Premier Christy Clark only BC political leader not taking position on Enbridge Pipeline proposal - "cagey" says CBC host

'Cagey' Christy Clark's 

Pipeline Prevarications

BC Premier Christy Clark - what's my pipeline?

BC Premier won't take position on Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline while BC NDP and BC Conservatives clear -  but Clark claims federal NDP concerns 'goofy' and 'gobbledygook'

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday May 15, 2012


By Bill Tieleman 

"With elections maybe a year away, you're still pretty cagey, frankly, on this Northern Gateway Pipeline."

- CBC Radio's Evan Solomon to B.C. Premier Christy Clark

One British Columbia political party opposes the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline proposal that would ship Alberta oil sands bitumen through B.C. to Asia.

The B.C. New Democrats say building the pipeline through northern B.C. to Kitimat and then sending bitumen to Asia via giant tankers down B.C.'s coastline would be too environmentally risky.

"Under the Enbridge proposal, British Columbia would assume almost all the project's risk, yet would see only a fraction of the benefits. By any measure, such a high-risk, low-return approach simply isn't in B.C.'s interests," NDP leader Adrian Dix said in formally registering opposition with the National Energy Board's Joint Review Panel.

Agree or disagree, Dix is clear.

Another provincial party supports the Enbridge pipeline on the basis of economic development -- the B.C. Conservatives.

"We believe and support the notion of the Enbridge pipeline. We think it would be good for British Columbia, good for Canada to get a better price in the world market for our oil," B.C. Conservative leader John Cummins says in an Integrity B.C. online video.

But our governing party -- the BC Liberals -- won't take any understandable position on the pipeline.

All over the pipeline map

In a CBC Radio interview Saturday with host Evan Solomon on The House, Clark was all over the map on Enbridge.

Clark says if the pipeline goes ahead B.C. "would get as many benefits as Nova Scotia," and that "it would create almost no jobs in British Columbia." Sounds opposed.

But then Clark tries to have it both ways.

"Evan, I'm pro-pipeline... we're enabling the construction of three pipelines from the Peace River country... Those are going to be liquefied natural gas... It's going to mean $60 billion in revenue to the province. So we're very much pro-economic development." Sounds in favour.


But if Clark is actually "pretty cagey" on Enbridge, it hasn't stopped her from publicly attacking federal NDP opposition leader Tom Mulcair for expressing concerns about the impact of oil sands exports on Canada's economy, by inflating the value of the dollar and negatively affecting the manufacturing sector.

"I really thought that type of thinking was discredited and it had been discredited for a long time. It's so backwards. I think that's just goofy," Clark told CBC.

"The NDP talk their gobbledygook, but really... they want less economic development. We all know it's a recipe for disaster."

What Mulcair actually said was also clearer than Clark’s views.

"The Canadian dollar is being held artificially high, which is fine if you're going to Walt Disney World, [but] not so good if you want to sell your manufactured product because the American clients, most of the time, can no longer afford to buy it," Mulcair said May 5.

"We've hollowed out the manufacturing sector. In six years since the Conservatives have arrived, we've lost 500,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs," he added.

Mulcair compared oil exports increasing the world value of Canada's dollar, making manufacturing exports more expensive, to the "Dutch disease" of the 1960s, when the Netherlands developed huge offshore natural gas deposits and its manufacturing sector was severely damaged by the higher value of its currency.

And Mulcair said in a substantive Policy Options magazine article in March he does not oppose oil sands development but wants it done in a sustainable manner that includes oil companies paying the costs of environmental impacts.

Which is it?

Clark, not surprisingly, hasn't explained why she believes Mulcair is wrong -- preferring to fire off insults than debate economics.

But some of her comments about Enbridge may be more alarming to its proponents than the NDP.

After all, Enbridge and its supporters strongly argue it will bring major benefits to B.C. through jobs, investment and tax revenue.

So this telling exchange between Clark and Solomon about Enbridge may rankle them:

Clark: "If it goes ahead, at the moment, British Columbia would get as many benefits as Nova Scotia."

Solomon: "I don't understand that -- what do you mean by that?"

