Bill Tieleman

No Way YVR! The fight starts now against Vancouver International Airport's plan for 33% hike in Airport Improvement Fee - unaccountable YVR can take off, eh?

2012-01-31T10:01:00.000-08:00

No Way YVR!

Welcome to Vancouver - $20 Airport Improvement Fee - or else!

Vancouver airport's improvement fee hike, set by unelected officials with BC Liberal ties, should be grounded

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday January 31, 2012

By Bill Tieleman

"I'm leavin' on a jet plane/I don't know when I'll be back again."

- John Denver, "Leaving On A Jet Plane," 1966.

If you're leaving on a jet plane out of Vancouver International Airport starting in May, you'll be leaving 33 per cent more money behind for YVR's Airport Improvement Fee.

That's because an unelected, unaccountable YVR board of directors led by a chief executive officer making $500,000 a year wants to raise $1.8 billion, primarily to handle baggage faster for international passengers transiting through YVR to and from Asia.

And they want to take that $1.8 billion straight from your pocket, by increasing the Airport Improvement Fee by $5 to $20 for 10 years on every passenger flying out of British Columbia.

I have a reaction of two words that start with the letters B and S -- Bellingham and Seattle airports!

Take off elsewhere

Thousands of British Columbians are already saving hundreds to thousands of dollars by flying out of those two U.S. airports, fed up with a variety of taxes, fees, charges and fuel surcharges on tickets.

And that will increasingly cost Vancouver airport jobs and governments revenue.

It's estimated that one in five Canadian leisure travellers already drive to the U.S. to avoid domestic taxes and another 11 per cent are considering it, according to a survey by the Hotel Association of Canada.

So it's no surprise Bellingham airport has a $30-million expansion of its own underway to accommodate Canadian passengers.

And it's not shocking that Seattle's airport set a new record for passengers in 2011, with 32.8 million travellers, while Vancouver had just over 17 million last year.

Vancouver's Airport Improvement Fee was imposed as an allegedly temporary measure in 1993 and a former YVR CEO predicted in 1996 that it would be gone by 2002.

But why give a sucker a break?

And don't expect a big public hearing or consultation on the Airport Improvement Fee -- the YVR board of directors can do whatever it wants to the travelling public.

That's because YVR's structure is among the most undemocratic and unaccountable you can imagine for an organization responsible for Canada's second-busiest airport.

In 1992, it was transferred from federal government control to become a strange not-for-profit that does not answer to either the federal nor provincial government.

Here's who gets to appoint the board of directors under YVR's rules:

• The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C.

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia

• The Law Society of British Columbia

• The Vancouver Board of Trade

• City of Richmond

• City of Vancouver

• Metro Vancouver

• Government of Canada -- two directors.

Those members appointed by the above then choose four members from "the community at large," but any review of the current 14 directors could only conclude that membership is restricted to B.C's elite. YVR CEO and president Larry Berg is also a director.

Board's BC Liberal ties

A review of Elections BC records finds that at least six directors have made contributions over $250 to the BC Liberal Party since 2005, including over $109,000 from "director at large" Rusty Goepel, either personally or through companies he had leadership roles in.

A man listed as "Lawrence Berg" has given over $21,000, and a "Larry Berg" separately gave $2,000.

Elections BC will not give further information about donors to confirm identity.

When asked whether YVR CEO Larry Berg had made contributions to the BC Liberals, the airport authority's director of communications Rebecca Catley responded: "We don't have access to information about the private and personal contributions of Larry Berg over the past seven years."

Canadian government appointee George Cadman has donated over $8,000 personally or through his company.

Other BC Liberal donors on the board include chair Mary Jordan, Carol Kerfoot and Brian Bentz, while director Gerri Sinclair publicly endorsed ex-premier Gordon Campbell in the 2009 election.

Of course, it's easy to make political contributions when YVR's chair is paid $115,000 a year, committee chairs $26,000 and other directors $20,000, plus $1,000 for every board and committee meeting attended and $500 for other meetings.

And it's easy to think raising the Airport Improvement Fee is no big deal when the CEO makes in the salary range of $368,000 to $552,000, when the senior vice-president range is $196,000 to $294,000 and vice-presidents from $160,000 to $240,000 -- with benefits and retirement packages as well.

Loser, not user, pays

The reality is, as Berg has admitted in the media, that rapidly expanding air travel to China is what's driving this expansion.

In an opinion piece published by the Vancouver Sun on Thursday, Berg writes that: "China's demand for air travel is growing by seven per cent annually, one of the fastest growing markets in the world. We want YVR to secure its fair share of that market..."

"Today it takes an average of 90 minutes to connect from an international flight to a domestic flight. In order to be the gateway of choice, connection times are the key... We want to get connections times consistently under 60 minutes," he says.

So British Columbians are going to pay more so passengers flying to and from China and other Asian destinations save 30 minutes. That may be good marketing for YVR, but it isn't user pay -- it's loser pay for those of us who don't need connecting flights when we arrive in Vancouver -- we're home.

YVR actually makes the outlandish claim that it is a "community-driven organization" by pointing out it holds a "public meeting" every year and stating that "we welcome your feedback."

Well here's my feedback -- if you want to raise $1.8 billion for better service to travellers who are only passing through Vancouver, then charge them the Airport Expansion Fee -- but not the rest of us who actually live here!

I'm sick and tired of paying the existing Airport Expansion Fee for 20 years and no, I don't want to pay an extra 33 per cent more per flight as of May.

If you agree, join my new Facebook protest page -- No Way YVR -- and send the airport a strong message -- that if they ignore us, we can take off elsewhere.

NDP’s next leader of the opposition should be Peggy Nash

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Fluently bilingual, tough, experienced, knowledgeable, a powerful speaker , a social democrat who understands the economy and someone who will listen and learn as well as lead, Peggy Nash is my choice.

Peggy Nash and Bill Tieleman - December 2011

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday January 24, 2012

By Bill Tieleman

“Great necessities call forth great leaders.”

- Abigail Adams, former U.S. First Lady, 1744-1818

Political parties face no tougher challenge than selecting a new leader, especially after the departure of a proven winner.

The test is even more difficult for the New Democratic Party because of the tragic death of Jack Layton shortly after he reached the height of success.

The NDP’s choice on March 24 will become the new leader of the official opposition, the alternative to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the 2015 election.

And that makes party unity a necessity for victory.

While replacing Layton is impossible, the field of candidates to succeed him is very strong.

As Globe and Mail newspaper columnist Jeffrey Simpson flatteringly put it: “Frankly, it’s doubtful the Liberals or Conservatives could field a group of eight such intelligent candidates.”

In observing the NDP hopefuls, and talking directly to most, I’ve also been very impressed. Both those perceived as frontrunners by media and those trying to make a breakthrough have much appeal.

But a leadership campaign is about choices, and I’ve made mine – I will support Peggy Nash for leader.

My reasons for backing the Member of Parliament for Toronto’s Parkdale-High Park riding are both complex and simple.

Extremely Tenacious and Gracious

It’s rare to find someone who is extremely tenacious as well as gracious – two qualities I admire and easily see in Nash.

Nash was the first woman negotiator to lead a union into bargaining with a major auto firm, reaching a deal in 2005 for the Canadian Auto Workers with Ford.

Nash has refused to accept defeat in running for Parliament, narrowly losing narrowly in 2004, winning in 2006, facing a setback in 2008 and triumphing again in 2011.

A less tenacious person might have packed it in – she didn’t.

Nash comes unquestionably from a dedicated career in labour but has the wisdom to understand that Canada is built on a private sector economy whose success helps provide the public sector services thatCanadians depend on.

Her knowledge and experience led Layton to appoint Nash finance critic in 2011 – the most important portfolio in a leader’s shadow cabinet.

Nash is also a social justice advocate, passionate about ending inequality and defending human rights everywhere, serving as an international observer for South Africa’s historic 1994 election that chose Nelson Mandela as president and in the Ukraine.

She is outspokenly supportive of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered rights, has been honoured by the Sierra Club for environmental leadership and by the YWCA for championing women’s rights.

And Nash isn’t about top-down leadership.

“What they get with me is someone who’s connected with the grassroots of the party,” Nash said recently. “If we’re going to grow, if we’re going to build, if we’re going to inspire people to work with us, we’ve got to stay connected with the grassroots.”

“Those aren’t just words to me. It’s my life’s work,” Nash concluded.

When I endorsed Jack Layton for leader in 2003, I saw a former Toronto city councillor with values, experience and a vision.

I couldn’t foresee that Jack would lead the party to opposition status for the first time by dramatically capturing the most seats in Quebec. But I could see the same enormous potential for success in Layton that I see today in Nash.

Social Democrat Who Understands The Economy

Fluently bilingual, tough, experienced, knowledgeable, a powerful speaker, a social democrat who understands the economy and someone who will listen and learn as well as lead, Peggy Nash is my choice.

But I deeply respect the other candidates - Montreal MP Thomas Mulcair, former NDP president Brian Topp of Toronto, Ottawa MP Paul Dewar,

B.C. MP Nathan Cullen, Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, Quebec MP Romeo Saganash and Nova Scotia businessman Martin Singh.

And whether Nash or another candidates wins the NDP leadership, they will have my support in taking on the Harper Conservatives and likely the Liberals led by Bob Rae, as well as my criticism when they make mistakes, as Layton sometimes did.

Nash, like the others, must address some challenges.

Some question whether Nash can hold and grow the NDP’s newfound support in Quebec – but not Pierre Ducasse.

The long-time NDP activist, who wowed many when he contested the party leadership against Layton in 2003 and then became his special advisor on Quebec, has endorsed Nash.

"Peggy Understands Quebec" - Pierre Ducasse

“Peggy understands Québec and she’s someone who really brings people together,” Ducasse says.

In an interesting YouTube interview last November, Ducasse discussed the possibility of regional battles over the leadership dividing the NDP.

“Many political commentators and analysts try to portray this as one region against another, east versus west or Quebec versus rest of Canada,” Ducasse says. “I really don’t think that’s the dynamic of this race.”

“I think that the membership will want to support the best person and I think the membership has not fallen into that trap – but must not fall into that trap – of those little regional dynamics.”

“Let’s support the best person for the job,” Ducasse concluded. Exactly right.

Three Quebec MPs - Anne Minh-Thu Quach, Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet and Dany Morin – agree with Ducasse that Nash comprehends their province, endorsing her campaign.

Nash also has the support of former federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough, B.C. MPs Denise Savoie and Randall Garrison, actor-director Sarah Polley and many others.

But in the NDP’s one member-one vote leadership contest, endorsements, while important, are secondary to convincing non-members to sign up before the February 18 deadline.

Also critical is persuading as many New Democrats as possible to make you their first, second or even third or fourth choice in the preferential balloting.

And while a few may doubt the willingness of Canadian voters to elect a woman as prime minister, that route to success has already been well travelled around the world.

World of Women Leaders

With women currently serving as national leaders from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to Brazilian President Dilma Roussef to Icelandic Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and many more, a party leader’s gender should not be an issue.

Nash’s biggest advantage may come down to her ability to build an electoral coalition of New Democrats determined to select a progressive leader who can grow the party while still maintaining its core values.

“We absolutely need to vote for someone who is first and foremost and extremely clearly a social democrat,” says Ducasse. “That should sound obvious.”

Nash is definitely that – a social democrat who could lead the country.

"Ethical Oil" my gas! How hypocritical Enbridge pipeline pals trying to pump petroleum past us

2012-01-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

Ethical Oil My Gas!

One of Ethical Oil's provocative ads promoting Canadian petroleum

Enbridge pipeline cheerleaders full of hypocrisy in criticizing 'foreign intervention.'

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday January 17, 2012

By Bill Tieleman

"Oil they would buy from anyone. From Satan."

- Christopher Buckley, Florence of Arabia, 2004.

"Ethical oil" my gas!

The number of hypocrites promoting the $5.5 billion Enbridge pipeline through northern B.C. that would ship "ethical oil" to China by tankers is astonishing.

First, pumping Alberta tar sands or oil sands oil -- who cares what term we use other than theindustry -- by a pipeline through pristine B.C. wilderness to the port of Kitimat is damaging enough.

Enbridge's pipeline spill record is scary -- 170 spills and leaks in the United States since 2002 byEnbridge-owned companies.

Enbridge says it's got a better than industry average but Transportation Safety Board says Enbridge and TransCanada were involved in three out of four of reported cases in last two years.

South of the border, don't bother jumping in or fishing on the Kalamazoo River in Michigan -- Enbridge spilled more than one million gallons of diluted bitumen there in July 2010, and the clean up continues.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says there is "a ban on surface water activities on the Kalamazoo River as part of the county's state of emergency, including swimming, wading, fishing, boating, canoeing and kayaking... No one should eat fish of any kind from this stretch of the river."

