tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-359359732024-03-13T05:37:47.954-07:00Bill TielemanBill Tieleman is one of BC's best known strategists, campaigners and communicators.
Bill has been Communications Director in the B.C. Premier's Office and at the BC Federation of Labour.
Bill owns West Star Communications, a consulting firm providing strategy, communications and government relations services for labour, business, non-profits and government since 1998.Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.comBlogger1335125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-5397106841469842102023-11-22T14:05:00.000-08:002023-11-22T14:05:17.744-08:00Bill Tieleman - watch this space for new content soon! <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>A message from Bill Tieleman </b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7uYgBH8ZUeGrpy7hB9dXWoA7SYSof3Um_TZm4jF42Y9ahVCo3tIgkBisQ7D3Rt0WRHgf8yrxxqcm43FSfY7P1fmQdH5F-W7HazwzFkPYORgel8rPbNJ5AoAijSKfw1L0zKSAcxHppEEw5drWyMYLO1zyxuZCtRJgEpfhqYzcs7_IjCaQwNIN/s2950/IMG_1103.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2950" data-original-width="2316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7uYgBH8ZUeGrpy7hB9dXWoA7SYSof3Um_TZm4jF42Y9ahVCo3tIgkBisQ7D3Rt0WRHgf8yrxxqcm43FSfY7P1fmQdH5F-W7HazwzFkPYORgel8rPbNJ5AoAijSKfw1L0zKSAcxHppEEw5drWyMYLO1zyxuZCtRJgEpfhqYzcs7_IjCaQwNIN/s320/IMG_1103.jpeg" width="251" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hello friends - as you can see here on my Bill Tieleman blog, there have been no new posts since I decided to run for city councillor in the October 2022 Vancouver civic election. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">I am happy to report that I am doing very well, continuing in my 25th year as President of West Star Communications, my business that provides strategy, communications and government relations services to a wide variety of clients - including labour, business, not-for-profits and indigenous organizations.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Recently my friend <b>Mike Smyth of <a href="https://globalnews.ca/radio/cknw/" target="_blank">CKNW Radio</a> </b>asked me to fill in for another friend, <b>Global TV's Keith Baldrey</b>, f</span><span style="font-family: arial;">or a discussion of current BC, municipal and federal politics, followed by phone-in callers </span><b style="font-family: arial;"><u>every Friday morning at 10:05 a.m.</u></b><span style="font-family: arial;"> Please tune in!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">I have been doing other political commentary with various media as well in the past year and I intend to have things to say here on a more regular basis soon!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, do have a look around at my many past columns in <b>The Tyee</b> and the late, lamented <b>24 Hours Vancouver newspaper</b> and other material here - and thanks for dropping by! </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-88534157689260050092022-06-04T14:40:00.000-07:002022-06-04T14:40:25.680-07:00Bill Tieleman announces candidacy for TEAM For A Livable Vancouver City Council nomination<p><b class="" style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span class="" style="font-family: "Arial Narrow", sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bill Tieleman says soul of Vancouver is at stake in critical municipal election on October 15 </span></span></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8Pz9MZKlWv26VvaO2pxCFiNpMppcbgD6M5hG4kmnTuQz4ltSIzSq-0uvAz6FTKmVRdRfocuk_d8rlGoICK1e3C_hF48ykINSw3o8xIo6w8gU5QG9J-18HbZZvCUtdgOmEdF4cxDywkr_IrQ6OZdKqc_PD-SW9fq7NQyIW6uufddHnGvBLQ/s1268/BB697102-3416-4393-8E0B-99504AA2CD66.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8Pz9MZKlWv26VvaO2pxCFiNpMppcbgD6M5hG4kmnTuQz4ltSIzSq-0uvAz6FTKmVRdRfocuk_d8rlGoICK1e3C_hF48ykINSw3o8xIo6w8gU5QG9J-18HbZZvCUtdgOmEdF4cxDywkr_IrQ6OZdKqc_PD-SW9fq7NQyIW6uufddHnGvBLQ/w303-h400/BB697102-3416-4393-8E0B-99504AA2CD66.jpeg" width="303" /></a></b></span></div><p></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i>It's time for a change at Vancouver City Hall and Mayor Kennedy Stewart and this council have to go, Tieleman says</i></b></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial Narrow, sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE </span></span></b><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Saturday June 4, 2022</span></span></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">VANCOUV</span></b><b class=""><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">ER</span></b><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">– Communications, strategy and political consultant Bill Tieleman announced today he is seeking nomination as a Vancouver City Council candidate with the <a href="https://www.voteteam.ca/" target="_blank">TEAM For A Livable Vancouver</a> party, led by Mayoral Candidate Colleen Hardwick.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Vancouver citizens deserve better and on October 15 they can vote for a new TEAM City Council that will make affordable housing, public safety and city services and livability the priority, led by experienced City Councillor </span><b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Colleen Hardwick</b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> as Mayor,” Tieleman says.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Despite city tax increases above inflation, public safety is at risk, with four stranger attacks a day in Vancouver – and our streets are crumbling in disrepair – it’s time for a change at City Hall and Mayor <b>Kennedy Stewart</b> and this council has to go,” Tieleman said.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The soul of Vancouver is literally at stake in this critical election, with the Broadway Plan putting over 1,000 high-rise towers across 500 blocks of our city and demovicting thousands of renters from their affordable low-rise apartments,” he added.</span><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“The choice for Vancouver voters will be clear – four parties that all support the Broadway Plan’s 500 blocks of rental apartment demolition for replacement with two towers of up to 40-storeys per block – or TEAM For A Livable Vancouver – that stands for ensuring neighbourhoods across the city have a voice that will be heard at City Council.”</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“But whether its towers from Clark Drive to Vine Street and from 16</span><sup class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">th</sup><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Avenue to False Creek or a 39-story tower at Broadway and Granville or towers at Commercial Drive and East Broadway or 38-storey luxury high-rise towers on the Jericho Lands – one thing is clear about Mayor Kennedy Stewart and his Forward Together party or the NPA, COPE, Green and ABC party City Councillors – they all want enormous towers all over the city – TEAM does not,” Tieleman said.</span><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“TEAM wants affordable </span><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">housing for </span><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">diverse requirements that meets the needs of neighbourhoods. There couldn’t be a clearer choice possible in this election.” </span><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Councillor Colleen Hardwick has consistently stood up for Vancouver residents and offered common sense alternatives that have been sadly lacking – so I’m pleased to work hard to see her become Mayor with a TEAM majority on Council for a better city,” he said.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hardwick welcomed Tieleman’s candidacy for a TEAM nomination, saying he brings experience working with all levels of government, not-for-profit groups, labour unions, businesses and indigenous organizations.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">“Bill Tieleman is one of the most respected strategists and communicators in the province and has a wide wealth of experience to bring to City Council – Bill would be a welcome replacement as we face enormous challenges getting Vancouver back on track again,” Hardwick said.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><u class=""><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><u class=""><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">TEAM For A Livable Vancouver will hold its nominating meeting for Council candidates on June 11 at 2 p.m. </span></u></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; line-height: normal;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><span class=""><span class="" style="color: #151616; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; line-height: normal;"><b><span class=""><span class="" style="color: #151616; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">For more information</span></span><span class="" style="color: #151616; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> on </span><span class="" style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">TEAM: Website: </span><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a class="" href="https://www.voteteam.ca/">https://www.voteteam.ca/</a></span></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><b class=""><u class=""><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></u></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><b class=""><u class=""><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">BACKGROUND</span></u></b></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bill Tieleman is one of BC’s best-known political strategists and campaigners; running his strategy and communications consulting firm – West Star Communications – since 1998.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bill is a very successful campaigner – playing leading roles in winning four consecutive BC binding referenda – as president of the opponent group that defeated Proportional Representation in 2018 with a 61% win, following twice defeating pro-rep in 2005 and 2009; and as Strategist for Fight HST, the Harmonized Sales Tax was eliminated in a 2011 binding referendum, after BC’s only successful Citizens Initiative Petition across the province.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bill served as Communications Director to then-BC NDP Premier Glen Clark in his upset 1996 election victory and also as BC Federation of Labour Communications Director and Assistant to then-President Ken Georgetti. For over 16 years Bill Tieleman wrote a weekly politics column in 24 Hours Vancouver newspaper, The Tyee online magazine and the Georgia Straight newspaper; he does regular political commentary on television, radio, online and in print.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Bill provides strategy, communications and government relations advice to a wide range of clients, including labour, business, indigenous, environmental and not-for-profit organizations.</span></p><p align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: ArialMT; line-height: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span></p>Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-42537713454810829342020-09-21T22:02:00.001-07:002020-09-21T22:11:04.631-07:00"BC Premier John Horgan should absolutely call an election!"<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9hVbxp-J61g/X2mET70tB-I/AAAAAAAAEVk/hPF2RnOWETsYcYrygBm6DXMuzc35ZjoBQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/fullsizeoutput_7faa.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1995" data-original-width="2048" height="390" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9hVbxp-J61g/X2mET70tB-I/AAAAAAAAEVk/hPF2RnOWETsYcYrygBm6DXMuzc35ZjoBQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h390/fullsizeoutput_7faa.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>BC Premier John Horgan & Bill Tieleman at swearing in ceremony in 2017.</i></span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Why BC NDP Premier John Horgan was absolutely right to call a BC election for Saturday October 24!</span></b></span><p></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;"><br /></b></p><p><b style="font-family: arial;">By Bill Tieleman </b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>[These are comments I made to <b>The Tyee</b> before BC NDP Premier John Horgan announced his decision to call a provincial election on Monday for Saturday October 24. I am very pleased that the Premier has asked British Columbians for a mandate to continue to govern. Others The Tyee interviewed didn't all agree with me! See their <a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/09/18/Should-NDP-Call-Election/" target="_blank"><b>full article here</b></a>.]</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Premier John Horgan should absolutely call an election - because with COVID-19 creating both an unprecedented health and economic crisis, British Columbians deserve to have a government with a strong mandate to implement its plans. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">It’s up to voters to decide whether it should be the BC NDP, the BC Liberals or the BC Greens in charge - whenever an election is called, it’s voters who decide, not politicians or parties. </span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The BC NDP government can and will be judged on their response to this devastating pandemic; the other parties will put forward their criticisms and plans and British Columbians will democratically choose which is better.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The election will be conducted safely, with minimal in person contact, few public events and socially distanced voting. BC has much successful experience with binding mail referenda - my involvement with both the 2018 Proportional Representation vote and the Harmonized Sales Tax ballot showed me that mail voting is secure, with good participation and lower costs than in person polling stations on a single day. It’s for those reasons that Washington state and other jurisdictions conduct all their ballots by mail.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This election will Also be a referendum Dash on which party I can best deal with COVID-19 and its aftermath. That place is the BC NDP in a good position thanks to Health Minister Adrian Dix putting his faith in medical science and due to Premier John Horgan’s strong leadership. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">BC Liberal opposition leader Andrew Wilkinson faces a difficult challenge overcoming some of his early leadership mistakes and lack of public or media attention to his party. After 16 years in power, the BC Liberals seem to have run out of innovative ideas but an election is their best opportunity to put forward a new vision. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Internal differences are also a significant factor, with the possibility of a post election political divorce between the federal Conservative and federal Liberal wings of the party.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The BC Greens have even more difficulties than the BC Liberals with the loss of former leader Andrew Weaver and his ongoing criticism of his former party, which is now led by Sonia Furstenau. Weaver’s endorsement of John Horgan continuing as premier adds significantly to their woes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">All in all this promises to be one of the most unusual elections British Columbia has ever seen, with the results potentially determining the political futures of all parties for the next decade.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Bill Tieleman has served as Communications Director in the office of former BC NDP Premier Glen Clark and has won four consecutive binding provincial referenda, serving as President of NO BC Proportional Representation in the 2018 referendum, President of NO BC STV in the 2009 and 2005 referenda and as Strategist for NO BC HST in the 2011 referendum. He has also worked on many winning provincial, federal and municipal campaigns, nominations and leadership campaigns. </i> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: xx-small;">.</span></div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-2487088395360278272019-10-20T17:52:00.000-07:002019-10-20T18:39:05.457-07:00The Rubik's Cube Canadian Election of 2019 - Infinite Combinations and Extremely Frustrating! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cChYOYslYL4/XazwzUg7dOI/AAAAAAAAERY/iMSu29LMraklPufU84q9l40sF7q3wWn7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_b198.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="313" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cChYOYslYL4/XazwzUg7dOI/AAAAAAAAERY/iMSu29LMraklPufU84q9l40sF7q3wWn7QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/fullsizeoutput_b198.jpeg" width="383" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Rubik's Cube - an appropriate metaphor for Election 2019! </i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Rubik's Cube Canadian Election of 2019 - With Infinite Combinations and Extremely Frustrating! </span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>By Bill Tieleman </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's finally almost over! This Rubik's Cube of a Canadian election 2019 has surely been one of the most frustrating and hardest to predict due to its infinite possible combinations of party results.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The results on Monday night appear likely to leave at least a few possible combinations for the two largest parties to form a temporary and shaky government. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is much negative and not much positive to be said for both possibilities in many ways but likely the one thing we can count on is another election within 18 months to two years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Looking at the latest polls, it seems the two most likely possibilities are a Liberal minority government backed by New Democratic Party support to get to the 170 seats needed for a majority vote on confidence matters - or a Conservative minority, backed when crucial by the Bloc Québécois.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There still remains two outlier results: a Liberal or Conservative majority government that surprises all pollsters - but from the beginning of this desultory campaign that has seemed highly unlikely - and no polling even briefly indicated that was possible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have grave doubts about so-called "aggregator polls" that take all polling firms' results and combine them in an attempt to mitigate any rogue polls and get a much larger sample with presumably more accurate results. The problem is that mixing pollsters with long track records with good accuracy and those who often can't hit the broad side of a barn door means the overall averages are misleading.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I prefer Ipsos results, along with the Angus Reid Institute and a few others. The latest <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6056878/conservatives-liberals-election-poll/">Ipsos Global News poll</a> on Sunday October 20 shows these numbers: </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QBGYj5HJC-E/Xaz1Af1XhrI/AAAAAAAAERk/OOVz6UEsN5gVXcBj0yH-XubMquvrM_veACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fullsizeoutput_b1a1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="1024" height="205" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QBGYj5HJC-E/Xaz1Af1XhrI/AAAAAAAAERk/OOVz6UEsN5gVXcBj0yH-XubMquvrM_veACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/fullsizeoutput_b1a1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Ipsos polling results October 2019 for Global News</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's important to note that according to Ipsos, the Bloc Quebecois is at 29% in Quebec, the only province where it is contesting seats - all 78 of them. That means it will send a large contingent of separatists to Parliament for the first time in many elections. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the Bloc Quebecois is an untouchable partner for any party to officially align with, though the Bloc and the Conservatives may work out a non-deal deal after the election. The Liberals might also work that angle if necessary but they likely hope for a deal with the NDP - if their numbers add up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lastly, British Columbia may - or may not - determine who will likely form the next government. Our 42 seats are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-election-night-2019-preview-1.5325477">tightly contested</a> in mostly 3-way races between the NDP, Conservatives and Liberals, with the Greens trying to expand their two seats on Vancouver Island but not contending anywhere else in BC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While our provincial ego always hopes the rest of the country stays up late watching our results roll in to find out who won, that usually hasn't happened. But with a tight race in many BC ridings, hope springs eternal! Let the easterners be sleepy Tuesday morning! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Biggest Losers and Winners?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The biggest loser has yet to be decided but both Liberal leader Justin Trudeau and Conservative leader Andrew Scheer are also neck and neck for that unwelcome honour.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trudeau should have had it in the bag from the start but bungled it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unable to contain the self-inflicted damage of the SNC-Lavalin scandal and unwilling or unable to keep Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould and Treasury Board President Jane Philpott in his cabinet and caucus when it was critical, Trudeau was already tarnished before the blackface incidents made him an international embarrassment as well.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WGsj8mfu1ro/Xaz4uDuWvKI/AAAAAAAAERw/p4pVmcebG3c07xZV-1SBoVUUNzV2RkowACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/justin-trudeau-brownface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="439" data-original-width="780" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WGsj8mfu1ro/Xaz4uDuWvKI/AAAAAAAAERw/p4pVmcebG3c07xZV-1SBoVUUNzV2RkowACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/justin-trudeau-brownface.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Justin Trudeau at "Arabian Nights" event at private school event in 2001</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trudeau's future depends on his keeping the job of Prime Minister in a minority government - and even then it is clouded in the longer term.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The biggest winner appears clear - NDP leader </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jagmeet Singh has run a phenomenal campaign and is the only national leader to have a wildly positive approval rating in poll after poll, while his party has steadily climbed in popularity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Singh's performance in two English language leaders debates was superb, coming across as the most genuine, relatable and relaxed of all of them - and Canadians reacted with increased support for the NDP.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Singh also dealt with a racist encounter on camera in Montreal with poise and true leadership in difficult circumstances, winning plaudits even from his political opponents. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sC-VZvVnB3c/Xaz6jEx0yKI/AAAAAAAAER8/4Geq0uGt7EsxYPXx3ravbzPS0AJgzJIPACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1571418584885-tiktok.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sC-VZvVnB3c/Xaz6jEx0yKI/AAAAAAAAER8/4Geq0uGt7EsxYPXx3ravbzPS0AJgzJIPACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/1571418584885-tiktok.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jagmeet Singh on Tik Tok with over 2 million views!</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And he has proven a social media phenomenon, getting followed by pop star Rihanna on Instagram and most recently </span><a href="https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/3kx4jj/people-cant-stop-watching-this-jagmeet-singh-tiktok-meme" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">mastering Tik Tok</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> while other leaders are left in the dust by comparison!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But Singh also has to account for the two years since he became leader when the party's polling pancaked, it's finances fizzled and expectations dropped so precipitously low that at campaign start many speculated on whether or not the NDP could maintain official party status with 12 MPs elected. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Things improved very dramatically after Singh won his Burnaby South seat in a by election and when the campaign drew national attention to his strong abilities. But ironically, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">if the NDP gets 30 or more seats it may be regarded as a huge success for Singh - but that would be less than the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Canadian_federal_election">44 seats won in 2015 </a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">under the unlamented leadership of Tom Mulcair, who saw 51 seats disappear from the 2011 election tally under the late Jack Layton. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, it Singh meets or exceeds 44 seats he will be guaranteed a hero's welcome indefinitely by NDP troops. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the event of a Liberal minority with NDP support there will be no likelihood of either Trudeau or Singh losing their jobs as leaders, even if one or both parties lose seats. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Scheer, on the other hand, is much more likely to lose his job unless he can form a minority government himself. For the Conservatives this has always been a "majority or bust" campaign, as they had little hope of winning the support of the NDP in a minority situation even before Singh publicly and repeatedly ruled that out. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That only leaves the Bloc Quebecois as a likely possible partner of sorts - and that relationship would have the Facebook description of "It's complicated"! But for Trudeau, should "Scheer Madness" prevail, his leadership may well be over. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And of course the Bloc Quebec-wha? and leader Yves-Francois Blanchet are almost guaranteed to be big winners, having come back from the almost dead to likely win 20 to 30 or even more seats. Blanchet will be laughing all the way to the separation referendum!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The other biggest loser could well be Green Party leader Elizabeth May, who for the third successive election in a row has predicted a "breakthrough" nationally for her party. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After the by-election win of Paul Manly in Nanaimo-Ladysmith earlier this year in a formerly NDP seat, May and her party were exuberant. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eOHAP2dSmZA/Xaz_Svlj5CI/AAAAAAAAESI/k9HtL_23QXoBVGaV7E1HqpNw2COFaYe8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/GreenTwitter911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eOHAP2dSmZA/Xaz_Svlj5CI/AAAAAAAAESI/k9HtL_23QXoBVGaV7E1HqpNw2COFaYe8ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/GreenTwitter911.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Tieleman Twitter account exposed a few flaky Green candidates</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the campaign started badly and faded further in the stretch, with a string of </span><a href="https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2019/10/02/green-party-911-truthers/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">flaky and offensive candidates </a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">exposed online by myself and others for everything from believing 9/11 was an "inside job" to that the 1969 moon landing was faked to Islamophobic comments found on social media by four Quebec candidates. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some of those Greens became non-candidates and others profusely apologized but the damage was done - the Greens were "not as advertised" to many voters and their polling numbers tanked. Now they hold out hope to possibly pick up a few more seats on Vancouver Island but seem to have little chance anywhere else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So one of the least interesting election campaigns in recent political history will end with possibly the most interesting results and consequences for Canada since the 1970s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is one Rubik's Cube election that will take a long time and a lot of aggravation to puzzle out. </span><br />