Clark: "Well, it would create almost no jobs in British Columbia but we would be a net beneficiary just as any other province is from the royalties that go to Canada."

Solomon: "This is interesting. Building the pipeline doesn't really create jobs for B.C.?"

Clark: "It creates some jobs in the construction phase but there are almost, there are very few long term jobs that would be left in the province after that."

"So for us it's really a balance of risk and benefit. Evan, I'm pro-pipeline. We're building three pipelines, we're enabling the construction of three pipelines from the Peace River country in the northeast right across British Columbia to the north west in Kitimat and Prince Rupert."

"Those are going to be liquefied natural gas... It's going to mean $60 billion in revenue to the province. So we're very much pro economic development."


Hmmm. "Goofy gobbledygook" seems an appropriate description all right, but for Clark's confused views on the Enbridge pipeline, not Mulcair's.

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Risky for BC Liberals to Change Brands But Premier Christy Clark Seriously Considering It



The life of the Party!

BC Premier Christy Clark wants to pursue a new name for the BC Liberal Party - but brand name and marketing experts have serious warnings

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday May 8, 2012

By Bill Tieleman

"Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

- J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

"We should be considering and actively debating a name change in our party, and I'm glad we're doing it," Premier Christy Clark said last week. "I think we need to have a name for our party that's as inclusive as possible."

But if the BC Liberals do pick a new name they will be breaking new ground.

I can find no record in the last 50 years of a Canadian political party in power for over a decade changing its name before if faced an election.

The only major rebranding for a governing party came when the Saskatchewan Cooperative Commonwealth Federation or CCF became the New Democratic Party while ruling that province in 1961.

But that name change came when the CCF and the Canadian Labour Congress created a new national party called the NDP -- and every provincial CCF wing followed suit -- not because the Saskatchewan government desperately needed an identity change. And in fact, they lost the next election under the NDP banner.

Clark should consider the example of famous brand names like Maple Leaf Foods, Tylenol and Jack in the Box.

These companies all suffered international bad publicity after poisoning deaths but you can still buy their sliced meats, pop their pills or enjoy their hamburgers -- and millions do.

Throwing out a recognized and well-established trademark is at best a risky move and at worst, devastating.

Listen to a branding expert

Global brand research agency Millward Brown has some words of warning for anyone considering a name change.

"In our experience, many brands see an immediate five to 20 per cent decline in sales, and can take years to restore levels, while others are negatively affected only in the short term," Millward Brown states online.

"Name changes often result in a drop in sales, but when the process is done well, sales can hold steady. However, if a poor strategy is followed, a name change puts the brand at risk of losing equity, consumer loyalty and ultimately market share," remarks the company that works with 90 per cent of the world's top 100 brands.

But the brand name problem for the BC Liberals is two-fold -- the 2013 election is definitely in the short term -- and they don't want to "hold steady" or just restore levels back to the 23 per cent voter support they have now, before a name change. They want to double that back to the 46 per cent they took to win the 2009 election!

So the BC Liberal Party is entering new and uncharted territory -- and potentially great political danger in ditching a brand name that successfully won three consecutive elections and almost a fourth between 1996 and 2009.

Dwindling market share

The reasons why Clark is thinking of switching rather than fighting are clear -- the B.C. Liberals are badly losing their market share of voters to competitors.

Their latest grim news came from a Forum Research poll released May 3 that shows the BC NDP at 48 per cent support versus the BC Liberals at 23 per cent and BC Conservatives at 18 per cent.

The NDP gained two per cent since Forum's last poll in April, while the Liberals stayed the same and the Conservatives dropped five per cent,

More ominously, that means the "vote splitting" argument used by Clark against the Conservatives -- that voting for the party led by John Cummins will only ensure an NDP victory -- isn't actually happening.

In fact, some of the Conservative support has bled to the NDP, not the Liberals, perhaps indicating that voters primarily want to be rid of Clark's crew, "free enterprise coalition" be damned.

That's reiterated by results showing that while 59 per cent of Liberal backers want the party to merge with the Conservatives to prevent an NDP victory, just 27 per cent of Conservatives agree.

