 29th - 10 am to 8.00 pm

Thursday December 30th - 10 am to 8.00 pm

Friday December 31st - 10 am to 6.00 pm

Saturday January 1st - closed

Sunday January 2nd - 10 am to 8.00 pm

Monday January 3rd through February 4th open daily from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm

Our continued Good Wishes to the folks at Oak Bay Gordon Head.

Update: Dec.21,2011 Latest Numbers from Oak Bay Gordon Head 4151
That's up from 2014 and the proponent says they are on target.

Ida Chong Recall First Week Results

2010-12-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

After searching all day in the MSM and finally getting the results from the Oak Bay Gordon Head campaign I decided to write this piece on the situation. Gary E

The good folks volunteering to recall Ida Chong have collected 2,041 verified signatures. That's 13 % of the total votes needed by February 4th.
That number is the actual number of verified signatures. Some have to be revisited for various reasons.Then and then will they be included in the actual count. The people in Oak Bay Gordon Head have a well thought out campaign and they are provising valuable lessons for the rest of us.

Not bad for being out in not so good weather and having goons in dark suits harrasing the campaign. Which I allege is illegal under sec. 157 of the act.

As well, the ads being put forth to intimidate people from signing are not legal.It is against the law to intimidate people in any way to influence their vote. You can bet if this were a canvasser they would be all over them like white on rice.

Chongs' campaign would like to have you believe the Liberal party spin that the recall is about rehashing the last election. I don't understand what part of a MLA not backing their constituents they don't understand.And it seems she is not the only MLA spouting this spin.

Phil Hochstein,of the ICBA (Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of B.C.), said his organization is running ads against the recall because it's a waste of money. Mr. Hochstein how much of your members money are you wasting on these ads? Members who were not advised by you as to what you are doing with their money. And that can't be denied because I have the information FIRST HAND from at least one member. And that's all we need although I suspect their are many more
.
Elections BC is aware of all of this and I expect a quick timely answer and nothing less. No more pusssy-footing around and delaying.

The folks at Recall Ida Chong have graciously consented to my posting their schedule here.

Recall Schedule For Oak Bay Gordon Head:

December 14th through December 23rd - Both offices open daily from 10 am to 8 pm. Daily door to door canvassing and street canvassing.

December 24th & December 25 - Offices closed and no door to door.

December 26th through December 31st - Both offices open daily from 10 am to 8 pm. Daily door to door canvassing and street canvassing

Note: We want to work this week hard as many people will be home after the holidays and many will take the Wed, Thurs & Friday off to have a full week off

January 1st - Offices closed and no door to door.

January 2nd through February 4th, 2011 - Both offices open daily from 10 am to 8 pm. Daily door to door canvassing and street canvassing

Visit www.recallidachong.ca for more information

Our good wishes for a successful campaign to the folks in Oak Bay Gordon Head.

Ida Chong and the Liberal Party Spin

2010-12-13T22:08:00.000-08:00

You can tell when party spin takes over in a situation like recall. All the MLA's spout the same Rhetoric. Not only Ida Chong is spinning it but so is Donna Barnett. The words they use are almost identical. One only need to read this article in Politics Respun

http://politicsrespun.org/2010/12/clueless-ida-chong-spins-and-begs-for-her-political-life/

I find that the Liberal spin that they rolled this money grab out wrong is just pure spin.Now they want us to believe that they want to talk to us. Actually have a conversation. Why now when they wouldn't even allow full debate in the Legislature? It sounds to me like the school bully when someone finally smacks his face and all of a sudden he wants to talk. Their smugness has disappeared and they find their political asses in a sling and NOW they want to talk. They don't even realize that we ARE talking. Our message is Drop the HST or face RECALL. You see we don't just have the HST we have them lying to the people. People who trusted them and sent them to Victoria to work FOR us. Not to go and give away the farm to their large political donors.
The people now have a vehicle to remove those who lied and we are using that vehicle.

Government and Business Friends Dirty Tricks

2010-12-09T07:26:00.000-08:00

The government that is supposed to be looking after the people who elected them has allowed Phil Hochstein to run rampant using busness money to smear not only the Campaign but individual canvassers.

I will be doing all I can on this site, time permitting, to counter this activity. I am in complete support of this boycott and will be contacting the only two businesses in my area to see if they support these actions.

FIGHT HST LAUNCHES BOYCOTT OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATION MEMBERS
Vander Zalm: Business lobby group is targeting canvassers and voters in smear campaign in a bid to try to stop Recall and save the HST
VICTORIA (December 9, 2010) – Fight HST Leader Bill Vander Zalm is calling for a province wide boycott of the businesses and members of the Independent Contractors and Business Association of BC (ICBA) for their attack campaign directed at the canvassers working to Recall Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong.
Vander Zalm says the ICBA, led by their president Phil Hochstein, are trying to smear canvassers in the riding and intimidate voters from signing the Recall petition with deliberately misleading comments in an advertising campaign funded by their members from across BC. He says a series of ads, together with a web site called “stoprecall.ca” encourages voters not to sign the petition because doing so “means giving your name, your signature, and your phone number to people you don’t know”.
“That is a ludicrous statement given that Elections BC requires this information and given that canvassers are required by law not to use the voters’ information for any other purpose but Recall,” said Vander Zalm. “It’s just pure intimidation.”
Vander Zalm says the ICBA goes further by smearing the citizens conducting the Recall, describing them as an “army”, “disgraced”, “fringe”, “defeated”, and “opportunists”, and then saying “Do these sound like the types of people you want to hand your personal information over to?”
“It is unbelievable that the members of the ICBA would see fit to attack the citizens of BC by funding a massive advertising campaign to stop Recall and to try to save the HST,” said Vander Zalm. “Especially when many of their contractors, roofers, new home builders, renovators and trades people who sell directly to the public have been hurt by the HST and our efforts are actually helping them.”
“You’d think they would be cheering us on, but instead they are spending mega dollars to attack the democratic process with misleading ads and deliberate smears designed to scare people.”
Vander Zalm says his group has published a list of the members of the ICBA on the Fight HST web site and will be sending it out to the Fight HST supporters list of over 7,000 members with instructions to create a viral campaign across BC using the internet. He is encouraging all British Columbians to cancel any jobs or contracts they have lined up with ICBA businesses and to seek alternative companies to work with.
“Companies like Able Roofing Contractors; Gabe’s Painting and Decorating; and Howell Electric in Kamloops, Canpro Construction; Four Flower Enterprises; PBS Contracting and Soare Contracting in Victoria, as well as hundreds of others around the province are supporting this attack campaign,” said Vander Zalm.
“We don’t have the big money of these groups, so we can only counter their efforts by suggesting a boycott. Hopefully, the ICBA members will come to their senses and let Mr. Hochstein know they don’t agree with the use of their membership dues for such a purpose.”
Vander Zalm says the ICBA has donated over $325,000 to the BC Liberals since 1996. “We challenge Mr. Hochstein to tell British Columbians just how much of his members’ money he is planning to spend to defeat the Recall.”
Vander Zalm notes that Hochstein has gone on record saying there are no limits on his groups’ spending against Recall.
“They’ve found another loop hole in the Recall legislation and are using it to act as a conduit for the BC Government to attack the Recalls. The big business lobby went to bat for the BC Liberals during the petition by trying to strike it down in court and lost. Now they’re trying again with a mega bucks ad campaign designed to subvert the ‘equal spending’ rules for proponents and opponents.”
Vander Zalm is calling on all of the BC Liberal leadership candidates to say where they stand on what he describes as an “abuse of the Recall process.”
“It is totally unfair and undemocratic. The ICBA must be held to account by the people, and refusing to do business with ICBA member companies is the most effective way to do that,” concluded Vander Zalm.

http://www.fighthst.com/media/ICBAMembersList.pdf

Has Elections BC Gone Outside Their Mandate? Are They Messing With Legislation?

2010-11-26T07:20:00.000-08:00

The following post is from Bill Tielemans' Blog

Paul said...: Proof that Elections BCadded "Number of words in proponent statement" on November 24Below is technical proof, this clause was added on November 23, 2010, AFTER the submission of the recall application.Technical Proof!This shows two Google snapshots of the Elections BC recall page.November 23, 2010 snapshotE. Recall petition application package:It is recommended that anyone planning to apply for a recall petition carefully study the forms and guides listed below before making an application. The application package contains:The "Number of words in proponent statement" link does not exist in the November 23 snapshot.The page on November 25, 2010 clearly shows the Number of words in proponent statement link.They placed this new link right in the middle of the original five links probably thinking that no one would notice the difference.Furthermore, there was a new folder created on November 24th beneath the Elections BC "/docs/" folder called "rcl/"A new .PDF document created on November 24, 2010 2:51 PM containing the new clause was placed into this new folder.The definitions of what counts as a word were obviously changed sometime between the filing and the rejecting of this Recall Petition.Craig James was obviously ordered to find something wrong with the application.What other monkey wrench is Craig James going to throw into the works after everything is re-submitted?People try to play by the rules and this Campbell anointed clown changes them.He's supposed to be appointed by an all party commitee not just the Campbell Liberals.Spread the link.The first commenter asks the question:This seems anti-democratic to the point of possibly being criminal. If this requirement were changed on November 24th as some are claiming does this deserve a criminal investigation? Or is that reserved for fictitious crimes against back decks?; (Gary E)How anyone in this province can believe that Elections BC is not being manipulate by this government is beyond me.; Why is it taking so long for the MSM to report these findings? Or are they going to report them at all? What kind of spin will Palmer and Baldry put on this? How will they make it look like it's the NDP's fault? Or for that matter the fault of the people of BC?

Is Democracy Being Subverted By a Corrupt Government and a Complicit Police Force?

2010-11-15T19:22:00.000-08:00

Robin Mathews reporting from the Vancouver Courthouse on the adjustments today to Dave Basis sentence in the Legislature Raids had the following to report.

"Indeed, outside the Law Courts the massed media waiting to hear from Bill Vanderzalm and his team about the HST and the Recall Campaign, found themselves (willingly) addressed by Michael Geoghegan, a consultant from Victoria. Describing himself as a concerned citizen and a friend of Dave Basi and a card-carrying member of the Liberal Party, Mr. Geoghegan stated his belief that there was going to be a grab ... by government ...for the evidentiary documentation produced in the process of the pre-trial and trial processes.

Mr. Geoghegan said that the material should stay in hands that can make it available to a Public Inquiry - or for any other reasonable use to which the public wants it put."

And this from Bill Tieleman

Outside court political commentator Michael Geoghegan, a Basi friend, said the RCMP pressuring Basi to cooperate in what he said is their intention to regain evidence from the trial in his possession and destroy it, jeopardizing a possible public inquiry.
Now I don't know about my readers but if this is in the works I alledge it is tantamount to treason
In this country there is no room for this type of subversion. A complete and thorough investigation should be immediately launched into these allegations. Further a Court injunction should be sought to lock this evidence into the hands of the people.