Then Enbridge would ship oil by giant tankers through dangerous B.C. coastal waters, one of the world's most fragile ecosystems -- and it says everything is totally safe. Just watch this video!

Right. Exxon Valdez going aground in 1989, British Petroleum oil rig explosion in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana -- what could go wrong?

China, our ethical customer?

At a time when a huge cruise ship with 4,200 passengers in the calm Mediterranean can run aground and sink with potentially disastrous environmental results, the industry claims oil tankers are safe?

And where is the "ethical oil" going to go? Mostly to prop up the repressive Communist military dictatorship in China.

"Ethical oil" will keep the machinery oiled for a government that throws world-renowned artists like Ai Weiwei and Nobel Prize-winning human rights activist Liu Xiaobo in jail for daring to want every citizen to get a democratic vote and a choice of parties beyond Communist.

So while the Arab Spring overthrows brutal oil dictators like Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia -- we grease the skids for more Chinese repression.

And let's not even discuss how “ethical oil” will help China continue to build a new coal-fired power plants and soon burn half the world's coal, ensuring its world number one greenhouse gas emitter status.

The Tory public relations strategy

How to get the Enbridge pipeline approved when First Nations, environmentalists and concerned British Columbians don't want it?

Use federal Conservative cheerleaders to create an astroturf group called Ethical Oil and blur the issue by claiming Canadian oil is produced honourably while everyone else is bad.

Ethical Oil spokeswoman Kathryn Marshall (who writes for 24 hours on unrelated political issues) admits the organization takes money from Canadian companies.

But she won't reveal if oil firms donate to the group, citing group policy not to identify any donors.

And Marshall strongly denies it's an astroturf group created to push the industry position. She argues it has "a few hundred members" and over 1,600 Facebook page "likes."

Then blame environmental groups for taking millions from U.S. foundations while ignoring the foreign-owned oil companies spending billions in to produce oil sands gunk.

"Stop foreign billionaires from sabotaging Canada's national interest!" shouts Ethical Oil's website Our Decision.

Get pro-Enbridge politicians from Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Energy Minister Joe Oliver to BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark to all publicly denounce "foreign meddling in our decisions" -- as Clark put it on Sunday -- while welcoming multinational oil companies' participation in hearings.

Pipeline backer now aide to BC premier

Next have Clark pick ex-Enbridge lobbyist and former top Harper advisor Ken Boessenkool as her new chief of staff.

But heck, there's no way he'd influence the province's position on the pipeline -- Christy says so!

Boessenkool, Clark says, is "leaving his private sector connections in the past in coming to perform public service here in British Columbia."

"The fact is, advisers advise, premiers decide," Clark also claimed.

Of course, if the "ethical oil" crew and their Conservative government fan club really cared about foreign intervention that is morally and deeply wrong, they would have been the first to demand Canadian company SNC Lavalin stop building prisons for Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi to torture his own people.

But that would mean criticizing SNC Lavalin's $300,000 a year chair Gwyn Morgan, the hard right-winger who is a Christy Clark advisor, was CEO of natural gas giant Encana and who calls Levant his "favourite iconoclast."

Pumped up indignation

Or the ethical oil can gang might have joined forces with those opposed to the massive takeovers of our country's biggest companies by U.S., Chinese, Brazilian and other foreign corporations -- allying themselves with the nationalist Council of Canadians.

But they didn't. They only use the foreign intervention card to help their non-Canadian petrochemical pals push the Enbridge pipeline past those nasty environmentalists.

It's a cynical strategy made worse by their pumped up indignation.

And while Enbridge would admittedly create lots of construction work building the pipeline, once competed how many permanent jobs does B.C. get from all this risk?

About 104 direct jobs shared with Alberta. Until the first spill, that is.

The Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline is a high risk, high reward project -- but the risks are all for British Columbia and the biggest rewards flow to big oil.

Five NDP leadership contenders look for upset win to become opposition leader over frontrunners

2012-01-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

Running Uphill: Five Contenders for NDP Leader

Front runners don't triumph every time. Meet those counting on an upset to win the race.

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday January 10, 2012

By Bill Tieleman

"A leader is a dealer in hope."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

The next leader of the opposition will carry the New Democratic Party's future hopes of not only defeating Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper but also forming Canada's first social democratic national government.

It's an enormous challenge to replace the party's late leader Jack Layton but eight candidates believe they can do it.

Last week this column profiled the media-perceived "frontrunners" -- Montreal Member of ParliamentThomas Mulcair, Toronto MP Peggy Nash and former NDP president Brian Topp of Toronto.

But just like at the horse races, the favourites don't win every time.

So Ottawa MP Paul Dewar, B.C. MP Nathan Cullen, Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, Quebec MP Romeo Saganash and Nova Scotia businessman Martin Singh are all criss-crossing the country to meet as many of the estimated over 100,000 party members eligible to vote in the March 24 decision in hopes of an upset victory.

Dewar's campaign in fact believes he is surging to compete with the top tier contenders, while Cullen relishes his outsider status and Ashton talks convincingly about the "new politics" she brings to the race as a 29-year-old woman.

A victory by Saganash would be an amazing story -- the transformation from young child seized from his parent's home and sent to native residential school to leader of the opposition.

And unknown pharmacy owner Singh has surprised with articulate performances focusing on health care issues.

I recently met with Dewar and Ashton and spoke by phone with Cullen to get a sense of their priorities and personalities. (Unfortunately time constraints didn’t give me an opportunity to do the same with Saganash and Singh.)

PAUL DEWAR

Paul Dewar & Bill Tieleman

Paul Dewar is an engaging, affable and highly energetic politician -- someone who instantly feels like an old buddy.

Perhaps it's because Dewar, 48, grew up in politics. His late mother Marion was the popular mayor of Ottawa and an NDP MP.

It also helps that he's been a public school teacher and an aid worker in Nicaragua.

Dewar himself was first elected in 2006, taking over Ottawa Centre riding when former leader Ed Broadbent retired, and served as foreign affairs critic under Jack Layton's leadership.

Dewar has strong support in Manitoba, where he won early support from several provincial MLAs and labour leaders, and in Ottawa. Most recently B.C. NDP MLA Mabel Elmore and Jim Clancy, National Union of Public and General Employees president, endorsed his leadership.

Dewar faces two big challenges. First, to gain backing from NDP MPs -- to date none have joined his campaign, though that is expected to change soon.

And second, while Dewar speaks French, his command of the language has been questioned enough to be an issue in a contest where fluent bilingualism is considered essential. Nova Scotia MP Robert Chisholm has many admirable skills but his lack of French caused him to bow out as a candidate after the first debate, where he required a translator.

Dewar addressed his need to improve his French by moving into the home of his language tutor for a week before Christmas to improve his ability. We'll see the results in upcoming party debates startingJan. 29.

A history of upsets

Political blogger Eric Grenier's ThreeHundredEight.com has undertaken an innovative "endorsement ranking" that illustrates Dewar's possible dilemma.

According to its weighting of the backing each candidate has received, Dewar ranks fourth with 5.7 per cent of "endorsement points" as of Jan. 4.

Topp leads with 40 per cent, Mulcair is second with 25.5 per cent, Nash ranks third with 20.3 per cent.

Following Dewar are Ashton at 3.9 per cent, Cullen with 3.0 per cent, Saganash at 1.6 per cent and Singh at zero.

Grenier is quick to point out that his ranking method "is, in no way, a scientific method that is meant to have any precise predicting capability. It is just one way to interpret the endorsements and what they might mean in the respective leadership races. And they are just to make the race a little more fun."

I suspect leadership campaigns will take them rather seriously, particularly as Grenier demonstrates from past federal Liberal and NDP leadership contests that they can mirror the actual results.

But while the value of endorsements is always seen as high in leadership and nomination battles, B.C. Premier Christy Clark proved last year that even having just one BC Liberal MLA out of a caucus of nearly 50 supporting her campaign was no impediment to winning it.

In other words, big names don't necessarily win big votes.

And political leadership contests have changed enormously with the demise of delegated conventions, where those attending could dramatically affect the outcome as their favoured candidate dropped off the ballot and urged them to support another contender, with multiple rounds of balloting.

Upset victories at such conventions were legendary. Joe Clark's surprise 1976 Progressive Conservative Party leadership win on the fourth ballot after finishing with less than 12 per cent of delegate support on the first vote is perhaps the ultimate example.

NATHAN CULLEN

Nathan Cullen

While Dewar wants to be a frontrunner, Nathan Cullen not only knows he's a dark horse candidate on this track, he celebrates it.

B.C.'s only contender hails from Smithers -- almost as far from Ottawa as you can get and still represent Canadians.

Send Cullen a cell phone text to set a time to talk and you get a one word response: "Cool!"

Cullen has received excellent media and member reviews for his performance in debates and town halls, where his confidence, fluent French and willingness to discuss politically difficult ideas have encouraged his supporters.

Cullen suggests the NDP form a one-time electoral alliance with the Liberal and Green parties to defeat the Conservatives.

Then, he proposes, the parties that routed Stephen Harper would introduce some form of proportional representation electoral system, end their deal and fight future elections on their own.

It's a controversial position -- ironically like his initial voting with the Harper Conservatives to kill the long gun registry in the last minority Parliament, a measure that failed but will almost certainly pass with a Conservative majority now in place.

"As I said when I voted in support of the bill to repeal the registry last November [at second reading], it's time to stop dividing the country over guns and move on to find effective ways to reduce gun-related violence," Cullen stated in June 2010.

Cullen added in a release that he "has received 'clear and decisive direction' from his constituents to oppose the gun registry, a position he agrees with personally." (Cullen has recently criticized the new Conservative bill to end the long gun registry because of its intent to destroying past registry records and include sniper-style rifles as unrestricted weapons.)

Cullen's endorsement support is limited, He has four B.C. NDP MLAs backing him -- Robin Austin, Gary Coons, Norm Macdonald and Doug Donaldson.

It's hard to see how Cullen could win this contest without a dramatic turn of events, but at 40, his goal may be more to increase his public profile and build support for the next leadership campaign. So far, he's succeeding admirably.

NIKI ASHTON

Niki Ashton & Bill TIeleman

If Cullen has lots of time, Niki Ashton is even better placed for the future.

At 29 years old, Ashton has already been elected as an MP for Churchill twice, holds a masters' degree in international affairs, is completing her PhD and is fluent in not only English and French but also Spanish and Greek.

She also knows that defeating seasoned politicians with decades more experience than her is unlikely. And that's not a worry.

Her performance at the recent BC NDP convention leadership town hall meeting surprised and excited many delegates, as she more than held her own on the stage.

In person Ashton is friendly, personable and enthusiastic. She exudes quiet confidence that seems well beyond her age.

But it's not too surprising since Ashton, like Dewar, comes from a family where politics were a big part of growing up.

Her father Steve Ashton is a Manitoba NDP cabinet minister who ran against current Premier Greg Selinger to replace Gary Doer in 2009.

Ashton has the backing of B.C. NDP MLA Guy Gentner, three MPs and several Manitoba MLAs.

Ashton has been a strong voice fighting the Conservative government's elimination of the Canadian Wheat Board and calling for action to end deplorable conditions faced by northern and aboriginal people, as most recently seen in Attawapiskat.

ROMEO SAGANASH

Romeo Saganah

Romeo Saganash more than shares Ashton and the NDP's concerns -- as the first indigenous person to enter the national leadership contest of any party, he is a powerful voice of opposition to Harper.

No candidate for any Canadian political party has made an opening campaign statement as eloquent and poetic as this one, which begins:

"The shore of a lake, deep in the woods of Quebec, was my birthplace and my first classroom. Growing up in the bush, what I knew about life I learned from my parents and 13 siblings; from the Elders and our small community; from the moose and beaver; the fish and birds; the trees and plants; and the very rock and soil that supported us all," Saganah wrote.

Saganash survived the residential school experience to become a lawyer, speaks fluent Cree, English, French and Spanish and has years of experience as a First Nations leader.

While he is unlikely to win the leadership, Saganash is going to change both New Democrat and national politics for the better. He has two NDP MPs backing his bid.

MARTIN SINGH

Martin Singh

Martin Singh came to the leadership contest as an unknown even in his home province of Nova Scotia but he may leave it as a potential key political figure there.

Singh was born with the name Martin Hill but converted to Sikhism in 1996, changing his last name then. Singh became the first Caucasian convert in Canada to head a gurdwara or place of worship.

Singh owns several pharmacies and residential care facilities in Nova Scotia and Ontario. The former federal Liberal describes himself as a "pro-business member of the NDP" and also serves in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves.