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-66840922822124816472019-02-28T14:22:00.000-08:002019-02-28T14:25:40.611-08:00Tasting at the Vancouver International Wine Festival? “Kiss - Don’t Spit!” is my strong advice<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yu2MrJ5UFbw/Wpse_JeWTqI/AAAAAAAAEA0/LdrwbFvDVyUd4zogSt3shqMbc7jSqHGHgCLcBGAs/s1600/5570406444_a06cfaed5c_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #de7008; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="1024" height="268" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yu2MrJ5UFbw/Wpse_JeWTqI/AAAAAAAAEA0/LdrwbFvDVyUd4zogSt3shqMbc7jSqHGHgCLcBGAs/s400/5570406444_a06cfaed5c_b.jpg" style="border-width: 0px;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 10.399999618530273px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><i>NOT cool! Kiss - Don't Spit! </i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">“Kiss Don’t Spit!</span></b><span style="font-size: large;">” </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"> It’s actually not hip to spit in my book! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So that's my contrarian advice to those attending the Vancouver International Wine Festival Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening - and Saturday afternoon - for the International Festival Tastings.</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Most wine experts will tell novices to "spit" the wine after nosing the bouquet in the glass and sipping it into your mouth and swirling it around - but I strongly disagree.</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After all, there's a reason I'm called The Wine Barbarian! </span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The experts' reasoning makes some sense - you can taste far more wines without getting intoxicated by the alcohol content if it doesn't go down your throat and into your stomach. </span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And those in the wine trade often have to taste dozen and dozens if not hundreds of wines in </span>a day - it's not possible to do that and not have your liver end up like foie gras within weeks!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But you - the wine consumer - are not an expert nor are you tasting hundreds of glasses.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">First - you simply cannot fully experience a wine without swallowing it, feeling the wonderful elixirfloat down your throat, discovering the length of the finish - you can literally count the seconds when you can still taste it, and know the satisfaction of having tasted one of the best wines in the world!</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Spitting? Sorry but you just don't get that sensation.</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And you are at North America's largest consumer wine festival, with literally dozens of wines priced at $100 or more per bottle - why the hell would you spit that out?!!!</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Plus, you can simply "kiss" a lot of wines without swallowing or spitting!</span><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">By kissing I mean you nose the wine in the glass, bring it to your lips and then - unless it's awesomely tasty and probably quite expensive, you simply pour the wine into the conveniently located spit bucket on the table. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Polite, discreet, saving your sobriety for none but the best and when you do sip and swallow it will be worth it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , "trebuchet" , "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"></span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Lastly, proper spitting is hard - don't try to learn it in front of 1,600 people including sommeliers, winemakers, family and friends! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">So enjoy the Vancouver international wine festival and taste lots of the fantastic California and other wines from around the world and kisses lots of them!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">.</span></span>Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-28484496703974443062019-02-24T16:44:00.000-08:002019-02-24T16:44:19.993-08:00Harry Tieleman - last navigator of the RCMP's St. Roch - died on February 25, 2000 - my view of his amazing life<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Navigator Harry Tieleman on RCMP St. Roch in 1954 - third from right</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last navigator Harry Tieleman on the RCMP St. Roch in 1992<br /></span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My father Harry Tieleman was a truly remarkable man. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Born in The Netherlands in 1925, he lived through the German Nazi occupation of his country; joined the Dutch Resistance; in the latter years of the Second World War went to the Japanese theatre of war for the Dutch Merchant Marine as a crew member on troop ships; came to British Columbia as a logger; then became an RCMP officer on Vancouver Island, meeting my mom Pat in Port Alice; serving as the last navigator of the RCMP's famous St. Roch when it retired and sailed from Halifax to Vancouver's Maritime Museum after it had been the first ship to cross through the Arctic northwest passage in both directions; then Harry became a small aircraft mechanic at Vancouver Airport; a bush pilot and mechanic in Burns Lake; a Home Oil distributor in Abbotsford; a garage and then garage and restaurant owner in Tofino; and finally retired in Nanaimo, where he passed away on February 25, 2000.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wrote this article for The Vancouver Sun on December 14, 2000 and I am pleased to share it with you online on my blog. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry was a great dad and had an almost unbelievable life. </span><br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 20pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fantastic Voyage - the life of Harry Tieleman<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Vancouver Sun</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 14, 2000<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hendrik Willem "Harry" Tieleman<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last navigator of the RCMP vessel St. Roch, Dutch merchant marine officer, logger, environmentalist, bush pilot and mechanic, small businessman, husband, father and grandfather. Born in Leiden, the Netherlands May 28, 1925; died in Nanaimo, February 25, 2000.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the RCMP's St. Roch II sails into Vancouver harbour on Saturday, December 16, 2000 the man who navigated the original schooner <b>St. Roch</b> from Halifax to Vancouver in 1954 on its final voyage will be absent from the celebration.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry Tieleman's own final voyage ended earlier this year but the highlight of his long and remarkably varied career began when he was chosen out of the blue by the RCMP to navigate the St. Roch home to Vancouver, where it was built.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry was extremely supportive of the Vancouver Maritime Museum's efforts to restore the ailing St. Roch so that it can continue to thrill visitors who agree with Museum Executive Director James Delgado's description of the ship as an "icon of our history." Sadly, dry rot and neglect from lack of funding have threatened the very existence of the first vessel to sail the Arctic's Northwest Passage in both directions. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With hard work and luck, the trip of the St. Roch II [also known as the Nadon] will hopefully help raise awareness and the funding needed to ensure an important part of Canadian maritime history is not lost.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry Tieleman's involvement in the original St. Roch's last journey was both unpredictable and totally appropriate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following the liberation of Holland, where a young Harry Tieleman had been involved with resistance efforts, he became an officer in the Dutch merchant marine, sailing to Indonesia, South Africa and through the Panama Canal to San Francisco.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1951 Harry decided to set out for adventure, arriving in British Columbia knowing no one. He ended up in a series of logging camps throughout Vancouver Island.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry soon decided to join the RCMP and with his marine background was assigned to patrolling the Island coast on RCMP boats. [It was on assignment in Port Alice that he met Patricia Baseley, a nurse who became his wife of 44 years.]<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 1954, RCMP headquarters in Ottawa undertook an extensive search to find a seasoned crew for the St. Roch's return from Halifax to Vancouver, where the City had agreed to establish the ship as an historic monument.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Legendary Captain Henry Larsen, who was skipper for both Arctic voyages and by then an RCMP superintendent, was an obvious choice for this last trip, but finding a navigator proved more difficult. Someone searching through the files of RCMP officers eventually happened across Constable Harry Tieleman's name and discovered a man with considerable seagoing navigational experience gained sailing Dutch merchant ships.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A surprise call from Ottawa came to Vancouver Island and the young constable was told to report to Halifax as soon as possible. "Dutchy" Tieleman joined the crew and was extremely impressed with "The Old Man," as the 55-year-old Larsen was affectionately known.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Newspaper story of the RCMP St. Roch in 1954 in Halifax preparing to sail to Vancouver on final voyage - Harry Tieleman on right with legendary Captain Henry Larsen.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The St. Roch arrived in Vancouver on October 12, 1954 to a hero's welcome and front page Vancouver Sun stories.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The little 104-foot long, 80-ton schooner with a mere 300 horsepower engine was escorted into harbour by the 6,500 ton HMCS Labrador, which had left Halifax a day before the St. Roch but instead traveled to Vancouver through the Northwest Passage that the old schooner had pioneered.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was truly the end of an era. The St. Roch had returned to Vancouver, where it was built in 1928 by the Burrard Dry Dock Company.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Harry Tieleman, the voyage of his life was over but his life's voyage continued. Leaving the RCMP, he used his considerable knowledge of ship's engines to become an aircraft mechanic and pilot, working in the bush outside Burns Lake for a time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry Tieleman with sons Bill Tieleman, left, and Ralph Tieleman 1962</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ever restless, he started the first of several small businesses as a Home Oil distributor in Abbotsford.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Later he moved to Tofino and opened a gas station, which he transformed into </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Happy Harry's restaurant</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, serving seafood that rated a favourable mention in the Where To Eat In Canada guide.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry Tieleman in 1985 in Tofino - John Mastromonaco photo</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">During that time the former logger who had felled thousands of trees realized that clear-cut forestry practices around Tofino would soon kill the tourism-dependent town. With other environmentalists, Harry was an original member of the Friends of Clayoquot Sound, the group ultimately successful in preserving the unique rain forest of the area.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of Harry's proudest moments was when, after buying 100 shares in MacMillan Bloedel so that he could move motions at the annual general meeting, he asked George Watts, leader of the Nuu-chah-nalth Tribal Council to speak on his behalf. Harry had proposed swapping MacBlo timber licenses in Clayoquot for those elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The motion was defeated but the die was clearly cast and in the years to follow Harry was rightfully proud of his important role. Harry was also immensely pleased to be honoured by aboriginal people in the Tofino area, particularly when he was a non-aboriginal pallbearer at the funeral of his dear friend Chief Shorty Frank of the Opitsaht first nation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harry retired in 1990 to Nanaimo and the final chapter of his remarkable life. Increasing health and memory problems led to a diagnosis of a form of Alzheimer's called Lewy Body Syndrome. After a brave struggle, Harry Tieleman passed on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the last navigator of the St. Roch, his final trip was approached like that historic voyage to Vancouver -- with great determination to provide necessary guidance and with the knowledge that each journey is one of discovery, not only for oneself but for those who follow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bill Tieleman is Harry's oldest son and president of West Star Communications.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-67011636076457817252019-01-28T11:29:00.000-08:002019-01-28T14:57:32.253-08:00Suspended BC Legislature Clerk Craig James pro-BC Liberal bias in HST fight may lead to Nanaimo NDP by-election win <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Craig James' pro-BC Liberal bias in the Harmonized Sales Tax battle with Fight HST was the precursor to current allegations of bias and financial improprieties. And it could lead to a BC NDP win in Nanaimo by-election</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Monday January 28, 2019</span><br />
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<b><span lang="DE" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">By Bill Tieleman</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“<b>Craig James </b>simply moved the goal posts in the middle of the game. It was astounding.<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span>No one in such a critically impartial position had ever done anything like it before, and it shook the foundation of that important office’s credibility to the ground.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">-<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Ex-BC Premier <b>Bill Vander Zalm</b> on Craig James role as then-Chief Electoral Officer in changing recall rules after an application was made by Fight HST, in his book <b><i>HST & The People For Democracy</i></b>, p. 112, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">When now suspended BC Legislature Clerk Craig James was appointed acting Chief Electoral Officer at Elections BC in 2010, those working to eliminate the Harmonized Sales Tax imposed by the BC Liberal government were very concerned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The reason Fight HST was anxious? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Because then-Premier Gordon Campbell declined to extend the appointment of respected and neutral Chief Elections Officer Harry Neufeld by three months to finish off the HST Citizens Initiative procedure and instead made James Acting CEO as a temporary appointment, which avoided seeking the approval of a bi-partisan Legislative committee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Those suspicions were proven in spades in short order, as James made a series of decisions that were prejudicial to Fight HST, the grassroots group led by ex-Social Credit Premier Bill Vander Zalm, where I served as strategist throughout.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Speaker Darryl Plecas drops a bombshell on Craig James<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And the recent revelations in Speaker Darryl Plecas’ bombshell report on alleged financial wrongdoing and expenses mismanagement about James’ surprising and extensive connections to the BC Liberals shed new light on his past role at Elections BC during the HST battle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">What’s more, with the critical Nanaimo provincial by-election pending on Wednesday January 30, the past actions of James are coming home to roost for the BC Liberals at the absolutely worst time possible for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">A win by novice BC Liberal candidate Tony Harris would create a tie in the Legislature, with the combined NDP government MLAs and the three Green MLAs supporting the government at 43 seats and the opposition with an equal 43, leaving independent speaker Plecas to break any ties. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And that likely would lead to a provincial election in 2019, given the difficulty of managing the Legislature’s business with an extremely tense and narrow margin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Stunning information about James’s close ties to BC Liberals hurts in Nanaimo<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">But the stunning emergence of <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2019/01/23/Craig-James-BC-Liberals/" style="color: #954f72; text-decoration: underline;">new information</a> </span>from Plecas about James’ close and ongoing ties with the BC Liberals – including taxpayer-paid visits with former BC Premier Christy Clark after she had left office; with ex-BC Liberal Speaker Bill Barisov in the Okanagan; and with former BC Liberal Attorney General Geoff Plant – a key player in the HST court battles – means the BC Liberals face a lot of tough questions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And Nanaimo voters get the first chance to tell them they want answers, not another BC Liberal MLA in the Legislature and another election that could let them return to power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">That likely spells bad news for Harris, son of the late Tom Harris – a well-known Nanaimo car dealer – and also for BC Green Party candidate Michele Ney, daughter of the late Frank Ney – a longtime colourful Nanaimo mayor and one-term Socred MLA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">But it should help BC NDP candidate Sheila Malcolmson – the former NDP Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Ladysmith – win the seat vacated when veteran MLA Leonard Krog resigned to win election as mayor of Nanaimo last fall. The NDP <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanaimo_(provincial_electoral_district)">won it in 2017</a> with a very comfortable margin of over 3,800 votes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As Andrew MacLeod <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://thetyee.ca/News/2019/01/23/Craig-James-BC-Liberals/" style="color: #954f72; text-decoration: underline;">wrote last week</a> </span>in The Tyee about James’ purported BC Liberal bias: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“Plecas said in his report he first heard the allegation that James was partisan from [also suspended Sergeant-at-Arms Gary] Lenz in the fall of 2017. ‘Mr. Lenz expressed the view that Mr. James was not impartial and that he was in fact very close with the BC Liberal Party... I determined to reserve judgment on that subject.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">He wrote that others shared the impression that James was partisan thanks to decisions he had made while acting as the chief electoral officer on an interim basis starting in 2010.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">MacLeod notes that of 39 trips James made between March 2017 and August 2018, 70 per cent were to current or former BC Liberal MLAs, including 14 meetings with Plant and three with Christy Clark after she was no longer premier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Now it seems that the long arm of history is reaching out after Craig James as well as the BC Liberals, with the HST episode apparently one of the first but not last controversies James was involved with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Bill Vander Zalm details Craig James’ role at Elections BC during HST battle<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fight HST leader Bill Vander Zalm and Fight HST strategist Bill Tieleman <br />at Citizens Initiative launch, April 2010 - Cassandra photo</span></i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Vander Zalm details James’ role at Elections BC in his book on the HST battle that ultimately saw the hated tax extinguished through a provincial binding referendum after Fight HST launched the first and only successful Citizens Initiative petition – unique to BC in Canada – that garnered over 705,000 voter signatures in just 90 days in 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“Gordon Campbell chose, what we immediately thought to be a [BC] Liberal friendly person, Legislative Clerk Craig James, to be the ‘Acting Chief Electoral Officer’. His appointment was said to be for a few weeks until they could find a permanent replacement. But it lasted over a year until the HST Petition and Referendum process had been completed,” Vander Zalm wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In the summer of 2010, despite the success of the Citizens Initiative petition, James had ruled Elections BC would not proceed until a court application brought about by a big business coalition – trying to throw out the entire HST initiative – had been heard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Fortunately, BC Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman was unconvinced by the legal arguments led by former Attorney General Plant and Peter Gall, a lawyer well-known and disliked in the labour movement for taking pro-employer cases at the Labour Relations Board, often to block certification drives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Bauman overruled James and said Citizens Initiative petition was within both the letter and spirit of the law. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">While that paved the way to the historic vote on the HST, Craig James was not yet done fighting Fight HST.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Recalling Craig James fighting the Fight HST recall campaign<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">With the BC Liberal government eventually agreeing to hold a binding referendum but delaying it until the summer of 2011, Fight HST attempted to force a much earlier vote by launching recall campaigns to remove some BC Liberal MLAs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The first targeted was then cabinet minister and MLA Ida Chong in Oak Bay-Gordon Head, where local organizers for Fight HST were convinced they could succeed with a recall campaign starting in late November.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">But three days after their recall applications was submitted, James ruled it invalid and rejected it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Why? Because it had exceeded, James said, the 200-word maximum in the description of the recall application. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As Vander Zalm wrote in his book: “James said that the word ‘HST’ should have been written in full and counted as 3 words – ‘Harmonized Sales Tax’ – and ‘MLA’ as 5 words – ‘Member of the Legislative Assembly’. No, I’m not making this up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">And in every reference to MLA or HST, not just the first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">But the stunning part wasn’t simply that James was being overly bureaucratic – it turned out he actually changed the Elections BC rules on acronyms – <u>after</u>the recall petition had been filed! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p><b><i>Rules changed by Craig James after recall application already filed </i></b></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As the Globe and Mail <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/elections-bc-changed-rules-after-recall-application-was-submitted/article1315711/" style="color: #954f72; text-decoration: underline;">reported</a></span>: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">“Elections BC rejected a Fight HST recall application as too lengthy – but did so using rules that were drafted after it received the application.”</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">After heavy criticism in the media from Fight HST, the NDP and others, James issued a <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/craig-james-offers-explanation-of-recall-dismissal-to-mlas" style="color: #954f72; text-decoration: underline;">statement</a> </span>“explaining” his actions that was less than convincing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">James also then ordered that 150 recall canvassers who had signed up with an Elections BC form must refill and refile their applications, forcing organizers to go back to each person for a new signature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Together these two moves by James knocked up to two weeks off the start of the recall campaign – pushing it much closer to the Christmas holidays, a period where canvassing would be almost impossible to conduct.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In the end the recall effort obtained over 10,000 signatures in 60 days – impressive in the circumstances but not the 40% needed to force a by-election.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">However, BC politics has a strange karma that often comes back to haunt those who cross it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">James became the Legislature’s new clerk in 2011 over the <span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: #0563c1; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-plecas-report-ruffles-feathers-of-well-aged-partisan-chickens" style="color: #954f72; text-decoration: underline;">objections</a> </span>of then-NDP leader Adrian Dix and then-house leader John Horgan, who said a full hiring procedure should have been conducted – leading the NDP to vote against James.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">On Wednesday January 30, if the BC NDP are victorious in the Nanaimo by-election, they may have to thank Craig James helping secure their win, thanks to his past roles – including the by-election that never happened.</span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bill Tieleman is a former NDP strategist who owns West Star Communications, a strategy, consulting and government relations firm for over 20 years serving labour, business, non-profits and others. </span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Bill previously wrote a weekly political columnist for over 16 years, for The Tyee online magazine, the now-closed 24 Hours Vancouver newspaper and The Georgia Straight weekly. Email him at </span></i><span class="Hyperlink2"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="mailto:weststar@telus.net"><span style="color: #0432ff;">weststar@telus.net</span></a></span></i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #404040; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> or see Twitter @BillTieleman or visit his </span></i><span class="Hyperlink2"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #0432ff;">blog</span></a></span></i></span><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0432ff; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-2971552211643201212018-06-28T12:07:00.001-07:002018-06-28T12:07:47.226-07:00Former BC NDP Premier Ujjal Dosanjh opposes Proportional Representation - supports No BC Pro Rep Society as official opponent group <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No BC Pro Rep's Bill Tieleman with former BC NDP Premier Ujjal Dosanjh </span></i></td></tr>