If this type of subversion is allowed to go ahead (if true) we in this country are in deep trouble. Very deep trouble.
I don't know anything about Mr. Geoghegan. It matters not to me, nor should it to you if he is pulling our leg so to speak but if these allegations are not investigated immediately there will be severe consequences to those involved. I believe the people of this province have had enough from this government. The time for Liberal MLA's to resign en masse is now, or face recall.

Further if there is no reporting of this in the mainstream media everyone in the province should be writing them and demanding to know why it is not being reported.

HST Extinuishment Question Loaded

2010-11-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

I have commented in various birdcage liners on the loaded question of removing the HST with this:

"In conjunction" is the problem here. That's what we have now. Hundreds of items that were not previously charged PST have been added to the GST, "in conjunction". This wording is completely unacceptable. A return to the old system is the only question we should have. Fair taxation for all. Businesses and the electorate alike.

And in The Tyee with this:

What kind of fools do they think we are in this province?
“Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) and reinstating the PST (Provincial Sales Tax) in conjunction with the GST Goods and Services Tax? Yes/No.”
The operative word in this statement is where the problem lies.
Conjunction:n. union, simultaneous happening.
Simultaneous: a.occurring at the same time.
Written like this it tells you that we will be keeping the status quo, and that's unacceptable.
The only way we can accept a question is if it is written "Are you in favour of extinguishing the HST and reinstating the system used prior to the HST system now being used?
In other words put it back the way it was. If you want to change the tax system just make sure that the taxation is fair. Not being forced on the backs of the citizens.

With the question the way it is written there is definitely going to be a recall.

An anonymous commentor in the Province online came up with the best question I have seen yet:

"are you in favor of the HST being repealed and the PST and GST reimplemented in the exact form that that existed PRIOR to the HST?"

Simple straight forward yes or no question.

On this day of Remembrance I will be going to the local cenotaph to remember as I always do, those who fought, were wounded, died, and some whose mindsets were forever altered in war.
I remember, because what they died for was my freedom. Freedom to express myself in any manner I chose. Not to be muzzled by tyrants. Free to chose, and vote for a elected representative in government to do the bidding of their constituents. In BC, free to recall any representative who does not do the bidding of their constituents.
I will also never forget the 90 % of the population of this province who backed my expression of opinion on what is going on in this province.
That is what I do on Remembrance day. It's my gift. Today I am 66 years old and I will never forget.

And I will always be grateful to the many people who blog on the internet who backed my "freedom to express myself" and say what others were thinking.

Bloggers like: BC Mary at the legislature raids
                   : Kootcoot at the House of Infamy
                   :Grant G at The straight Goods
                   : Ross K The Gazetteer
                   : Lea at Sister Sage Musings
                   : Laila Yuile
And many many more that I didn't get time to look at because of the pressures brought on my endeavors.

Commentors on my blog like Lea, Lynn, North Van Grumps, cherylincanada.
These are people that help bring news that the mainstream media doesn't want you to know. We can only guess at the reason but they are running scared. Just listen to the labels they put on bloggers.
WE SHALL OVERCOME.

Delaneys' Response to Elections BC Heavy Handed Letter

2010-11-09T06:56:00.000-08:00

For anyone who doesn't read the Fight HST site here is Chris Delaneys response to the letter sent out by the supposedly independent Elections BC

Elections BC intimidating voters and wasting police time

VANCOUVER – Fight HST is questioning why Elections BC has taken action against a small number of individuals who may have inadvertently or accidentally signed the citizens Initiative petition to eliminate the Harmonized Sales Tax twice.

Fight HST is concerned that both the timing of Elections BC’s threatening letters to citizens and disclosing to the media that they have asked the RCMP to investigate the actions of seven registered canvassers may negatively affect Fight HST’s Recall campaign against BC Liberal MLAs.
y Elections B
“Elections BC has completely overreacted to the 1/3 of 1% of the 705,643 voter signatures obtained in the historic Fight HST citizens Initiative campaign that were somehow duplicates,” said Fight HST lead organizer Chris Delaney. “Sending intimidating letters to voters who made an honest mistake is incredibly heavy handed and wrong.”

Delaney said Fight HST will cooperate with the RCMP, but questions why news of the investigation was given to media without informing anti-HST proponent Bill Vander Zalm, and only a week before Fight HST is set to announce which BC Liberal MLAs will be the first subject to Recall campaigns.

“The Chief Electoral Officer has had this information for months, but only now decided to release it to the police and media? That is especially perplexing given that Elections BC told us from the beginning that if any signatures were accidentally duplicated, the extra signature would simply be discarded since all signatures had to be validated in their process.”

“Now they are acting like some people intentionally tried to deceive them. That is ridiculous. We have been inundated with emails from upset people all over BC saying that if they signed twice it was in an attempt to correct their address, or to put their formal name in place of a nick name," said Delaney.

Delaney said if any individual intentionally broke the rules they agreed to obey, then they should be held to account. "However, it is hard to imagine anyone deliberately duplicating a name, since all the canvassers knew that any invalid signatures would be discarded anyway. There was nothing to be gained by doing it."

Delaney said Elections BC is making a mountain out of a molehill, especially given that Acting Chief Electoral Officer Craig James has already stated that the potential infractions do not invalidate the Initiative.

“Ordinary citizens did the extraordinary by volunteering and signing to make this the first-ever successful citizens Initiative in Canada,” Delaney said. “Attempting to make this into CSI Victoria is an unnecessary scare tactic and a waste of police

BC Rail Court Sentence

2010-10-18T18:25:00.000-07:00

A Deuce less

That's two years less a day. This sentence effectively keeps the trial within the jurisdiction of the Province. Out of the federal realm.

By now the whole province is outraged that the defendants in the Basi-Virk Trial have plead out. Guilty. And the Judge in the case after impeding the trial herself has taken pity on the defendants and given them house arrest. She says "because they have young families.

I allege that this presents a double standard in our system. Think about it. This excuse we call a government has robbed the people of money from their pockets. They have set up the lowest minimum wage in the country. We have the highest child poverty in the country. And these people plead guilty in a obvious plea bargain. But they have young families so they get what amounts to a slap on the wrist.

What about all those people that are driven, because of the Campbell policies, to crime. Are they let off with a slap on the wrist. I think not.

So now the people are so pissed (watch out for the language cops) that they are calling for a public Inquiry. According to the Attorney General we aren't going to get one.

Well Mr. AG we'll just see about that. I submit that your so called government is about to fall. Your arrogance in all matters in this province are sickening to say the least. The people of this province have had it with you and they are about to speak out.

We have a democratic system unlike any other in this country and we are going to use it. We will get our Inquiry and heads will roll. Karma Mr. AG, Karma.

As for the MSM in this Province. Just look at how they are prancing around saying the government is good and there was never anything to see here. The only thing more sickening than the governments attitude is the MSM lap dog mentality. Unbelievable.

Liberals Admit HST Is Bad For Tourism

2010-10-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Minister Krueger Has come out and admitted The "HST Betrayal" hurtd Tourism.

For Immediate Release

Oct. 12, 2010

B.C. LIBERALS ADMIT HST DOUBLECROSS IS A BIG BLOW TO TOURISM SECTOR

VANCOUVER – The B.C. Liberal Tourism Minister, Kevin Krueger, appears to now be admitting that his government’s HST betrayal is hurting the tourism industry, say New Democrats.

“After toeing the B.C. Liberal line on the HST, Minister Kevin Krueger is now admitting not only that the HST is bad for tourism, but also that the HST will not be making life cheaper in British Columbia. This is a clear back-track from everything we’ve ever heard from this government,” said Spencer Chandra Herbert, New Democrat critic for tourism.

Krueger told the media this morning that he would like to see an HST rebate for international tourists, saying that “it just seems a very unnecessary barrier to be charging our visitors sales tax when we’re trying so hard to attract them here”.

“This is a dramatic about-face from this Minister,” said Bruce Ralston, New Democrat finance critic. “The B.C. Liberal government has been saying that the HST will be good for British Columbia and good for tourism. Now he’s saying an exemption is required, which just goes to show that the B.C. Liberals should have consulted with business and consumers before flip-flopping and pushing through a significant tax change like the HST.”

In budget estimates debate last spring, Krueger stubbornly defended the tax, saying that “there’ll be tremendous savings with regard to the harmonization of the sales tax” and saying the HST will “help lead to a more robust tourism industry.”

“Clearly, if a rebate is needed, then HST savings are not being passed on to consumers, as the B.C. Liberals have repeatedly claimed,” said Chandra Herbert. “Where is the rebate for British Columbians?”

“I’ve talked to many stakeholders in the tourism industry, from all across the province, and they are clear that the best thing the B.C. Liberals can do for tourism is to scrap the HST as soon as possible,” said Chandra Herbert.

“The HST is clearly having an impact on British Columbians – this adds to the urgency of settling the HST matter. The best way to do that is for the B.C. Liberals to hold the HST referendum as soon as possible,” said Ralston. ..... end

So now let's see. We already know that the tax is bad for the people. They hand out a rebate that doesn't nearly cover what the individual taxpayer will pay out in this new tax grab.

We know that big business is getting a windfall that the government says the savings will be passed on to the consumers. And to date there are NO savings being passed on. In fact some business people are saying that any windfall they get will UNLIKELY be passed on.

We also note that big business is helping finance the propaganda campaign by the Liberals.

We know that restaurants are hurting badly and I know of one that has gone out of business. Others are cutting staff and the remaining staff are getting reduced hours.

So they are looking at basically subsidizing tourists. Why is this happening?? The taxpayer in BC are the ones building the province and it appears that everyone but the taxpayer gets the breaks.

Now Kreuger has as much as admitted that the double cross is hurting tourism. We happen to know here in the Cariboo that Tourism has been cut to the bone.

So now I am wondering just how long it will take the PAB to put a spin on this so that Kreuger looks like he isn't now double crossing Campbell

This is just more fuel for the fire.

Donna Barnett will be recalled. Only the date remains open.

Acting Chief Electoral Officer

2010-10-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

Acting chief electoral officer

9 (1) On the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly in any of the following circumstances, the Lieutenant Governor must appoint an acting chief electoral officer:

(a) the office of chief electoral officer is vacant;

(b) the chief electoral officer appointed under section 4 is suspended;

(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may appoint an acting chief electoral officer in any of the following circumstances:

(a) the office of chief electoral officer is or becomes vacant when the Legislative Assembly is not sitting;

(b) the chief electoral officer appointed under section 4 is suspended when the Legislative Assembly is not sitting;

(c) the chief electoral officer is removed or suspended or the office of the chief electoral officer becomes vacant when the Legislative Assembly is sitting, but no recommendation is made by the Legislative Assembly under subsection (1) or section 4 before the end of the session;

(d) the chief electoral officer appointed under section 4 is temporarily absent because of illness or another reason.