Singh's main campaign push is for a national pharmacare plan that would replace current public and private plans -- a move he says would save both Canadians and private companies hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Despite his lack of past party experience, Singh has performed surprisingly well in public appearances, making his entry into electoral politics a real possibility.

So what will happen March 24? Can any of these five candidates break from the pack and dash past Topp, Mulcair and Nash to an upset win?

It's extremely hard to predict the outcome of a wide-open, one-member one-vote leadership contest where multiple factors are at play.

But with a fascinating and talented group of contenders in an event sure to gain prolonged national attention, the NDP can be assured that Jack Layton's successor will not be ignored -- especially by Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party.

NDP MLA Jagrup Brar walking the talk - and he deserves our thanks for exposing outrageously low welfare rates

2012-01-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

MLA Jagrup Brar with son Fateh, left, and daughter Noor, right.

Jagrup Brar is a big man - with a big heart and a strong social conscience.

The New Democrat Member of the Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Fleetwood accepted the challenge from Raise The Rates to live on social assistance - welfare - for a month to highlight just how difficult it is for the 180,000 British Columbians who need help from government to survive but get very little.

Jagrup is walking the talk - and is the first MLA to do this since the late great Emery Barnes in 1986, when the rate was only $350 a month.

You can see and read more at the website for this challenge.

I was particularly moved to see how proud Jagrup's 12-year-old daughter Noor was in speaking to Global TV about her father's determination to do something good for those in need.

Jagrup has to get by on just $610 for a month - of which $375 is for shelter and $235 for support - but pretty obviously the shelter money isn't enough anywhere in Metro Vancouver, so the support money gets used for rent, not food, for most recipients.

Social assistance rates are never an easy issue for governments of all stripes - the current BC Liberal government has a terrible record - the worst child poverty rates in Canada for eight straight years.

But the previous NDP governments and Social Credit governments also were strongly criticized at times for their policies.

I wish Jagrup well in not only getting through one difficult month that others face every month for years, but in opening the eyes and hearts of British Columbians to find a solution that lets people in need get the help they deserve.

.

Meeting Canada’s next Leader of the Opposition – who will win NDP leadership? Part 1 of 2

2012-01-03T12:25:00.000-08:00

Jack Layton on big screen at CLC Convention May 2011 - Bill Tieleman photo

Brian Topp & Bill Tieleman

Thomas Mulcair & Bill Tieleman

Peggy Nash & Bill Tieleman

Who's Best to Lead the NDP?

My look at the leadership candidates begins with Brian Topp, Thomas Mulcair and Peggy Nash.

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday January 3, 2012

By Bill Tieleman

"No government can be long secure without a formidable opposition."

- Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881

On March 24, the New Democratic Party will choose Canada's new leader of the opposition -- and potentially the country's next prime minister.

One of eight contenders will take the torch from Jack Layton, who became the NDP's first-ever opposition leader after the 2011 election before tragically dying from cancer.

How hard will it be for the new NDP leader to win power?

Consider that Conservative Stephen Harper is the only opposition leader of seven to become prime minister since Jean Chretien took power in 1993.

Voters rejected Liberal opposition leaders Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff in the last two elections against Harper.

Reform Party leader Preston Manning and his successor Stockwell Day of the Canadian Alliance also failed to move from opposition leader to prime minister when facing off against Chretien.

And Bloc Quebecois separatists Lucien Bouchard and Gilles Duceppe both did a term -- but had no practical chance to become PM being isolated to running candidates only in Quebec.

So the task is tough and the job is huge. How will they do it?

I've had the opportunity to meet with most of the leading candidates privately in the past few months to get a sense of what drives them, and how they would perform as opposition leader and possibly prime minister in waiting.

This is the first of two columns, restricted by both space and time. My conversations were not interviews -- each candidate is doing lots of those -- but my attempt to gain perspective on their style and approach while learning more about their backgrounds.

As both a columnist and NDP member, I will be endorsing a candidate prior to the vote but have not yet made up my mind whom that will be.

Three candidates are perceived by most media to be in the so-called top tier: Montreal Member of Parliament Thomas Mulcair, Toronto MP Peggy Nash and former NDP president Brian Topp of Toronto.

While the other candidates may not only disagree but prove the pundits wrong when the voting ends, for now it's a useful dividing line.

In a future column I'll talk about the considerable abilities and chances of B.C. MP Nathan Cullen, Ottawa MP Paul Dewar, Manitoba MP Niki Ashton, Quebec MP Romeo Saganash and Nova Scotia businessman Martin Singh.

Brian Topp's rich resume

I've known Topp for over 30 of his 51 years, since we were both student journalists -- he with the McGill Daily in Montreal and I at the University of B.C.'s The Ubyssey, connecting through the Canadian University Press.

Since then I have seen Topp at various points in his career -- most recently as executive director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) in Toronto, as Layton's national campaign director in the 2006 and 2008 elections and earlier as deputy chief of staff to then-Saskatchewan premier Roy Romanow.

Topp is attempting a big leap – from backroom party strategist who has never held public office to prime minister in waiting -- and to do daily battle with the formidable Harper.

But powerful people in the NDP are betting he can succeed. Romanow, former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, veteran B.C. MPs Libby Davies and Jean Crowder, new B.C. MPs Kennedy Stewart, Jinny Sims and Jasbir Sandhu, former B.C. NDP leader Carole James and many others are convinced and have endorsed Topp.

Topp can also rely on some of B.C.'s most experienced political staff working on his behalf, including former B.C. NDP campaign manager and provincial secretary Gerry Scott, former James' chief of staff Jim Rutkowski and senior James aide Raj Sihota.

In person, Topp is a fascinating combination. He has the strength to be self-deprecating, easily demonstrating his skills as someone who organizes workers and negotiates with some of the toughest employers in Canada, the TV and film industry.

A conversation with Topp makes you feel like you are being let in on big secrets, becoming a confidante and co-conspirator on even small issues over coffee at Tim Horton's.

Helped lead coalition plan

Topp is also extremely smart at politics. Layton's success in consecutively adding more seats to the NDP caucus in each election didn't happen either by accident or simply through the NDP leader’s enormous charisma -- Topp's strategy played a big role.

And when Layton attempted to topple the Harper minority Conservative government and replace it with an NDP-Liberal coalition with Bloc Quebecois backing, Topp was his lead negotiator, evenwriting a book on it titled How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot.

I disagreed with the NDP's ill-fated coalition plan from the start but without question admire Topp's ability to almost achieve a remarkable result that would have seen Layton in cabinet and Harper in opposition.

Fluently bilingual and raised in Quebec but having worked for years in Saskatchewan politics and Ontario labour, Topp brings together all the elements one could imagine for success in the NDP.

But then, so do Mulcair and Nash.

For a backroom operative unknown to the Canadian public, Topp wisely used a pre-emptive shock and awe campaign launch, appearing to instantly be the frontrunner by rolling out the Broadbent endorsement and more -- a move that seemed to stun his potential opponents and galvanize early support.

Topp's current challenge remains his lack of a seat in Parliament -- and he has rejected the idea of running in a by-election to be called soon in Layton's former Toronto-Danforth riding, instead saying he will run in Quebec, although no seats are currently vacant.

Mulcair's 'royal jelly'

That problem doesn't exist for Thomas Mulcair, who led the early Layton breakthrough by winning a by-election in Montreal's longtime-Liberal stronghold of Outremont in and then helping build the NDP for the Orange Crush wave that devastated the Bloc Quebecois in 2011.

I first met Mulcair at a private lunch with Jack Layton in Vancouver in 2007 -- and was extremely impressed.

We met again last month and one thing is clear -- Mulcair easily comes across as someone who has the elusive "royal jelly" that distinguishes a great politician.

Confident without a hint of overconfidence, willing to disagree politely without rancour and with a polished style that shows his years in public office and as a senior lawyer, Mulcair makes a very strong and memorable connection.

His background, like Topp's but with different emphasis, is also ideally suited to becoming leader of the opposition.

Unlike most NDP MPs, Mulcair, 57, has served in a provincial cabinet, as environment minister in the Quebec Liberal government of Premier Jean Charest from 2003 to 2006.

Mulcair brought in a groundbreaking sustainable development plan but ultimately resigned from cabinet over an issue of principle, refusing to transfer lands from a provincial park to a private condominium developer.

The next year Layton recruited him as his Quebec lieutenant and he handily defeated the Liberals in a stunning by-election win that shocked the country that September.

It shouldn't have been as a surprise -- Mulcair has a record of success.

Mulcair's support in Quebec

Born in Ottawa, raised in Laval, north of Montreal, Mulcair worked in the Quebec justice ministry, then as president of the Quebec Professions Board and eventually being elected in 1994 for the first of three times as the Member of the National Assembly for the riding of Chomedey in Laval.

Mulcair has considerable support from Quebec, with 31 of the province's 59 NDP MPs supporting his leadership bid to date. [NOTE: I've corrected this error - Mulcair also has the backing of four Ontario MPs for a total of 35, not the 35 in Quebec I originally wrote - apologies for the error.]

But Mulcair's greatest challenge is to convince New Democrats outside Quebec, where he is far less known.

Mulcair has the endorsements of former Manitoba NDP premier Ed Schreyer, B.C. NDP MLA Claire Trevena, North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto, University of Victoria climatologist Andrew Weaver, Doug McArthur -- a former deputy minister to ex-NDP premier Glen Clark and ex-Saskatchewan NDP cabinet minister; Michael Byers, a former federal NDP candidate and UBC professor; B.C. NDP vice-president Heather Harrison and a few non-Quebec MPs.

With British Columbia boasting more NDP memberships than any other province and almost six times more than Quebec, Mulcair has to both sign up more members in his home turf and win votes here and in Ontario, which has the second highest party total.

Peggy Nash's tenacity

Toronto MP Peggy Nash is the third "top-tier" candidate vying to lead the party and has the background to compete with both Mulcair and Topp.

Nash comes out of the labour movement as a long-time Canadian Auto Workers activist who started as a booking agent for a Canadian airline and rose to became the union's senior negotiator -- and in 2005, the first woman to lead bargaining with the auto industry in North America.

Nash is not only tough -- she is someone who doesn't give up.

Nash lost a close contest in Parkdale-High Park riding in the 2004 federal election, was elected in the 2006 election and appointed industry critic, but lost the 2008 election to ex-Liberal leadership candidate Gerard Kennedy.

Nash returned to work at the CAW as an assistant to president Ken Lewenza and was elected NDP national president in 2009.

Nash then won the 2011 rematch with Kennedy in the election to return to Parliament. Nash's background led Layton to appoint her finance critic. (Ironically, Brian Topp then replaced Nash as party president until himself running for leader.)

In person, Nash is poised, a skilful listener and a diplomat -- all traits found in the best negotiators, who know when to press and when to move to another subject.

Her style is different than both Topp's and Mulcair's, not only as a woman running for leader but as someone with a more social activist background who is seen as to the left of her competition.

Commitment to issues

Fluent in French with an honours degree in French language and literature, and fluent as well in Spanish, Nash is known for championing both women's issues and the environment.

She has also served as an international election monitor in both South Africa and the Ukraine.

Nash's candidacy has drawn endorsements from former federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough, B.C. MPs Denise Savoie and Randall Garrison, economists Marjorie Griffin Cohen of Simon Fraser University and Mel Watkins of the University of Toronto, Quebec MPs Anne Minh-Thu Quach and Marjolaine Boutin-Sweet, Rabble.ca president Duncan Cameron and Pierre Ducasse, a 2003 NDP leadership candidate and Quebec advisor to Jack Layton.

Nash's challenge is clear -- she must edge out both Topp and Mulcair, the perceived front-runners, while holding off a challenge from other candidates, particularly Cullen and Dewar, whose chances may depend on second and third choice selections from NDP members.

Nash needs to capitalize on her higher profile in Ontario and within labour to gain signups and support while also mining vote-rich B.C.

The NDP is undergoing simultaneous and enormous political changes, having to adjust to the traumatic loss of Jack Layton at the same time as it takes on the huge responsibilities of forming the official opposition, under the temporary leadership of Quebec MP Nycole Turmel.

None of these three leadership candidates nor the other five NDP contenders can possibly replace Layton. That's never been the goal.

But each of them believes they can follow in Layton's footsteps to succeed with his biggest project of all -- to not just supplant the Liberals to become the opposition but to form a social democratic Canadian government.

The next three months will determine who gets that opportunity to take on Stephen Harper, and what their chances are of success in 2015.