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<b><i><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14pt;">No to Proportional Representation in BC</span></u></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";">NEWS RELEASE Thursday June 28, 2018 </span><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial narrow"; font-size: 14pt;">Former BC NDP Premier Ujjal Dosanjh opposes Proportional Representation and warns British Columbians of potential for extremist parties being elected to Legislature; Dosanjh says referendum also unfair without riding boundaries, details of Pro Rep systems: “We are voting in absolute darkness.” <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Ujjal Dosanjh, former BC New Democratic Party Premier, today said he opposes proportional representation electoral systems that will be voted on in a fall referendum and warned that BC could see extremist parties elected under proportional representation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Dosanjh also said the referendum is unfair to voters because it does not provide them with geographic riding boundaries or details on how three different proposed proportional representation systems would work or require either a voter turnout threshold or a strong majority for change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">“We are voting in absolute darkness,” Dosanjh says. “And changing to proportional representation means just 5% of voters across BC could elect extremist MLAs to the Legislature.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Dosanjh, BC NDP Premier in 2000-2001 and later a federal Liberal Minister of Health from 2004 to 2006, said the referendum is proceeding in an undemocratic way by not providing voters with enough information about complicated and confusing proportional representation systems and allowing change to happen without significant support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">“We could be making fundamental changes without any voter turnout threshold,” Dosanjh said. “Changing Canada’s constitution requires two-thirds of the provinces in favour with at least 50% of the population – why are we considering changing our electoral system indefinitely with far less support than that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Dosanjh says he supports the <b><a href="https://www.nobcprorep.ca/" target="_blank">No BC Proportional Representation Society</a>’s</b> bid to be the official opponent group receiving government funding to oppose proportional representation and support retaining our current First Past The Post electoral system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">“Look at Europe and the rise of extremist right-wing parties with anti-immigrant, anti-refugee positions – why would we encourage the election of MLAs from fringe parties of the right or the left in BC?” Dosanjh asked. “First Past The Post keeps those extremists out of our Legislature because they can’t win geographic ridings with their views.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">No BC Proportional Representation Society President Bill Tieleman says Dosanjh’s message is important for all British Columbians but particularly New Democrat and Green voters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">“Former Premier Dosanjh’s warning about the dangerous risks of proportional representation should worry New Democrats and Greens considering changing our electoral system and opening the door of the BC Legislature to extremists,” Tieleman said. “Mr. Dosanjh has shown his own courage in opposing extremists here in BC in the past and faced personal violence as a result – his words need to be heeded.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Dosanjh said that while he is a supporter of the BC NDP government generally, he opposes its approach to the referendum this fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">“British Columbians should not give a blank cheque to the NDP government and the BC Green Party by voting yes to proportional representation and letting the riding boundaries and details be decided by their MLAs after the referendum,” Dosanjh said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">Dosanjh said he is supporting the No BC Proportional Representation Society in its application to be the opponent group opposing proportional representation and supporting retaining our current First Past The Post electoral system in the fall referendum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">No BC Proportional Representation Society President Bill Tieleman is a veteran NDP supporter who was president of NO BC STV in both referendums in 2005 and 2009 when the Single Transferable Vote was defeated in binding referenda. <span class="apple-converted-space"> Vice-President </span>Suzanne Anton is a former BC Liberal Attorney General. <span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Treasurer Bob Plecas is a retired BC Deputy Minister who served in many portfolios.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arialmt"; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">The No BC Proportional Representation Society will work to defeat any proportional representation system proposed for the fall 2018 referendum schedule and support the current First Past The Post electoral system that has served BC well.</span><br />
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-83573440131464866212018-03-18T17:38:00.001-07:002018-06-25T11:44:49.584-07:00No BC Proportional Representation Society makes 9 recommendations in submission to BC government on electoral systems referendum <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The British Columbia Legislature</span></i></td></tr>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-color: blue; color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18pt;">NO BC PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SOCIETY</span></b><br />
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<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No to Proportional Representation in
BC</span></u></i></b><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";">Wednesday February 28, 2018</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "arial";">Attorney General David Eby<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Ministry of Attorney General<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">PO Box 9044 Stn Prov Govt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Victoria, BC V8W 9E2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Dear Attorney General Eby:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b><a href="https://www.nobcprorep.ca/">No BC Proportional Representation Society</a></b> was formed to oppose any proportional
representation electoral system in British Columbia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our organization will campaign vigorously in
every part of our great province to keep the First Past The Post electoral
system that has helped build a strong democracy, an inclusive society and a
powerful economy. British Columbia is a jurisdiction admired around the world
and we believe that proposed changes will have a serious negative impact.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
are therefore pleased to make this public submission to you and the BC
government on the proposed electoral system referendum and in response to the
online government consultation website.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unfortunately,
we are making this submission under duress and with significant and grave worries
about the process the BC government has undertaken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We believe this consultation process is
unfairly biased in favour of Proportional Representation electoral systems and
against our current First Past The Post electoral system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">These
are fundamental concerns that we fear will undermine the referendum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We
also respectfully disagree with your own statement: “</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">The Attorney General will
serve as a neutral arbiter throughout the process to ensure the referendum is
conducted fairly and in accordance with B.C. law</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2017-2021/2018AG0001-000104.pdf"><span style="font-family: "arial";">https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/news_releases_2017-2021/2018AG0001-000104.pdf</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
a New Democratic Party candidate, you campaigned in favour of Proportional
Representation in the May 2017 provincial election and you are on the record as
being in support of changing to Proportional Representation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While
we fully expect that the Attorney General will indeed, as your statement said: “</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">recuse himself
from all cabinet and caucus debate and decisions regarding the referendum,” there
is at best a clear public perception that you have already decided and favour
one side in this debate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In the election, your party promised
to campaign for proportional representation: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">“A New Democrat government
would not only consult British Columbians on the specific proportional reform
to be put to a vote, but would campaign strongly in favour of that reform.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">And the NDP-Green Party Confidence
and Supply Agreement states that: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">“The parties agree that they
will work together in good faith to consult British Columbians to determine the
form of proportional representation that will be put to a referendum. “The
parties agree to both campaign actively in support of the agreed-upon form of
proportional representation.”</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-pose-of-neutrality-a-little-late-in-pr-electoral-reform"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-pose-of-neutrality-a-little-late-in-pr-electoral-reform</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">We hope that you take additional steps to ensure any perception of bias
is removed and we have some recommendations on how that can be achieved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; mso-themecolor: text1;">That said, we did appreciate your statement regarding giving information
to British Columbians: “We will be providing them with neutral information
about the different voting systems. There are all kinds of benefits of first
past the post. There are all kinds of benefits of proportional systems.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.news1130.com/2017/12/03/ag-dismisses-claims-upcoming-referendum-will-favour-bc-ndp-greens/"><span style="font-family: "arial";">http://www.news1130.com/2017/12/03/ag-dismisses-claims-upcoming-referendum-will-favour-bc-ndp-greens/</span></a><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">You also said that the
public input and opinion gathering would be: <span style="color: #1a1a1a;">“fair,
neutral and as independent as possible.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/b-c-ndp-solicits-ideas-electoral-reform/"><span style="font-family: "arial";">https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/b-c-ndp-solicits-ideas-electoral-reform/</span></a><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";">We indeed hope
that will be the case going forward; We do believe, however, that you need to
remove yourself from the process given your pre-determined and frequently
expressed bias as to the result.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bill
Tieleman <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Suzanne
Anton</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bob
Plecas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Directors,
No BC Proportional Representation Society</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial";"> </span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Recommendations
- </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No BC
Proportional Representation Society</span></b><b><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
No BC Proportional Representation Society presents the following
recommendations for the conduct of the 2018 referendum on electoral systems.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">British Columbia voters should have two clear choices in the
2018 electoral system referendum: our current First Past The Post system and
whatever Proportional Representation system the government recommends. There should not be any “two-part” ballots or
“ranked ballots” with multiple choices.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We agree with BC Premier John Horgan on the need to
two clear choices for voters in this referendum. Premier Horgan told </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">The Vancouver Sun editorial board prior to the May
2017 election in discussing the referendum question that: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">“A consensus on yes or no
is pretty easy. You are going to have 50
per cent say yes or no.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">“So you give them one
system to vote on?” he was asked for clarity’s sake. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">“Yeah, yeah exactly,” the
NDP leader replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-pose-of-neutrality-a-little-late-in-pr-electoral-reform"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-pose-of-neutrality-a-little-late-in-pr-electoral-reform</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Having two clear choices is the only way voters can
compare electoral systems as apples to apples, not apples to oranges – to
ensure they have the full information before deciding. Full information includes any constituency
boundary changes as well detailed information about how votes are counted and
allocated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For further
clarification, the proposed Proportional Representation electoral system must
have all details made public well prior to the referendum, including proposed
geographic riding boundaries; Proportional Representation Candidates List
rules; whether that List will be open or closed; and comparisons with similar
systems around the world. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A fair and democratic referendum means giving BC
voters all the details they need to make an informed choice. And that requires providing substantial
information about the proposed Proportional Representation electoral system
that could be adopted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All details include knowing the answers to these
questions:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What the electoral geographic ridings are with each system – our current
First Past The Post and a proposed Proportional Representation system or
systems;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What type of local representation there would be under each system or
systems; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What the role of political parties would be in deciding if there is local
representation – which is not guaranteed under certain Proportional
Representation system – and what kind of local representation would be
determined by the electoral system;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whether there would be Proportional Representation List candidates chosen
by political parties to “top up” each parties’ MLAs to match the province-wide
popular vote; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What laws and regulations would determine the Proportional Representation
List of candidates and how it would be administered;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whether the Proportional Representation electoral system would force parties
to create the Proportional Representation List of candidates with required regional,
gender, sexual orientation, ethnic heritage or any other qualifications;<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How BC’s unique <i>Recall and
Initiative Act</i> could be amended to allow the recall of Proportional
Representation List candidates by voters, since they would not be representing
any geographic riding, or if they would be beyond the reach of recall; </span><a href="http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/96398_03#section19"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.bclaws.ca/Recon/document/ID/freeside/96398_03#section19</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whether political parties under a
new Proportional Representation electoral system could expel Proportional
Representation List candidates MLAs from the BC Legislature if they quit their
party to join another, as currently is being proposed in New Zealand’s </span><i><span style="background-color: background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: "arial";">Electoral Integrity Amendment
Bill. </span></i><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: "arial";">That legislation, popularly called the “waka
jumping bill,” would give party leaders enormous new power over their Members
of Parliament.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As National Party MP Nick Smith has
argued: <span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">"It will enable party
leaders to dismiss MPs from Parliament. It risks turning our parliamentarians
into party poodles. An MP who questions a policy, criticizes a leader, or votes
differently to their party faces dismissal from Parliament by their party
leader. This is a fundamental change to the centuries-old principle that the
public alone gets to hire and fire MPs. The greatest harm would be to stifle
debate and further concentrate power with political parties and leaders.”; <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11999005"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11999005</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">3.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
referendum should require that to change our current electoral system, a 60%
vote in favour of a Proportional Representation system across the province of
those voters participating and a 50% plus one vote in favour in at least 60% of
British Columbia’s 87 geographic ridings vote in favour.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Changing our electoral system is a very significant
decision that not only determines how we will be governed indefinitely but also
impacts our economy, our society and our communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For that reason, we strongly disagree with the <i>Electoral Reform Referendum 2018 Act</i> and
the decision in Section 9 (1) that allows a 50% plus one vote to change our
electoral system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We respectfully urge the BC Legislature to amend the
<i>Electoral Reform Referendum 2018 Act</i>
before the referendum this fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The precedents are extremely clear: in British
Columbia’s two previous electoral system referenda in 2005 and 2009 a 60% vote
in favour of the Single Transferable Vote electoral system across the province
of those voters participating was required along with a 50% plus one majority in
at least 60% of British Columbia geographic ridings voting in favour.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/news/FF-Ref-20090129.pdf"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/news/FF-Ref-20090129.pdf</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The province of Ontario in 2007 </span><a href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s07001"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s07001</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> had an identical requirement for changing electoral systems as did the
province of Prince Edward Island in 2005 </span><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/electoral-reform-rejected-1.533310"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/electoral-reform-rejected-1.533310</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why require a majority stronger than 50% + 1? We believe it is necessary for a stronger
consensus among BC voters to be reached before making a fundamental and
significant change in our electoral system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The legitimacy of changing BC’s electoral system
with such a narrow margin will lead to ongoing questions and objections to its
validity. Surely requiring a strong
majority of voters in favour is not too much to ask?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ironically perhaps, but other provincial legislation
requires even higher democratic thresholds of 75% in order to make much less
significant changes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The <i>BC Strata
Property Act</i> – Section 97 – demands that strata property owners must
approve by a ¾ vote in favour any additional expenditures not previously
approved in the strata’s budget. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In other words, a Strata Council must hold a special
general meeting to spend $20,000 to replace a furnace and obtain 75% approval –
but BC’s <i>Electoral Reform Referendum 2018
Act</i> would change our entire electoral system with just 50% + 1 in favour! How absolutely absurd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/98043_06"><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/98043_06</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">4.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The ballot
question must be drawn up by Elections BC and meet the test of being neutral
and fair. Adequate time should be given
for possible judicial challenge of the ballot.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This should go without saying but given the biased
nature of the government consultation process on electoral systems, it must be
clearly stated – Elections BC must draw up the ballot question and it must be
neutral and fair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And Elections BC should make public the question
with adequate time left before the referendum for a possible judicial challenge
of the ballot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">5.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That the
term “electoral reform” be dropped from all further government and Elections BC
reference, as it indicates a strong bias in support of a proportional
representation electoral system. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">“Reform” has a particular
meaning that indicates “improvement” or “positive change”. While that may well be the view of
proportional representation advocates, it should not be the term used by either
the government in official communications about the referendum or by Elections
BC. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">British Columbians voted
strongly in the 2009 referendum against one of the alleged “electoral reforms”
– the Single Transferable Vote. To use a
biased term in the 2018 referendum is not only unfair but fails to recognize
that a majority of voters in a binding referendum decided democratically that
proportional representation is not a “reform”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">6.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Proponent
groups on each side of the referendum should have equal funding at a minimum of
$500,000 each as in the 2009 STV referendum.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There should be a minimum of $500,000 provided to
each of the two sides in the referendum – that amount was given to each side in
the 2009 referendum to undertake a public awareness campaign. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That amount is a minimum in our view based on the
previous electoral system referendum and the need to inform voters prior to
such a fundamental decision that could last for decades to come. Ideally the amount would also at least
reflect inflation since 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whatever the total amount is, it should be equally
split between only two parties, one representing the First Past The Post side
and the other, the Proportional Representation side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And there should be no restrictions on how proponent
groups use the funding so long as they are accountable, transparent and
following all applicable laws and regulations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The funding decision should be made independently of
the government by a neutral third party individual [or panel] as has been done
previously and should be based on the proponents’ groups experience, knowledge
of the issue and recognized public leadership and support.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">7.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No referendum
funding should be provided to proponent groups from outside British Columbia,
including non-profit organizations, unions or businesses.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We believe that this referendum is exclusively an
issue for British Columbians to decide, not organizations or individuals from
other provinces, let alone other countries.