(3) An acting chief electoral officer holds office until the earliest of the following:

(a) a new chief electoral officer is appointed under section 4;

(b) the suspension of the chief electoral officer ends;

(d) in the case of an acting chief electoral officer appointed under subsection (2), when an acting chief electoral officer is appointed under subsection (1);

(e) at the end of 30 sitting days after the start of the next session of the Legislative Assembly.

(4) An individual may be reappointed as acting chief electoral officer in accordance with this section.

Well.Well,Well What do we have here

2010-10-03T07:56:00.000-07:00

Vaughn Palmer reporting on Campbell

"It's time that B.C. had a government that did what people told it to do," he told reporters, the ink barely dry on the party membership card he'd signed two days earlier. "The first item on the order paper should be legislation for recall."

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Initiative+recall+haunt+premier/3566580/story.html#ixzz10NpcpvuT

Bill (not so) Good's Questions Just Shot Down

2010-09-16T07:14:00.000-07:00

Bill Good has been repeatedly asking the question on air "if you get rid of the HST how will you pay for social programs, health care, schools etc.

I have been trying for months to get people like him to figure out what has happened. Not the least of which was giving away BC Rail.

But now, our own finance minister has shot Goods propaganda all to hell.

Seems our finance department has found another 2.7 billion in corporate taxes that magically appeared in the middle of the HST rebellion. He even says that they have an option with what to do with part of the windfall. Like maybe paying back the Feds all the money minus the bribe money of $235 Million

I have another question. Where did they find this money. Was it from a projected deal to further reduce corporate taxes? Quite possibly.

So, Bill Good Junior, what do you think of that.

Is Colin Hansen A Insane Person Or Just Plain Stupid?

2010-09-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

"I'm proud of what we've accomplished and I intend to fully continue to work on behalf of the people of British Columbia," he said.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/09/03/bc-cd-howe-hst-study.html#ixzz0ylMCG7Gn

I submit that this man (if you want to call him that) has done absolutely nothing for the people of British Columbia. In fact with the HST he has imposed more harm on the people of BC than any government in this country since the implementation of Income Tax to fight the war effort.And the temporary measure of income tax was justified at the time.

With this tax he has not done ONE IOTA on behalf of the PEOPLE of BC.

What he has done is rape the people by theft. Then prostituted himself to big business interests.

The spin now is, how do we pay for the social programs? So I'll tell you.

1. Bring us back our railway

2. Put BC Hydro back to the way it was and stop killing our rivers.

3. Bring BC Ferries back into the fold

Put everything back that you have broken to the way it was.

AND START TAXING THESE BUSINESS INTERESTS THE WAY THEY SHOULD BE.

Fair Taxes for all or Recall In The Fall

I ask you this: Could a mans head get any further up his ass?

Vander Zalm Calls ForTotal Recall

2010-08-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

     An independent government department is playing politics with your life.

     Elections BC has decided that we only need to know that all 85 ridings in the HST initiative acquired the 10% minimum required to pass. We don't get to see the numbers.And that goddam decision sucks. It is not in their mandate to with hold information from the public. They don't get to dictate what we hear or don't hear.

     Their reason? They apparently think that the numbers would unduly affect the court cases that are lurking in the background and they won't release the numbers until the cases are over. Horse Sh!t. We the people, those who pay their wages, don't give a rats ass for the court cases. Especially if they are initiated by Ding Dong and his buddies.T%hese cases could take years. The people have spoken and we want our results. We didn't go out and bust our asses just so some f***** bureaucrat could dictate to us what we have a right to know.

The Sun online is reporting that Vander Zalm is calling for a total recall of all Liberal MLA's in the Fall. I'm behind you Bill, 100%. I will sign up in every riding that I can to help. I'll live out of my little travel trailer for two months anywhere I'm needed. I will not take any more shit from these little turds. Especially the little turd that is ruining this province.

If that little p***k in Victoria gets anymore brain farts on how to stop the tide I will be calling for a General Strike in this province. And it won't be like the last two. This time everybody stays out until we get what we want. No More ifs or maybies

Go for it Bill. I'm not the only one behind you.

Provincial Government Lied To The People In The Northwest

2010-07-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

There is no way to describe what the Government has done to the people in the Terrace Kitimat area than to say they lied to them.
A deliberate and calculated lie perpetrated by the bastards in Victoria. What they have done is unforgivable.

Read the full story here http://www.terracedaily.ca

"In a stunning new development, it has been revealed through confidential correspondence that not only did the government know that Eurocan would never restart, they purposefully mislead the entire Northwest region by funding a doomed viability study. The BC Government has literally thrown money into the furnace, and encouraging others to do the same by raising false hopes and dreams with the residents of Kitimat and Terrace."

What kind of people would do something like this? After cutting social programs, health, education and a lot of other things to the bone they throw money down the drain to perpetrate a god damn lie.

Wake up people. RECALL IN THE FALL.

Barnett Worries About Recall Threat: Rebuttal

2010-07-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

The July 6th Edition of the 100 Mile Free Press published a story on Donna Barnetts concerns about being recalled. I wrote a paragraph by paragraph response and was asked if I would allow the paper to use it as a letter to the editor. To which I agreed.

The heavily edited version of my response was finally published in the July 21 edition and I don't feel that it completely covered my response, so I have chosen to publish it in full here.

All writing in black is from the original news article and the red is my response.

.....snip

Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett says she has concerns about the Fight HST group putting out a hit list of 24 MLAs it would target for recall.

And so she should be afraid. Although she maintains she didn't lie to her constituents it is quite obvious by the response in the initiative that more people than voted for her think she did.

It’s a piece of legislation that’s there for people to use, she says, adding it’s been used quite a few times, but never successfully.

Wrong on this one Donna. Paul Reitsma in 1999 was recalled but to save face and not have the distinction of being the first to be fired by his constituents he quit. While the petition was being submitted I might add.

“Recall is a definite concern for everybody. There’s 24 of us on the list and it could bring the government down.”

Yes Donna it is a concern. Do you actually think we want to do this. Your boss is bringing it on himself. His arrogance and your continueing to spout the party line are forcing our hand. We have the option and we will use it

She says it’s the last thing British Columbia needs right now because the world economy is so bad — with the United States looking at “double recession” — and the province’s lumber industry so fragile.

Just what makes you think the world economy is the fault here and why do use the tax on the people back as a solution. Our situation hasn't got anything to do with the world economy, Campbell even alluded to this when he explained why our deecit was only $435 million. and we were calling his BS then

Noting people are saying the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is big business against the ordinary citizen, Barnett says it’s proven that the HST is good for business, and what’s good for business is good for jobs.
“The world only rotates for the private sector by keeping your doors open.”

The people of this province get jobs on their own merits. We don't pay big business to give us a job Why is it that whenever a government policy is bad for the people, government uses the excuse it's good for jobs and the economy? What good is this shift going to do for the economy? Never mind the jobs that are going to be lost in the restaurant industry alone.

Barnett says she doesn’t know how far the recall threat is going to go because there are so many things on the table, including a challenge by a group of B.C. business leaders as to whether the petition, itself, is legal.
If the petition is validated by Elections BC, she adds, then it has to go to an all-party government committee and then it has to go to the legislature.

How far will recall go? It will go all the way Donna. The people have spoken and you and your party didn't listen. What do you expect. Call a special session, push the initiative through just like you did with the Bill to sell the farm. It's easy. Just repeal it. All of it. Your government are masters at ramming things down our throats. Get rid of it.

“And if it’s successful, then my personal opinion is it should go to a referendum. If that’s successful, then the provincial government is going to have to come up with the $1.6 billion or negotiate with the federal government to pay it back ... I just don’t know.”

It will be successful and I want you to think outside the box for a moment. We just had a referendum whether you recognized it or not. And tell your colleagues to stop spouting that $1.6 billion dollar crap. the first transfer is $235 million. Have we even received that yet?

What she does know, however, is the B.C. Liberals stumbled coming out of the gates with HST and the lack of public information was a big blunder.

It wasn't a blunder Donna it was arrogance pure and simple. Campbell and Hansen were caught with their pants down. They didn't even bother to register as opponents because they never thought the people had had enough

“The HST isn’t the most popular thing the government has ever done, but there’s a reason for everything.
Barnett says the B.C. Liberal government did a very poor job bringing the HST out and explaining it to the public. “They still haven’t got the proper information out.”

See above

Noting she has a number of good friends who have signed the anti-
HST petition, Barnett says they complain they have to pay HST on groceries and gas. I have to tell them groceries and gasoline are HST exempt, she adds.

Donna let's be a little more honest here. People who voted for you and are lifelong liberals were absolutely livid when they came to sign the initiative. They were red faced and talking loudly saying you had betrayed them. One that I know said he will vote NDP before he ever votes for you or a liberal again. And there were many of them who were well informed. Not the ones you say only were afraid of groceries and gasoline. By the way did you know some groceries that people purchase often did go up. Maybe you should check it out the next time you go shopping.

“So, you know we did an absolute terrible job of presenting this issue, and we have to take full responsibility for the terrible job that was done.”

Yes you have, yes you have

A lot of people have told her she let them down with the HST decision.
“I wish I didn’t have to make this decision. It would be so nice to make decisions that make you popular, but unfortunately, sometimes in government, you have to make decisions that make you unpopular.”

Now you're using Campbells feeble line. You could make no worse decision I allege, than to do the bidding of Campbell. It will be your downfall.

However, she explains, government has to look at the budget and deficits because the main economic drivers, including forestry, mining and agriculture, are seeing their revenues shrinking.

Can I ask who put us in this mess in the first place? Don't know? It was your micromanager boss. You know? The one who is best suited to manage our economy?

The sophomore MLA says she asks people to tell her what to go back and cut, but people say they don’t want anything cut.
“I feel just awful inside that you have to make these kinds of decisions, and people say, ‘you were elected to represent us’ and yes I was, but I was also elected to protect health care and education.”
She adds health-care costs are almost $15 billion a year and education is more expensive every year.
“We don’t want to close schools; the enrolment is shrinking; we have people who need help and assistance, but how do you provide it?”

Why are you suggesting that we cut anymore in the first place? This tax is supposed to be revenue neutral. It has absolutely nothing to do with schools. Campbell has already cut that to the bone. And if he hadn't messed with health care we would have been in far better shape than we are in that department.

The $1.6 billion HST transitional funding the federal government put on the table, Barnett says, helps keeps the provincial deficit down.
Without that money to help with education and health care, she adds, the provincial deficit would be astronomical.

Revenue Neutral Donna.

“A lot of people said, ‘close the schools’ and others said, ‘have a deficit,’ but do you want to leave a deficit for your kids?”

No we don't want to leave that defecit for the kids. So why are the liberals avoiding the subject of returning some (or all) of the tax exemptions that your corporate welfare system gave out.instead of giving them more candy by dumping this on your constituents.

Barnett says the B.C. Liberals will definitely be travelling around the province to ensure its information on the HST is heard in all 85 constituencies.