Ex-Premier Glen Clark and billionaire Jimmy Pattison - Jas Johal's series on Global TV starts Tuesday

2012-01-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Ex-Premier Glen Clark and billionaire Jimmy Pattison - Global BC reporter Jas Johal's fascinating and exclusive series starts on Tuesday - see the preview of "The Odd Couple".

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Basi-Virk 8th Anniversary - a different view of BC Legislature Raid - how to hide the obvious in making BC Rail disappear

2011-12-27T13:28:00.000-08:00

The obvious part - David Basi & Bob Virk after surprise guilty plea - October 18, 2010 - Bill Tieleman photo

How BC Rail Was Made to Disappear

Eight years later, looking back at the BC legislature raid, and where we've arrived.

Bill Tieleman's The Tyee column

Tuesday December 27, 2011

NOTE: 24 hours Vancouver newspaper is not publishing daily this week - back January 3, 2012

"No question is so difficult to answer as that to which the answer is obvious."

- George Bernard Shaw

What happened when an unprecedented police raid on British Columbia's legislature took place eight years ago Wednesday?

How did the BC Liberal government's $1 billion privatization of BC Rail spark the province's biggest political scandal in decades?

Why did the ministerial aides to then finance minister Gary Collins and then transportation minister Judith Reid -- David Basi and Bob Virk -- defend themselves against charges of breach of trust and fraud for six years only to make a surprise guilty plea bargain when their trial had heard just two of a likely 40 witnesses?

Who knew what and when?

And when, if ever, will we find the answers to these questions?

Through a public inquiry repeatedly rejected by Premier Christy Clark but promised by New Democrat leader Adrian Dix, should he form the next government?

Perhaps some of those answers are already obvious.

One clue requires us to travel back in time and space to Princeton University in September 1969.

An ancient American Revolutionary War cannon, partially buried in the Princeton grounds and anchored with cement, disappeared overnight.

The only trace of the extremely heavy cannon's former hallowed location was a giant mound of earth left when the suspected perpetrators -- Rutgers University students who had left graffiti insulting Princeton behind -- had somehow silently removed the artillery piece in the dead of night.

It was a total mystery how this stunning feat of theft done with astonishing speed and impressive logistics could have been accomplished.

But the secret was eventually solved when Princeton's student newspaper got a tip that led to the dirt on the crime -- look underneath the pile of earth!

The cannon had never moved an inch, nor been disinterred from its resting place.

Instead the brilliant plotters correctly predicted that no one would think the cannon was exactly where it always sat -- and that the mountain of dirt it was buried in would convince all observers that an amazing criminal act had taken place.

What's more -- it wasn't Rutgers students who did the dirty deed -- it was a group of Princeton seniors who covered their tracks by leaving behind slurs on their own school, knowing that the 100 years of university rivalry would enrage Princeton.

So a missing cannon is exactly where it always was and perpetrators of the perfect crime turn out not to be whom everyone presumed.

That analogy may help explain the mystery of BC Rail's disappearance and how it happened right in front of our eyes.

Campbell's vow to sell

Let's go back to basics.

Then-premier Gordon Campbell narrowly lost the 1996 election to NDP Premier Glen Clark in part because the BC Liberals promised to sell BC Rail.

That means a clear intent was formed to privatize a Crown Corporation that had net income in 18 of the 21 years before it was put on the block.

During the 2001 election campaign, Campbell learned his lesson -- promising the reverse of his 1996 pledge -- this time he would not sell BC Rail.

But after eviscerating the hapless NDP under then-premier Ujjal Dosanjh and commanding a 77-2 seat margin in the B.C. legislature, Campbell secretly went back to his original plan -- get rid of BC Rail.

Campbell put the railway company on the auction block and invited bidders to make their best offer in a competitive process -- may the highest price win.

Unfortunately, some bidders were more equal than others.

During the process it was discovered and reported that CN Rail had been wrongly given confidential BC Rail operating information.

Due apologies were made and the bidding continued.

But major rail companies were increasingly uneasy about the whole situation.

CP Rail dropped out of the bidding a week before the announcement that CN had won, saying in a letter to Campbell's senior deputy minister Ken Dobell that the process was "unfair".

The Nov. 17, 2003 letter from the CPR vice-president of strategy and law, Marcella Szel, to Dobell says that its "market intelligence" showed "that CN was speaking directly to BC Rail shippers about their bid, with what we must consider the approval of the [BC Rail] Evaluation Committee, since the confidentiality agreement clearly stated no such discussions were to be held without consent."

"This feedback included the marketplace being aware of the actual value of the bids," Szel wrote to Dobell, just eight days before the B.C. government announced the sale of BC Rail to CN.

Anger by bidders at process

That letter was part of 8,000 pages of documents ordered released in early 2009 by then-B.C. Supreme Court justice Elizabeth Bennett in response to a court application filed on behalf of New Democratic Party MLA Leonard Krog.

Another major rail company -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway -- also dropped out before the bidding ended, writing in a letter also disclosed in 2009 that it was "extremely dismayed with the handling of the BC Rail Transaction.... because of the lack of fairness in which the process has been conducted."

The letter went to CIBC World Markets, which handled the BC Rail sale for the province.

BSNF had been a business partner supporting the bid of OmniTRAX, which ended up being the only other bidder left competing with CN.

In an earlier letter to Wallace dated Nov. 18, 2003, Rickershauser blasted CIBC World Markets with both barrels:

"I and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway are extremely dismayed with the handling of the BC Rail Transaction, especially in recent weeks as managed by CIBC World Markets. Our dismay arises because of the lack of fairness in which the process has been conducted so far, the apparent favoritism of certain bidders, and the lack of timely information provided to all participants involved in the process," Rickershauser wrote.

"Reports and rumours of CN talking directly with BC Rail shippers and communities have been circulating for several weeks in shipper, government and media circles.... In fact, reports from shippers indicate that CN has been discussing what it will or will not do when it is awarded the BC Rail concession," Rickershauser ended.

We cannot determine the accuracy of either CP or BNSF's allegations of a tainted process that unfairly favoured CN Rail.

It is also worth noting that none of the huge railway companies that bailed out ever went to court to recover their costs in participating in the bidding, let alone filed legal action to have the process overturned because of that alleged unfairness.

Why not? CP Rail's Szel pretty much answers that question in her own bitter letter.

Szel wrote that she would like to: "discuss with you how the British Columbia government can re-establish this kind of confidence with the CPR."

In other words, there's still far too much business to be done in B.C. to pursue a scorched earth approach. No doubt BNSF felt the same way, despite its anger.

David McLean and CN's win

There was also a "fairness" advisor interim report by Charles River Associates into the bidding stating that: "the Province and its advisors designed and managed the BC Rail restructuring process in a manner consistent in all material respects with current best practices usually followed in similar transactions.

But still -- two reputable international railway companies dropped out of a bidding process because both felt it was designed to favour CN Rail.

Who was and remains the chair of CN Rail?

David McLean, one of Gordon Campbell's biggest and most long-standing supporters.

And CN Rail was one of the BC Liberal Party's most significant donors, contributing $113,000 between 1994 and 2004, and another $155,000 between 2005 and 2009.

Campbell's then-chief of staff Martyn Brown testified as the first witness in the Basi-Virk trial that he was unaware of CN donations to the party and that neither that nor McLean's role as Campbell's chief fundraiser in 1996 affected the sale.

"It was not at all a factor in the consideration," Brown swore in May 2010.

And with only complaints by competing companies but not any action, and with only allegations by lawyers for Basi and Virk under the protection of a court pre-trial hearing, that's the end of the matter.

Basi and Virk avoid jail

The defence for Basi and Virk made many bombshell claims in B.C. Supreme Court, allegations that if ever proven would have rocked the province and likely brought down the BC Liberal government.

But they weren't.

Basi and Virk's lawyers were negotiating hard in secret with Special Prosecutor Bill Berardino to make a guilty plea bargain deal for their clients.

In October 2010, that deal was done. Basi and Virk would spend two years on probation and not have to pay back any of the roughly $6 million in legal fees collected over the years by their lawyers Michael Bolton and Kevin McCullough. Nor would they spend any time in jail, as prosecutors originally demanded.

The deal meant no more testimony as planned from BC Liberal government insiders -- from ex-cabinet ministers like Christy Clark and Gary Collins -- or from a series of party operatives like Patrick Kinsella, the lobbyist who collected $297,000 as an advisor to BC Rail over four years, doing work that was unknown even to some of its senior executives.

Basi and Virk admit passing confidential government BC Rail bidding information on to Erik Bornmann and Brian Kieran --lobbyists representing OmniTRAX -- and justice is done.

What's that shape under the dirt?

So, let's go back to our missing cannon at Princeton University in 1969.

Just like the artillery piece hiding under a mountain of dirt, the B.C. Legislature Raid case is actually right where it always was.

Premier Gordon Campbell's government broke an election promise and sold BC Rail to one of his political party's biggest backers -- CN Rail -- in a competition where all but one other bidder dropped out, citing an unfair process they believed favoured CN.

The last remaining bidder, OmniTRAX, lost despite whatever advantages its lobbyists managed to procure from Basi and Virk in exchange for about $30,000 and a trip to Denver, Colorado for a football game.

And despite much of the BC Rail case being known to those voters who cared to look, the BC Liberals were twice re-elected to government after the 2003 raid, in 2005 and again in 2009.

It's that simple, unless you actually want to know everything that really happened.

That will still take a public inquiry -- you can support that position at a Facebook page I set up calledBasi-Virk Public Inquiry.

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year too!

2011-12-24T15:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010 - West Broadway, Kitsilano - Bill Tieleman photo

Best wishes to all my readers for a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Like the poster says, let's remember to live more and buy less - and help those in need at this special time of year.

Cheers,

Bill

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Kevin Falcon the Fall Guy for Jim Flaherty - BC loses billions in health care funding, HST repayment - but Falcon fails to get it

2011-12-21T23:24:00.000-08:00

Ex-Premier Gordon Campbell & Finance Minister Kevin Falcon - asleep at the switch

BC Liberal Finance Minister Kevin Falcon must have had that falling feeling Monday when he praised federal Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's new plan to reduce health care funding increases - then watched as most of his provincial counterparts denounced Flaherty.

Why? Because the federal Conservatives just pulled the rug out from under BC and other provinces' funding, six ways from Sunday.

Flaherty surprised provincial finance ministers by unilaterally announcing that Ottawa will end current health care funding increases of 6% a year by 2017, despite rising costs, leaving the provinces to make up the difference.

The new plan will also reduce BC's per capita health care funding because Ottawa's funding formula doesn't deal with our aging population's hire costs, meaning up to an additional $250 million a year will be lost.

But too late - Falcon was already on the record: "From B.C.'s perspective, we think certainty is good thing," he said. "We cannot ignore what is taking place around the world."

Huh? What's going on is that BC is getting shafted and Falcon was sticking up for his federal Conservative friends, not British Columbia.

Quebec's Finance Minister Raymond Bachand wasn't as thick as Falcon.

Bachand called the unilateral federal decision to dramatically reduce funding "totally unacceptable."

Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter called it "profoundly disappointing".

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said it was "frustrating".

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said the provinces will lose $21 billion.

"It means less access to quality health care," Duncan said.

By Tuesday even Falcon had figured out that BC was being shafted.

And his hardline response? He'll ask the federal government to "adjust" the per capita formula - but if BC got that "we'd be very happy with the rest of the package."

Falcon and BC Premier Christy Clark have also thrown in the towel on getting repayment of the federal Harmonized Sales Tax grant of $1.6 billion reduced to reflect the period of time the HST will have been in effect.

Now they are hoping to claim "victory" by getting an extended lay-away plan to repay the entire amount.

Just one question - wouldn't you love to play poker with these jokers?

Jim Flaherty must be laughing all the way back to Ottawa.

Pathetic.

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Political Christmas Carols: Christy the Premier - Away in the U.K.; Wreck The Libs with Trasolini; O Cummins All Ye Faithful

2011-12-21T10:53:00.000-08:00

Deck the Halls of Power

With BC's own political Christmas carols this season.

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday December 20, 2011

By Bill Tieleman

"Let's be naughty and save Santa the trip."

-Singer Gary Allan

When Christmas carols meet B.C. politics 'tis the season to be a jolly old Grinch.

Here are a few songs you could hear around the Legislature this holiday season.

Christy the Premier
[To the tune of "Frosty the Snowman"] 

Christy the Premier/Was a radio talk show soul,
With a giant smile that stretched a mile/And a very ambitious goal.
Christy the Premier is a fairy tale, they say,
She was made of fluff but she sure could bluff, so she came to power one day.

There must have been some magic/In that photo op they planned.
For when they turned the cameras on/She really did glad hand!