It is essential that during the referendum campaign period prior to the
balloting, outside organizations and individuals not be allowed to fund either side,
or place advertisements of any kind. Of
course, speakers representing views one way or another should be allowed, as
freedom of speech and full discussion are important. For this type of free debate notices of
speaking forums should be exempt. Elections
BC should be asked to provide approvals and be the watch guard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">8.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unions and businesses
based in British Columbia should be allowed to make donations to proponent
groups, with full disclosure.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We do not believe it is fair or reasonable to
restrict unions or corporations from making contributions to proponent
groups. A referendum on electoral
systems is quite different from an election, since: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The BC government has said it will be “campaigning” in favour of
proportional representation – to restrict unions and businesses from supporting
either side would further increase the bias of the government being on one
side, potentially with all its resources; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No MLAs are being elected so political party financing changes need not
apply; the results are indefinite and could last for decades; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is a public policy issue, not a partisan issue; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The choice of electoral systems will have a significant impact on our
economy and jobs – blocking unions or businesses from having their right to
free speech would be highly undemocratic; and<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The potential negative impact of proportional representation on rural representation
in the BC Legislature is such that unions and businesses based in rural areas
should have every right to oppose an electoral system that could hurt their
interests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">9.<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Third-party
advertising by British Columbia-based organizations should not be restricted during
the referendum period.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For many of the same reasons listed above, we
believe that there should be no restrictions on third-party advertising by
British Columbia-based organizations or individuals during the referendum
period. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We believe that so long as there is disclosure of
who the third-parties are and that their expenditures are also disclosed after
the referendum, British Columbians are more than able to think for themselves
and decide this issue on its merits after hearing all arguments from both
sides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are flaws in every electoral system. Transplanting a foreign concept into our
British-based parliamentary system will not solve any that critics of First Past
The Post raise. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We could propose workable solutions to these
problems, and will during the referendum campaign, but that is not within the
request for submissions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We are fortunate to live in the best province in the
best country in the world. At the center
of our success is our democracy, and at its core lies the current electoral
system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Stability, simplicity, success. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your government has chosen to bring forward the
third referendum on the same topic in 13 years.
Attempts to change our electoral system have failed twice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some people will not take no for an answer. Instead you have changed the rules, lowered
the threshold and slanted the early stages of the discussion. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We nonetheless remain hopeful that you will consider
the above and bring forward a referendum that is unbiased and fair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-83838401059532430082018-02-28T13:54:00.001-08:002018-06-24T17:54:08.734-07:00No BC Proportional Representation Society demands two clear, simple choices in fall electoral system referendum; rejects Attorney General David Eby's "neutrality" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAD5BhKbKdA/WpclDwSMRoI/AAAAAAAAEAk/LdIAUBSs1fcgPgDcQA-k60SQi04mCmUmwCLcBGAs/s1600/unfair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAD5BhKbKdA/WpclDwSMRoI/AAAAAAAAEAk/LdIAUBSs1fcgPgDcQA-k60SQi04mCmUmwCLcBGAs/s320/unfair.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No to Proportional Representation in BC</span></u></i></b><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">NEWS RELEASE <span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>Wednesday
February 28, 2018 </span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No BC Proportional
Representation Society makes recommendations on electoral systems referendum
despite “grave worries” on process and results, while rejecting Attorney
General David Eby’s “neutrality” in government public consultation process and
ballot<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The <b><a href="https://www.nobcprorep.ca/">No BC Proportional Representation Society</a></b> has made <a href="https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/271/2018/03/West-Star-Communications.pdf"><b>several strong recommendations</b></a> to the BC
government public consultation process on the fall referendum on electoral
systems despite “grave worries” about the process and its results, while
rejecting claims by BC Attorney General David Eby of “neutrality” in
supervising the referendum and asking that he remove himself from involvement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The No BC Proportional
Representation Society intends to: “Campaign vigorously in every part of our
great province to keep the First Past The Post electoral system that has helped
build a strong democracy, an inclusive society and a powerful economy,” it says
in its submission to the consultation process which ends today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The
key </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">No BC Proportional Representation
Society </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">recommendation
is that in the referendum voters should have two clear choices between: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Our current First Past The Post system and
whatever Proportional Representation system the government recommends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There should not be any ‘two-part’ ballots or
‘ranked ballots’ with multiple choices.”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The No BC Proportional
Representation Society says it agrees with BC NDP Premier John Horgan, who said
before the May 2017 provincial election that: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“A consensus on yes or no is pretty
easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are going to have 50 per cent
say yes or no.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Unfortunately, says Bill Tieleman –
a No BC Proportional Representation Society director, the BC government
consultation actually proposed a possible two-part ballot and ranked ballots
with multiple choices that would prevent voters from comparing apples to apples
or ensuring that they have the full information to decide about competing
electoral systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“British Columbia voters deserve a
clear choice and an understandable alternative to our current First Past The
Post electoral system, with detailed information about the negative impacts of
potentially dramatic reductions in local, accountable representation,” said
Tieleman, a former BC NDP strategist who successfully led opposition to the
Single Transferable Vote electoral system in the 2005 and 2009 provincial
referenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This is a fundamental
question about how British Columbians are governed – and it demands a ballot
question with clarity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Attorney General Eby’s involvement
in making recommendations to the BC cabinet about the referendum process and
the ballot question, when he has made public statements supporting Proportional
Representation and campaigned on implementing it mean there is a clear
perception of bias, says Bob Plecas, a No BC Proportional Representation
Society director who served as a deputy minister in many portfolios under
several BC governments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“We respect Attorney General Eby’s genuinely
held belief in Proportional Representation that he has expressed personally and
as a BC NDP candidate, as is his right,” says Plecas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But for that very reason, the Attorney
General should not be involved in recommending the ballot question and other
important referendum details – he has already made up his mind and therefore
should remove himself from the process immediately.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The No BC Proportional
Representation Society also says that the government’s decision to remove
strong consensus requirements for changing electoral systems that previously existed
in BC’s 2009 and 2005 referenda, as well as identical requirements in Ontario
and Prince Edward Island’s referenda in 2007 and 2005, should be reversed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Changing our electoral system is a very significant decision that not
only determines how we will be governed indefinitely but also impacts our
economy, our society and our communities,” </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">says Suzanne Anton, also a No BC
Proportional Representation Society director and former BC Liberal Attorney
General.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“BC should return to the 2009 and
2005 requirement that 60% of voters agree to any change to ensure that we have
a strong, cross-province consensus and that non-urban voters are not unfairly deprived
of their right to local, accountable political representation,” said
Anton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We also need a requirement that
any change has a 50% plus one majority in favour in at least 60% of BC’s
geographic ridings to again guarantee a significant consensus.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The current <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">BC Strata Property Act</i> demands a 75% vote in favour of any
additional expenditures in condominiums – like replacing a furnace – surely
changing BC’s electoral system should require more of a consensus than a bare
minimum of 50% plus one of those who turn out to vote?” asked Anton.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The No BC Proportional
Representation Society also recommends that:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 13.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">the ballot question be drawn up by Elections BC to ensure
fairness and neutrality; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 13.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">that the term “electoral reform” be dropped from all
government communications due to bias; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 13.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">that both sides in the referendum receive public funding of
at least $500,000 each to conduct a province-wide public awareness campaign as
in the 2009 referendum; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 13.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">that organizations outside BC be prohibited from funding
either side in the referendum; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 13.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">that unions and businesses based in BC be allowed to donate
to either side; and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 13.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">that there be no restrictions on third-party advertising by
BC-based organizations on either side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The full </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">No BC Proportional
Representation Society submission is online now at the BC government website <a href="https://engage.gov.bc.ca/app/uploads/sites/271/2018/03/West-Star-Communications.pdf">here</a>.</span></b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">.</span></span></span></b></div>
Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-86770714883551238352018-02-25T14:42:00.000-08:002018-02-25T14:42:29.738-08:00No BC Proportional Representation Society charge Fair Vote Canada BC with trying to subvert government public consultation process, stuff ballot box<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No to Proportional Representation in
BC</span></u></i></b><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";">NEWS RELEASE <span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>Sunday
February 25, 2018 </span><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NO BC Proportional Representation Society
charge Fair Vote Canada BC with trying to subvert government public
consultation process with “guide” to filling out online questionnaire on
electoral systems </span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">and
stuff ballot box</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zAN-lnQxcXA/WpMoobub6MI/AAAAAAAAD_4/aHxn49mW5sQBQhE_y7WN6CaVXai8U6G8ACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_4158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="1600" height="135" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zAN-lnQxcXA/WpMoobub6MI/AAAAAAAAD_4/aHxn49mW5sQBQhE_y7WN6CaVXai8U6G8ACLcBGAs/s400/IMG_4158.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Part of Fair Vote Canada BC "guide" to BC government consultation</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt;">An advocacy group is trying to subvert a BC government
public consultation process on possible changes to British Columbia’s electoral
system in the fall 2018 referendum by asking supporters to use its “guide” to
answer the government’s online questionnaire, says the No BC Proportional
Representation Society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Fair Vote Canada BC is attempting to wrongly influence the
results of a BC government website seeking public input by encouraging its
supporters to follow its directions on answers rather than think for themselves
and answer honestly, says Bill Tieleman – a No BC Proportional Representation
Society director.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Tieleman said every one of Fair Vote Canada BC’s
“recommendations” on answers would bias the government consultation heavily in
favour of proportional representation and against our current First Past The
Post electoral system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“It is absolutely offensive that a group which purports to
want more democracy and voter engagement in elections is out trying to subvert
a public consultation process and stuff the ballot box to meet its own narrow
goals,” said Tieleman, a former BC NDP strategist who successfully led
opposition to the Single Transferable Vote electoral system in the 2005 and
2009 provincial referenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Fair Vote
Canada BC is attempting to bias the results in favour of its own agenda and not
listen to what actual voters think about our electoral system and our democracy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Fair
Vote Canada BC website states that: “FVC has prepared some tips to help you
answer the questions in the BC government survey<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">....</span></span><span 11.0pt="" arial="" black="" color:="" font-family:="" font-size:="" imes="" mso-fareast-font-family:="" mso-themecolor:="" new="" quot="" roman="" text1=""> This guide will provide tips <strong><span style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "arial"; padding: 0in;">on some specific key questions</span></strong> – <strong><span style="border: none 1.0pt; font-family: "arial"; padding: 0in;">5, 7c, 8, 9, 18b, 18c, 19, 20, 21, and 24 – </span></strong>related
to the referendum question format, values and PR systems.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And a FVCBC Tweet says of the survey: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“We recommend using our guide for
completing it (some confusing questions)”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">[Website at:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.fairvote.ca/bc-government-consultation-survey-guide/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">http://www.fairvote.ca/bc-government-consultation-survey-guide/</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">The Fair Vote Canada BC website guide is blatant in its
disregard for even its own supporters’ personal opinions, says Suzanne Anton,
also a No BC Proportional Representation Society director and former BC Liberal
Attorney General.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">And Anton notes that
another Proportional Representation advocacy group – Leadnow – is also
referring supporters to the Fair Vote Canada BC guide: </span><a href="https://www.leadnow.ca/BCPR/"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">https://www.leadnow.ca/BCPR/</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Fair Vote Canada BC is literally telling people what they
should think and how they should answer important questions about our democracy
– that is exactly the opposite of what should happen,” says Anton. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“Proportional representation supporters like FVCBC and Leadnow are trying to
stack the deck in their favour for the referendum ballot and how it is going to
be conducted – that is reprehensible.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Anton added that the No BC Proportional Representation
Society is not telling anyone how to fill out the government consultation
questionnaire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“We trust BC voters to answer important questions however
they believe – Fair Vote Canada BC obviously doesn’t even trust its own supporters
– because they might think for themselves and give the ‘wrong’ answers,” Anton
said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Bob Plecas, a No BC Proportional Representation Society
director who served as a deputy minister in many portfolios under several BC
governments, says it is astonishing for a public advocacy group to openly
attempt to subvert the consultation process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">"I
find it insulting to British Columbians that some back room hack in Fair Vote
BC believes there is a need for a Dummies Guide to the Referendum Questions,”
says Plecas. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The trouble with zealots who believe they know all the answers,
and provide people with a paint by numbers kit to answer the most simple of
questions, is that it makes a mockery of the process and their members.
Zealots and ideologues spawn bad pubic policy." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">Plecas said the Fair Vote Canada BC “recommendations” – if
followed – would result in a highly unfair and biased referendum ballot
question. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gave one example where Fair
Vote Canada BC recommends rejecting “simplicity” as one of voter’s top 5 values
because it would favour First Past The Post. [See photo above]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;">“The fact that not only would Fair Vote Canada BC argue
against simplicity as a value in our electoral system but also then have to
explain exactly why –because Proportional Representation is so complicated – is
laughable,” Plecas said. “Here’s an even more simple idea for them – let people
figure it out for themselves!”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt;">The No BC Proportional Representation Society will work to
defeat any proportional representation system proposed for the fall 2018
referendum schedule and support the current First Past The Post electoral
system that has served BC well.</span></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-25505133497652654372018-02-08T00:37:00.002-08:002018-02-08T00:37:59.335-08:00BC government consultation stacks the deck for proportional representation electoral system<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-if9uv7KgtmU/WnwL97ctMnI/AAAAAAAAD-c/HbAhZEZfj-ci88mi_-_n3n_JTC5tBPV4wCLcBGAs/s1600/cropped-HowWeVote_Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="199" data-original-width="869" height="90" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-if9uv7KgtmU/WnwL97ctMnI/AAAAAAAAD-c/HbAhZEZfj-ci88mi_-_n3n_JTC5tBPV4wCLcBGAs/s400/cropped-HowWeVote_Logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BC government electoral system referendum website consultation logo</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span lang="DE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">Bill Tieleman</span></b><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">’</span></b><b><span lang="FR" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">s 24 Hours Vancouver column</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt;">Tuesday
November 21, 2017</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="DE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: DE;">By Bill Tieleman</span></b><span lang="DE" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“When you're playing against
a stacked deck, compete even harder.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">Pat Riley, ex-National Basketball Association head coach<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">Heads or tails?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ante up or fold?