And the poll also shows that less than one quarter of remaining BC Liberal supporters think the party should change its name before the next election.

(Ironically, a Liberal-Conservative coalition government ruled British Columbia from 1941 to 1951, before it fell apart and was replaced by W.A.C. Bennett's upstart Social Credit Party for the next 20 years.)

Forum's results indicate that while 64 per cent of NDP supporters are "very enthusiastic" about voting for the party, just 35 per cent of BC Liberals feel that way.

The Coco Pops factor

The BC Liberals may want to consider the cautionary tale of Kellogg's Coco Pops cereal in England before making the fateful decision to change names.

As explained by Millward Brown, killing an established brand name can be deadly for sales.

"Some newly named brands are not picked up on or are over looked, while some are flat-out rejected by consumers. Coco Pops, a Kellogg's cereal brand in the U.K., changed its name after 28 years for global consistency, a decision that resulted in equity and market share declines along with strong public protest."

"Kellogg's responded with a television campaign that gave kids the opportunity to vote on which name they preferred -- 90 per cent chose the original name."

"The company listened and changed the cereal back to its original name. Sales increased 20 per cent over the next year," Millward Brown reports.

So changing the BC Liberal name less than a year before the election may be the biggest mistake of all for a party increasingly known for doing the wrong thing.

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Tsunami Harley-Davidson arrives in Victoria Sunday for shipment to Japan for restoration

MEDIA ADVISORY                                          Sunday May 6, 2012

Most famous motorcycle in the world - Harley-Davidson swept to sea in March 2011 Japanese tsunami and washed ashore on British Columbia’s Haida Gwai - to arrive in Victoria Sunday May 6 at Steve Drane Harley-Davidsonbefore shipment back to Japan for restoration

Tsunami Harley-Davidson at Prince Rupert ferry terminal
after arrival from Haida Gwai - Ralph Tieleman photo

Close up of Tsunami Harley-Davidson engine - Ralph Tieleman photo

And the Tsunami Harley-Davidson arrives in Victoria this afternoon!

VICTORIA – The most famous motorcycle in the world – the Harley-Davidson swept to sea in the March 11, 2011 Japanese tsunami and washed ashore in British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii islands – will arrive in Victoria today.

Steve Drane Harley-Davidson will prepare the 2004 Night Train motorcycle for shipment to Japan, where it will be restored by Harley-Davidson Japan at no cost and returned to its 29-year-old owner, Ikuo Yokoyama.

Yokoyama, of Yamamoto, lost three family members in the tsunami that devastated Japan.  “This is unmistakably mine. It’s miraculous,” Yokoyama told Nippon TV after seeing photos of the motorcycle. Its license plate number identified Yokoyama as the owner.

The Harley-Davidson was being stored in a large container packed with Styrofoam, which allowed it to float across the Pacific, carried by currents to Haida Gwaii, where Masset resident Peter Mark it discovered it on the beach of Graham Island.

The Harley-Davidson was shipped by boat to Prince Rupert and is being transported by truck to Steve Drane Harley-Davidson in Victoria by volunteer Ralph Tieleman, a Tofino motorcyclist moved to help by the story.

The arrival time is approximate – please check with Steve Drane later today for more information.  Steve Drane Harley-Davidson is not open Sundays but will receive the motorcycle there when it arrives.

Website: http://www.stevedraneharley.com/   

Bill Tieleman with Tsunami Harley-Davidson
Saturday May 5 in Vancouver - Ralph Tieleman photo

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YVR Vancouver International Airport's Airport Improvement Fee - connecting passengers fly free, all others pay!

YVR Makes You Pay Airport Improvement Fee Increase so Foreign Travellers Can Fly Through Vancouver For Free!

Foreign air travellers to Vancouver International Airport get improved services - but don't pay a cent for Airport Improvement Fee - that's a privilege reserved for British Columbians only! Drewski 2012 photo

International travelers briefly connecting get the benefits without charge.

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column**

Tuesday May 1, 2012

By Bill Tieleman

"There's nothing like an airport for bringing you down to earth."