O, Christy the Premier/Said she'd beat the NDP
And the Liberals say/She'd campaign away
To keep power for them in B.C.

Thumpetty thump thump/Thumpetty thump thump,
Look at Christy spin!
Thumpetty thump thump/Thumpetty thump thump,
She really wants to win!

Christy the Premier/Knew
the polls were bad that day,
So she said, "A spring election we'll run/It'll be such fun
Now before I melt away." Down to the Caucus/With an election writ in hand!
Running here and there all/Around the Ledge saying:
"Elect me while you can!"
She led them down the streets of town/
Right to the Cabinet room.  And she had to call it off when/She heard them holler "Stop!"

Then Christy the Premier/Had to hurry on her way,  But she waved goodbye saying/"Don't you cry, I'll be back at 'NW some day."

Thumpetty thump thump/Thumpetty thump thump,
They made Christy go.
Thumpetty thump thump/Thumpetty thump thump,
Back to radio you know!

Away in the U.K.
[To the tune of "Away In A Manger"]

Away in the U.K./High Commissioner his role,
Premier Gordon Campbell/Rewarded for his toil.
The stars in London, England/ Shone ever so bright,
But Gordon was troubled/All through the night.

"It's really not fair," he said to himself,
The Order of B.C. is not on my shelf.
I wanted it, I craved it -- my friends made it so,
But to get it in hand, to Victoria I must go."

"It pains me to think of the reception I'd get,
When Dave Barrett hasn't even got an OBC yet!
Nor Vander Zalm, nor Harcourt -- still longer they wait,
But it's better to get it too early than late!"

Wreck the Libs
[To the tune of "Deck The Halls"]

Wreck the Libs with Trasolini/
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha 

Christy thinks that Joe's a meany/Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha 

Joe once was a friend of Clark/Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha 

But now with Dix he'll make his mark/Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha 

That by-election in Port Moody/Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha 

Has made the premier very broody/Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha 

With one more in Chilliwack/Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha 

Liberals fear a heart attack/Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha

O Cummins, All Ye Faithful
[To the tune of "O Come, All Ye Faithful"]

O Cummins all ye faithful/Rightwing and triumphant,
O Cummins, O come ye to Victoria/Cummins, Christy scolds him:
"He'll split our Liberal vote!/Cummins, let's ignore him,
Cummins, we abhor him!O Cummins, don't vote for him
For Christy's sake!"

Right of centre/Conservative and Reform,
Lo! He relishes Liberal scorn!
Oh my god/A third party at last!

Best wishes to all readers for a happy and safe holiday season!

No 24 hours newspaper column next week but see you back here on December 27 for a very special Basi-Virk 8th year column for The Tyee and this blog.

Back in 24 hours on Tuesday January 3, 2012.

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Adrian Dix promises BC NDP convention he will do "bold things" but in moderation

2011-12-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

Dix Dials It Down

Adrian Dix after speech to BC NDP convention - Bill Tieleman photo

NDP leader prepares for government by moderating plans and expectations.

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday December 13, 2011

By Bill Tieleman

"Only actions give life strength; only moderation gives it charm."

-Jean Paul Richter, 1763-1825

The B.C. New Democratic Party convention last weekend was a public display intended to show voters it's ready to govern moderately and wisely, but another earlier event was actually the more important signal.

That took place Nov. 9, when 650 people attend a $395 per person dinner at the Hotel Vancouver -- making it the party's most successful fundraiser ever.

But who was there to hear NDP leader Adrian Dix speak was more important than the fact that the event grossed over a quarter-million dollars.

It was informally billed as a business outreach event -- and it was, with company executives, lobbyists and advisors connected with the B.C. Liberals in strong attendance. [There were no media invited to the event -- but I was there.]

Among those spotted: Mark Jiles, business partner of B.C. Liberal top operative Patrick Kinsella at the Progressive Group; Mark Reder, a senior vice president at Fleishman-Hillard Canada and a former B.C. Liberal constituency president; and Byng Giraud, Imperial Metals vice president and part of B.C. Liberal Education Minister George Abbott's past leadership campaign.

Surprising twist

Dix gave the crowd a surprising message -- the party had gone too far in the 1990s under premiers Mike Harcourt and Glen Clark when it introduced hundreds of new acts -- "too much legislation" he said.

His administration, Dix said, would tell voters what it planned to do before the election and how it would pay for it.

Dix added one additional qualification: "I don't deliver different messages to business and labour."

Dix, whose NDP leadership bid I supported, further contradicted some of his early critics -- who saw him as too dogmatically left wing -- by stating: "Government cannot solve all the problems in B.C."

NDP delegates would hear a similar message last Saturday: don't expect an overly activist government.

Economy first

Nonetheless, Dix brought the crowd to its feet by promising "we'll do bold things" but would also be strategic.

Then he said he'd fix the party’s major failing when it lost the 2009 election.

"Making the economy the primary issue in the next election is what we're going to do," Dix said.

But lest anyone think Dix, who was Clark's chief of staff in the mid 1990s, was solely appealing for big business votes, he added this.

"We're going to roll back the corporate income tax rate connected to the carbon tax to 2008 levels so we will have money to invest in issues of public transit, retrofitting of public buildings, in supporting rural communities and in fighting inequality," Dix said.

And while most were impressed that Dix delivered his more than hour-long speech entirely without notes, it seemed to go unnoticed that he never once mentioned Premier Christy Clark by name. Nor did he do so at the high-priced fundraising dinner.

Depth, and a dig

Whether by accident or more likely by design, Dix is contrasting his encyclopedic grasp of a wide range of issues with former talk show host Clark's decidedly skimpy depth on public policy.

Dix only came close to referring to Clark's name once, when he jokingly told the 600 delegates that: "Our movement is not about the leader, we're not renaming this the B.C. Adrian Party any time soon." That jibe, of course, aimed at the B.C. Liberal Party's new logo, which features "Christy" in bigger type than "Liberal".

Dix is betting that substance will beat style, especially in what is now a long campaign until the May 2013 fixed-date election.

Balanced populism

What else Dix is doing is clear: building a carefully crafted message that balances the public's desire for populist change after 10 years of corporate government with an understanding that alienating business is not an easy road to victory.

Dix also knows that the more polling indicates an NDP election victory in 2013, the more he needs to both dampen high party expectations and reassure business that an NDP government won't damage an increasingly frail B.C. economy.

It's a difficult tightrope for any social democratic party leader to walk at the best of times. Now, with the United States still in economic trouble and several European states tottering towards potential financial disaster, it's an even more perilous balancing act.

And Dix knows better than anyone that when it comes to an NDP government in British Columbia, you are always working at great heights without a net.

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Hasta luego - Bill Tieleman in Mexico!

2011-12-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

Bill Tieleman caught on holiday in Mexico!

Amigos y amigas - I will be in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with my family from December 12 to 19 on holiday - and your posts may be delayed during that time, as will any new items from me.

I will still have columns in 24 hours newspaper and The Tyee online on Tuesday December 13 and Tuesday December 20 - your continued readership is appreciated - muchas gracias!

See you soon - hasta luego!

BC Ferries outrageous decision to "only" pay new CEO Mike Corrigan $563,000 compared to David Hahn! Plus $200,000 one-time bonus!

2011-12-07T23:55:00.000-08:00

BC Ferries management - sailing away with your money.

Absolutely outrageous!

There's no other way to describe BC Ferries' decision to pay new CEO Mike Corrigan $563,000 a year to run a monopoly service.

And to put the proverbial lipstick on a pig, BC Ferries thinks it's great news for long-suffering customers that they limited Corrigan's salary package to just 60% of what $1 million a year current CEO David Hahn has been making!

Even BC Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom - who is ultimately responsible for this travesty - can't stomach that amount of money.

"In these difficult fiscal times, do I think it's a concern?" Lekstrom told CTV News. "Yes, I do."

But that's not all - BC Ferries will "phase out" it's long-term bonus program for senior executives like Corrigan - not by cancelling it but by dividing a huge $778,000 fund between Corrigan and three other executives!

Tell that to people lining up for a $100 ride on BC Ferries!

Lekstrom is queasy on this part too.

"I'm not sure it is appropriate," Lekstrom said.

Not sure? Let me spell it out - this is completely unacceptable. And doing nothing about it - which so far is Lekstrom's plan - is more evidence the government is completely adrift.

Let's compare Corrigan's $563,000 to the salary of the top paid health care CEO in 2010 - Provincial Health Services Authority CEO Lynda Cranston - who made $390,110.

That's for a job with people's lives on the line - not passengers in a line for burgers and fries.

I think Cranston is also overpaid - but she still made $173,000 less than Corrigan.

The PHSA has a budget of over $1 billion annually and employs over 10,000 people, including doctors, specialists, medical technicians and other staff.

BC Ferries annual budget is about $757 million and has less than 5,000 employees.

I have nothing against Corrigan, who I've never met, nor do I blame him for making as much money as he can from BC Ferries.

But the owner of BC Ferries has a lot of nerve paying him this much - that would be the BC government, Premier Christy Clark - proprietor.

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Canadian Government Plays Deadly Politics of Salt

2011-12-06T11:38:00.000-08:00

Health panel wants life saving, sodium lowering policies. Conservatives say "no".

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday December 6, 2011

By Bill Tieleman

"But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt."

- The Holy Bible, Genesis 19:26

Why would the federal government deliberately ignore the deadly results of a dangerous substance killing thousands each year and negatively affecting the health of one-quarter of Canadians?

Why would Ottawa do absolutely nothing to stop needless deaths and enormous medical costs when prevention is practically free and its own expert panel recommended quick action?

The answer is because that deadly product is salt -- and the Conservative government doesn't want to upset the culprits who deal it -- food manufacturers and restaurants.

Canadians consume way too much salt -- on average 3,400 milligrams -- when Health Canada says the recommended, safe amount is less than half that -- just 1,500 milligrams. High blood pressure results, causing heart disease and strokes.

Reducing sodium intake to 1,800 milligrams a day would prevent an estimated 23,500 cardiovascular disease events per year -- a 13 per cent reduction -- and save $3 billion a year in health costs, according to the government's own report.

The result is high blood pressure -- the leading preventable risk factor for deaths worldwide -- causing heart disease and strokes, as well as kidney disease, stomach cancer, osteoporosis and asthma.

But last month federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq rejected the urgent recommendations of the Sodium Working Group -- an expert panel appointed by the government.

Information denied

The panel's minimal steps would merely have set a voluntary target of reducing sodium intake by one third by 2016 -- to a still too much 2,300 milligrams -- or about one teaspoon a day.

The plan would only have published the results of food companies' voluntary efforts to reduce salt levels in processed food.

And the Sodium Working Group wanted food companies to use uniform serving sizes in nutrition fact tables on packaging to make it easier for consumers to compare salt content, using the reduced recommended sodium levels.

That would have had the effect of increasing the daily percentage of salt amount in the same sized portion of food -- unless manufacturers reduced the actual sodium content.

But Aglukkaq dumped even those modest ideas, saying that: "We agree we need to move forward to meet the 2016 targets, but we don't always agree about how we get to the end result."

'Blood pressure and diabetes rates don't stand still'

Instead, Health Canada will "consult" still more with the salt sellers, who apparently have no interest in even allowing consumers to decide for themselves what amount of sodium in their processed food and prepared restaurant meals is too much.

And Aglukkaq has already disbanded the Sodium Working Group, which was set up in 2007 and made extensive recommendations in July 2010.

The federal government's refusal to act on clearly established salt health risks angers the experts.

"Blood pressure and diabetes rates don't stand still while Health Canada indulges food companies' desire to conceal sodium reduction track records and perpetuate misleading food labelling," says Bill Jeffery, a member of the Sodium Working Group and Canadian national coordinator of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest.

"Menus and labels should show reliable sodium and calorie levels so customers can make informed choices and restaurants feel real pressure to remake menu items with healthier ingredients," he saidlast month.

His American counterpart is even more blunt.

"Salt, in the amounts presently used in processed foods, is the single deadliest ingredient in the food supply, contributing to the premature deaths of tens of thousands of Americans each year," says U.S. CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.

"This has been widely acknowledged in the medical community for many years, but has been mostly ignored by food manufacturers and regulators," Jacobson said last month.

When one serving doubles your daily need

To get some idea just how badly restaurant food is being over salted, go to your local shopping mall and check out Edo Japan's menu.

A single serving of their Chicken Udon Soup will give you 3,440 milligrams of salt -- not only more than the average daily consumption but over double the recommended limit for 24 hours!

But Edo Japan is no exception -- in fast food and other restaurants way too much salt is actually the rule.