Black or red? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">Whether it’s flipping a coin, playing poker or roulette – you have two
choices, not multiple choices – just pick one and either win or lose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">Unless you are the BC government and <a href="https://engage.gov.bc.ca/howwevote/">consulting the public online</a> about
possibly changing our electoral system in the fall of 2018, which determines
how we are governed and how we choose our representatives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">Regrettably, the New Democratic Party I support wants to change the voting
system to something called proportional representation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So does the Green Party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">I disagree – and successfully led opposition to the Single Transferable
Vote in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_electoral_reform_referendum,_2009">referendums </a>in 2005 and 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">But I respect voters choosing through a democratic referendum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">What I don’t understand is why the NDP government appears to be reneging
on a clear pre-election promise Horgan made. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">Horgan <a href="http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-pose-of-neutrality-a-little-late-in-pr-electoral-reform">told the Vancouver Sun</a> in May that referendum ballot would have only
two choices – either keep our existing First Past The Post system or move to
some proportional representation model.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt;">“A consensus on yes or no is pretty easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are going to have 50 per cent say yes or
no,” Horgan said then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt;">“So you give them one system to vote on?” a reporter asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.5pt;">“Yeah, yeah exactly,” Horgan responded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">But last week Attorney General David Eby launched a consultation website
that’s anything but clear – except in its <a href="http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-pose-of-neutrality-a-little-late-in-pr-electoral-reform">bias towards</a> proportional
representation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">It appears to encourage using a “ranked ballot” in the referendum – designed
to maximize the possibility of some proportional representation system
squeaking through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">How?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Voters whose first choice
comes in last place then get their second choice counted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And maybe their third and fourth choices.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">One disturbing question: “The referendum should offer voters the choice
between the current First Past The Post voting system and MORE THAN ONE
Proportional Representation voting system.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">And then another: “Voters should rank order their support for all the
proposed systems.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">So – is the referendum ballot going to be “yes or no” – one system or
the other – as the premier promised? Or multiple choices and a ranked ballot?</span></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">Instead of stacking the deck in favour of proportional representation the
NDP government should reshuffle – and get back to what it promised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-24819242019616496852018-02-04T14:17:00.001-08:002018-02-04T14:17:33.722-08:00Why Andrew Wilkinson won the BC Liberal leadership, confounding pundits and Dianne Watts; BC NDP beware<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--NeiWoLscao/WneA6Ohs3qI/AAAAAAAAD-E/mY_BWYEOeUIY4UkHZXDERbc2P_EGtdAjgCLcBGAs/s1600/andrew-wilkinson-bg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1600" height="251" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--NeiWoLscao/WneA6Ohs3qI/AAAAAAAAD-E/mY_BWYEOeUIY4UkHZXDERbc2P_EGtdAjgCLcBGAs/s400/andrew-wilkinson-bg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">New BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson celebrates his win Saturday on stage at the Wall Centre </span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br />By Bill Tieleman </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No one in the political prognostication business likes to be wrong but we all are occasionally and when that happens the best thing to do is review the analysis that was erroneous.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andrew Wilkinson is the new BC Liberal leader even though <a href="https://billtieleman.blogspot.ca/2018/02/why-todd-stone-should-win-todays-bc.html">I predicted i</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://billtieleman.blogspot.ca/2018/02/why-todd-stone-should-win-todays-bc.html">n this space </a>Saturday that Todd Stone should win the BC Liberal leadership vote.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Instead Stone underperformed on the <a href="http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/b-c-liberal-leadership-round-by-round-voting-results-1.23164040">first ballot</a>, garnering 17% compared to frontrunner Dianne Watts 24.5%, a surprising Michael Lee just behind at 22%, Wilkinson at 18%, Stone at 17%, Mike de Jong at 16% and Sam Sullivan at 1.8%.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After that Stone sank like his namesake, exiting with 20%.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What happened? How did Wilkinson jump from 18% first ballot support to 53% in the fifth and final vote? And will the BC NDP risk underestimating him?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First - credit Wilkinson for manufacturing a narrow win by doing all the little things right. Known as a cold fish, snarky speaker and exuding all the charm of an undertaker, Wilkinson set about to change his public image and persona.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rather than talking about being both a medical doctor and lawyer as well as a Rhodes Scholar, Wilkinson talked about delivering babies in Campbell River, growing up in Kamloops without a lot of money and living north of Cache Creek. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Smart positioning instead of talking about being smart. Identifying himself as a doctor - one of the most trusted occupations in our society. Making people forget he represents uber-rich Vancouver Quilchena riding by referencing where he grew up. </span><br />
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Charlie Smith, editor of the Georgia Straight, points this out in a <a href="https://www.straight.com/news/1028206/andrew-wilkinson-should-not-be-underestimated-progressive-british-columbians">new article today</a> rightly warning the BC NDP to not underestimate Wilkinson. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the same time, Wilkinson has a serious challenge - keeping the fractured party together - which he acknowledged bluntly in his victory speech. And that is doubly difficult for a guy who only got 18% of BC Liberal members to make him their first pick for leader. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unlike me, Smith was one of the few who correctly called Wilkinson the winner well in advance of the lengthy voting yesterday, <a href="https://www.straight.com/news/1012446/2018-predictions-vancouver-bc-canada-and-world">saying on December 29</a> that: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"</span><span 0.2px="" 16px="" 600="" font-family:="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" georgia="" imes="" letter-spacing:="" new="" quot="" roman="" serif="" times=""><b>Andrew Wilkinson will win the B.C. Liberal leadership race</b></span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;">The MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena is not the most dynamic speaker. And his name recognition with the public is still quite low. But the former B.C. Liberal party president has run the most effective campaign to replace Christy Clark."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All true.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Second - and perhaps most importantly - Wilkinson spent a lot of time sucking up to the BC Liberal caucus, including before the May 2017 election. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That was evident when Wilkinson emerged with by far the most MLA endorsements - 13 - far more than the seven Todd Stone and Mike de Jong each had - and the bit 0 for either Dianne Watts or Michael Lee or Sam Sullivan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">BC political observers have seen former BC Premier Christy Clark win the 2011 BC Liberal leadership with just one MLA endorsement - the hapless Harry Bloy - and presumed wrongly that endorsements don't matter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This contest proved they do and that Clark's win without caucus support was an anomaly. What's more, that failure to convince sitting MLAs to back her leadership bid nearly cost Clark the premiership when the government ran into serious trouble and BC NDP leader Adrian Dix looked easily positioned to win the 2013 election. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the BC Liberals unique 100 points per riding voting system, a rural riding with 200 members is of equal strength as an urban riding with 5,000 members - each is 100 points.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That meant local MLAs had more influence on the results - and Wilkinson had more of them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As for Stone - the twin troubles of the ICBC "dumpster fire" and his campaign being forced to admit 1,349 membership sign ups were <a href="http://vancouversun.com/news/politics/todd-stone-campaign-admits-to-fake-email-membership-allegations">disqualified for irregularities</a> - and under the auspices of AggregateIQ - the controversial firm connected to Brexit issues in the United Kingdom vote that is under investigation by the Privacy Commissioner there - was simply too much to overcome. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the BC Liberal Party to date not releasing actual vote counts and the participation rate of the 60,000 members it is impossible to know exactly how close things were or whether a small number of votes could have tipped the scale in a different direction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But with most leadership contests in recent years showing turnout of around 55% - see the Alberta United Conservative Party and federal Conservative party<a href="http://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/sask-party-turnout-likely-to-be-very-comparable-to-conservative-ucp-races"> leadership votes </a>- if only 33,000 BC Liberals voted, and given the closeness of the first ballot, it's easy to see that Stone could have indeed been a real contender if not beset by both problems.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And in my own defence - I did correctly predict outsider Dianne Watts would finish in second place - and that an insider would win.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I also <a href="http://billtieleman.blogspot.ca/2018/02/why-todd-stone-should-win-todays-bc.html">wrote this </a>yesterday before the vote: <b>"But Wilkinson should still do well and in an ideal situation become the alternative final ballot choice to Watts - or Stone."</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So while I will endeavour to do better on the prognosticating in the future, I did clearly foresee a possible Wilkinson win over Watts - as actually happened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And that's not bad for predicting a multi-candidate race with up to 60,000 voters in a political party I don't support! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-79483609138241168772018-02-03T12:47:00.000-08:002018-02-03T12:49:46.298-08:00Why Todd Stone should win today's BC Liberal leadership vote over Dianne Watts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RtnDa00Eimo/WnYZbmvZcYI/AAAAAAAAD9k/zZIluxHDU6U0yivu_wu3SZaBPNVUDR7ZACLcBGAs/s1600/Todd%2BStone%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RtnDa00Eimo/WnYZbmvZcYI/AAAAAAAAD9k/zZIluxHDU6U0yivu_wu3SZaBPNVUDR7ZACLcBGAs/s400/Todd%2BStone%2B.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Will Todd Stone be the new BC Liberal leader tonight?</i></span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By Bill Tieleman</b><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://toddstone.ca/"><b>Todd Stone</b></a> should emerge from one of the <a href="http://www.news1130.com/2018/02/01/liberal-leadership-race/">nastiest,</a> most divisive and destructive leadership races we've ever seen in Canada as the BC Liberal Party's new leader this evening </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- and do so over </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.diannewatts.ca/">Dianne Watts</a></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> on the final ballot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Despite a plethora of problems for Stone - from the outrageous <a href="http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-liberals-plan-to-delay-the-fix-at-icbc-fails-miserably">ICBC deficit </a>he created to having over 1,300 of his party membership <a href="http://vancouversun.com/news/politics/todd-stone-campaign-admits-to-fake-email-membership-allegations">signups rejected</a> - the former transportation minister from Kamloops and current opposition MLA, he is still the best placed to win the leadership vote and, t</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">he party membership hopes - eventually the province's premier following the next BC election.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The fact that most of the other candidates have ganged up on Stone in the final days means their campaign teams know Stone is the one to beat, based on their own internal tracking.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And Stone's likelihood of winning is in no small part because of the BC Liberal Party's interesting <a href="https://www.bcliberals.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Leadership-Rules-Procedures-1.pdf">electoral system</a> - which gives 100 points for each of BC's 87 ridings in the voting - or 8,700 in total - meaning the winning candidate needs 4,351 points to win.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4VGGmEk8BjU/WnYc6kkht_I/AAAAAAAAD9w/1IZI2YCRN20h6JZA_NCGicC40fDwLP6mgCLcBGAs/s1600/BC%2BLiberal%2Bleadership%2Bcandidates%2B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="804" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4VGGmEk8BjU/WnYc6kkht_I/AAAAAAAAD9w/1IZI2YCRN20h6JZA_NCGicC40fDwLP6mgCLcBGAs/s400/BC%2BLiberal%2Bleadership%2Bcandidates%2B.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>BC Liberal leadership candidates from left: Mike de Jong, Andrew Wilkinson, Sam Sullivan, Dianne Watts, Michael Lee and Todd Stone at campaign event.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It means that while a strong regionally-based candidate like Dianne Watts, the former Surrey mayor and Stephen Harper Conservative Member of Parliament, can sign up lots of members in a relatively few ridings - they don't matter anything like the do in a province-wide, one member-one vote contest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So the campaign with the most broad, cross-province support - both on the first and subsequent ballots - should win. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Watts, who I expect to finish in second place tonight but still could win, has by all accounts recruited a lot of new members in suburban Metro Vancouver ridings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But even if her campaign signed up 6,000 members in three different ridings and dominated the voting there, it's still only a maximum of 300 points out of 8,700. And a rural riding with just a few hundred members has the same equal voting strength of 100 points. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So of course, the same math applies to newcomer candidate <b><a href="https://www.joinmichael.ca/">Michael Lee</a></b>, BC LIberal MLA for Vancouver-Langara, who claims to have signed up the most new party members.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the key to winning this contest is who BC Liberal members make as their second, third and fourth choices on the ranked ballot - because those redistributed votes will almost surely determine who the new leader is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is also the element of insiders vs outsiders, with those who served in the Christy Clark BC Liberal government viscerally angry with ultimate outsider Dianne Watts trying to take the crown - given Watts only joined the BC Liberal Party after the 2017 election and did nothing to assist that campaign in her home base of Surrey - where the party lost several tough battles to the BC NDP. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Lee is the traditional dark horse candidate who could surprise the favourites - but I believe that despite a very good campaign, impressive candidate and a strong set of strategists, Lee is simply too unknown to the party or public to get to the final ballot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Former Attorney General <b><a href="http://www.andrewwilkinson.ca/">Andrew Wilkinson</a></b> started very strong and still has the most BC Liberal MLA endorsements but as the long campaign wore on, Wilkinson's attempts to be populist and grassroots faded and his traditional chippy, charmless style came out to poor effect. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But Wilkinson should still do well and in an ideal situation become the alternative final ballot choice to Watts - or Stone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ex-Finance Minister <b><a href="https://mikedejong.com/">Mike de Jong</a></b> is having a much better leadership campaign than his ill-fated 2011 effort against winner Christy Clark, when de Jong couldn't find a single fellow caucus member to support him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But with all and sundry blaming the tight-fisted former finance minister for not spending the BC Liberals huge savings pre-election for their stunning 2017 loss, de Jong is not going to win. Nor will his deal to urge second-choice support to Wilkinson and vice-versa make much difference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.samsullivan.ca/">Sam Sullivan</a></b> never expected to win - and he sure won't. The former Vancouver mayor who represents Vancouver-False Creek has run on the most right-wing platform of all candidates with a few wild ideas thrown in - and has been the least vituperative in the donnybrook.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If campaigns matter - and they usually do - Watts has had a terrible effort. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Appearing not just at the outset but throughout the campaign debates as ill-prepared, lacking policies and prescriptions, and beset by her competition repeatedly, Watts is nonetheless popular with some in the party and does not carry the baggage of the Christy Clark premiership that Stone, Wilkinson and de Jong are toting as ex-Clark cabinet ministers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Watts, Lee and Sullivan also have no - as in <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-liberal-leadership-race-whos-running-what-you-need-to-know/article37846986/">zero - BC Liberal MLA support</a> - not a good sign either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wilkinson leads with 13 MLAs backing his bid while Stone and de Jong each have seven, with the remaining BC Liberal MLAs sitting out endorsements for various reasons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Liberal_Party_leadership_election,_2011">Christy Clark proved in 2011 </a>that you could in fact win the leadership with just one MLA backing your campaign - and a very unimpressive one at that - Harry Bloy - but this is a different time and set of candidates. Plus - recent events raise questions about the leadership voting process - was <b>Kevin Falcon</b> <a href="http://www.metronews.ca/news/vancouver/2018/01/31/quick-wins-court-case-puts-new-scrutiny-on-b-c-liberal-leadership-vote.html">robbed of the premiership</a>? Time may tell.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But tonight is about the future of the BC Liberal Party - not its past - and whether Stone, Watts or another candidate wins, the new leader faces a daunting task of uniting a party that is out of power and out of sorts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And then they have to face the formidable battle of taking on BC NDP Premier John Horgan, who is now Canada's second most popular premier and showing that he loves being in government after year in opposition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anything can happen in BC politics - and often does - but periodically BC's right wing forces made up of federal Conservatives and federal Liberals joining together provincially shatters into pieces. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This campaign certainly has been a likely lead up to another political splintering at least for awhile - and being in opposition without the ability to put your former rivals into plum cabinet jobs means the new leader will be hard pressed to create the unity needed to contend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-31345459691734091192018-01-14T17:41:00.000-08:002018-01-14T20:37:21.061-08:00NO BC Proportional Representation Society brings together political opponents to fight Pro-Rep in BC fall referendum <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UTnjIBUfgbc/WlvkoLZFQiI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/IusD9tATdT8DELVgVIyZ9sH8UDFDtJ4yQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_3776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="1183" data-original-width="1600" height="295" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UTnjIBUfgbc/WlvkoLZFQiI/AAAAAAAAD8Y/IusD9tATdT8DELVgVIyZ9sH8UDFDtJ4yQCLcBGAs/s400/IMG_3776.jpg" width="400" /></i></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Bill Tieleman and Suzanne Anton - at CBC Radio launch day</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 18.0pt;">NO BC
PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SOCIETY</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 18.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-align: topleft; mso-effects-shadow-alpha: 40.0%; mso-effects-shadow-angledirection: 2700000; mso-effects-shadow-anglekx: 0; mso-effects-shadow-angleky: 0; mso-effects-shadow-color: black; mso-effects-shadow-dpidistance: 3.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-dpiradius: 4.0pt; mso-effects-shadow-pctsx: 100.0%; mso-effects-shadow-pctsy: 100.0%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">No to
Proportional Representation in BC</span></u></b><b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<b><u><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></u></b>
<i style="font-family: Arial;">I am pleased to share our first news release of the campaign to stop Proportional Representation in BC and keep our current electoral system - First Past The Post - that has served British Columbia well. </i><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";">NEWS RELEASE <span style="mso-tab-count: 6;"> </span>Wednesday
January 10, 2018 </span><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;">Former Attorney General
Suzanne Anton, ex NO-STV President Bill Tieleman, and retired veteran deputy
minister Bob Plecas set up new society to fight Proportional Representation in
2018 vote</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Former BC Liberal Attorney General Suzanne Anton, long-time
BC New Democrat Bill Tieleman – who successfully led opposition to the Single
Transferable Vote electoral system in the 2005 and 2009 provincial referenda,
and Bob Plecas, who served as a deputy minister in multiple portfolios under
several BC governments – have formed the No BC Proportional Representation
Society and serve as its three directors.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PjHCzOkTOgU/WlwF2buLV5I/AAAAAAAAD8s/-wFESg2GUQMC4zhXYHQDakuEyEfa_XVmQCLcBGAs/s1600/Bob-Plecas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="325" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PjHCzOkTOgU/WlwF2buLV5I/AAAAAAAAD8s/-wFESg2GUQMC4zhXYHQDakuEyEfa_XVmQCLcBGAs/s320/Bob-Plecas1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bob Plecas</span></i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Society will work to defeat any proportional
representation system proposed for the fall 2018 referendum schedule and
support the current First Past The Post electoral system that has served BC
well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anton, Tieleman and Plecas say that proportional
representation systems put political parties ahead of voters; are confusing;
cut directly accountable locally-elected representation – especially in rural
areas – and promote extremist parties who can hold the balance of power in
perpetual minority governments, and decide who governs, and with what policies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Proportional representation electoral systems put parties
ahead of people,” said Anton. “Pro-rep systems where 30 to 40 per cent of
elected officials come from a party-chosen list means that party bosses choose
legislators and not people. Those legislators are not from geographic ridings
and are not accountable to citizens.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tieleman says the rise of extremist parties in Europe is
aided by proportional representation, since as little as 1 per cent of the vote
is enough to elect legislators. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Our First Past The Post electoral system forces winning
candidates to gain the support of their ridings and be held directly
accountable to them or face defeat,” says Tieleman. “But proportional representation
systems allow parties with extreme positions of the right or the left to be
elected with a tiny percentage of votes – and then use that validity,
legitimacy and platform to further their cause.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Plecas says his experience working with governments ranging
from Social Credit Premier Bill Bennett to NDP Premier Glen Clark showed him
that the First Past The Post system serves British Columbia well, whatever
their politics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Our current electoral system encourages parties to gain
broad-based support and take into account all regions of the province and all
perspectives – or face defeat,” Plecas said. “It is particularly
important that non-urban voters have locally elected representatives who they
can hold responsible – and ensure their interests are not lost in a rush to
gain urban votes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tieleman and Plecas both helped organize opposition to the
Single Transferable Vote proposed in the 2005 and 2009 referenda, building a
wide coalition with support from all political perspectives. In 2005, STV
was narrowly defeated but in 2009 after a much more significant public debate,
voters strongly rejected STV, a form of proportional representation, by 61 per
cent to 39 per cent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tieleman, who also helped lead opposition to the Harmonized
Sales Tax that was eliminated in a 2011 referendum, warns that the 2018
electoral system referendum will be a difficult test for those who support the
First Past The Post. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The requirement in 2005 and 2009 that 60 per cent of voters
approve of such a fundamental change is now gone and only 50 per cent plus one
could give us a disastrous electoral system with endless minorities, backroom
deals and unaccountable politicians forever,” Tieleman said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“We have our work cut out for us to defeat proportional
representation and not end up like Italy, Israel, Austria or other countries
where the electoral system promotes extremists and damages democracy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anton agreed, saying the No BC Pro-Rep will encourage
British Columbians from every perspective and community to join together to
reject proportional representation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I’m pleased to work with Bill Tieleman because this
referendum is too important for partisan politics,” Anton said. “We will be
building a strong, non-partisan team that supports our current electoral system
and rejects a system that puts parties ahead of people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Plecas, Tieleman and Anton say No BC Pro-Rep will seek to be
the official proponent group opposing proportional representation and
supporting First Past The Post in the provincial referendum, and that they support
equal public funding for both sides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Voters need to hear the arguments for and against
proportional representation and First Past The Post in order to decide for
themselves what’s best for BC,” Plecas said. “The most effective way to do that
is by the government ensuring fair, adequate and equal funding to both sides
for public awareness campaigns, as well as sponsoring debates around the
province.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-78267276259484267102017-12-24T13:42:00.001-08:002017-12-24T13:42:36.650-08:00Merry Christmas to all - from Bill Tieleman and West Star Communications!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J-lXqWNVytk/WkAesKy7JYI/AAAAAAAAD5k/svFo081wAg8j5yhG2T_jYTpLkj6JhFswgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_7708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J-lXqWNVytk/WkAesKy7JYI/AAAAAAAAD5k/svFo081wAg8j5yhG2T_jYTpLkj6JhFswgCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_7708.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And a Happy New Year! May 2018 bring you happiness and health! </span></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-68642873761444191152017-05-08T17:51:00.000-07:002017-05-08T19:04:58.384-07:00Green Party Votes Could Elect Christy Clark – You Only Get One Shot – Do Not Blow This Opportunity!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: large;"><b>Don't vote for this guy .....and get Christy Clark instead!</b></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>BC Green Party leader Andrew Weaver</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i>"You only
get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow </i></span><br />