Bring it on Donna. Bring them all here. We are beyond believing what you and your party say.We've had enough. Start taxing the big businesses again and repeal this draconian piece of legislation.
Rumors have since had it that Falcon was to be here to make a big deal about some Seniors beds.But the ribbon cutting didn't materialize. I have since learned that it may be held in early September .
This is a project that was announced Four years ago and consisted of 29 Beds. Here we are 4 years later and it is only 14 Beds.

I say RECALL IN THE FALL

Liberal Liars Club. HST Ripoff Coming Back To Bite Them In The Ass

2010-07-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

President and VP Liberals Liar Club

If you would like to know just how bad things are getting under the HST, visit the Fight HST sight:

http://fighthst.com/press-release-after-only-three-weeks-hst-is-worse-than-anyone-could-have-imagined/

I was going to do a separate piece on my experience with the HST and Hansens lying his face off on TV in what I deem is a commercial for Huggies, but I see in this piece that someone else had the same problem.

What happened was Hansen, being a new father as I am, went on TV with a bag of Huggies and explicitly said that these Huggies for example would not be subject to HST. He put it in such a way, I allege, that it was designed to allay the fears of parents with young children. But it appears that he went out of his way to NOT mention that these Huggies would still be subject to GST. I have a copy of my receipt taped here on my computer desk as an everyday reminder of the lies by these fools.

So what we have here is a select tax. Anything with PST on it gets the extra 5% to make it 12%. Now it appears that things with GST stay as a GST item not eliminating any taxes but still collecting 5%.
Thus Hansen had his LIE put on tape from a newscast. You see, if he comes out saying one thing when not advising another he is perpetrating a lie.
If there is anyone out there who has a copy of this "commercial" for Huggies I implore you to get it on Facebook and/or YouTube before the thing is removed from the station archives if it hasn't been already.

Which brings up a final matter. The Image above was sent to me by The bride. She got it from someone on Facebook. I am unable to trace the author and I hope they don't mind my use in this article. It just seems to fit so well and I thank them in advance.

Recall In The Fall

I Wonder If Harry Reid's Staff Takes Lessons From The BC PAB

2010-07-06T21:59:00.000-07:00

No matter what side of the AISLE you're on, THIS is FUNNY and very telling!

It just all depends on how you look at some things...
Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California , was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Congressman Harry Reid's great-great uncle Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.

The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory:

On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives,convicted and hanged in 1889.'

So Judy recently e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle.
Harry Reid:

Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:

"Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory . His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."

NOW THAT's how it's done, Folks!

That's real POLITICAL SPIN

More HST Lies

2010-07-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

We are a family of four. Our GROSS income is less than $25,000 per year. In fact it is just under $20,000. So when I received my rebate this morning something stunk. Bad. I went back to the government propaganda site to recheck what they had posted online.

According to Campbell and Hansen my household should receive the amount from line 2 below. So now I'm asking these Pathological liars why my check was $488.75 for a family of four all duly registered under the income tax act. My friggin calculator reads $122.1875 each for this family of four. Even if you say that the adults got a total of $460.00 which they say you should. The other two members only get $28.75 between them.

They can't even tell us the truth on what we are supposed to get here. Of course the statement says "up to $230" . I'd really like to hear from anyone who is below the poverty line as to whether they got $230 for each family member.

I'm not even going to look at the total of $716. I'm positive that is bullshit as well.

Low Income Credit

Starting July 1st, individuals with incomes up to $20,000 will receive a $230 HST credit.
Families with incomes up to $25,000 will receive a $230 HST credit per family member.
People also eligible for the federal GST credits may see a total of up to $716.

UPDATE Great Aunty Bertha has left a link in the comment section. the link is copied and pasted below.

Cherylb if you read this have someone get something up on the front page of Fight HST. This is pure unadulterated Bullshit.

How much will I receive?

The maximum HSTC is $230 per family member. Individuals with incomes up to $20,000 and families with incomes up to $25,000 are allowed to receive the maximum credit. The HSTC is reduced by 4% of net family income over the income thresholds. For example: If an individual has net income of $23,000 for the year, the HSTC will be $110.

Net income	$23,000
Threshold	$20,000
Maximum HSTC for the year	$230

Calculation:

Maximum HSTC for the year		$230
Net Income over the individual threshold (23,000 - 20,000)	$3,000
multiply: 4%	x 4%	(120)

Eligible HSTC for the year		$110

For the estimated annual credit you are entitled to receive please contact the CRA at 1-800-959-1953.

Harvey Oberfeld Speaks Out On The HST

2010-07-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

For those who may not know former (retired) reporter Harvey Oberfeld has started a blog called Keeping it Real. It is touches on almost everything major that is happening today in the world, in BC and in the media

As he did when he collected a paycheck so he goes indepth reporting in his blog in retirement. All this at the expense of losing touch with some colleagues and, as I understand it, some friends as well.

Following is his most recent post in it's entirety with a link to Harveys' blog. It's something we all need to hear and the title says it all.

Time for Media to Stop Defending/Promoting HST

July 4th, 2010 · 3 Comments

The hurt has begun: BC consumers are now being hit with a higher sales tax (HST) almost every where they turn. And as a result some of those who can hardly afford it … like food servers … are already taking the hit.
A friend of mine told me the following story: each morning he has coffee and toast at a neighbourhood restaurant … the cost, pre-HST, was about $3.75 … so he would leave $5, including the tip. Post HST, the bill is now $3.94 … and he still leaves $5. So the server takes the hit, because let’s face it, most people are not going to adjust and now leave $5.10. Multiple that by tens of thousands of customers for thousands of servers in B.C., on more than just toast and coffee … and you can see who the real victims of the HST tax shift will be: some of those who can least afford it.

And yet,  too many media reporters, editorialists, commentators and pundits are still trying hard to prove the “people” were wrong in opposing the HST … and throwing out smelly red herrings that demean themselves and their profession.

First, notice how many are now asking “Well, where are we going to get the additional money we need for education, health etc?”

This is a whale of a red herring in any discussion the HST.   The premier, the finance minister, all their economists, the corporate mouthpieces have always said the HST is “revenue neutral”. It is a tax shift from business (mostly BIG business) to the consumer … not a new or extra tax in any way …at least that’s what the premier and the government said. And they wouldn’t lie to us, would they?

So just posing the question of where would we now get the extra money we may need, in the context of any stop-the-HST discussion, is disengenuous and downright dishonest.

Where were those questions from the media commentators and pundits when the BC Liberals lowered personal income taxes and corporate taxes to what the government boasts are about the lowest in the country? Seems to me that because THEY and their employers were benefitting so much, those questions about “where will we get the $$$ we need?” were virtually ignored. The spiel then was how lower taxes would generate more spending and thus help improve the economy and promote job growth… and thus, produce higher provincial revenues
.
What hypocrites!

If their supposition is that we need more revenue for growing education and health costs is correct, how come none of them are proposing or even asking why shouldn’t big business in B.C. or the highest income earners give back some of their earlier tax reductions that have them now paying, according to the government itself, among the lowest taxes in Canada?

I guess that question would hit too close to home.

A second red herring the government’s “voices” keep raising: if we get rid of the HST, we’ll have to pay back the $1.6 Billion the federal government gave BC to go along with the program.

That argument suggests the $1.6 Billion is a windfall … a gift … a wonderful reward.   Give me a break!  Why would Ottawa give B.C. that money? Because it’s merely a ONE-TIME CASH ADVANCE ; under the HST, BC consumers will be “paying back” millions of dollars each year  in extra revenues on purchases not formerly covered. And we will keep paying FOREVER: if BC really needed a one-time cash advance so badly, we may in fact have gotten a better deal  from the Mafia instead of Ottawa!.

And then there’s the other myth now being promulgated by the provincial government and eagerly supported and promoted by their media puppets: without the HST break for business, BC will lose thousands of jobs and investment to other provinces. The sky will fall!

That’s simply a crock: the government, remember, has boasted for years that BC business already enjoys some of the lowest corporate taxes in the country. Not to mention the lowest minimum wage as well! So without HST break, all that will disappear?

The biggest point most media fail to consider … or forget to mention: BC’s economy is VERY largely a resource economy. Does anybody really believe that without still more EXTRA breaks given their suppliers by the HST, China, the U.S. and other foreign countries will stop buying our oil, natural gas, mining resources or even our lumber as their economies recover and the need for our resource riches skyrockets again???

Our media needs to get real on this issue … and stop being just a mouthpiece for the Liberals, the Chamber of Commerce and the world’s largest global resource corporations … out looking for even more concessions. And at the cost of those who already have so much less than they?

Ontario brought in the HST to protect its still huge manufacturing base, not heavy resources, which they know will only sell well when the U.S. and world economy is in full swing again. In addition, Ontario simply won’t be able to supply Asia with many of the BC natutral resources they are hungry for … and the cost of moving those resources from Ontario, instead of BC , to China or other parts of Asia, would far outweigh any HST benefit.

True, Australia and Russia are also competitors for resource sales … but do you really believe China’s purchases to satiate its burgeoning economy’s hunger for stable, efficient and reliable high-quality resource supply hinges on their suppliers in BC getting an EXTRA HST tax break?   LOL!

And the final red herring: those who will really be hit by the HST will be getting a rebate.

Officially, that’s true, but ONLY if you earn $20,000 a year or less as an individual or $25,000 as a family. The rebate is $230 a YEAR for each individual.   I’d bet not too many media types (or corporate executives) are earning less than $20,000 a year. Do they really believe at that salary level, trying to pay for rent, food, transit, clothing, toiletries and maybe a movie ticket once a month … a tax rebate of 63 cents a day will cover it all?

And what’s REALLY scary, and should be questioned quite hard, is that the government says more than a million British Columbians (a quarter of our population) will qualify for this poverty level relief!!!!! That deserves not only a question …but a five-part series!

And yet, the pundits seem to feel anyone earning over $20,000 a YEAR should be willing to pay even MORE taxes through the the HST to help out the biggest resource industry corporations, that even pre-HST, measured profits in the hundreds of millions and whose executives already enjoy the good life of million-dollar Whistler second-homes, multiple luxury family cars and for some, even yachts that rival Jimmie’s!. And a restaurant server should help subsidize them even more ? It is absolutely ludicrous.
Media types should stop taking sides while they’re on the job … soaking up and promoting the BIG BUSINESS scam for yet another tax break on the backs of small business, working people.

Or register as lobbyists for the government.

Harv Oberfeld

A Fine Start To Saving You Money With The HST. Another Campbell Lie

2010-07-02T06:19:00.000-07:00

It sure didn't take long for Campbells next lie to appear. That guy needs some serious help from a phsycologist. I honestly don't believe he knows that he is lying.

This list was forwarded to me and deserved posting here.

It is a fine example of how our prices will go down Just like the government adjusting the price of booze so you don't get a reduction.

The pricing is from Kitsalano and the person asks that maybe we should all check things out in our areas.

What appears to me to be happening is that the prices are going up higher than they are supposed to so that when the reduction comes (if it ever does) it will only fall to the regular price.Just like when you see department store savings. Just before the sale the price rises to a point where a 10% reduction only reduces the item to the same level (or higher) as the original price. Some saving.