- Author Richard Gordon, Doctor In The Swim

Vancouver International Airport's controversial Airport Improvement Fee jumps by 33 per cent today -- but British Columbians will overwhelmingly be paying it, while international connecting travellers will get all the benefits without spending an extra penny.

Vancouver International Airport says it needs to increase the Fee by $5 to $20 per passenger on flights leaving B.C. to pay for $1.8 billion worth of improvements -- most of it to reduce connection times for travellers passing through YVR -- including high-speed baggage systems and moving walkways.

Those international connecting passengers will be the big winners as they zoom through YVR to and from primarily Asian destinations -- and are completely exempt from the Airport Improvement Fee.

But people who actually live here - or tourists who visit Vancouver beyond YVR - will pay the freight through the higher AIF for another decade, despite the fact it was supposed to end in 2002.

And like it or not, you have absolutely no say in the matter -- other than to not fly out of YVR airport.

YVR 'out of control'

YVR is a strange non-profit entity that answers to no member of the public or to any level of government -- and their decision is already final.
Consumers Association of Canada president Bruce Cran says YVR is "out of control" with the latest AIF increase.

"It's absolutely outrageous we're being charged another $5 tax to subsidize connecting passengers," Cran said in an interview Monday. "I don't think YVR serves the public of British Columbia well."

"We never asked for aquariums or shopping centres at YVR," Cran said, referring to the costly airport infrastructure that included paying the Vancouver Aquarium over $321,000 in 2010 for "aquarium maintenance and servicing."

But you can at least express your anger in two ways.

If you feel ripped off, join my Facebook.com protest page -- titled No Way YVR.

And if you can, attend YVR's annual public meeting on Thursday, May 10 at 3:30 p.m. in the East Concourse, Departures Level of the International Terminal, conveniently timed to exclude as many members of the public as possible!

Cran also points out that: "There's never been any real consumer representative on the YVR board of directors."

Business flying away

YVR's higher AIF is part of increasing costs that are enticing many B.C. air travellers to cross the U.S. border and fly out of Bellingham or Seattle, Washington in record numbers.

That's partly why Seattle's airport had a record 32.8 million travellers in 2011 -- almost double Vancouver's 17 million.

And why Bellingham airport is undergoing a $30 million expansion and hosts 808,000 passengers a year already.

The Canadian Airports Council estimates Canada loses nearly 5 million passengers a year to U.S. border airports.

YVR will argue that their higher AIF is still lower than some other Canadian and U.S. airports and that VYR was voted "airport of the year" for the third time in a row -- so suck up the fare increase and shut up.

But Vancouver ought to learn a lesson from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, Europe's fifth biggest, which introduced a ticket tax of between $14 and $58 per trip in 2008 to raise $457 million annually.

Schiphol was forced to repeal the tax in less than a year after it lost nine per cent of all passengers and was forced cut its work force by 10 to 25 per cent as passengers fled to other, cheaper airports.

YVR, global organization

And don't think that YVR is a friendly little locally run airport that's done good. In fact, YVR is an international operation that runs Vantage Airport Group, which manages 12 airports in three continents, including those in Santiago, Chile, Nassau, The Bahamas, Montego Bay, Jamaica and Liverpool, England.

The Consumer Association's Cran says that while YVR is involved in other foreign airport management through its subsidiary Vantage, it lost the opportunity to have Emirates Airlines fly out of Vancouver. That airline instead chose Seattle's Sea-Tax Airport as its hub, costing B.C. hundreds of jobs.

Meanwhile, don't bother asking Premier Christy Clark for any help. She wants to "commend Vancouver Airport Authority for its long-term vision in keeping YVR competitive" without even mentioning the higher fee.

And B.C. Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom is even more oblivious to the extra cost to travelers, stating: "It is exciting to see the Airport Authority investing significant funds like this in YVR's infrastructure."

Is it exciting to invest other people's money without their approval, Minister?

Fees without end?

Once upon a time, then-YVR chief executive officer David Emerson said in 1996 that the AIF would end by 2002.