<i style="font-family: arial;">This opportunity comes once in a lifetime"</i><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial;">- </i><span style="font-family: "arial";">Eminem -</span><i style="font-family: arial;"> <a href="http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/eminem/loseyourself.html">Lose Yourself</a></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>By Bill Tieleman </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Let’s cut to the chase – Christy Clark and the BC Liberals could be narrowly re-elected on May 9 – if enough people who desperately want to get rid of her vote for the Green Party instead of their local BC New Democrat Party candidate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">And then the BC Liberal machine fueled by corporate cash will roll on for another 4 years of abuse – of the environment, people with disabilities, those on social assistance, workers at minimum wage, Metro Vancouver and Victoria renters who will never be able to buy a home or even rent one for long – you name it, people will suffer big time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">And Christy Clark will Cheshire Cat smile at you all the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">That’s what’s at stake – and there is little time left to avoid a potential political disaster.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Fact: the Green Party has one seat and could possibly win a couple more – if it can win more than 35% of the vote in some ridings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Fact: the Green Party is polling at somewhere between 14% and 19% province-wide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Fact: the BC NDP have 35 seats and are polling at about 40%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Fact: the BC Liberals have 47 seats and are also polling at about 40%. But the advantage goes to the BC Liberals -- they have more seats, more money to spend and the benefit of incumbency.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">To defeat Christy Clark it will take the BC NDP to win 10 more seats – and that’s net seats – any seat they lose takes away from those net 10.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I’m not going to question Andrew Weaver and Green candidates any more than I already have – there are serious concerns about whether they care if Christy Clark is re-elected or not – see my <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2017/04/25/Green-Party-Contradictions/">The Tyee column</a></b> to read about their many serious contradictions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">But I will say Weaver has run a good campaign – good enough that it might unfortunately just let Christy Clark sneak back into power by encouraging enough voters to case a Green ballot in ridings that the BC NDP simply must win or hold to have a chance to defeat the BC Liberals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">In those ridings a Green vote will not elect a Green MLA – it will ensure the elections of a BC Liberal MLA who will be led by Christy Clark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you are concerned about the environment, if you are upset with the Christy Clark government’s cheerleading support for hunting grizzly bears, for oil tankers, the Kinder Morgan pipeline, LNG, Site C – it’s a long list – then you owe it to yourself to think carefully about your vote on May 9.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you also care about Christy Clark’s pay for play politics, about the unlimited corporate and foreign donations to the BC Liberal Party that have given it a huge advantage – think carefully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you are concerned about the lack of integrity in the BC Liberals – a party led by a campaign manager who is facing criminal breach of trust charges in Ontario for her alleged role in deleting government records while serving as deputy chief of staff to a former Liberal premier – watch this <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV-N9vlURuU">hard hitting independent video</a></b> – the toughest look at BC Liberal charges and convictions – from the Better Government BC Society – and think carefully about your vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">You may not like our electoral system but it’s the candidate with the most votes who wins – and with three parties it’s a zero-sum game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you take away your vote from the NDP candidate and give it to the Green candidate, unless that Green can take 38% or more of the vote – you are helping a BC Liberal win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s that simple.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It's also important for potential Green Party voters to check out the <b><a href="https://www.bcndp.ca/platform">BC NDP platform</a></b> - because there are a lot of similarities - including a commitment to end corporate and union donations in politics - a change that simply has to happen to end the ability of any party to unfairly influence both elections and government policies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">And if you don't believe me, check out the <a href="http://www.straight.com/news/907041/martyn-brown-my-shortest-column-ever"><b>same math from Martyn Brown</b></a>, the former chief of staff to Premier Gordon Campbell - who now wants Christy Clark defeated. As Brown rightly says: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span 18.6667px="" arial="" font-family:="" font-size:="" quot="" s="">"</span><span 0.15pt="" 12pt="" arial="" font-family:="" font-size:="" letter-spacing:="" quot="">Four more years wasted:
that will be our sentence, if we split the vote for change, instead of standing
together for new NDP government that might liberate the change we all want,
green and orange alike.</span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Friends: don't do
the crime if you can't bear the time."</span></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">It's all down to the wire now -- and as Eminem said: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i>"Look, if you had, one shot, or one opportunity<br />To seize everything you ever wanted. In one moment<br />Would you capture it, or just let it slip?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">This is your one shot - </span><span style="font-family: "arial";">your opportunity to defeat the Christy Clark BC Liberals and it takes a vote for the BC NDP to do it – don’t let this chance slip.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "arial";">Bill Tieleman is a former NDP strategist whose West
Star Communications firm has clients in labour, business, not-for-profits and
First Nations.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #404040; font-family: "arial";"><span style="background-color: white; color: #cccccc; font-size: small;">.</span></span></i></div>
<br />Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-1142427549625179402017-05-06T17:10:00.000-07:002019-10-20T18:46:05.339-07:00Warren Kinsella's despicable and defamatory attack on BC NDP unbelievable but aimed to help Christy Clark BC Liberals<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Warren Kinsella makes defamatory, despicable and untrue attack on BC NDP in desperate effort to support Christy Clark BC Liberals</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3wSJbY1J5P4/WQ5jR8f7lZI/AAAAAAAAD2g/x5rfnUTvdJMqPKKazJ5SBmvTW50UuNzmgCLcB/s1600/maxresdefault-580x278.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3wSJbY1J5P4/WQ5jR8f7lZI/AAAAAAAAD2g/x5rfnUTvdJMqPKKazJ5SBmvTW50UuNzmgCLcB/s400/maxresdefault-580x278.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Warren Kinsella - Christy Clark - BC Liberal backer</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>By Bill Tieleman </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><u>UPDATE OCTOBER 2019</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I was blocked on Twitter by Warren Kinsella - who I know and have met a few times in the past - after I wrote this column in 2017 taking him rightly to task for an outrageously incorrect attack in a column prior to the May 2017 BC election.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>I frankly didn't notice that I was <b>#BlockedbyWarrenKinsella </b>for quite awhile, then somewhat mystified when I found out. He has never contacted me to complain or ask for anything below to be corrected.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>But since the revelation this week that he was hired by the federal Conservative Party to attempt to trash their right-wing opponents, the People's Party of Canada and leader Maxime Bernier, it appears clear that the mercenary and politically unprincipled approach he takes includes attempting to silence criticism. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>That the Green Party and Elizabeth May hired Kinsella prior to the 2019 election to set up their war room speaks volumes about them as well.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>Here's the original article I wrote in 2017: </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Warren Kinsella has launched a defamatory, despicable and unbelievable attack on the BC NDP as the provincial election draws to a close - a desperate effort to support Christy Clark and the BC Liberals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have often agreed with Kinsella views but his Huffington Post <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/warren-kinsella/bc-election-ndp_b_16407112.html">column</a> <b>"</b></span><span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""><b>10 Reasons I Want The B.C. NDP To Lose"</b> is a scurrilous, unsubstantiated and unfair attack that needs a factual rebuttal.</span><br />
<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""><br /></span>
<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif="">Kinsella - a lifelong federal Liberal who worked for the BC Liberals in the 1996 losing provincial election - where I was communications director to BC NDP Premier Glen Clark - is welcome to his opinion, but his over the top, mostly fact-free column is outrageous. Start with:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Reason 3</b> <b>- "Election '96"</b>. Kinsella makes this totally unsubstantiated claim about the 1996 election: "</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span border-box="" border-color:="" border-image:="" border-style:="" box-sizing:="" inherit="" initial="" line-height:=""><span style="color: #058b7b;">The NDP won because they had gerrymandered the province while in power. Period.</span>" and to "prove" it links to a BC Hansard page that actually dates to 2007 and features BC NDP MLAs complaining about <u>BC Liberal changes</u> to the independent Boundaries Commission report - changes that the BC NDP said were wrong. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span border-box="" border-color:="" border-image:="" border-style:="" box-sizing:="" inherit="" initial="" line-height:=""><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As current BC NDP leader John Horgan <a href="https://www.leg.bc.ca/documents-data/debate-transcripts/38th-parliament/3rd-session/H71120p">put it then</a>, the BC Liberal legislation amounted to: "Blatant interference by the Premier in the work of an independent commission." That would be </span><span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif="">former BC Premier Gordon Campbell - who Kinsella greatly admires and who he claims offered him the job of his chief of staff, which Kinsella declined.</span><br />
<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""><br /></span>
<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif="">In fact, the BC Liberals lost the election because they ran a poor campaign despite coming in with a huge lead in the polls. And because Campbell's campaign manager was caught out discussing a backroom deal with the Social Credit party in the final days of the campaign that would have seen most Socred candidates drop out except for their leader to help elect BC Liberals, who would withdraw from the Socred leader's constituency to let him win.</span><br />
<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""><br /></span>
<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif="">The BC Liberals also lost because they were going to slash health care and education funding, privatize BC Rail and reduce the number of seats in Northern and rural BC. That was a rallying cry for the new right-wing Reform Party of BC, who won 2 seats and 9% of the vote.</span><br />
<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""><br /></span>
<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif="">Kinsella's whining about winning more of the popular vote echoes Campbell's at the time - but our electoral system is based on the number of seats won, not across the province vote totals, as both know well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Reason 4 - "Creeps" - </b>the most outrageous thing Kinsella writes: "The B.C. NDP were the sleaziest, dirtiest, scummiest opponents I'd ever encountered in a campaign. While we had a few Young Liberals to help set up events, for example, Glen Clark's B.C. NDP could rely on the assistance of big union guys to help them -- and, occasionally, interfere with our events." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">No facts, no details, not a shred of evidence - just an ad hominem and defamatory smear job by Kinsella. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, the BC Liberals in 1996 - as in the 2017 campaign - sent around a truck to follow the BC NDP campaign bus to try to disrupt media events constantly. It was a desperate move that backfired but it there was only one party doing it - the BC Liberals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I disagreed then and now with much of the BC Liberal campaign tactics but I've never described them in the offensive, derogatory and untrue way Kinsella does. He owes the BC NDP an apology for this part alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Reason 7 - "Scandal" </b>- clear defamatory, without any evidence and offensive. I will risk repeating a libel only to dispel each factually inaccurate claim.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kinsella wrote: "As we B.C. Libs had predicted, the Glen Clark NDP turned out to be the most corrupt provincial government in modern Canadian history. They stole from charities (<a 0px="" b7b="" baseline="" border-box="" border:="" box-sizing:="" color:="" href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/man-behind-bingogate-pleads-guilty-1.188366" inherit="" line-height:="" margin:="" none="" padding:="" target="_hplink" text-decoration-line:="" vertical-align:="">Google "Bingogate"</a>). They were linked to bribes (<a 0px="" b7b="" baseline="" border-box="" border:="" box-sizing:="" color:="" href="http://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/hydrogate-revisited-how-a-simple-disclosure-document-unearthed-a-big-scandal" inherit="" line-height:="" margin:="" none="" padding:="" target="_hplink" text-decoration-line:="" vertical-align:="">Google "Hydro-gate"</a>). And, of course, there was the deck that killed off an NDP Premier (<a 0px="" b7b="" baseline="" border-box="" border:="" box-sizing:="" color:="" href="https://thetyee.ca/Life/2013/05/13/Glen-Clarks-Deck/" inherit="" line-height:="" margin:="" none="" padding:="" target="_hplink" text-decoration-line:="" vertical-align:="">Google "Glen Clark," "deck" and "act of folly"</a>). The B.C. NDP treated the provincial treasury like it was their personal piggybank. Their name was synonymous with scandal."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>First </b>- the NDP governments of Mike Harcourt from 1991 to 1996 and Glen Clark from 1996 to 1999 were elected long after the "Bingogate" scandal had occurred and had nothing to do with Mike or Glen. Former NDP MLA Dave Stupich, now deceased, pled guilty to fraud charges in 1999.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Second</b> - it was NDP Premier Glen Clark <b><a href="http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/bcdocs/377079/bcp_nr_april_24_1996.pdf">who in 1996 appointed</a> </b>former Supreme Court of BC Chief Justice Nathan Nemetz to investigate the Nanaimo Commonwealth Holding Society scandal - far from covering anything up, Justice Nemetz launched a comprehensive review.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Third</b> - it was BC Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell who <b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/b-c-liberals-scrap-bingogate-inquiry-1.294566">shut down the Nemetz commission</a>! </b>Was the commission getting too close to other parties' past dubious fundraising activities? We will never know. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Fourth</b> - allegations of being "linked to bribes" are highly defamatory - and untrue! The "Hydro-gate" case Kinsella mentions did not involve bribes but did involve undisclosed BC Hydro investment in a Pakistan power project. Glen Clark swiftly fired both the chair and CEO of BC Hydro just weeks before the election - and won that vote despite "Hydro-gate".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Fifth</b> - Glen Clark was <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/glen-clark-not-guilty-in-breach-of-trust-case-1.308508">acquitted</a> of a breach of trust charge in the so-called "Casinogate" affair after a neighbour who had made a casino license application allegedly did renovations for the premier without charging fully for them. Clark had been forced to resign after it was revealed he was under police investigation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Clark - to his great credit - worked his way up from a manager position in the Jim Pattison sign division to become <a href="https://www.jimpattison.com/about/leadership/">President and Chief Operating Officer</a> of the entire organization - with revenue of $9.6 billion it is Canada's <a href="https://www.jimpattison.com/about/our-story/">second largest private company</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The only criminal activity by a BC Premier in history was when <b><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/b-c-premier-should-quit-over-drunk-driving-charge-madd-1.372946">Gordon Campbell was caught in Maui drunk driving</a>,</b> spent the night in jail - the first premier ever to put Canada in such an embarrassing situation - and was<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/b-c-premier-fined-for-drunk-driving-1.395741"> fined $1,350 </a>for the offence. </span><span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Mr. Campbell is sufficiently embarrassed and ashamed for what he did, as well he should be," said Maui District Judge Reinette Cooper.</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And if Kinsella wants to talk about scandals - how about the fact that Christy Clark's BC Liberal Campaign Director Laura Miller was hired despite facing <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/laura-miller-christy-clarks-new-campaign-chief-facing-charges/article31892570/"><b>criminal breach of trust charges</b></a> in Ontario this fall, where police allege she was involved in deleting government records relating to the $1.1 billion gas plant cancellation when she was deputy chief of staff to then-Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty. </span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And Brian Bonney - a BC Liberal operative and ex-communications director in the BC Liberal government's multicultural ministry - also faces a <b><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/former-bc-government-staffer-charged-in-ethnic-outreach-scandal/article30059575/">criminal breach of trust charge</a></b> later this year for alleged activities while in government.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And the list goes on much longer - so much so that a new group called the Better Government BC Society launched a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV-N9vlURuU"><b>very tough 1 minute online video</b> </a>that's received over 33,000 views and thousands of Facebook shares.</span><br />
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #111111; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Reason 10 - "John Horgan" </b>- Kinsella makes far too much of an offhand comment made by the BC NDP leader in a radio debate and then launches into this smear: "</span><span s=""><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He has been incoherent, policy-wise. He has no self-control, and he has no understanding of even basic economics -- and how to keep the strongest economy in Canada strong. He would be an unmitigated disaster for British Columbia."</span></span><br />
<span color:=""><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, Horgan released a fully-costed <b><a href="https://www.bcndp.ca/platform">BC NDP platform</a></b> last month that uses the BC LIberal budget financial data for all its calculations. Horgan has been a strong opposition MLA since 2005 and worked in the BC NDP governments before that in several senior positions - including as chief of staff to interim BC NDP Premier Dan Miller. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Kinsella is free to criticize Horgan or the BC NDP platform - but try doing it on the facts and with counter arguments, not simply ridiculous rhetoric.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hNuuCROnLro/WQ5lmCv5hVI/AAAAAAAAD24/OWj18QR5D9smeWptm_hC1Lvgv48ap3UWwCLcB/s1600/1079121_10153012451255063_701410794_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hNuuCROnLro/WQ5lmCv5hVI/AAAAAAAAD24/OWj18QR5D9smeWptm_hC1Lvgv48ap3UWwCLcB/s320/1079121_10153012451255063_701410794_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bill Tieleman </span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All in all, the veteran political operative Warren Kinsella does neither his reputation nor his chosen Christy Clark BC Liberals any favours with</span><span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""> a defamatory, </span><span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif="">wildly inaccurate and very unfair column of insults to his opponents. You would think by now he'd know better.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Bill Tieleman is a columnist for 24 Hours Vancouver and The Tyee online. He runs West Star Communications, a Vancouver strategy and communications consulting firm. Tieleman was Communications Director to BC NDP Premier Glen Clark in the 1996 upset election win and also Strategist for Fight HST, the grassroots organization that forced and won a binding referendum to eliminate the BC Harmonized Sales Tax. Fight HST was led by former Social Credit Premier Bill Vander Zalm. </i></span></div>
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<span arial="" font-family:="" helvetica="" quot="" sans-serif=""><br /></span>Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-84171811625813494152017-03-27T23:58:00.000-07:002017-03-27T23:58:16.407-07:00Why I am voting to Re-Elect Lily Grewal to the VanCity Credit Union Board of Directors<div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lily Grewal and her son</span></i></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Vote to Re-Elect Lily Grewal to the VanCity Credit Union Board of Directors</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am pleased to again endorse <i>Lily Grewal</i> for re-election to the <b>VanCity Credit Union Board of Directors</b>!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a former <b>VanCity director</b>, I am particularly keen on good people being elected to the Board of Canada's largest credit union - and the one I do business with professionally and personally - and Lily Grewal is definitely one of those people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Voting starts Tuesday March 28 and ends and I hope you will cast a ballot for </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.lilygrewal.ca/" style="color: #2462a5;"><span style="color: blue;">Lily Grewa</span>l</a> </b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">- who has done a fine job in her first term as a Director the last three years, including serving as Chair of the Human Resources </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Committee.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's important that the VanCity Board reflect the diversity and experiences of our entire community - and Lily has helped do that at this very important financial institution: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lily is the first </span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">South Asian woman elected to the VanCity Board and is also </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">representing </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the needed perspective of those members who live south of the Fraser River - as a Delta resident.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lily also brings her </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">strong background of working with immigrant communities, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">unions,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">non-profits, social justice, cooperatives and much more. She has</span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"> a Masters in Social Work with 15 years experience working with communities and non-profits and have spent the last 10 years in government working to help immigrants make BC their home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: ArialMT;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: ArialMT;">Lily has also served on the boards of several other organizations, including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Vancity Community Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Delta/Richmond.</span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: ArialMT;">She is </span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">committed to progressive values and social justice and I urge you to re-elect Lily.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: xx-small;">.</span>Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-71460936507296130602016-11-21T10:56:00.000-08:002016-11-21T10:56:06.267-08:00With So Many Tragedies - and Now Election of Donald Trump - Is This The Biblical ‘End of Days?’<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Is Donald Trump's election another sign of the End of Days? Or a Nostradamus prediction?</i></span></td></tr>
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<b style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt;">The world
seems to darken with every live-streamed horror. And then Trump won the U.S. election! But consider this small
empirical comfort.</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Bill Tieleman’s </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2016/07/18/are-we-living-in-a-biblical-end-of-days"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">24 Hours Vancouver</span></b></a></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"> <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/07/19/Is-It-End-of-Days/">/ The Tyee</a>
column<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">July 19, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By Bill Tieleman</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">“Whoa,
thought it was a nightmare/Lo, it’s all so true,</span></i><i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "MS Mincho"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";"> </span></i><i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">They told me, ‘Don't go walkin’
slow/Cause Devil’s on the loose.”</span></i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">– “Run
Through The Jungle,” Creedence Clearwater Revival<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">Are we
living in the Biblical “End of Days” prophecy as terrorism, disasters and evil
abound around the world?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">The
astonishing level of terrible violence and disturbing events have started to
make many wonder if we are on the verge of a dark new era – or even the
beginning of the end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">The signs are
ominous: the horrific 84 deaths caused in Nice, France by a deranged man
driving a big truck through celebrating crowds; a military coup attempt in
Turkey with hundreds killed; black men shot by police during traffic stops and
then revenge killings of officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge; millions of Syrian
refugees fleeing civil war, with thousands dying in conflict; the Zika virus
spreading from Brazil and threatening the summer Olympics; and much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">Those recent
events follow terrorist-style attacks in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida in
June; suicide bombers at Istanbul’s Airport in Turkey in June and Belgium’s
Brussels’ airport in March; two Canadians kidnapped and beheaded in the
Philippines; and many more gruesome murders.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">So far in
July alone there have been over 90 reported terrorist incidents, on average
more than five a day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">And many
have been broadcast live to the world through social media – including tragic
on camera deaths and bloody carnage – magnifying the effect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">UPDATE:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And as if that isn’t enough, the election of
Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump is being seen by some as part of
the fabled prophet Nostradamus’s predictions 400 years ago!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/2163068/donald-trumps-victory-was-predicted-by-nostradamus-who-said-it-would-bring-about-the-end-of-the-world-say-conspiracy-theorists/">Nostradamus</a>
wrote: “</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The great
shameless, audacious bawler. He will be elected governor of the army: The boldness
of his contention….The bridge broken, the city faint from fear.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yikes!<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">It truly
seems that the “devil’s on the loose” – but is it the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_time"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">“End of Days?”</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">What the
writings say</span></b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">The term and
similar ones such as “End Time” or “Final Days” or “Eschaton” are used not only
in Christian writings but also most other religions, including Hinduism,
Buddhism, Islam, Rastafarianism and Norse mythology.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">In the
Bible, Jesus is quoted as <a href="http://www.catholic.org/bible/book.php?bible_chapter=24&id=47"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">saying</span></a>
to his disciples in Matthew chapter 24 that: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">“You will hear
of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this is
something that must happen, but <a href="http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=12332"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">the end</span></a>
will not be yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">“For
nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All this is
only the beginning...”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">Sounds grim.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">And some
fundamentalist Christians <a href="http://www.signs-of-end-times.com/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">claim</span></a>
that: “We in 2016, are living in the end of time for this world as we know it.