Have a look at the very first price.The Sun (paid lackies for Campbell by way of advertising) who made such a big deal of prices falling, 19%.Gary E

Vancouver Sun

Weekday Vancouver Sun $1.00 plust GST on Wednesday Morning - June 30

Weekday Vancouver Sun $1.25 inclusive of HST on Thursday Morning July 1 or a 19% increase

Now WHO SAID over and over again THAT HST WOULD MAKE THINGS CHEAPER

Movies at the Hollywood

Last Wednesday Jun 30 - $7.00 for a second run double bill movie

Thursday July 1 $8.00 for a second run double bill movie or a 14.5% increase

Vancouver Park Board Concession Stand

Veggie burger - $4.75 June 30

Veggie burger - $5.25 July 1 or a 10% increase instead of 7%

Comments are welcome. Recall in the fall

705,643 Voters In BC Were Just Slapped In The Face By Gordon Campbell And His Big Business Buddies

2010-06-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

That's right folks. These Numbskulls have absolutely no idea of what a democracy is.

First we elect Campbell and his lapdogs and find out he lied. (and that was back in 2001) Then we re-elect him when he lied again. And finally he figured he could lie to us again and get away with it.

Only this time he hit is in our pockets big time. And was so arrogant that he figured it would slip by us. Not a chance. Along comes a Former Premier and says hold it this is wrong. He recruits more than 6500 volunteers, myself included and we use a little used or known Initiative to stop his forcing us to pay the bills for big business.

This army of volunteers goes out to canvass and what do we find? People rushing to sign the petition They were lining up and mad as hell. They were from all political stripes and they were fuming.Where the lineups were fairly ling they asked about the Initiative and how long they had to sign. They were told 90 days and they vowed to come back when the lineups were shorter. And they did come back resulting in the 705,643 signatures. More that those who voted for the LIEBERALS in the first place.

Some came wanting to sign but were ineligible for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was the fact that they hadn't been on the voters list. They asked how to register and were told. Some came back and were still unable because they hadn't been on the list at the last election. And were they pissed. But we told them at least they would now be eligible to vote in the next election.

There was a recent court case where business owners appeared towant to be able to vote twice. Once where they lived and once for where their place of business was. They lost.

Campbell and Has been wanted to defy the law and were told by Elections BC they couldn't. They tried to advertise against the initiative but were not eligible because in their arrogance they didn't register as opponents. That was their biggest shot in the foot.

But they were running scared so they brought out Jeff Plant the former AG and member of the Heenan Blaikie law team. He rambled on about how this Initiative was wrong and unconstitutional. All the while knowing that he was spinning the situation.

You see folks, the Tax Grab is what is unconstitutional.

In 1867 the provinces were given the right to collect taxes within their own boundaries to pay for their own programs. Its right there in the constitution. And the Campbell minions DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to give away this system. Not without a vote from the people who elected them. And they must either have that as their main election platform so the people will understand it or put it to a Referendum. Campbell did neither of these. In fact in the last election he said that an HST was not on their radar.

So he lied. I don't care how the spin doctors in the PAB spin this HE LIED.
And now we have the biggest tax shift in Canadian History put on the backs of consumers without their consent to give more welfare to big business.

Of course big business likes this. But to their chagrin Bill Vander Zalm got in the way. So did 705,643 citizens of British Columbia.

Bill and Chris Delaney and some of the folks from down south are leaving tomorrow to deliver those peoples names to Victoria to be scrutinized. But hold it. Are you ready for this? Jock McKinnon and a couple of fools from the Forest and Mining industry don't believe in Democracy. They want to file an injunction again in part that this petition preamble is Unconstitutional. What fools. First of all the Preamble isn't part of the Act. Second of all as mentioned the act to institute this tax grab is in itself unconstitutional. They sure have their ducks all over the place.

Now we get to the meat of this situation. A few businesses think they have the god given right to tell the government and the electorate what to do. This is so much friggin bullshit that I almost threw up when I read Justine Hunters piece in the Globe. What right does a business, that doesn't have a vote, have to go to the Supreme Court of BC to tell a judge that we are wrong? We the registered electorate of this province?
And what kind of fool would think he had that right? This is a democracy run by the Voters. Not a dictatorship run by a proven liar, and criminal, with a few business men and their millions, which they are now increasing on the backs of folks like you and I.

Screw these assholes. We have a win, win, win situation here. And I might say that in filing tis injunction they have further riled the voters who hired them and those voters are now mad enough to recall ALL the liberal MP's.

This update from David Schreck Talking about the pro HST gang

A third line of defense was trotted out by former Attorney General Geoff Plant in his opinion piece published in the Vancouver Sun on June 4th. He argued that the anti-HST "initiative petition is fundamentally flawed" and cannot possibly achieve its purpose because British Columbia has no ability to extinguish federal legislation. Like some pundits, Plant went on to quibble with the preamble to the initiative petition's proposed Bill, arguing that the HST does not contravene the constitution, but not mentioning that the preamble to the Bill is not relevant. He also noted that the proposed Bill fails to specify in what form the PST would be reinstated. Plant concludes that the legislative committee should refer the Bill to the legislature, at which point the government should refer it to the court for a constitutional opinion.

Canvassing Is Done. Now The Real Pressure Is On

2010-06-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Fight HST to deliver petition to Elections BC on June 30 at 1:00pm

All media are invited to accompany the Fight HST team for the delivery of the 700,000 signature Initiative petition to Elections BC on Wednesday, June 30th.

Petition proponent, former BC premier Bill Vander Zalm, will take the petition on the 11:00am Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay Ferry on June 30th, arriving at Elections BC at 333 Quebec Street in Victoria at approximately 1:00pm.
Mr. Vander Zalm and Fight HST organizers Bill Tieleman and Chris Delaney will be available for interviews during the ferry crossing and at the handoff to Elections BC.

There are three days left to July 1,2010. If this draconian money grab is not repealed by then there are several MLA's who will be fired by those who hired them. We are the boss here and we are telling you that you will not have a job come November if you do not do the right thing in the next three days.
We know full well that it is more difficult to get 40% in 60 days but there are people being recruited already to do this job.
RECALL IN THE FALL Gary E

Iggy a Post Turtle?

2010-06-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Harvey O at Keeping It Real has been holding his former colleagues feet to the fire and attempting to give them lessons on how to be a reporter. As we all know the mainstream media has become absolutely horrible in there reporting news of interest in BC. In fact I submit that there are virtually no investigative reporters in BC and the ones elevated to prominence by their bosses have become nothing but pimps for the present goons in power in Victoria.

So when this joke came to me in my inbox, and after I had read it I immediately asked the question "was it the MSM"

YOU'VE GOT TO LOVE THIS RANCHER'S OUTLOOK AND COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO LIFE .

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, who's hand was caught in the gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually, the topic got around to Ignatieff and his bid to be the PM of Canada.

The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, he's a 'Post Turtle''. Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a 'post turtle' was.
The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'.

The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain.
. . . 'You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, and he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put him up there to begin with'.

Treason in Government? Why am I not surprised?

2010-06-23T08:17:00.001-07:00

And Laila Yuile has the breaking news story HERE.

This is the most serious allegation about a government or governments in Canada that I can recall. The Robert Somers case in BC pales in comparison.

The way the Accusation from CSIS has been framed and the questions unanswered leads a reader to think that the highest levels of government in BC are either knowingly or unknowingly participating in treason.
It is very troubling that CSIS would choose to make accusations public before charging the people involved.

treason: a violation by subject of allegiance to sovereign or state. treachery. disloyalty.

Is CSIS giving people a chance to bail out? What exactly are their reasons?
Elected officials are sworn allegiance to the Queen and to their constituents.

Don't worry folks this story can be carried by Laila. The rest of us will try to get the poop on the BC Rail Trial.

Basi Virk Trial Not That Important?

2010-06-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

It's 7:20 AM June 21,2010 and I have just looked at the Trial Docket online. All other trials appear to be listed for today but not Case #23299.

Are the people who get paid big bucks just playing with the general public? Or is there no trial for today. Not according to reports from last week. This trial was set to move forward today and it is not listed with the other trials. Is it incompetence? Has there been another glitch in the forward movement of a trial that had its discovery cut off by a new parachuted judge?

Would all the extra arguing being done in court, with and without the jury present, be happening if Discovery had been allowed to progress to it's end. I think not.

Would people like Norm Farrell be going to the courthouse only to discover that court had been canceled because of what I allege is the manipulation of a trial procedure? I think not?

It is common decency and courtesy to have these times and dates posted in a timely manner and I allege that someone is being overpaid to do a job which is apparently not being done.

Campbell Shows True Colors Over Aboriginal Relations

2010-06-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

I have known from the beginning that Campbells "new relation" with the First Nations of BC was a sham. It was designed to placate the nations and lure them into a false sense of security.

He never ever thought once that he would buck big business, especially mining, to allow the First Nations to have a say in their traditional lands.

Please read the following press release about the Fish Lake, Prosperity Mine double cross by Campbell.

PRESS RELEASE For immediate release B.C. Government Treats Aboriginal Rights as Meaningless; Tsilhqot’in Nation Denounces Long-Term Lease for Taseko June 14, 2010, Williams Lake – The Tsilhqot’in National Government angrily denounced the provincial government’s decision to grant Taseko Mines Ltd.(TML) a long-term mining lease for its proposed open-pit mine at Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), an area where the Tsilhqot’in Nation holds proven Aboriginal hunting and trapping rights.
"B.C. is essentially saying our proven rights are meaningless," said Chief Marilyn Baptiste, of the Xeni Gwet’in First Nation, one of the six Tsilhqot’in communities that comprise the Tsilhqot’in Nation. "The Province is handing Taseko long-term property rights to lands where we are actively exercising our proven Aboriginal hunting and trapping rights – before it is even known whether Taseko’s project will be approved or rejected by the federal government."
Federal approval is far from certain. During recent public hearings held by a federal environmental review panel, the Tsilhqot'in Nation actively opposed the project, which would destroy two lakes of profound cultural and spiritual significance, with elders, members and even school children describing the unfathomable loss that this destruction would mean for their communities and traditional way of life. The federal panel is due to issue its report and recommendation on July 2nd. "During those hearings, our Nation, people from Williams Lake, environmental organizations from across the country and a number of eminent scientists warned the Panel that this mine will cause untold damage to the Tsilhqot’in culture and to a complex ecosystem," says TNG Tribal Chief Joe Alphonse of Taseko’s plan is to drain the pristine, trout-bearing Fish Lake and dump waste rock there. "Even federal agencies said that Taseko’s plan to destroy Fish Lake and Little Fish Lake didn’t meet their guidelines. It’s a black eye for British Columbia. It’s hard to find anything good to say about it."
The Tsilhqot’in National Government (TNG) called the decision to issue the 25-year renewable lease "disrespectful." Chief Alphonse: "There is still a need for Tsilhqot’in endorsement to operate with the Tsilhqot’in traditional land. The Tsilhqot’in National Government does not feel that we have been adequately consulted." TNG has written to Jody Shimkus, the Chief Gold Commissioner, recommending the decision be rescinded.
…2/
The issue of allowing mining companies to use lakes as garbage dumps for mining waste is now a national issue. On June 4th, the Sandy Pond Alliance – a coalition that includes the Council of Canadians, MiningWatch and other eNGOs – launched a court case against the federal government contending that the regulation currently used to authorize the destruction of lakes for mining purposes is unlawful. On Wednesday, June 16th, there will be a protest at 12:30 pm in downtown Vancouver at the Taseko Mines Annual General Meeting. The rally at 837 W. Hastings Street has been organized by Council of Canadians in support of the fight to defend Teztan Biny (Fish Lake).

and please pass this on to your friends

Are You Listening Now Mr. Campbell

2010-06-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

Forwarded Message From Fight HST

BC First Nations join Vander Zalm legal challenge to HST
Vancouver – The Union of BC Indian Chiefs has joined forces with Bill Vander Zalm in supporting a legal challenge to the HST. On Thursday of last week, the UBCIC passed a motion agreeing to support a challenge to the much hated sales tax, on the grounds that the tax will be applied to aboriginals in BC, and is outside the jurisdiction of both the federal and provincial government.
The motion reads:
“THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the Union of BC Indian Chiefs Council supports the Fight HST campaign in exploring legal options, including a constitutional challenge to the implementation of the HST.”