"We always said the fee was attached to this project, so once enough people go through the turnstiles to pay for the terminal and runway and retire the debt, then that fee is history," Emerson said then. "To be on the safe side, I would estimate that to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of six years."

Of course, that would be the same Emerson who, when campaigning to be elected a federal Liberal Member of Parliament in Vancouver-Kingsway also said he would be "Stephen Harper's worst nightmare" as a critic -- until days after the election he instead crossed the floor to the Conservatives and became Harper's newest cabinet minister. His word is less than his bond.

Will this finally be the last Airport Improvement Fee increase at YVR? When pigs fly.


** NOTE:  This is a corrected version of my column - I regret that I originally wrote "only British Columbians" would pay the AIF when in fact any visitors who leave the confines of YVR will also pay it - only connecting passengers are exempt.  Other sections of the original column should have made that clear but I apologize for the error on my part, which was unintentional - Bill Tieleman

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Premier Christy Clark faces backroom plots by powerbrokers to replace her....before it's too late

Kevin Falcon - his backers now Christy's "friends"

 Christy Clark's Slippery Footing

Christy Clark - with friends like these.....

BC Lib powerbrokers appear to be plotting against her after byelection losses.

Bill Tieleman’s 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday April 24, 2012

By Bill Tieleman

"If you want to make a coalition work you've got to be prepared to put everything on the table."

- former Conservative MP John Reynolds

When backroom BC Liberal Party and federal Conservative power broker John Reynolds meets behind closed doors with Premier Christy Clark this week, only one question will be on his mind:

"What will it take, Madam Premier, to get you to quit your job?"

Of course, Reynolds won't ask that question -- not directly anyway -- but the answer is driving BC Liberals to distraction after two disastrous byelections losses last week in Port Moody-Coquitlam and Chilliwack-Hope.

The two previous BC Liberal strongholds both went New Democrat, stunning Clark's party with the vehemence of anti-government voters.

The party line is that "vote splitting" of the "free enterprise coalition" is the problem but the reality is that Clark has alienated a majority of voters, not just in the two ridings but across the province.

Politics in B.C. is a brutal blood sport, with failure resulting in leadership changes.

And Clark didn't just forfeit two safe seats, she led her party to historic losses.

In Port Moody-Coquitlam, the NDP's Joe Trasolini cleaned up with 54 per cent of the vote -- a higher percentage than former BC Liberal MLA Iain Black took in the 2009 provincial election, in an area Clark herself used to represent.

Even worse, Gwen O'Mahoney's win in Chilliwack-Hope marks the first time the NDP has ever taken the riding -- or any of the small-c conservative Fraser-Valley seats.

And while O'Mahoney's 41 per cent victory over BC Liberal Laurie Throness at 31 per cent and BC Conservative John Martin's 25 per cent prompted Clark to complain about vote splitting, the results came after voters were subjected to months of expensive messaging telling them to ignore the upstart right-wing Conservative party.

Overall, about 70 per cent of voters rejected Clark's government in the two ridings.

Fundrazors

That's what has both Reynolds and Philip Hochstein, head of the union-loathing Independent Contractors and Businesses Association -- and a huge BC Liberal donor that also sponsored tough anti-NDP ads -- very worried.

And while Reynolds is publicly backing Clark's leadership so far -- "you've got a good leader -- we don't need to fight over that issue," he told CKNW's Bill Good on Friday -- Hochstein doesn’t sound very sure.

"If there is no way to have unanimity, then we lose the election. How that comes about and who brings that together, I'm not sure who that is," Hochstein told The Globe and Mail's Justine Hunter after the double loss.

In an opinion piece in The Province newspaper, Hochstein exhorts British Columbians to support the "free enterprise" coalition without once mentioning Clark.

But he does say: "If it's about a name or label, then change it." Could the name to change be Clark's?

What will happen next isn't clear. Rumours continue about possible MLA defections from the BC Liberal caucus to the BC Conservatives, something Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen did last month, or to sit as independents until Clark steps down.

Meanwhile, in an interestingly ironic move, Reynolds is co-chairing Clark's major party fundraising dinner this June along with Ryan Beedie -- both of whom supported her rival, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, for the leadership last year.