The Biblical signs are clear for all to see...”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">But the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ragnarok</span></a> – the Norse
religion’s “doom of the gods” – is also pretty darn nasty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">Ragnarok is
when the sun and moon disappear into cold and darkness, the Earth sinks into
the sea, and both humans and gods perish in violent conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">And yet, in
both these and other religions, the end of days are followed by rebirth – like
Christ’s promised second coming – with a new, better world eventually emerging.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">Some
empirical comfort</span></b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">For those of
us not inclined to follow any religion, a more empirical, scientific analysis
also brings some comfort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">The world
has been beset by terrorism, war, plagues, earthquakes, floods and other
catastrophes since its inception.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">And while
the current string of horrific incidents both human and natural is deeply
disturbing, consider 20th century <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_by_death_toll"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">history</span></a>
for comparison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">The First
World War began with an act of terrorism and ended with over 16 million dead,
but it was merely a precursor to the Second World War, with between 50 and 85
million killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">That century
also saw the Chinese civil war – 8 million killed; the Russian revolution and
war – 5-9 million killed; the Korean War – 1.2 million dead; the Vietnam War –
1.3 million killed; and dozens of other bloody conflicts that killed many millions
more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">The 20th
century also marked the introduction of the atomic bomb, chemical and germ
warfare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">And in 1918,
the influenza pandemic killed between 50 and 100 million people – three to five
per cent of the entire world’s population – one of deadliest natural disasters
in human history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">The 20th
century also saw the rise of other deadly illnesses: HIV/AIDS, Ebola, avian flu
and SARS to name a few.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">So are we
really at the “End of Days” when one applies some rational perspective to these
apocalyptic events that humanity has survived? No, certainly not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">No matter how
horrible the loss of life, how cruel the terrorist attacks, how scary the
illnesses or how stunning the catastrophes – it’s worth remembering that the
world has both seen and survived far worse.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: #d0cece; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 230;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-30581596924253513012016-11-12T13:46:00.000-08:002016-11-12T13:46:20.611-08:00Discussing Vancouver Housing Data Isn’t "Racist" - And It shows How Chinese Foreign Buyers Are Driving Up Home Prices<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q9VlinGL7go/WCeMNhs9FGI/AAAAAAAADxg/p_uLccVpXe0JNWI3-9_VaO-FvoUMxEU2wCLcB/s1600/vancouver-housing-bubble-chart-1-1024x608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q9VlinGL7go/WCeMNhs9FGI/AAAAAAAADxg/p_uLccVpXe0JNWI3-9_VaO-FvoUMxEU2wCLcB/s400/vancouver-housing-bubble-chart-1-1024x608.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: small; text-align: centre;"><i>UBS Global Real Estate Index released in September 2016 shows Vancouver with highest "bubble risk" in the world for housing prices.</i></td></tr>
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<b>Government
stats show foreign purchasers buying up real estate equal in value to all new
home construction.</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Bill Tieleman’s <a href="http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2016/07/11/discussing-vancouver-housing-data-isnt-racist">24
Hours Vancouver</a> / <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/07/12/Chinese-Buyers-Vancouver-Home-Prices/">The
Tyee</a> column<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>July 12, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By Bill Tieleman</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">"Buy
land; they're not making it any more."</span></i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">- <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marktwain380355.html"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">Mark Twain</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Chinese and
other foreign investors buying up homes are spending an amount almost equal to
the value of all new housing being built in Metro Vancouver, creating
skyrocketing prices that are driving local people out of the market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">That
conclusion is easily drawn from last week's B.C. government release of new <a href="http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2943160/PPP-Housing-Data-Final.pdf"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">statistics</span></a>
on foreign housing purchases.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">While
woefully inadequate, they still show that the new supply of housing built each
month effectively disappears from the market as foreign buyers -- mostly
Chinese -- scoop up real estate of equivalent value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">And, as
Twain says, they aren't making land anymore. It's like exporting a
non-renewable resource.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">UPDATE:</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark did a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/christy-clark-takes-on-big-risk-with-foreign-home-buyers-tax-1.3701164">complete
reversal</a> in late July on her previous strong position that no action was
needed to deal with skyrocketing Metro Vancouver housing prices caused by
foreign buyer speculation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The BC
Liberal imposition of a foreign buyer property tax of 15% in Metro Vancouver
has significantly <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/10/28/bc-foreign-buyers-tax_n_12695212.html">reduced
non-Canadian home purchases</a> to about 1.3% of sales from 13.2% earlier this
summer.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">But composite benchmark housing prices
remain extraordinarily high despite the tax:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>they are up 28.9% since September 2015 and down only 0.1% since August –
meaning Metro Vancouver is still utterly unaffordable to most citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">The Metro Vancouver
ramifications are enormous:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">• Insanely
high housing prices, up <a href="http://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/1986936/vancouver-sees-doubling-sales-homes-worth-over-c4-million"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">32 per cent</span></a>
this June over June 2015, for an average price of $917,800.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">•
Phenomenally low rental vacancy rates that mean rents are consequently going
through the roof, with Vancity Credit Union <a href="http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-rental-market-too-pricey-for-young-workers-vancity-report"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">reporting</span></a>
young workers are being priced out of the Vancouver rental market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">• A
development and home construction industry that has become dependent on Chinese
foreign sales and escalating prices to prosper, meaning any ownership
restrictions could seriously hurt employment and the B.C. economy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Government
data flawed, but revealing</span></b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">First, look
at the government numbers released by Finance Minister Mike de Jong last week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">De Jong
deliberately directed media attention to the apparently low percentage of
foreign housing buyers, even though the statistics came from just three weeks
of June data that suspiciously did not include the final day of the month, when
most sales go through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Nor was that
information <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-real-estate-foreign-home-ownership-data-1.3668460"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">definitive</span></a>.
The government counts on buyers to declare their nationality voluntarily; it
doesn't consider whether the real owners are using family members or others
representatives to buy housing; nor does reveal whether a buyer with permanent
residency actually works or pays taxes in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">These flawed
statistics are challenged by estimates like that of the National Bank of Canada
<a href="https://nbf.bluematrix.com/sellside/EmailDocViewer?encrypt=5ef50212-0fd5-41cb-9e7c-94ee145e6208&mime=pdf&co=nbf&id=peter.routledge@nbc.ca&source=mail"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">stating</span></a>
that Chinese buyers may have spent up to $12 billion on Metro Vancouver real
estate last year -- one-third of all sales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Regardless,
the B.C. stats show that from June 10 to 29 the value of Metro Vancouver house
sales to foreign nationals was $351 million, or 6.5 per cent of the total of $5
billion in sales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">The
overwhelming majority of sales -- 234 out of 284 -- are to Chinese nationals.
Citizens from Korea and Taiwan were second at just five purchases each.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">If that $351
million over 20 days is extrapolated to an entire year, the estimated value of
foreign residential sales would be $6.4 billion, far less than the National
Bank's estimate, but still huge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Compare that
to the value of new building permits per year in Metro Vancouver -- roughly
$6.5 billion in 2015, Statistics Canada <a href="http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/regional-planning/PlanningPublications/BuildingPermitsValuesResidential.pdf"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">figures</span></a>
show.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">That means
foreign buyers' purchases are virtually equal to the value of new building
permits in Metro Vancouver each year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">It's
about money, not race or nationality</span></b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Pointing
that out is not racist. It's a factual observation based on the B.C.
government's incomplete but still indicative data collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">As Ian
Young, the South China Morning Post's Vancouver correspondent, <a href="http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/chinese-real-estate-investors-are-reshaping-the-market/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">noted</span></a>,
the issue is money, not race. "Why would you think that someone was better
defined by the colour of their skin than the colour of their money?" asks
Young, who is of Chinese origin himself, raised in Australia and Hong Kong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">If foreign
investment is equal to all new construction, is it any wonder prices are going
through the roof?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">The
important number is not the 6.5 per cent of sales to foreign buyers -- it's the
ratio of foreign investment to new construction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">To be clear,
foreign buyers are not snapping up all the new homes. But their purchases have
a value greater than all the new construction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">And if
foreign nationals don't occupy or rent their new homes, the rental market
shrinks. Even those who can't possibly afford to buy their own home in Metro
Vancouver are screwed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">The Vancity
report <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/high-rents-low-vacancy-rates-create-crisis-for-vancouver-region-study/article30785297/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">"Rent Race:
The Growing Unaffordability of Rent in Metro Vancouver"</span></a> makes
for depressing reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">"We
have made an assumption that the rental market is there for people who can't
afford to get into the housing market as an owner," Vancity community
investment vice-president William Azaroff says. "What we're saying is:
'Hmm. Not so fast. That's not true.'"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">With average
Metro Vancouver rents of $1,144 per month and vacancies at less than one per
cent, younger and lower-income households are in deep trouble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">And
Vancouver city is even worse, with an average rent of $1,233 late last year,
and a vacancy rate of 0.6 per cent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">So forget
the nationality of homebuyers and ask why anyone would let another country's
citizens make homes unaffordable?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Ridiculous?
That's why I repeat my call for a six-month ban on the foreign purchase of B.C.
homes to find longer-term solutions and stop the insanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-56016442869657968482016-11-09T00:29:00.000-08:002016-11-09T00:29:13.177-08:00Left wingers - stop the despair over Donald Trump's victory and get some perspective on history!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OTfyoRC6x2g/VrvdNR0o8FI/AAAAAAAADl0/QjrLDHnPT_EINt6f7RSLUEmnS_j8OsxygCPcB/s1600/5440392565_25abd8a695_o-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OTfyoRC6x2g/VrvdNR0o8FI/AAAAAAAADl0/QjrLDHnPT_EINt6f7RSLUEmnS_j8OsxygCPcB/s400/5440392565_25abd8a695_o-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump</span></i></td></tr>
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<div style="color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -0.23999999463558197px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To my fellow left wingers in despair tonight as President-Elect Donald Trump speaks: this is not the end of the world, not close. Trump is a divisive, obnoxious and often offensive candidate - he may be very dangerous indeed. </span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -0.23999999463558197px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -0.23999999463558197px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the United States and the world have survived more dangerous presidents in more difficult times.</span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -0.23999999463558197px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -0.23999999463558197px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Richard Nixon was a paranoid psychopath who escalated the immoral Vietnam War, bombed Cambodia and Laos, persecuted his political enemies and brought <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">the world close to war. He backed the military overthrow of democratically-elected Chilean President Salvador Allende and supported the Pinochet dictatorship.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -0.23999999463558197px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
Ronald Reagan was approaching senility during his presidency, waged covert war against Nicaragua, supported death squads in El Salvador and Guatemala and much more.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
George W. Bush was a cocaine using draft avoider who invaded Iraq and Afghanistan at huge cost of lives while destabilizing the entire Middle East to this day, while VP Dick Cheney and others ran the US government. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Trump may yet prove worse, though those are terrible enough measures on which to judge.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
But let us reflect - and not get wrapped up in overwrought emotion when a clear sense of history is so urgently needed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
.</div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-47086647876831707922016-11-08T17:04:00.001-08:002016-11-08T17:05:09.200-08:00Ignore the Elites: You Have a Right to Vote Post-Brexit. Some Pundits Call a Referendum 'Anti-Democratic.' Don't Buy It!<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1518/24863504319_0778d238f4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1518/24863504319_0778d238f4_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Brexit referendum let United Kingdom voters decided on European Union membership</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Canada's elites don't like giving people a vote on key issues - they would rather decide for you - because they think you are not smart enough</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">Bill Tieleman’s <a href="http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2016/07/04/elites-trying-to-take-away-your-vote">24 HoursVancouver </a>/ <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/07/05/Ignore-the-Elites/">The Tyee </a>column<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">July 5, 2016<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;">By Bill Tieleman</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">"We
decide not to have referendums for a good reason -- these are bloody
complicated issues... It's anti-democratic."</span></i><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">- <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/714056259663"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">Mel Cappe</span></a>,
former Canadian deputy minister, on the Brexit vote</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You heard
that correctly -- giving Canadians a referendum vote on important issues is
"anti-democratic," because our elites think you're too stupid to make
the right decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those
Canadian elites don't want you to ever make decisions through direct democracy
-- instead they demand that only politicians get to vote. And that, of course,
means the party with a Parliamentary majority actually decides.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately,
the elites have become even further entrenched in that "we know better
than you" attitude with the recent narrow decision by United Kingdom
voters to leave the European Union in the tumultuous Brexit situation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And there is
an obvious Canadian example where both the federal Liberal government and most
of the country's elites are in lockstep -- denying voters a referendum to
decide on which electoral system we will use to choose our governments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As
Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef disingenuously <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/monsef-electoral-reform-changes-referendum-1.3428593"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">put it</span></a>:
"To reduce this national conversation to a simple 'Yes' or 'No' is taking
a short cut and doing a great disservice to Canadians and to this incredible
opportunity we have here to engage Canadians."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In other
words, engage but without giving Canadians a vote. That attitude is
condescending, insulting and outrageous.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And 73 per
cent of Canadians in a <a href="http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=7244"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">recent poll</span></a>
disagreed with Monsef, saying a referendum is needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They
understand that the most fundamental, unequivocal heart of a democracy is that
the voters have the right to be in charge -- not the politicians they elect to
run government on their behalf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And on major
issues like changing the electoral system or the constitution, the people must
decide through a fair democratic vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Brexit
vote results may be terrible or tremendous, depending on your point of view,
but it is undeniably democratic -- and must be respected as such.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With a 72
per cent turnout -- far higher than recent Canadian elections -- and 33.5
million voting, you would think no one could deny the legitimacy of the
exercise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But never
underestimate the arrogance of the elites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">A great
BC initiative</span></b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fortunately,
in British Columbia, ordinary citizens can petition to demand a vote on any
issue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And though
our Initiative legislation is woefully weak because it doesn't create a binding
vote and is extremely difficult to trigger -- requiring the valid signatures of
10 per cent of voters in every one of B.C.'s 85 ridings be collected within 90
days -- it does exist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And in 2010,
Fight HST -- where I was <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Presents/2014/10/22/Master-Class-Tieleman-Cond/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">strategist</span></a>
under leader Bill Vander Zalm, the former B.C. premier -- surprised by doing
just that for the first time ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That <a href="http://www3.elections.bc.ca/docs/init/Summary-Initiatives-1995-2012.pdf"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">Citizens
Initiative</span></a> collected over 557,000 valid signatures, forced a vote on
the harmonized sales tax that was later made binding, and finally British
Columbians voted in 2011 to extinguish the HST.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">B.C. also
held two democratic referenda on the proposed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BC-STV"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">Single Transferable Vote</span></a>
electoral system, in 2005 and 2009, rejecting it both times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But the
elites don't like referenda -- and they make it very clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mel Cappe is
not only a former federal <a href="http://publicpolicy.utoronto.ca/mel-cappe/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">clerk</span></a>
to the Privy Council, Head of the Public Service and federal deputy minister in
several ministries -- he also served as Canada's High Commissioner to the U.K.