Have Denny's Restaurant’s Meat Lover's Scramble for breakfast and you've ingested 3,180 milligrams of salt to start your day.

Trying to eat healthy? Forget eating an Olive Garden Garden fresh salad. At 1,930 milligrams of saltthat's more than your daily limit.

And avoid Subway's 6" Turkey Sub with American cheese and light mayo -- unless you don't mind 1,220 milligrams of salt.

Unfortunately processed foods sold in supermarkets are just as bad. Swanson's Hungry Man Roasted Carved Turkey will inject 1,620 milligrams of salt into your body, while just one tablespoon of La Choy Soy Sauce packs a whopping 1,160 milligrams of salt!

The salty facts are sometimes available -- if you look hard for them -- but not usually anywhere near a restaurant menu or clearly explained on a packaged food label, exactly at the time of purchase when you need them.

And those facts won't be posted where they could do some good unless government demands it. All Health Canada has done to date is set up a task force to "explore the possibility" of nutrition facts signage at fast food restaurants.

Processed and dangerous

There's no question the over salting of Canadians isn't being done at the dinner table with a shaker.

Commercially processed foods make up a whopping 77 per cent of sodium intake, while 12 per cent occurs naturally, six per cent gets added at the table and five per cent is added during cooking.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest has put together loads of information in a lengthy reporton sodium levels in our food and regularly issues news releases and reports on the salt crisis -- but the Canadian government’s latest response shows it has no interest in getting the salt out.

And B.C. Health Minister Mike de Jong doesn't seem to regard salt intake as a crisis either.

To its credit, at least the health ministry has information available on its "Healthy Living" website about sodium and is sponsoring a "sodium awareness" contest with a grand prize of $5,000.

"By increasing awareness of the risks associated with high sodium levels, we are helping British Columbian families prevent health problems, as well as lowering the number of physician visits related to hypertension," de Jong correctly says.

But these are baby steps when doctors, nutritionists and dieticians are all saying urgent action is needed on a national basis.

A 2010 American study cited by the Sodium Working Group report showed just how effective a modest salt reduction strategy could be:

"A three gram (1,200 mg sodium) reduction in daily salt intake would have approximately the same effect on rates of coronary heart disease as a 50 per cent reduction in tobacco use, a five per cent reduction in the BMI (body mass index) of obese adults, or the use of statins to treat people at low or intermediate risk of coronary heart disease events.

"A salt reduction strategy would be more cost-effective than using medication to lower blood pressure in all people with hypertension," the report concluded.

Too much salt is killing too many Canadians -- and the federal government's refusal to act is inexcusable.

Premier Christy Clark rejects BC Legislature Raid inquiry again - and claims no questions remain to be answered!

2011-11-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

"Move along, nothing to see here, move along."

Railgate questions? Asked and Answered, Says Premier Christy Clark

Premier calls me out as she rejects Basi-Virk inquiry. Yet questions do persist.

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday November 29, 2011

By Bill Tieleman

"I think it would probably come up with some conclusions that would clear up a lot of myths that people like Bill Tieleman might like to perpetuate."

- Premier Christy Clark on a B.C. Legislature Raid inquiry

Christy Clark still rejects holding an inquiry into the biggest political scandal in recent B.C. history -- about two ex-BC Liberal ministerial aides passing confidential government information on the $1-billion sale of BC Rail to lobbyists for one bidder.

The premier claimed Thursday there are no questions to be answered after last year's surprise guilty pleas of ex-government aides David Basi and Bob Virk.

And Clark says an inquiry wouldn't embarrass her, but would actually clear up myths that I'm allegedly spreading.

Clark was deputy premier at the time of the deal, when police raided the B.C. legislature in December 2003 with an unprecedented search warrant to obtain evidence -- and her own brother Bruce's home was also searched by police, because of his links to Basi and Virk.

The BC Liberal government paid Basi and Virk's $6-million legal fees despite their admission of guilt, as part of the plea bargain deal that ended their trial after just two of an estimated 40 witnesses -- including possibly Christy Clark herself -- had testified.

But in response to a question I posed for Shaw Cable's Voice Of B.C. last Thursday, Clark told host Vaughn Palmer it would be "really expensive" to hold an inquiry to get to the truth -- so she won't.

The idea that there are no questions to be answered is absurd.

Instead of "myths," we actually have some cold, hard facts that many people would likely wish to see further examined.

Statements of fact

For example, a joint "Statement of Facts" entered in B.C. Supreme Court by special prosecutor Bill Berardino and defence lawyers for Basi and Virk says the police search of Bruce Clark's home found confidential government bidding information about a related BC Rail privatization effort.

Basi and Virk pled guilty to breach of trust and fraud in part because of their role in illegally passing information to Bruce Clark -- who was never charged -- about the proposed $70 million sale of the BC Rail Port Subdivision in Roberts Bank.

The Statement of Facts reads: "With respect to Count 10 of the Indictment and in relation to the Port Subdivision bidding process, the RCMP seized a number of documents from Bruce Clark's office and residence, which Basi and Virk disclosed to Bruce Clark between Jan. 1, 2003 and Dec. 28, 2003." 

"Two examples of the documents that Basi and Virk improperly disclosed to Clark are:

"a) The draft Request for Proposals for the Port Subdivision bidding process, which was received by Clark prior to the RFP being finalized by the Evaluation Committee; and

"b) A 'confidential presentation' made by TD Securities to the Evaluation Committee dated Oct. 14, 2003 containing a detailed economic analysis of what BC Rail considered to be the value of the Port Subdivision."

Christy Clark has acknowledged Bruce Clark played an undetermined role in her BC Liberal leadership campaign, but has declined requests from The Tyee to explain his duties, which weren't mythical.

Bruce Clark has not spoken to media at any point about his role in either the BC Rail situation or his sister's campaign.

Clark points to Toope report

Christy Clark has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the BC Rail case and police have said no cabinet ministers were investigated.

In a 2004 police interview with Erik Bornmann -- a lobbyist for losing BC Rail bidder OmniTRAX who turned into the key Crown witness against Basi and Virk -- he claims he discussed his client's bid with Christy Clark and other cabinet ministers.

"We were very interested to see what cabinet ministers we could count on as being allies for our bid. We've expected Gary Collins, Christy Clark, Rick Thorpe to be supportive simply on account at the meetings that we had with them and some follow-up, some follow-up conversations," Bornmann says in the police transcript that was released by the courts after a media disclosure application filed by the Globe and Mail newspaper and CTV. Collins was then-finance minister and Thorpe competition minister.

Later, Bornmann elaborates.

"I had a conversation with Christy Clark and with Bobby Virk and Dave Basi separately and Dwight was, Dwight Johnson [OmniTRAX executive] was in the regular habit of wanting information on the BC Rail process," Bornmann said.

"I'd met Christy, I'm, as you know, friends and acquaintances with Christy's husband [now ex-husband Mark Marissen] and I'd a, I'd sort of broached the topic I mean, just trying to recall, I broached the topic or I promised Brian [Bornmann lobbyist partner Brian Kieran] that I'd broach the topic of BC Rail with Christy but I didn't receive, didn't receive anything terribly useful from her just a, Basi and Virk would have obviously have a, provided me with information on whatever was taking place, but Christy wasn't providing any information beyond what politicians tell people," Bornmann told police.

Clark says she is proud of a "great report" she requested by University of B.C. president

Stephen Toope into her government's payment of legal fees to Basi and Virk without any effort to recover those funds when they pled guilty.

The report, Clark says, will "make the process better" in dealing with public servants facing criminal charges in the future.

But regardless of Toope's esteemed role as a senior professor of law and well-deserved reputation, there is also the fact that UBC receives hundreds of millions of dollars from the provincial budget each year. If Clark had wanted to pick a person with no ties to government spending, she could have done so.

Clark also could have asked Toope to investigate why Basi and Virk's legal fees were exempted from repayment when they pled guilty. But she didn't.

Questions not yet answered

B.C. auditor general John Doyle -- who is independent of government -- is also investigating the Basi-Virk payments and has been forced to go to court to gain access to government documents.

Doyle's report may eventually provide some limited answers, but is more likely to raise new questions about what happened.

A key one is why the defence alleged for years that a "consolation prize" -- the Roberts Bank port-subdivision rail line -- was to be offered by the government to OmniTRAX in exchange for the company staying in the bidding after CP Rail and Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad both quit,saying the process was tainted?

The reality for Clark is that unless and until some independent inquiry is held to address such questions that a full trial may have answered, the BC Legislature Raid case will continue to smell like bad cheese in the fridge.

David Basi has called for a public inquiry, in an exclusive interview with 24 Hours and The Tyee in February.

"I want everything released, all the transcripts of the wiretaps -- not just snippets -- let's get it all out," Basi told. "I have consistently called for all documents in this case to be released and for a public inquiry, which I will fully cooperate with."

But the one person who could call an inquiry isn't going to do so.

Here's Clark's exchange with Vaughn Palmer after my question was posed to her.

Palmer: "But the difference between your party and the NDP at the moment is -- Adrian Dix was on the show just recently, he says there still needs to be a public inquiry into BC Rail and your position is we don't need one."

Clark: "Yeah, my position is two people were convicted and I think people want to move on. It was a hugely expensive process and I think people want to move on from it because I don't know that there's a whole lot more to learn in the thing -- you know, two people were found guilty, by the courts. And so, you know, let's not throw any more good money after bad on this.

"We are struggling to try and find resources for all the things that we need to do already in British Columbia so you know, we're in really tough financial times, the world is in economic turmoil. We have to make sure we are lookin' after people in British Columbia and frankly I think that if, you know..."

Palmer: "You don't think that a public inquiry in this case would embarrass you?"

Clark: "Well, no I don't! Absolutely not! Absolutely not! And in fact I think it would probably come up with some conclusions that would clear up a lot of myths that people like Bill Tieleman might like to perpetuate.

"But the thing is it would be really expensive and I don't know that there are any more answers to be found out there."

When Clark says Basi and Virk were "found guilty by the courts," a more precise way to say it is that they pled guilty by their own admission in a deal negotiated by their lawyers with the Crown.

But the larger point is that finding out what really happened is not throwing good money after bad -- it is an essential part of democratic accountability.

If you believe an inquiry is needed, join my Basi-Virk Public Inquiry page on Facebook.

Peter Ladner blasts Non-Partisan Association, City Caucus blog in new Business In Vancouver column

2011-11-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

Peter Ladner

Former Non-Partisan Association mayoralty candidate and Vancouver city councilor Peter Ladner is blasting his former party and the blog City Caucus over the results of the last municipal election, saying the "NPA falls on its own sword of tired tactics".

In his November 29 column in Business In Vancouver - available online only by subscription - Ladner fires both barrels:

"It’s time for the NPA to get out a huge vacuum and suck up all the people who think every political opponent is evil, and that job No. 1 is to eliminate them," Ladner writes.

"It’s a tiresome, downer strategy borne of three years of citycaucus.com blog’s partisan putdowns – hilarious to family and friends, but tedious and irritating to anyone who cares more about the city than about hating Vision and COPE (RIP). (Was that blog really funded by former mayor Sam Sullivan’s 2008 election war chest?)"

It's no secret that Ladner took on City Caucus founders Daniel Fontaine - Sullivan's former chief of staff - and Mike Klassen - another NPA-Sullivan stalwart - when he challenged the sitting mayor for the 2008 NPA nomination and won but lost the election.

Ladner also supports failed NPA council candidate Sean Bickerton's criticism of the campaign run by manager Norman Stowe and chair Peter Armstrong and bankrolled by developer Rob McDonald.

Ladner discretely criticized the NPA before the election for attacking urban agriculture issues promoted by Vision Vancouver and Mayor Gregor Robertson - Ladner being the author of a great new book on the trend titled The Urban Food Revolution - but it appears the gardening gloves have come off and the brass knuckles on.

I have asked Fontaine and Klassen if they have a response to Ladner's column and will be happy to provide it here.
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Bill Tieleman reaches 1,000 posts on this blog!

2011-11-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

Cheers to my readers!

It is fitting that my 1,000 post on this blog was a tribute to my late father-in-law Fred Cave - but totally coincidental.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my many, many readers since the Bill Tieleman blog was set up on October 12, 2006!

The blog has had over 825,000 visits and over 1 million page views from nearly 300,000 unique visitors since that time and is averaging about 20,000 visits a month from about 8,000 unique visitors currently. [Those figures from Google Analytics.]

The website measurement service Alexa.com ranks the Bill Tieleman blog at a lofty 1,057,433 in the world - where the top website is ranked #1. Yes, it's Google, followed by Facebook and YouTube!

So that leaves me lots of room to grow! [The Tyee.ca is ranked 101,672 globally, for a reference point - and that's excellent.]