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said the HST will devastate native peoples in BC, who are among the poorest people in the province, “The HST will hit our peoples the hardest. They will have to pay it on the majority of their purchases, which are made off reserve. Many First Nations people struggle just to survive, and this tax will severely hurt them.”
Phillip pointed out that not only does the HST appear to contravene Section 92 of the Constitution which grants exclusive authority for provincial sales taxes to the provinces, but it also contravenes aboriginal sovereignty over taxation for natives.
“We are pleased to offer our support to former premier Vander Zalm in his efforts to stop this tax. It is not good for British Columbians, and it is not good for First Nations. We must fight together to defeat it, and send the government a message that they cannot run roughshod over the rights of people, especially those least able to defend themselves,” said Phillip.
Fight HST leader, Bill Vander Zalm, said he is very happy to have the support of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. “The HST has brought people together in our province in way that we have never seen it before. For the first time, we are all fighting together on the same issue, and that is a power that no government can stop.”
Vander Zalm says he is soliciting funds from associations and organizations to facilitate the legal challenge. He says the legal challenge is independent of the Fight HST Citizen Initiative petition. His plan is to seek an “injunction” against the HST to stop it from proceeding, or to halt its advance while the courts work to determine whether it is legal.
“An injunction would kill the tax on the spot. Our lawyers tell us that a judge may look favourably upon an injunction, since it would take two years for our challenge to go through the courts. In that time the BC Government would have collected over $16,000,000,000 in HST. If it was found to be illegal, it would have to be repaid and that would bankrupt the treasury.”
“By working together, we will show the government that they must listen, and that democracy is not completely dead in BC,” Vander Zalm concluded.

Liberals Call Out The Big Guns. Are They Breaking The Law?

2010-06-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

Geoff Plant advertising against the HST petition thinly disguised as an op-ed. Is he breaking the law with this misinformation?

He starts his op-ed (I allege illegal advertising) against the initiative by saying it is fundamentally flawed.

Then he wants to examine the petition, nit picking it apart by misinforming you. He claims to understand the Act giving you the impression that he is right.
Then goes on to tell you about it being a legal process as well as a political campaign.
He then tries to deflect all the blame on the Federal Government. I allege that Both Governments are playing a shell game to confuse the voters.
He says " As everyone knows or should know, the HST is not provincial legislation. It's part of a federal statute, which can be amended or "extinguished" only by the federal Parliament. The legislature of British Columbia has no ability to extinguish federal legislation."
This is patently false. The constitution Clearly states:

92. In each Province the Legislature may exclusively make Laws in relation to Matters coming within the Classes of Subjects next hereinafter enumerated; that is to say, —

2. Direct Taxation within the Province in order to the raising of a Revenue for Provincial Purposes.

Plant:
The Recall and Initiative Act states clearly that an initiative may be undertaken in respect only of an issue that is within the jurisdiction of the province. In addition, the act also states that the draft bill must be clear and unambiguous. The initiative petition fails on both these grounds.
The draft bill prepared by the anti-HST campaign is called the HST Extinguishment Act. Its central provision states very simply "[T]he HST is hereby extinguished in British Columbia."

What Mr Plant is not saying here is that this issue is clearly within the jurisdiction of the province
and requires a constitutional amendment.

Plant:
The draft bill is therefore a constitutional impossibility. It cannot be passed by the provincial legislature.
It's important to realize that the question is not whether the anti-HST campaigners could have drafted a valid bill, but whether they did. No lawyer ever succeeded in court by asking a judge to ignore the words of a statute and decide the case on the basis of what the legislature should have said.

From Strategic Thoughts David Schreck:Like some pundits, Plant went on to quibble with the preamble to the initiative petition's proposed Bill, arguing that the HST does not contravene the constitution, but not mentioning that the preamble to the Bill is not relevant. He also noted that the proposed Bill fails to specify in what form the PST would be reinstated. Plant concludes that the legislative committee should refer the Bill to the legislature, at which point the government should refer it to the court for a constitutional opinion.

Plant:
The proposed initiative bill is flawed on other grounds. Its preamble states that the HST "contravenes" the provisions of our constitution under which the provinces have the power to impose direct taxation.
Unfortunately for the anti-HST campaigners, this is simply not the law. If they had asked, any constitutional law student could have explained that the federal government has the power to raise money by any mode or system of taxation. Therefore, the federal government has all the constitutional authority it needs to enact the HST, which is just the GST by another name. Similarly, while the provincial government clearly has authority to enact the PST, it is equally capable of deciding not to, and that is what it did when it repealed the PST.
It is hardly satisfactory to have the statute books of British Columbia filled with preambles that are constitutional nonsense.....(snip)

Plant doesn't tell you that the Federal Government has never been given the right to collect Provincial Taxes. British Columbia has never ceded that right.

Other provisions of the proposed bill fail to satisfy the requirement that it be "clear and unambiguous." For example, the section of the bill that tries to provide for some kind of refund to British Columbians is particularly problematic. How will eligibility for this refund be determined? By whom? Where will the money come from to pay for it? None of this is answered in the bill.....(snip)

To undertake a provincewide vote in the face of the constitutional issues I have described would be a mistake....(snip)

To undertake a province wide vote at a cost of $20,000,000 would be political suicide for the Liberals.

Plant:
There is another option. Under a statute called the Constitutional Question Act, the provincial cabinet has the power to refer any matter to the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal of B.C. for hearing and consideration. (This is the procedure that the government is using to test the constitutionality of the Criminal Code provisions outlawing polygamy.).....(snip)

To refer it to the SCC is a delay tactic and would precipitate a Recall

Plant:
My suggestion is this: If the signature drive succeeds, the committee should be convened and recommend that the draft bill be tabled in the house, and immediately thereafter the bill should be referred to the courts for an opinion on its constitutional validity. Recall ....(Snip)
Nothing will be lost by such a procedure and much will be gained. If the bill is found to be valid, it can be debated and voted on in the house. If not, the petitioners will be free to try again, but this time the campaign will be conducted against the backdrop of a much clearer understanding of how our Constitution works.
Some may say it would be a shame if it turns out that so much energy has been invested by so many people in a failed undertaking. But that is what the rule of law is all about -- making sure that we conduct our politics according to law.....(Snip)

The only thing gained in the above would be a second chance for the Government to register as opponents to the initiative. Their arrogance was so great the first time they want another chance. The problem as I see it Mr. Plant, is the people are pissed because they were lied to and then your Party rammed it through without proper debate.Do you think they'll believe you the second time around? So I suggest that you follow the will of the electorate and repeal this money shift if you want another chance. Then when the next election comes around you can campaign on the issue. My bet is you won't do that because you'd lose.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/anti%2Binitiative%2Bdoomed%2BHere/3110571/story.html#ixzz0pz68M8N1

Update 4:00 PM July 7,2010
After returning from canvassing today and still listening tomany people who are mad at this government I found this on the Fight HST site.

Vander Zalm says a recent article by former BC Liberal Attorney General, Geoff Plant, characterizing the petition legislation as illegal would be laughable if it weren’t so pathetic and obviously political. He says Plant’s key assertion, that the HST is federal and can’t be terminated by BC cannot be taken seriously
.
“If that were true, then the federal government could simply create the HST in any province it wanted, without even asking them. They could set it at any rate they wanted, and could apply it to anything they wanted.”
“But the reality is, both BC and Ottawa signed an agreement that can be terminated by either side. Our petition, if passed by the Legislature, will terminate the Agreement that created the HST, thereby extinguishing the HST in BC. It’s not rocket science. The federal government will have no choice but to respect the will of British Columbia voters – only a Liberal Plant would suggest otherwise,” concluded Vander Zalm.

Bill Vander Zalm Live on the G&M at 10:00 AM Today, Wednesday June 2.

2010-06-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Colin Hansen had his chance to explain the HST on Monday on the Globe and Mail BC (and in my opinion failed miserably) still not telling us all the truth.
Today at 10:00 AM Vander Zalm gets his chance.
Your welcome to come back here with comments on both performances.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/anti-hst-campaigner-bill-vander-zalm-takes-your-questions/article1587290/

Is Hansen Doing Something Illegal Here?

2010-05-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

B.C. Finance Minster Colin Hansen takes your questions on the HST

Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/finance-minster-colin-hansen-takes-your-questions-on-the-hst/article1584818/?service=email

The globe and mail has set up a question and answer game with Hansen answering questions on the HST.

Since his government did not register as opponents to the Initiative then this type of advertising may well be contrary to the BC Elections Act. They have already been forbidden to send out pamphlets.

So, what is going on here. Is this action sponsored by the globe? Is BC paying for the time? If so it's against the law.

And if not then the proponents of the initiative must get equal time.

Time to notify Elections BC

And just as an aside here, I wonder how many of the PAB are going to monopolize the conversation.We know for a fact that has been done before.

Campbell Government 's Deceit On Lifting Farmed Salmon Moratorium in 2002

2010-05-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

Rafe has asked that this be forwarded to all. The best way I can supplement the forwarding is to post the letter here.