for four years. He is now a professor of public policy at the University of
Toronto.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In other
words, Cappe is, well -- even in the words of CBC TV's <i>The National</i> host
Peter Mansbridge -- "elite."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And Cappe
doesn't mince words about how you don't want a vote on critical issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Because
we have representative democracy for a reason... We don't want and the public
doesn't want to actually take responsibility -- as we're seeing the remorse
after the vote... they want their representatives to deal with the complexity
of this," Cappe said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"There's
a special place in hell for leaders who put the existential future of their
country at risk," he added, referring to former British Prime Minister
David Cameron, who had the nerve to promise a referendum on EU membership and
kept that pledge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But Cappe is
hardly alone. On the same <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/714056259663"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">edition</span></a>
of <i>The National</i> were not one but four holders of the Order of Canada,
the distinctive pin signifying it clearly visible on each lapel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In addition
to Cappe, Mansbridge and panel guests <a href="http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/profile/stein-janice/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">Janice Stein</span></a>
and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Nutt"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">Samantha Nutt</span></a>
also are members of the Order of Canada. And -- surprise -- they don't disagree
with Cappe at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I
think Mel's right, Peter -- because one of the differences between a Parliament
and referendums is that Parliament protects minorities, referendums
don't," Stein said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"But
this sounds, elitist, if you don't mind," said Mansbridge with a wry
smile, perhaps sensing that maybe viewers were not convinced. But Stein
certainly was.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"That's
why we have protections for minorities and referendums don't do that. They
actually divide, they take complex problems and they say yes or no. They play
passions. They're a very dangerous tool. I'm glad we don't do more of
them," Stein replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nutt also
denounced the Brexit vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It's
the kind of populism and demagoguery that over time has had disastrous for
civilians around the world," Nutt said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually,
what's disastrous for people all around the world is not democratic referenda
on important issues -- it's the appalling lack of democracy in countries run by
dictatorships, backed by the military, who suppress, torture and kill those who
simply demand a vote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From China
to Syria to Zimbabwe to Saudi Arabia, the world has 50 <a href="http://planetrulers.com/current-dictators/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">dictatorships</span></a> where its
people are denied democracy in even the most basic form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That is the
big issue, not whether voters in any western democracy should be denied a
referendum vote because they might not make the correct decision according to
the elites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">'Populist
suicide'?</span></b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But it's not
just in Canada that elites want referenda banned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the
United States, The New Republic magazine's Alex Shephard <a href="https://newrepublic.com/minutes/134646/referendums-bad"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">takes</span></a>
the same elitist view of Brexit as Cappe:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Referendums
are bad. There are many takeaways from Great Britain's decision to leave the
European Union, but one of the simplest is that referendums are bad and,
ironically, anti-democratic," Shephard wrote in late June.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Referendums
are, by definition, simple yes-or-no answers to problems that are enormously
complicated, or that have enormously complicated ramifications that voters may
not entirely understand," he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And in
Europe, the same effete elitist attitude persists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Top French
trade lawyer Laurent Cohen-Tanugi called direct democracy "populist
suicide" in a Le Monde <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/06/23/lawyer-ban-referendums-save-eu/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">article</span></a>,
adding that a referendum to determine policy like Brexit is "contrary to
the dignity of public office" and "opportunistic and demagogic."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What <i>merde</i>.
In the face of democratic votes on important issues, the elites are revolting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But here in
Canada, it's still possible to defend the concept that ordinary citizens have
every right to have their voices heard on fundamental questions -- like
changing our federal electoral system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Don't let the
elites take your vote away.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "arial"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-69981988475234264692016-10-22T18:56:00.000-07:002016-10-22T18:56:25.876-07:00National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day is Saturday October 22, 2016<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am pleased to share with my readers information about <b>National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day</b> - October 22. Here is their news release:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ijowJxMoZzc/WAwYHLtGkCI/AAAAAAAADxM/VdrEhoBB8PYUe7O4ElNqYhTbDKfYdKamACLcB/s1600/CSGSyXIUYAA1x9M.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ijowJxMoZzc/WAwYHLtGkCI/AAAAAAAADxM/VdrEhoBB8PYUe7O4ElNqYhTbDKfYdKamACLcB/s400/CSGSyXIUYAA1x9M.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 22, 2016</strong><br />
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A North American coalition of over 70 groups concerned about the <a href="http://www.animals24-7.org/2016/01/04/record-33-fatal-pit-bull-attacks-459-disfigurements-in-2015/" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">growing pit bull crisis</a> is organizing the third annual National Pit Bull Victim Awareness Day on October 22, 2016. The day is intended to honor victims of pit bulls and call attention to the severe injuries and deaths caused by pit bull-type dogs in the United States and Canada. </div>
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In 2015, pit bulls caused <a href="http://www.animals24-7.org/2016/01/04/record-33-fatal-pit-bull-attacks-459-disfigurements-in-2015/" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">73% of the record 45 fatal dog attacks</a> in the US and Canada despite comprising less than 6% of the dog population, as reported by Merritt Clifton, Editor of Animals 24-7.</div>
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In June of this year, <a href="http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/montreal-woman-55-killed-in-apparent-dog-attack" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">55-year-old Christiane Vadnais of Montreal, Canada</a>, was fatally attacked in her own backyard by a neighbor’s pit bull. As a result of Vadnais’ death, Montreal City Council recently <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-pit-bull-dangerous-dogs-animal-control-bylaw-1.3780335" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">voted in favor</a> of adopting measures to restrict the keeping of pit bulls. The breed-specific legislation (BSL) requires mandatory sterilization of pit bulls, secure containment at home and the use of a sturdy leash and muzzle while in public.</div>
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Jeff Borchardt, Founder of Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness, applauds Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and City Council’s decision to adopt BSL, saying, “Breed-specific legislation, when properly written and enforced, is the most effective way to prevent serious canine-related maulings and fatalities. We thank Mayor Coderre for putting people first when it comes to public safety.” Borchardt’s 14-month-old son Daxton was <a href="http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/07/couples_life_forever_altered_a.html" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">fatally attacked by two pit bulls</a> in 2013.</div>
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In a recent report on BSL, <a href="http://blog.dogsbite.org/2010/06/cities-with-successful-pit-bull-laws.html" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">DogsBite.org</a>, a charitable organization dedicated to reducing serious dog attacks, states that jurisdictions in at least 14 states and provinces have achieved successful results after enacting a breed-specific ordinance. In the past two-and-a-half years, <a href="http://blog.dogsbite.org/2016/05/2016-legislative-highlights-state-preemption-laws-pit-bulls.html" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">90% of state BSL pre-emption bills</a>proposed by pit bull activists which would prevent local governments from enacting pit bull bans were rejected. This year, Missouri, Kentucky, Washington, Georgia, West Virginia and Idaho all voted against BSL pre-emption – a 100% success rate in retaining local control of animal ordinances. </div>
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With pit bulls making up <a href="http://www.animals24-7.org/2015/11/17/why-we-cannot-adopt-our-way-out-of-shelter-killing/" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">37% of all dogs surrendered to US shelters</a>, an important outcome of BSL is the alleviation of suffering of the dogs themselves. In an opinion piece for Newsweek, Daphna Nachminovitch, VP of Cruelty Investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) calls pit bulls “the most abused dogs on the planet, hands down,” and writes, “Cities that have passed legislation similar to Montréal’s report a dramatic drop in the number of pit bulls entering shelters. In San Francisco, the number of pit bulls euthanized at the city’s animal-control facility dropped by 24 percent just 18 months after it had passed a law requiring that pit bulls be sterilized.”</div>
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National Pit Bull Victim Awareness (NPBVA) evolved out of the need to create a support and information hub for the growing number of pit bull victim groups. </div>
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NationalPitBullVictimAwareness.org tracks pit bull attacks on an <a href="http://www.nationalpitbullvictimawareness.org/attacks/map-of-attacks/" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">interactive map</a> as they are reported by the media in the US and Canada. The resource is intended to help citizens, policymakers and elected officials better understand the scope of this increasingly urgent public safety issue. The website features state- and province-wide reports of serious pit bull attacks, disfigurements and fatalities, along with legislative updates pertaining to the breed.</div>
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In an effort to recognize the full impact of pit bull ownership on families and communities, the National Pit Bull Victim Awareness website also examines the effect of pit bulls on public safety, and the often devastating social and economic results after an attack. Various stakeholders in the pit bull issue are identified, including taxpayers, legislators, emergency and healthcare workers, animal control officers, law enforcement agencies, pet owners, farmers and humane organizations, among others.</div>
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In addition to the toll placed on human safety, in 2015, <a href="http://www.animals24-7.org/2016/01/31/pit-bulls-killed-24000-other-dogs-13000-cats-in-2015/" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">pit bulls killed 24,000 other dogs and 13,000 cats</a>, as reported by Animals 24-7.</div>
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Partner organizations in the NPBVA initiative include sponsor Daxton’s Friends (Wisconsin), along with Dangerous By Default (Maryland), Protect Children from Pit Bulls and Other Dangerous Dogs (California), BanPitBulls.org (USA and Canada) and Awareness for Victims of Canine Attack – AVOCA (Worldwide).</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">About National Pit Bull Victim Awareness:</strong><br /><a href="http://nationalpitbullvictimawareness.org/" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">NationalPitBullVictimAwareness.org</a> lists more than 70 organizations and advocacy groups from across the continent whose purpose is to alert the public and the media to the pit bull crisis. NPBVA also maintains a list of pit bull victims who are available for interviews with the media. For <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">individual state maps</strong>showing the location of attacks reported in the media, contact <a href="mailto:editor@nationalpitbullvictimawareness.org" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">editor@nationalpitbullvictimawareness.org</a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">About Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education & Awareness: </strong><br />Daxton’s Friends was formed in honor of Daxton Borchardt, who passed away on March 6, 2013, due to severe injuries sustained in a dog attack. Daxton’s Friends strives to educate the public about the importance of understanding dog breeds and how, with proper education and pet care, the number of dog-related incidents can be reduced. <a href="http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">http://www.daxtonsfriends.com/</a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">About Awareness for Victims of Canine Attack (AVOCA):</strong><br />AVOCA is a national ad hoc coalition of bereaved families and survivors of canine attack. Our mission is to educate the public about dangerous dogs, and in particular fighting and gripping breeds, with respect to the risk they present to human and animal health and safety. <a href="http://www.voicesofthevictims.org/" style="border: 0px; color: rgb(0, 99, 153) !important; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">http://www.VoicesoftheVictims.org</a></div>
Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35935973.post-90165631804402154412016-10-06T13:49:00.004-07:002016-10-06T13:54:27.019-07:00BC Pit Bull Breed Ban Needed More than Ever as Attacks Escalate <div class="MsoNormal">
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";">Despite ferocious owner backlash, we need our
government to act.</span></b></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";">Bill
Tieleman’s<a href="http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2016/06/27/bullying-wont-stop-call-for-pit-bull-ban"><span style="color: #1d4d94;"> 24 Hours Vancouver</span></a> / <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/06/28/Pit-Bull-Ban-Needed-More-Than-Ever/"><span style="color: #1d4d94;">The Tyee</span></a> column</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";">Tuesday June
28, 2016</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial";">By Bill
Tieleman</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "helvetica"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">"You're
a naive ignorant c**t if you wanna ban an entire breed of animals... trust me bud
if anyone is gunna attack you it'll be me not my pitbulls."</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">-
Email to me from pit bull owner on June 25<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial";">Attacks
Keep Coming, Ban Dangerous Dogs in BC Now<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">As
the number of vicious, maiming and fatal pit bull dog attacks escalate in
British Columbia and beyond, so too does the ferocity of their owners in trying
to bully those who support a ban on the breed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Last
week a Surrey woman's arm was ripped open in an unprovoked pit bull attack
where the owner simply fled the scene.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">On
Friday two people were <a href="http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/woman-hospitalized-after-dog-attack-in-south-vancouver"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">mauled</span></a>
in Vancouver by a dog whose breed isn't yet known, with one going to hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">And
Quebec City and Montreal moved quickly to ban pit bulls last week following the
horrendous death of a Montreal woman mauled by a neighbour's dog in her own
yard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>UPDATE: </b>Montreal's pit bull ban bylaw was challenged in court by the SPCA - and suspended by a judge. Mayor Denis Coderre says the city is <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-denis-coderre-pit-bull-ban-suspension-appeal-1.3793656">appealing that decision</a> and he is disappointed but won't give in to "threats or interest groups".</i></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">But
some pit bull advocates could not care less about the injuries -- they only
worry about a ban on the aggressive and powerful dog breed. In fact, Quebec
City <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-city-facebook-ban-firestorm-r%C3%A9gis-labeaume-1.3640025"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">police</span></a>
are worried about Mayor Régis Labeaume's personal safety after 13,000
Facebook comments about the ban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">This
weekend a previous <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2016/01/05/Ban-Dangerous-Dogs-in-BC/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">column</span></a>
drew the attention of pit bull advocates -- and resulted in several emails like
the one above with veiled threats against me for calling for a ban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Horror stories continue<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">The
facts are clear. One breed of dog is responsible for most of the deaths and
serious injuries: the pit bull category and related mixed breeds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Last
year in the United States pit bulls were <a href="http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2015.php"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">responsible</span></a>
for 28 of 34 reported dog bite fatalities -- 82 per cent -- despite making up
only about 6.6 per cent of the dog population.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Montreal
and Quebec City join Ontario, Winnipeg, scores of <a href="http://www.banpitbulls.org/where/where-are-pit-bulls-banned-in-canada/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">other cities</span></a>
across North America, and U.S. military bases in banning pit bulls -- and
dramatically reducing deaths and injuries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Quebec
Premier Premier Philippe Couillard <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/pit-bull-ban-quebec-ontario-1.3638743"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">says</span></a>
his province will likely follow Ontario's lead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">That's
because the horror stories continue as relentlessly as a pit bull attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">In
New Haven, Connecticut, a 53-year-old woman lost both eyes and one leg in what
was initially reported as a pit bull <a href="http://kfor.com/2016/06/24/it-was-horrific-woman-loses-leg-both-eyes-following-vicious-dog-attack/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">attack</span></a>.
She died last night, according to <a href="http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/New-Haven-Woman-Critically-Injured-in-Dog-Attack-Dies-384616251.html"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">reports</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Also
last week, a 58-year-old woman was seriously <a href="http://www.wjhg.com/content/news/383815551.html"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">injured</span></a> in a pit bull
attack by a neighbour's dog in Callaway, Florida. When police went to her
rescue the pit bull charged them and was shot dead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">But
despite <a href="http://www.dogsbite.org/dog-bite-statistics-fatalities-2016.php"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">ample evidence</span></a>
showing pit bulls with no history of abuse that were raised in loving homes
have suddenly snapped and attacked children and others, the defence of pit bull
advocates continues: it's the owner, not the dog, they always claim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Tell
that to Surrey resident Brenda Moon. An uncontrolled pit bull savaged her so
severely outside a Mac's convenience store that her arm was broken and the bone
visible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">"He
had me in his mouth and was shaking me... and then he dragged me," <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/2783338/pit-bull-that-attacked-woman-in-surrey-killed-by-animal-control/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">said</span></a>
Moon of the unprovoked attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">The
dog's owner <a href="http://www.thenownewspaper.com/news/384300651.html?mobile=true"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">left the scene</span></a>
with the pit bull despite Moon's serious injuries -- but he will not be charged
with anything, say RCMP, because there's no law for the dog equivalent of a hit
and run.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">"So
why are the police putting in all their hours trying to find this and stop
them, if in the end they can't do anything... what is the point?" Moon <a href="http://www.cknw.com/2016/06/25/surrey-pit-bull-attack-victim-speaks-out/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">asks</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">And
while the pit bull was euthanized, the owner is free to get another pit bull
without any penalty at all, while the traumatized Moon may never fully recover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">BC ban now<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">But
far too many pit bull owners could not care less about the destruction the
breed is responsible for, and they damage the cause of reasonable owners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Another
threatening email I received this weekend over a past column is typical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">"You
need to seriously start thinking about what youre saying. Pitbulls are like
children for some people... you wont ever see me give mine up. ever. thats my
child. And you are now the enemy. You propose sanctions on my family that you
know nothing about. You are the enemy. Dont ever forget that," [sic] the
owner wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">And
while Ontario has banned pit bulls since 2005 and Quebec may also, Premier
Christy Clark <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/2783338/pit-bull-that-attacked-woman-in-surrey-killed-by-animal-control/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">shrugged off</span></a>
calls for a province-wide pit bull ban, saying it's up to individual cities and
towns: "Local governments have the power to do that now -- I'd urge them
to do that, if that's a concern for them."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Not
nearly good enough. While municipalities should institute bans, the most
effective and appropriate way to stop the carnage is with a provincial ban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">And
to be clear -- because some pit bull advocates don't get it -- existing dogs
would not be put down. There would simply be a ban on any future breeding or
importation of pit bulls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">B.C.
should act because local government is susceptible to the extreme pressure and
lobbying that pit bull advocates exercise to stop or overturn any bylaws they
dislike, as happened in <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/08/04/Bring-Back-New-West-Pit-Bull-Law/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">New Westminster</span></a>
in 2013 when a breed-specific dangerous dog bylaw was repealed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">But
even after yet another savage pit bull attack in 2015 in New Westminster, the
city said that it had "no plans" to amend the bylaw and restore
previous protections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Despite
a never-ending stream of serious attacks in B.C., it appears governments won't
act until forced to by a horrific child death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #313131; font-family: "arial";">Said
Surrey attack <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/2783338/pit-bull-that-attacked-woman-in-surrey-killed-by-animal-control/"><span style="color: #70a104; text-decoration: none;">victim</span></a>
Moon on pit bulls: "People shouldn't be allowed to have them. How many
people do they have to kill? Somebody will die."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bill Tielemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03304971610140279157noreply@blogger.com2