But it's not about building a huge readership here - otherwise this site would be full of Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson's convicted doctor, and that sort of confection "news".

I appreciate the readers who come here looking for analysis and commentary from my perspective on BC, federal and municipal politics as well as many other topic - balanced or augmented by the views of many posters from every conceivable perspective.

This blog has extensively covered the BC Legislature Raid case - from the pre-trial hearings for David Basi and Bob Virk through to the surprise guilty plea bargain and beyond - including a new column coming up next today.

All my columns and stories from 24 hours Vancouver newspaper and The Tyee are here - with my thanks for their strong support of my work over the past many years.

And thanks also to the advertisers on my blog - who appear here through Google Ads.

So thank each and every reader very much for your strong support and I look forward to continuing this blog for many years to come.

Cheers!

Bill Tieleman

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My father-in-law Fred Cave has passed away - a great father, grandfather, partner and patriot who served Canada at war

2011-11-23T00:31:00.000-08:00

Erin Ross Coward with grandpa Fred

I am deeply saddened to report that my father-in-law Fred Cave has passed away this evening in Winnipeg at the age of 89.

Fred was a wonderful man - he fought for Canada in the fields of France in the Second World War, worked hard all his life, met, fell in love with and married Fran - Shirley's mother, and took Shirley to be his daughter when she was 20 for the rest of his life. Since Shirley's own father had died tragically when she was just 9, this was an amazing and welcome experience.

Fred also adored Shirley's daughter Erin Ross Coward when she was born in 1984 and together they spent many fabulous time together - just the two of them at the zoo or on adventures around Winnipeg.

Fred also was an amazingly patient and devoted care aid to Fran when she fell victim to chronic illness, never complaining about his additional and considerable duties.

There are men you meet in life where the one thing you say above all is - "He's a hell of a nice guy." I was fortunate indeed to have such a man as my father-in-law.

Like my own father, Fred survived the Second World War only to face a deadly enemy much later in life - Alzheimers Disease.

Shirley, Erin and I are very grateful to Fred's son Jeff and his wife Suzanne for the loving support they give Fred in his last years. Our deep condolences go out to them and to all of Fred's family and friends.

Fred's memory will live on in our hearts forever.

Bob Rosen - a strong voice silenced too soon

2011-11-23T00:12:00.000-08:00

Bob Rosen - centre - playing with the Gram Partisans - June 2010 - Bill Tieleman photo

I was shocked and saddened to learn this evening that Bob Rosen had suddenly passed away Tuesday morning at the age of 64.

Bob was a teacher, a musician, an activist for social justice and one of the nicest guys you could meet.

I didn't know Bob as a close friend but we met and talked many times over the past 20 years and I was pleased to hear him play with his friends in the wonderfully named Gram Partisans - a group that played both politically progressive tunes and the country works of Gram Parsons.

Bob had a wonderful voice, was a fine guitar player and played from the heart.

My wife Shirley Ross and I give our deep condolences to his wife Eva, son Michael and all his many, many friends and family.

Bob's music, commitment to the fight for social change and his humanity will be deeply missed.

We will not hear that strong voice again on this earth.

Charlie Smith of the Georgia Straight has posted an article on Bob's passing that I encourage you to read.

Also more on Bob here, including a video of the Gram Partisans playing "Home" - so nice to hear Bob's voice there.

A Celebration of Life:

We will celebrate Bob’s life on Saturday, January 21st 2012 at 7:30pm at

the Peretz Centre 6184 Ash St., Vancouver.

9 clear lessons from the 2011 Vancouver election - centrist government, attacks ads, good names and sore losers all addressed

2011-11-22T15:01:00.000-08:00

Sean Bickerton

Gregor Robertson debates Suzanne Anton

TIm Louis

Reading Vancouver Voters' Minds

City's voters teach all parties lessons about what matters in elections.

Bill Tieleman's 24 hours/The Tyee column

Tuesday November 22, 2011

By Bill Tieleman

"You will expect me to discuss the late election. Well, as nearly as I can learn, we did not have enough votes on our side."

- U.S. President Herbert Hoover, 1874-1964

Every election provides lessons for parties and candidates -- sometimes very painful ones.

Saturday's Vancouver city election was particularly educational.

First lesson. Vancouver voters like centrist government that works.

Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vision Vancouver received an enormous vote of confidence in sweeping every seat they contested -- mayor, council, school and park board. It doesn't get better than 100 per cent success.

Robertson, who I support, continues a tradition of centre-left mayors, following Larry Campbell and Mike Harcourt.

The Non-Partisan Association's mayoralty candidate Suzanne Anton ignored that fact and ran a right-wing "common sense" campaign, which obviously wasn't sensible.

Second lesson. Your good name, and its rank in the alphabet, really matters.

The NPA won two seats, with George Affleck -- the very first name on the lengthy council ballot -- and Elizabeth Ball getting the nod.

No matter how illogical it appears, voters definitely favour those with last names near the top of the alphabet.

Third lesson. Name recognition counts.

Green Party of Vancouver council winner Adrianne Carr has a more familiar name to voters than some current councilors, thanks to running eight times, including as provincial Green Party leader and a federal deputy Green leader.

Conversely -- or perversely -- Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) members gave up their safest seat by refusing to nominate sitting councillor David Cadman.

Instead they narrowly put hard-left former councillor Tim Louis on their ticket along with promising but unknown newcomer R. J. Aquino and incumbent Ellen Woodsworth, who came in 92 votes behind Carr in 11th.

Louis and Aquino finished far back, in 17th and 20th, respectively.

Fourth lesson. Party name matters, and it doesn't.

Carr's Green teammates, Park Board incumbent Stuart Mackinnon and school board candidate Louise Boutin, both fared poorly despite Carr's win.

Mackinnon, who was the only Green allied with Vision and the COPE in 2008 but not 2011, dropped from sixth place then to 12th this time.

But Vision was the magic word that helped elect unknowns Tony Tang to council, Cherie Payne and Rob Wynen to school board, and Niki Sharma and Trevor Loke to park board.

However, COPE sadly discovered its name was nearly synonymous with defeat.

COPE incumbent councillor Ellen Woodsworth and school trustees Al Blakey and Jane Bouey all lost despite their alliance with Vision, and new COPE candidates were told by voters to keep their day jobs.

Only veteran COPE school trustee Allan Wong survived the purge of a party that has contested elections for over 40 years.

Fifth lesson. Attack ads work.

While the NPA was severely criticized by some for a nasty, U.S.-style election campaign, the reality was that it had no incumbents running for council under a weak mayoral candidate and with no burning civic issues.

Incumbency is a huge advantage in civic elections, so that meant negative advertising and a relentless focus on the Occupy Vancouver camp was the NPA's best hope at winning seats.

And while voters always say they hate this kind of politics, as usual it worked.

The NPA secured two councilors, three school board trustees and two park board commissioners and the party was in contention all night to possibly add two more councillors. In a tough fight against a popular incumbent, that's not bad.

Sixth lesson. Money talks and money doesn't matter.

Another contradiction that makes political strategists go crazy.

COPE complained that it didn't have sufficient funds to compete in a battle between Vision and the NPA that likely saw each party spend over $2 million -- a massive amount.

But COPE's $341,000 campaign combined with Vision Vancouver's extensive advertising, telephoning and 1,600-volunteer get out the vote tie-ins with COPE put their candidates' names in front of voters nonetheless.

Compare its budget and resources with those of the Green Party of Vancouver.

Carr's winning effort spent about $15,000 and the only evidence of her campaign were a few small newspaper ads and Adrianne Carr standing on Vancouver street corners with a lawn sign.

But Carr beat three COPE councillors nonetheless. Which brings up the...

Seventh lesson. Vote-splitting third parties and independents hurt major parties.

Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver was like one of the city's ubiquitous pop-up stores -- here today, gone tomorrow.

Running candidates like former COPE stalwart Terry Martin and with surprising endorsements from people like former NDP and COPE candidate Mel Lehan, NSV threw a monkey wrench into the COPE machinery, not Vision their target.

NSV even issued a news release endorsing NPA candidate Bill McCreery, who actually lives in Richmond and couldn't vote for himself, along with Carr, the COPE trio and independent anti-gambling advocate Sandy Garossino.

While mayoralty candidate Randy Helten barely made a ripple in the electoral pool with his 4,007 votes, the NSV council candidates Martin, Marie Kerchum, Nicole Benson and Elizabeth Murphy took between 12,614 and 19,644 votes each. Garossino took 20,866 votes.

Ellen Woodsworth lost by 92 votes -- do the math. If even a minimal number of those voting for NSV candidates had instead supported COPE, the veteran party would still have a council seat.

Instead, what both COPE and the NPA have are evident in the...

Eighth lesson. No one likes a sore loser.

Tim Louis and Sean Bickerton, come on down!

Louis the Che Guevara fan showed notable party discipline throughout the campaign, biting his tongue because COPE had agreed to an electoral alliance with Vision Vancouver that meant neither party could criticize the other.

That discipline ended at about 8:01 p.m. Saturday, with Louis -- who I also supported -- soon lambasting both his own party and Vision for its perceived failings.

"It's very clear COPE was established many years ago to give voters an option of a party not in the pocket of developers," he told CBC Radio's Stephen Quinn Monday afternoon.

"I'm sad to say we've gone from bad to worse -- not one party controlled by developers but two," Louis said, referring to Vision Vancouver.

COPE, said Louis, has two choices: "We have to go back to our roots or go into a museum as an extinct party."

Louis predictably wants a purge of the current COPE executive so the members can "elect the right executive to be free of developers."

(Louis may not have grasped Guevara's advice that: "The desire to sacrifice an entire lifetime to the noblest of ideals serves no purpose if one works alone.")

Not to be outdone by Louis, Bickerton unloaded a broadside aimed at Anton, NPA campaign manager Norman Stowe and campaign chair Peter Armstrong.

"But the voters have spoken, decisively rejecting a mayoral campaign based on puerile, sophomoric, gotcha-style attacks and trivial wedge issues," Bickerton wrote on his personal blog after thanking supporters and campaign workers.

Bickerton ironically finished just behind Louis, leaving the two bickering candidates with less than a stellar electoral future.

The last lesson is one Bickerton and Louis could learn from, as could the NPA overall.

It's quite simple really. Doing a good job still always beats going negative.

Just ask the mayor.

Huge win for Vision Vancouver, stinging defeat for NPA, council wipeout for COPE, first seat for Greens - all teach electoral lessons

2011-11-20T12:43:00.000-08:00

Vision Vancouver election night party with re-elected Mayor Gregor Robertson & team

Wow! What a fantastic, sweep - a capital V-Victory for Vision Vancouver and Mayor Gregor Robertson!

It is quite phenomenal to win every seat you contest in a municipal election at every level - and that's what Vision Vancouver did last night, winning mayor, 7 council seats, 5 school board seats and 4 park board seats - a majority on each body.

Congratulations to Gregor and all the re-elected and newly- elected VV councilors, school trustees and park board commissioners! You have a mandate to be envied!

And I want to add a big congrats to the folks behind the scenes who worked so hard for so long for this Vision victory and don't get mentioned - Vision campaign manager Mike Magee - my friend and former Toronto housemate; Ian Baillie - Vision executive director; Strategic Communications and Vision pollster Bob Penner - another old friend from my Toronto days; Vision communications director Marcella Munro; communications officer Kevin Quinlan, staffers Lora Honrado, Rita Ko, Braeden Caley, Stepan Vodine, Carolyn Askew, Matt Smith and so many others - apologies to those I miss in this list.

Sadly, the Coalition Of Progressive Electors - COPE, which I also supported, had a devastating evening, re-electing only Allan Wong on the Vancouver Board of Education. I am particularly sorry to see the loss of Ellen Woodsworth on Council - although I understand mail-in votes have yet to be counted [not Advance Polls however] and a recount is expected with Ellen trailing by just 92 votes!

I am personally also sorry to lose two dedicated school trustees - Al Blakey and Jane Bouey of COPE - who have made real contributions to public service on behalf of students, parents, teachers and staff over many years - you will be missed.

The lesson for COPE is not completely clear but there is no question that the bitter comments of Tim Louis, who failed in his bid to return to Council, indicate yet another divisive debate will consume COPE in the year ahead. I supported Tim despite some misgivings but many I spoke with simply could not.

I do support something Vision and COPE agree on completely - the need for the provincial government to eliminate corporate and union financing in municipal elections - leaving personal donations the only source of funding. This election, which likely cost $2 million plus for both Vision and the NPA, is evidence of the need for reform - something we also must demand on the provincial level to match federal restrictions on corporate and labour donations.