From Rafe Mair's Blog at www.thecanadian.org

The memorandum from Alexandra Morton which I circulated last Wednesday demands a deeper look into what the Campbell government knew when, in September 2002, they lifted the moratorium on fish farms. (For convenience I have pasted the Morton article below).
These documents arose in 1995 when the NDP were in power when they placed a moratorium on new fish farms. This moratorium was lifted by the Campbell government and here is what then minister John Van Dongen had to say:
"... B.C. now has the most comprehensive regulatory framework in the world, including science-based standards to protect the environment." (Emphasis added)
"... We've worked very hard on these regulations to ensure that they do a proper job of protecting the environment in British Columbia... we are confident the regulations will do that and we are confident we have a regulation in place that is leading edge in the world."(Emphasis added.)
We must take Mr. Van Dongen at his word that "careful consideration" was given this decision and examine what even casual consideration would have disclosed.
Leaving aside questions of waste, drugged fish, coloured fish, the escape of farmed fish into the wild, and disease, what was the evidence the minister possessed on the question of sea lice?
There were, of course, the documents raised by Alexandra Morton in her memo. One would have thought that they alone would have convinced a careful minister that rather than permitting more fish farms, he should get rid of the ones that existed and at the very least force them to go to closed containment.
But, not only did Van Dongen have these remarkable memos to alert him of the sea lice issue, the facts available at that time show that the issue of sea lice from farmed fish cages destroying migrating smolts was a huge one in Norway, Scotland, Ireland and even New Brunswick. (It is important to remember that juvenile pink and chum salmon weighing less than half a gram are more than 10 times smaller than Atlantic salmon smolts, and thus much more susceptible to louse parasitism.)
What did the Campbell government know about the other jurisdictions concerning sea lice?
It can be said without fear of contradiction that even the most superficial look at the industry in Norway, Scotland and Ireland would have disclosed that the impact of sea lice from farmed fish on migrating salmonid smolts was a huge problem.
Norway had long recognized and attempted to minimize the sea lice threat enacting the Norwegian Action Plan Against Salmon Lice in 1997. Ireland and Scotland adopted similar sea lice reporting and control measures.
Ah, you say, but this is Norway, Scotland and Ireland, not BC!
Fair enough – let’s look at BC, though I don't think that this would be Premier Campbell's first choice!
In 2001, Alexandra Morton, then associated with The Raincoast Conservation Foundation (not to be confused with the Raincoast Research Society with whom Ms, Morton is now associated), identified the first epidemic of this lice species on juvenile wild Pacific salmon. Over 850 juvenile pink salmon, as well as chum, coho, and chinook salmon and adult local sea run cutthroat trout were examined in the summer of 2001. 77% of these fish were infected at or above the lethal level as defined by Norwegian scientists to be 1.6 lice/gram of fish. The epidemic's epicentre was in the midst of active salmon farms, with very few to no lice where there were no farms. Far from showing the alarm one might have expected, the DFO wanted to charge Ms. Morton with “illegal testing”!
The fact is, that by September 2002, when the Campbell government lifted the moratorium on fish farms, Alexander Morton had clear evidence that sea lice were slaughtering wild salmon smolts as they migrated out to sea and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Federal) and the provincial Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries knew of Ms. Morton’s findings and the Minister and the Campbell Cabinet ignored this clear evidence of the horrendous impact of sea lice on wild salmon and lifted the moratorium anyway!
It’s this that takes the Campbell government’s decision out of the possibility of error and firmly into the realm of deceit.
What has happened since the Van Dongen announcement should give us all further cause for extreme concern.
When Alexandra Morton made public her findings re: sea lice and migrating smolts in the Broughton Archipelago in 2002 she was mocked, derided, and threatened with arrest. Scientific study after scientific study, all peer reviewed, supported her findings yet time after time the Campbell government ignored these findings and declared that science was on their side.
Clearly, not only did the Campbell government know the truth about the impact of sea lice from fish farms on migrating salmon smolts from the outset and chose to ignore it, they have compounded their deception by ignoring scientific study after scientific study ever since.
I suppose it would be ridiculous to think that Premier Campbell would at least now have the decency and honour to admit the truth and do everything he can to redeem his government’s disgraceful behaviour and make every possible effort to restore the fisheries it’s done so much to destroy.

Morton memo

A series of government memos reveal a heated debate in 1995 over a sea louse outbreak on a farm salmon on the Fraser sockeye migration route (Okisollo Channel). In 1995, a salmon farm requested permission to use hydrogen peroxide to treat an extremely heavy outbreak of sea lice on their fish. When the Ministry of Environment, Parks and Lands (MELP) informed the company that their drug application would have to be released to the public, the fish farmer withdrew the request. When environmental groups found out about the sea lice outbreak, the BC Salmon Farmers Association called for an investigation of MELP and a guarantee that fish farmers had a right to secrecy in the future.
September 6, 1995 Don Peterson of MELP writes, “The company has withdrawn their application (for hydrogen peroxide) because they heard there was a requirement to advertise if a pesticide was going to be applied. I guess they were either afraid of the shareholders…or the public finding out... the company has asked that this request be kept strictly confidential and that all correspondence on the subject be destroyed.”
September 28, 1995 the BC Salmon Farmers Association criticized Minister Moe Sihota (MELP): “…government has an obligation to maintain confidentiality… Government is further prevented from unauthorized collection, use or disclosure of information…. puts at risk … capital investment of private citizens and individual companies…”
However, salmon farms operate in Canada’s public waters and impact a Canadian resource - wild fish.
On October 23 Earl Warnock of MELP writes, “I find it unconscionable that they (fish farmers) are only prepared to undertake measures appropriate to protect their stock health and the environment unless they can do it in a clandestine manner.... and for them and MAFF to ask us to operate with them in this way says something about the people we are dealing with.”
“MAFF” = Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, now Ministry of Agriculture and Lands (MAL).
Either the sea lice remained on the farm fish on the Fraser sockeye migration route or they were treated without permission from MELP.
November 03, 1995, Bryan Ludwig, MELP writes: “…we are in the difficult position of being concerned about use of pesticides for treatment of sea lice, but also wanting to ensure we avoid a severe outbreak for fear of transfer to wild stocks.”
These documents reveal heroes among our MELP bureaucrats who tried to protect our wild salmon from salmon farms. Gordon Campbell disbanded MELP as soon as he took office in 2001, and he renamed MAFF, MAL and gave them control of allocation of Crown Land. The fish farm industry did not develop a sea lice action plan, the public lost their government biologist advocates, sea lice outbreaks continue with lethal infection underway today rates on wild juvenile salmon on the Fraser migration route (Okisollo Channel) (photos available) and Fraser sockeye stocks migrating through Okisollo Channel are in steep decline.
October 23, 1995 Earl Warnock MELP: “If the truth harms their integrity perhaps they need to look at themselves…”
If we cannot save wild salmon in British Columbia, we do not live in a democracy.
All documents available at www.salmonaresacred.org, “Breaking News”

All this on top of the misrepresentation of the Mainstream Media in BC on the Crowd that gathered at the Legislature on May 8 to Save the Wild Salmon just makes me further believe that there is a lot of covering up on this matter.Gary E

Cariboo Chilcotin Have Signed 7500 On The HST Initiative

2010-05-27T22:10:00.000-07:00

From Eric Freeston Regional Organizer

Fight HST

HST Signatures Swell to 7500 in Cariboo Chilcotin

Cariboo Chilcotin - “On a slow day canvassers gather 50 signatures while on a most days 100 signatures are collected”, says Eric Freeston, regional organizer in Cariboo Chilcotin for the Initiative to End the Harmonized Sales Tax. “Now, just seven weeks into a 90 day campaign, we have 7500 names - approximately 2000 more signatures than the number of people who voted for Donna Barnett in the 2009 Provincial Election.”

“This response shows that citizens are angry with both the tax and the way it was introduced – immediately after the Liberal election win in May. And anger towards the Liberal Government and the Harmonized Sales Tax continues to grow. We expect to exceed 8000 signatures in the next five days. As long as people want to sign the petition, we will be out on the streets taking their names.”

Following the July 6 deadline for the HST initiative, Elections BC will validate petition signatures. Once the initiative is declared successful it will be sent to an all-party committee of the BC Legislature. This committee will have two options: holding a province-wide referendum or turning the petition into a bill to present to the legislature. If the bill is presented in the legislature but voted down by the Liberal-majority government, the Citizen Initiative has two further options: a recall petition or a legal challenge.

A recall petition can be conducted no earlier than November 2010. This initiative requires 40% of registered voters of a particular constituency to sign a petition to recall their MLA. If the recall petition is successful, the MLA for that constituency would be recalled and Elections BC would hold a by-election.

Legal advisors believe the HST may contravene the Constitution Act 1867 that gives exclusive authority for direct taxation for provincial revenue to the provincial legislatures only. The HST may also contravene the Excise Tax Act that forbids the federal government from implementing an “unequal” tax within the provinces. Any legal challenges to the HST would be accompanied by an application for an injunction to stop the tax until the court can determine its legality.

Freeston concluded, “During the election Liberal MLA Donna Barnett promised to represent her constituents in Cariboo Chilcotin. Now her constituents are clearly telling her they don’t want the HST. Is she listening?” end

For anyone looking for places to sign the Initiative in their area please go to www.fighthst.com

The first Red Banner that you see is for the locations. Look up your riding then simply identify your town and a location near you.

Faaaaantastic

2010-05-25T19:48:00.000-07:00

     Damn how I used to hate that word.

     But not anymore. The revised stats for this week on the ANTI HST Initiative are just that.

     There are more than 6500 canvassers, area Captains, and Regional Organizers in this campaign, as well as the staff that run it and they are poised to pull this off
.
     For those who haven't read the posted stats at www.fighthst.com this initiative now has only one riding out of 85 to go to pass the 10% required to submit this Bill. Of course like all other ridings we are shooting for 15% to cover the margine of error.

     But for me there is an added bonus. We are within striking distance of "40% in 60 days". So close in fact that we will reach it this week. What is that number you might ask? Well that is the magic number that we can show our MLA in this riding that come November when we do a recall we have the votes. And it was done in under 60 days with a lot of people just learning the ropes. In November there will be people with experience signing others up.

     Of course we are not alone, there are three or four other ridings that are really close if not over the mark.

     Faaaaantastic? You bet your sweet bippy it is.

BC Rail Story Filing In The Sun by Accredited Reporters

2010-05-20T18:59:00.000-07:00

Does the Sun have the same filing practices in print as they do online?

While waiting for BC Mary to post the next set of news reports on the BC Rail Trial I thought I'd go the the online MSM to see what they had.

Imagine my surprise when I highlighted a story by nhall and when it came up it was under the SPORTS section. Not NEWS or Breaking NEWS but SPORTS.

So my conspiracy theorist mind jumped into high gear and I wondered if this was deliberate and was it happening in the print for?. You see, if it is then there are a whole raft of people (like myself) who wouldn't think of looking in the Sports section for a JURY TRIAL. What do you think of my Conspiracy Theory, Palmer and Baldry?

Now I know that somebody is going to say people make mistakes, but these people are supposed to be PROFessionals with PROFessional editors. Ha!

I'm willing to bet PROF Mathews could do a better job.

Are You Listening Yet Gordo?

2010-05-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

You know full well that the people don't want this rip off.

