British Columbia has established significant domestic production of natural gas and there are enormous reserves of recoverable gas newly discovered. Western Europe has identified major new gas fields and North America has vast reserves of natural gas. So has Russia and, using technology developed in the last decade, China is
Continue readingAuthor: Norman Farrell
Northern Insight: Bonuses for bureaucrats – a phony scheme
Fine editorial from the best daily in British Columbia: CLBC bonuses call for inquiry, Times Colonist, June 22, 2012 “…Last fall, as reports of CLBC’s mismanagement and cover-ups mounted, the bonus program became controversial. “Cadieux ordered the agency’s board to end it. “And the CLBC board did just that – by
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Fact free radio
Friday morning on BC Liberal radio, one of the trio assured us that BC Ferries has been cutting administration costs and its overheads had little or nothing to do with financial problems. Shall we test the accuracy of the comment? Combined passenger and vehicle traffic in 2012 is down by
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Nikiforuk examines Enbridge
Spill Crisis: ‘Whatever, We’re Going Home’, Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee “…damning U.S. regulatory reports portraying Calgary-based Enbridge as a company that ignored safety protocols and warning alarms as well as the recommendations of previous safety audits in what amounted to a botched response to one of the continent’s largest freshwater
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Words from Hansard
November 1, 2011, Page 8568 C. James: “To the minister, to the Premier, to this government on the other side: if they wanted to look at affordability, they’d end those executive bonuses today and put that money into services. Half a billion dollars in bonuses paid at B.C. Hydro for
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Our pending meltdown
Are BC Liberals about to drag taxpayers into another economic calamity? Something akin to BC Hydro’s private power initiative, where government has taken near $50 billion of financial risk and guaranteed abundant profits to private energy promoters. [Russia’s] Gazprom Biggest Loser as Shale Gas Upends World Markets, Bloomberg Businessweek, June
Continue readingNorthern Insight: On the backs of the disadvantaged
Minister orders end to bonuses at Community Living BC, CTV News, October 21, 2011 “Social Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux has ordered an end to bonuses for managers at the Crown agency Community Living BC, which provide services to the disabled. “…Cadieux says bonuses are not appropriate for an organization that’s
Continue readingNorthern Insight: More of Harper’s Canada
Private prison companies look to Canada as industry faces lawsuits in US, Bilbo Poynter, The Guardian, June 19, 2011 – US states are beginning to rely less on privately run prisons, but Canada may be a land of opportunity for the two biggest firms “US private prison firms are targeting
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Comparing investment returns WA & BC
My earlier article pointed out the vast difference in overhead costs for government investment agencies in British Columbia and Washington State. One of our readers asked: “How did our group do compared to the Washington group. Is our investment strategy so much better they deserve more money?” A quick review
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Needing leadership, we get greed
Province pundit Michael Smyth slammed provincial court judges – bellyachers of the bench, he called them – for demanding richer packages of salaries and benefits. Maybe Smyth is grinding an old axe; maybe he prefers targets that don’t answer back or don’t buy him lunch. Regardless, I’d like to introduce
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Lying like a cheap rug
Perhaps the largest barrier making re-election of Christy Clark’s government unlikely is its lack of credibility. The Liberal brain trust decided long ago that veracity should always rank behind expediency. The infamous 2001 platform document A New Era for British Columbia demonstrates that deceit was a Liberal strategy from the
Continue readingNorthern Insight: No news is likely bad news
With the first quarter of British Columbia’s current fiscal year ending, public agencies and crown corporations will soon release annual reports and audited financials for the year ended March 31, 2012. A vast quantity of money is wasted, filling these PR publications with purple prose and graphics that few persons
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Smyth tells part of the story
I wonder if Province political columnist Michael Smyth spends only some of his time in this province and the rest on an isolated beach of Molokai. Occasionally, he seems plain ignorant of what’s going on in British Columbia. Today he applies his frequent smartass style to provincial court judges. I
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Une artiste qui dérange
Harper government targeted artist for her green conscience, internal documents reveal, Vancouver Observer, June 12, 2012 “Franke James, a Canadian artist and environmental advocate blacklisted by the Harper government, has obtained internal documents indicating Canadian officials worked behind the scenes to discredit her work. “An internal Department of Foreign Affairs
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Crude lies
Pipeline spill risks are low, Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines “… with modern pipeline design and mitigation measures, the risks are very low… “What we can say is that at Enbridge, we take our responsibility very seriously. An ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure, but we certainly
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Politics over education of children
B.C. spends $1.7M on ads in teachers’ dispute, CTV BC, June 14, 2012 “The B.C. government’s ad campaign defending their position in the teachers’ dispute has cost more than $1.7 million, leaving the union to wonder why that money couldn’t have gone to the education system instead…” Patti Bacchus, Chairperson,
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Finding fibre for China
Timber panel eyes logging protected areas, Wendy Stueck, The Globe and Mail, Jun 12, 2012 “A committee looking for ways to boost B.C.’s dwindling store of timber is looking at logging protected areas such as old-growth forests as one way out of a supply crunch…”
Continue readingNorthern Insight: British Columbia, Potemkin village style
Part of the plan to arrest dwindling BC Liberal support is to announce and re-announce program changes and capital projects, large and small. There is a flurry of proclamations happening now for health care and other projects. Friday, Christy Clark will be in Victoria presiding over introduction of new green
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Message to the Harper government
IMF chief Christine Lagarde warns world risks triple crisis, The Guardian, June 12, 2012 “Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has warned that the world risks a triple crisis of declining incomes, environmental damage and social unrest unless countries adopt a more sustainable approach to economic growth.
Continue readingNorthern Insight: Destructive attack on democracy
British Columbia’s wealthiest citizens will soon be pressured to contribute unprecedented levels of cash for an intensive PR campaign aimed at ensuring reelection of a business friendly government. This will involve a variety of initiatives supporting a re-branded Liberal Party. Presenters will represent major industrial and resource sectors, province wide
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