Congratulations - conditional on the final result - are due to Adriane Carr of the Vancouver Green Party, who won the 10th and last seat on Council - her first electoral victory in over 25 years of trying at the provincial and federal level! Like Harry Rankin in the past, who lost 13 times before joining Vancouver City Council, persistence pays off.

I didn't support Adriane but I wish her well. Now the Greens will be forced to put some content into what has been an "empty box" product for years - shiny and green with "new and improved" on the outside but nothing inside in terms of political record.

The Non-Partisan Association is no doubt feeling downcast today - but has some reason for modest self-congratulation when their situation is rationally analyzed.

I never felt Gregor Robertson could be challenged successfully as mayor, and certainly not by NPA Councilor Suzanne Anton. But give Anton and campaign manager Norman Stowe credit for a tough-minded, expensive campaign and for exploiting the difficult Occupy Vancouver situation for all it was worth.

If anyone doubts that negative attack ads work, the NPA proved that once again.

The NPA has doubled its council contingent without running a single incumbent nor any candidate whose name was a household word - no small accomplishment. And for much of the night it appeared the NPA could have won 3 or even 4 seats, with Bill Yuen and Mike Klassen of the NPA-loving City Caucus blog - which may now shut down - finishing in 12th and 13th spot - just under 1,000 votes from making council. And three other NPA challengers followed them as well. The NPA is far from planning its funeral.

Occupy Vancouver was Robertson's biggest challenge and a lose-lose proposition - early intervention would hurt him with his base of support and potentially cause an Oakland-like violent riot; moving slowly hurt him with more centrist voters who wanted the encampment gone yesterday. Robertson's decision to seek a court injunction and enforce fire and safety rules while supporting Occupy's right to free speech and ability to raise important issues was the correct one - as last night's results proved.

I will have lots more to say and detailed analysis of the results in my 24 hours/The Tyee column on Tuesday November 22 - which is always reproduced on this blog in its full length version - stay tuned!

And lastly, regardless of your politics or the results, thanks to everyone who put their name forward to serve their community in the municipal elections across BC. It's not easy to do and you are to be congratulated.

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Bill Tieleman's picks that click for BC municipal elections on Saturday November 19, 2011

2011-11-18T13:14:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Bill Tieleman

It will come as no surprise to any of my regular readers that I am endorsing the Vision Vancouver and Coalition of Progressive Electors team in the Vancouver municipal election.

I have been a Vision/COPE supporter for a long time and unlike some bloggers and commentators who through a few token candidates into their recommendations - usually because of internal and personal politics - not policy disagreements - I will not.

I can't consider voting for a city council candidate like the Green Party's Adrianne Carr, who hasn't attended a single Vancouver council meeting till this campaign started and only moved here in the past few years from the Sunshine Coast, where she lost several provincial and other elections.

If you want to be a city councilor, not doing the time is a crime. Adrianne is pleasant enough in person but just like Christy Clark trying to run for Vanouver's NPA mayoralty nomination in 2005 when she didn't live here, it doesn't sit right.

Carr's failure to understand Vancouver was abundantly clear when she - a Green Party candidate - actually suggested she would favour "some bike-free routes" in an opinion piece in the Georgia Straight. When readers rebelled, Carr reversed herself.
No wonder the Straight's Charlie Smith had asked: "Is Adriane Carr the best the Greens can offer up for Vancouver city council?" Enough said.

With Suzanne Anton the Non-Partisan Association is running its weakest mayoral candidate since the Jack Volrich years, with a collection of no-name council candidates. One of them - Bill McCreery - actually lives in Richmond and can't even vote for himself. Another - Jason Lamarche - has been a continual embarrassment, making national news with his online system for rating women he dated, including how they performed in bed.

And there are other NPA candidates whose names I've never heard of before - and hope not to after the election. City Caucus co-founder Mike Klassen is a known name but that NPA cheerleading blog has been so repeatedly nasty that I can't imagine rewarding them with a vote.

The newly-formed Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver is running former Vision Vancouver member Randy Helten for mayor and four council candidates, some with COPE backgrounds, but will only act as spoilers in this election. [Why is it that so many Vancouver folks get mad at their party and go start their own rather than try to change it?]

So here are the candidates I'll be voting for on Saturday November 19th in alphabetical order and with party indicated - followed by some out of town candidates people in their area should consider:

VANCOUVER:

MAYOR - Gregor Robertson - Vision Vancouver

COUNCIL

RJ Aquino - COPE
Heather Deal - Vision Vancouver
Kerry Jang - Vision Vancouver
Raymond Louie - Vision Vancouver
Tim Louis - COPE
Geoff Meggs - Vision Vancouver
Andrea Reimer - Vision Vancouver
Tim Stevenson - Vision Vancouver
Tony Tang - Vision Vancouver
Ellen Woodsworth - COPE

Vancouver Board of Education [School Board]

Patti Bacchus - Vision Vancouver 
Al Blakey - COPE 
Jane Bouey - COPE  
Ken Clement  - Vision Vancouver
Gwen Giesbrecht - COPE
Mike Lombardi  - Vision Vancouver
Cherie Payne  - Vision Vancouver
Allan Wong - COPE 
Rob Wynen - Vision Vancouver

Vancouver Park Board

Constance Barnes - Vision Vancouver
Sarah Blyth - Vision Vancouver
Donalda Greenwell-Baker - COPE
Brent Granby - COPE
Aaron Jasper - Vision Vancouver
Trevor Loke - Vision Vancouver
Niki Sharma - Vision Vancouver

In other Metro Vancouver cities there are a couple of other ways you can figure out who to vote for municipally if you are a progressive/labour oriented voters.

First - check the Vancouver and District Labour Council list of endorsed candidates for Vancouver, North Vancouver City and District and Richmond.

And see the New Westminster and District Labour Council list of endorsed candidates for Burnaby, Surrey, Delta, Maple Ridge, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Langley City, Port Moody and New Westminster.

Second - the Canadian Auto Workers Local 111, representing Metro Vancouver bus drivers have set up a campaign website called More Buses Now. They asked mayoralty candidates whether they support above inflation increases in TransLink funding to improve bus service and expand rapid transit. Those answers are also helpful.

Lastly, here are some out of Metro Vancouver municipal candidates that I know and have worked with on various issues - from the Fight HST campaign against the Harmonized Sales Tax to labour campaigns and more.

You can check information at their linked website, as I don't know the local issues or necessarily all these candidates' positions. Nor is this meant to say that other candidates not listed aren't fine considerations too.

But in my experience, these are good people.

Nanaimo - Darcy Olsen for city council - has both labour and business support.

Kamloops - Chad Moats for city council - a Fight HST activist.

Maple Ridge - Corisa Bell - for city council - Fight HST board member who can boast Bill Vander Zalm's endorsement!

Victoria - Michael McEvoy - for school board - currently President of the BC School Trustees Association and veteran trustee.

Surrey - Stephanie Ryan - for city council - would be a good new opposition addition with SCC veteran councilor Bob Bose.

Lastly - I welcome other candidates to contact me if they want to be added to this list or to just post a comment with their info.

But whoever you favour, please get out and vote! With turnout as low as 30% in local elections we need to respect our democratic rights - people in Syria are dying now for that right - surely we can spend a few minutes to vote!

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Elections BC rejects new investigation into BC Liberal MLA Kash Heed's tainted 2009 election win - "no new information" despite allegations by Heed manager Barinder Sall of massive overspending

2011-11-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

Kash Heed - allegations, no new investigation

Elections BC today rejected requests for a new investigation into the tainted May 2009 election of BC Liberal MLA Kash Heed despite allegations by his campaign manager of up to $40,000 in additional overspending took place - allegations rejected by Heed.

"The matter is closed," Elections BC's new Chief Electoral Officer Keith Archer said in a news conference in Victoria today.

Archer admitted Elections BC had not even interviewed Sall.

Archer said separate requests for a new investigation received from NDP MLA Leonard Krog and NDP candidate Gabriel Yiu, who narrowly lost the Vancouver-Fraserview riding by less than 800 votes.

"No new information has been provided. All the elements of the investigation have already been considered by the RCMP and the Special Prosecutor that led to charges against two individuals. Consequently there is no basis for carrying out a further investigation by this office. We now consider this matter closed," Archer said.

In response to media questions, Archer defended his decision.

"Our determination was that there was no need for a new investigation," Archer said. "We conducted quite a substantial review of the investigation."

That leaves unanswered allegations raised by Sall and questions posed by Yiu.

Heed and his lawyer David Gruber have rejected those allegations.

Yiu told me late Thursday he was again disappointed in the repeated refusal to investigate serious allegations in the Heed case.

"The Chief Electoral Officer's announcement seems weird to me. My original request questioned the truthfulness of the Kash Heed campaign report filed one month after the Supreme Court handed its ruling," Yiu said.

"The Heed Report declared an over-spending of $5,500 while his campaign manager Barinder Sall claimed it's to the tune of $40,000. The CEO said there is no information but Elections BC has not talked to Sall," Yiu concluded.

MORE TO COME...

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Will Elections BC announce Thursday a new investigation into BC Liberal MLA Kash Heed's tainted 2009 election win in Vancouver-Fraserview?

2011-11-16T17:00:00.000-08:00

Kash Heed as Solicitor-General

It looks likely that Elections BC will launch a new investigation into BC Liberal MLA Kash Heed's tainted 2009 election win in Vancouver-Fraserview.

Elections BC's new Chief Electoral Officer Keith Archer is holding a news conference Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in Victoria to respond to two requests that the independent body which regulates elections address new allegations made by Barinder Sall, Heed's campaign manager.

Heed has already been fined $11,000 for exceeding spending limits by about $5,500 in 2009 thanks to a vicious anti-NDP leaflet and radio advertising that helped him narrowly defeat NDP candidate Gabriel Yiu by less than 800 votes.

But Sall, who pled guilty to several Elections Act violations and received a plea bargain sentence of one year's probation and a $15,000 fine, has alleged that the total amount Heed spent far exceeded $5,500 - telling media outlets that the number was between $30,000 and $40,000 more than that.

Heed and his lawyer have vigorously denied any knowledge of additional overspending.

One can only surmise that if Archer intended to reject separate requests from Gabriel and from NDP MLA Leonard Krog, the party's critic for the attorney-general's ministry, that it would have been done through a news release or statement.

However, we will find out Thursday morning - watch this space for details.

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Adbusters founder Kalle Lasn worries about Occupy Wall Street movement but remains optimistic despite "loony left elements"; suggests winter break

2011-11-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

Occupy Vancouver - Cassandra photo/graphic

"Kalle Lasn - who founded and is editor of Adbusters magazine, which originated the idea of Occupy Wall Street and spinoffs like Occupy Vancouver - is worried about "loony left elements" taking over the protest and suggesting it may want to take the winter off.

In a fascinating interview with CBC Radio's Carol Off on As It Happens on November 1, Lasn talks at length about his views on the movement.

As someone who supports the principles behind Occupy Wall Street but is concerned that the protest is in danger of collapsing into a parody of itself, I found Lasn's comments very useful and worth considering.

“Now that winter is approaching, I can see this first wild, messy, crazy occupation phase kind of slowly winding down and the second phase will begin. The interesting times are ahead,” Lasn told Off.

“Some people will continue to sleep in the snow and inspire all of us, but in the meantime many of us will go home and we will resurface next spring.”

Lasn also said he worries that: "I think that there are what I call these loony left elements to this movement. The political left has been bedeviled by this kind of a loony side of us. There is a danger that some of these occupations will turn into rat-infested places where people deal drugs and get drunk and so on.”

"But at the same time.... every movement has its fringe element but by and large this movement is driven by a savvy bunch of young people who know what they are doing and who have their eyes on the ball and have the power of the social media going for them and above all they have this feeling in the pit of their stomachs that they have to stand up and fight for a different kind of future - otherwise they're not going to have a future.”

"So I have a feeling that the loony left will be kept in check."

Lasn predicts a new third political party may arise in the United States.

“Basically, we will try to get the money out of our political systems and start creating a new model of democracy.”

“Permit me to be grandiose for a moment, but I can feel it - I can feel this movement is the beginning of a deep transformation of capitalism. It’s a game changer.”

Adbusters' website's "Tactical Briefing #18" also suggests that perhaps it's time to shut down for the winter - although it offers an alternative strategy to continue occupations and "sleep in the snow" and resist police eviction.

But Adbusters also worries about significant problems.

"But as winter approaches an ominous mood could set in … hope thwarted is in danger of turning sour, patience exhausted becoming anger, militant nonviolence losing its allure. It isn't just the mainstream media that says things could get ugly. What shall we do to keep the magic alive?" 

Good questions.