From www.fighthst.com

72 of 85 Ridings meet Elections BC threshold of 10%, with 51 Ridings exceeding 15%.
Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby numbers soar
With seven weeks to go in a 13 week campaign, organizers for the Initiative petition to repeal the HST report they have collected 500,000 signatures representing 15% of registered voters province wide.
Organizers say that 72 of 85 ridings have crossed the Elections BC 10% threshold, with 51 of those going over the Fight HST internal threshold of 15%.
“This is monumental,” said Fight HST Lead Organizer, Chris Delaney, “We are not even half way through the campaign, and we are on track to complete our 10% threshold in all 85 ridings by next week, with everyone reaching their 15% target by the first or second week of June.”

Here are the facts:
The people of this Province don't want this money grab
You and your MLA's blatantly lied to those people.
You can't lie to someones face and then steal from their pockets.
Your own supporters have turned against you. I have first hand knowledge of this.
Your ship is sinking and the rats are bailing out. But I'm betting you don't have the cajones to go down with the ship.

And I am betting that there will be more than 40% signing in more than 7 ridings which will give people an idea how easy it will be to recall more than 7 MLA"s.
So, are you listening yet Gordo? If you aren't, I sure hope that some of your MLA's are. The best thing for them to do is to get out now because by JUNE 2 it will be too late.June 2 is the 2 month mark Gordo. Watch the magic.
For the spin doctors in the PAB. We know that the fight HST petition signatures can't be used for a recall. What we are saying is that the 40% signatures gathered in 60 days on a recall will be attainable. And we also know that any citizen who wants to initiate a recall against any sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly for any reason can do so by paying $50 and submitting their reasons in 200 words or less.We further that November 15 is the date to start a recall.
So Gordo, either rescind this money grab and set our Province back on track (prior to 2002) or take a hike.
RECALL IN THE FALL.

BC Government Still Can't Tell You The Truth

2010-05-17T07:59:00.000-07:00

From the Vander Zalm Team

Over 30 items missing that will have additional HST applied

Delta – Former BC premier, Bill Vander Zalm, says his Fight HST team has completed a thorough analysis of the BC Government’s newly provided HST “list” that supposedly shows which items will be affected by HST, and says over 30 items are “missing in action”.

“We spent some time reviewing the list and have determined it is totally bogus. The government has, once again, deliberately tried to mislead the public when it comes to the HST. They just can’t seem to ever tell the truth,’ said Vander Zalm.

Vander Zalm says the list excludes almost all "services" that will now have HST applied to them.

“They left out items such as; catering; computer repair services; consulting services; commercial leases; fishing charters; home appraisals; investment counseling; limousine rentals; skiing; and even parking fees!”

Vander Zalm says that the HST applies to virtually every service that the GST applied to, so the government has no excuse for not knowing which items should have been included.

Vander Zalm says they are also playing games with HST applying on new home construction. He says the government list indicates “no change” to new homes under $525,000, with a confusing, small print footnote indicating “embedded PST of 2%” on new homes under $525K.

“The truth is, even after HST rebates new homes under $525,000 will have approximately 2% more tax added to them in HST. That means on a new house worth $300,000, buyers will pay an additional $6,000 in HST. On a big ticket item like a new home, that is a ton of money taken from consumers.”

“They’re calling it embedded PST. That is absolute trash. They eliminated the PST. It is 2% HST,” Vander Zalm explained.

“This all just points out the shenanigans they are playing. They are deceitful and incompetent. The real “HST Hit List” can be found on our web site at www.fighthst.com. There are over 100 items where 7% more in HST will be applied than were previously under the PST. The government list has only 53 items, almost half the real number.”

“The BC Government list is bogus. The Finance Minister is bogus, and so is every MLA that supports this garbage,” concluded Vander Zalm.

(And if you live in a condo don't think your fees are not being hit. Part of your fees is in janitorial supplies and services. Some estimates say that would mean a 4% hit on fees.
So for the folks in Burnaby and Richmond in the High Dendity Condo Areas I suggest you find a signing booth near you. You are going to get hit) Gary E

Top 10 Liberal Myths About The HST

2010-05-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

From http://www.fighthst.com

Top 10 BC Liberal Myths about the HST:
MYTH #1 – The HST legislation cannot be undone
FALSE: Page 11, Section 42 of the Comprehensive Integrated Tax Coordination Agreement (CITCA) that BC signed with Ottawa to create the HST says: “The terms and conditions of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect, in accordance with and subject to the provisions of this Part, until the date that is specified by a Party in written notice that is delivered to the other Party setting out the Party’s desire to terminate this Agreement.”
Other provinces have adopted and later repealed the HST. Saskatchewan adopted the HST back in 1989, and two years later, after an election, the HST was repealed by the new government.
MYTH #2 – The HST is a streamlined, more efficient tax
FALSE: The CITCA has 16 pages of formula definitions that require mathematical experts to compute how the tax sharing is to be calculated, with formulas such as:

There are hundreds of other formulas like this outlined in the revenue sharing agreement.
A simple modification of the PST to provide input tax credits to business, with a reduction to 3 or 4% to compensate for the expanded tax base would be a win-win-win: Truly revenue neutral for government, business wouldn’t pay, and it would be virtually the same cost for consumers as the current PST at 7%. BC could also collect the federal government portion, as Quebec does, to create a single tax form while maintaining provincial control of taxation.
MYTH # 3 – BC must adopt the HST to compete with Ontario
FALSE: BC’s closest trading partners are Alberta, the United States, and Asia, where there is no HST. Ontario is primarily a manufacturing province, whereas BC is a resource based province which does not directly compete with Ontario for the same goods and services.
MYTH # 4 – HST rebates will offset the extra costs to seniors
FALSE: Current rebates for GST are applied as a % of the tax. The HST rebates will also be applied as a % of the tax, but with a much larger gross tax amount (12% on HST vs. 5% on GST) it means a greater portion of senior’s incomes and pensions will be required to pay the difference between the rebates and the larger amount of overall tax paid. If you are a senior requiring home care or outside care, it will be even higher.
MYTH #5 – HST does not apply to new home construction under $520K
FALSE: All new home construction has HST applied, with some partial rebates to off-set the extra tax up to $520K, where the full HST is then applied. For example: A new home or apartment costing $300K will have an extra $6,000 of HST applied to the purchase price – approximately the cost of purchasing new appliances or furniture for that same home.
MYTH #6 – HST will not affect rents/strata fees
FALSE: Although HST will not be directly applied to home rents or strata fees, apartment buildings and home owners who rent to others will have to pay an extra 7% on all goods and services required to upkeep, maintain, renovate and manage the buildings they rent out. These ‘hidden HST costs’ will have to be applied to rents, and consumers will pay again.
MYTH #7 – HST is a federal decision
FALSE: The federal government has said adoption of the HST is a provincial decision, and the provincial government has said it is a federal initiative. While both of them are punting that political football around, British Columbians are only being kicked in the head. The truth is, according to Section 92 of the Constitution Act 1867, provincial taxes are the exclusive jurisdiction of the provincial legislature. To change that requires a constitutional amendment, so both governments are at fault for not obeying the laws they themselves made.
MYTH #8 – HST will create jobs
FALSE: Small business is the largest generator of jobs in British Columbia, employing nearly 8 in 10 British Columbians. Almost every small business, from restaurant owners, to construction companies, to tourist businesses, to retailers have said the HST will cost them business, forcing them to lay off staff. One home builder in Squamish recently cancelled an $18M housing development, laying off 100 workers directly due to the HST.
The big resource companies will not hire new workers because of a refund cheque from the government. They will expand and create jobs when the world demand for forest products, oil and gas, or minerals increases. In the north and along the Alberta border, where business must compete directly with a 5% GST, it will kill business and destroy jobs by the thousands. The restaurant industry estimates it will lose over $400M in revenues per year, and result in thousands of layoffs.
MYTH #9 – HST will lower prices
FALSE: This one almost defies comment. Anytime you add 7% to the cost of anything the price goes up. The argument the government tries to make is that because business will have a rebate on previously paid PST, they can pass these savings on to consumers in reduced prices. What they don’t say is that many businesses are already PST exempt, and therefore are not adding that cost to goods presently. But when it was pointed out the HST would save government liquor stores approximately 3% on the price of liquor, the government said it would not lower prices to compensate for the savings. They want everyone else to do it – but not them. Doesn’t that just take the cake?
MYTH #10 – HST is revenue neutral
FALSE: First the government said the HST was revenue neutral. Then they said the money raised would go to health care. Then they said there would be a first year overall loss of -$131M to implement the tax. Then they said without HST there would be cuts to health care and services. Their desperate attempt to avoid telling the truth – that the HST is a tax grab by Victoria to pay for extreme mismanagement of the economy, and a power grab by Ottawa to control BC’s tax authority, is being seen by more and more people for what it is – a dictatorial government that has lost touch with the people it was elected to serve.

Amigo

2010-05-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

     My friend passed today.

     Six years ago yesterday I answered a frantic call on what we here in the Cariboo call the " Moccasin Telegraph". It's a local radio community service advertising all sorts of things for sale.
     After living alone for 12 years and constantly thinking about my last dog I was beginning to think about getting another. My neighbor, a dog lover herself, put me onto a message on the telegraph where a young couple may be forced to destroy their dog.
     Not a chance I thought. I got in touch with the people and went to see this animal. Now I must say here that my favorite dogs are Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes.My previous dog was a Siberian Husky and his name was Chinook. My friends will recognize this by the name in my email accounts.
     This was a pure bred, registered Alaskan Malamute and he was beautiful. The right size, strong as an ox and very friendly. When we first met he came right up to me, stood on his hind legs and licked my face. Right away I knew this was "my dog". He was already three and a half years old.
     But there was a small problem. The May 24th weekend was coming up and there were going to be other dogs at the lake where we usually fish that weekend. I asked the young couple if they could hold him until the end of the weekend. They agreed, and on the Tuesday following the weekend when their young son was at school I picked him up. I knew the boy would be upset to see him go and figured it wouldn't hit him as hard this way. The mother had a problem with the dog apparently growling when she came near him with their new child. That was the reason for wanting to get rid of him. But they didn't want him destroyed.
     When I arrived to pick him up I opened the door to my truck and before I could get out to help him he jumped right in. Yes! My dog. We returned to the lake to do some more fishing. I knew that the other dogs would be gone because the owners had kids in school. But my brother was still there.
   First thing my brother would say is "nice, what's his name" I answered Virgo but it needs to be changed. He said you're right, we don't need any girly-boy names. Some of my brother-in-laws were still there so we had a bit of a brain-storming. Had to be a name similar. And after about 10 minutes my brother said AMIGO
Thus the new name.
     The dog went everywhere with me. I got one of those chokes they use in trucks so the dog couldn't hop out. Safety first. His only bad habit was every time we passed a dark pickup he would lean over an bark. Drove me nuts on long drives sometimes.
   Last year he got sick and I thought we might lose him. Turns out he killed and ate a shrew. He got better and life went on.
     Three days ago he got sick again with the same symptoms. So I decided to wait it out.No such luck this time. I buried him this morning.

Be at Piece Amigo/ Virgo