Conservative threat foretold

Beedie hired pollster Hamish Marshall to conduct public opinion research for Falcon -- the same Marshall who is now BC Conservative leader John Cummins provincial campaign director.

After reading those polls, Beedie sent out a three-alarm fire call to business supporters of Falcon, stating that: "Christy Clark is the candidate who poses the greatest risk to the coalition, and thus the future success of the party."

For his part, Reynolds put a last minute knife into Clark's ribs in the final days of the contest, telling the Vancouver Sun's Vaughn Palmer that Clark, a lifetime federal Liberal, would break apart the B.C. coalition of federal Conservatives and Liberals. "I would prefer for the coalition to stick together but...," he said, predicting that her victory would spark a BC Conservative Party revival.

That's exactly what happened -- and now Reynolds and Beedie are trying to pull the party together under the leader they strongly opposed.

For Christy Clark, with good friends like these behind you, who needs enemies?


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Worried about your retirement security? Concerned about the Conservatives making Old Age Security eligibility 67 years? Come to Libby Davies Pension Forum on Saturday

Our Pensions Are At Risk!

I am honoured to be speaking this Saturday April 21 at a forum on Pensions hosted by NDP Vancouver East MP Libby Davies.

Bill Tieleman 

The Pension Forum runs from 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. at the Hastings Community Centre, 3096 East Hastings, at Lillooet Street. 


I will be speaking along with Libby, former Vancouver city councillor Ellen Woodsworth, Larry Brown Secretary-General of National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), April Lewis, from CARP / A New Vision of Aging for Canada, and a representative from the Council of Senior Citizens Organizations (COSCO).


I especially encourage younger people to attend - because you are going to be the most negatively affected of all by the changes Prime Minister Stephen Harper is making to pensions!


Hope to see you there!


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BC Liberals lose 2 - Will night of BC by-elections be followed by night of long knives in BC Liberal Party?

BC Liberal by-election loses tonight will help determine future of provincial politics - and that of Premier Christy Clark

No photo ops tonight for Premier Christy Clark - she will
respond to by-election results by news release!

UPDATE 10:00 p.m.


The BC NDP have won both by-elections - with the BC Liberals placing second and the BC Conservatives in a close third place.


Congratulations to new MLAs Joe Trasolini in Port Moody-Coquitlam and Gwen O'Mahoney in Chilliwack-Hope - for taking both former BC Liberal strongholds away from the governing party.


Condolences to BC Liberal candidates Dennis Marsden and Laurie Throness - they both fought hard and there is great honour in losing when you do your best.  


Condolences also to John Martin and Christine Clarke of the BC Conservatives - they both put in very credible performances without the benefit of the BC NDP and BC Liberal financial and logistical advantages - a huge improvement over past Conservative efforts but not enough to win.


While the BC Liberals will predictably spin the "vote splitting" story, the reality is that under Premier Christy Clark, two formerly untouchable safe ridings have been lost to their arch enemy - including, almost unbelievably, Chilliwack-Hope.


Blaming the BC Conservatives for "stealing" their vote won't cut any ice with unhappy voters who abandoned the BC Liberals in droves - voting NDP or Conservative or simply staying home.


I predict so-called "merger" talks prompted by BC Liberal die-hards like Phil Hochstein won't go anywhere - certainly not with Clark staying on as leader.


BC politics remain the most interesting in the country!




ORIGINAL POST


Tonight's two provincial by-elections couldn't be more pivotal - not only will they elect two MLAs but may serve as a road map for the future of the BC Liberal Party, BC Conservative Party and Premier Christy Clark.

Two BC Liberal losses would be a devastating blow to Clark's leadership - and rumours are already circulating about another defection from her caucus to the BC Conservatives.

Could it be John Rustad who follows in the footsteps of John van Dongen, the Abbotsford South MLA who quit the party to join BC Conservative leader John Cummins' surging forces?

Or could the BC Liberals narrowly eke out a win under Chilliwack-Hope candidate Laurie Throness thanks to his federal Conservative connections with former boss Chuck Strahl.

Stay tuned - your comments and predictions most welcome!

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