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The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Christy, Libs let off hook for ruining Hydro, ICBC, failing on LNG

Aug

9

2017

Christy Clark and Rich Coleman (center) meeting with Malaysian LNG officials in 2014 (BC Govt photo) I have a bit of a knack for remembering doggerel as part of my brain’s principal function as a storehouse of useless information. Ergo this: You cannot hope to bribe or twist Thank God, the British Journalist. Considering what the ...

The Canadian Progressive: Canada and “Five Eyes” spying partners must respect encryption

Aug

4

2017

The final communiqué issued by the “Five Eyes” surveillance alliance after a recent meeting in Ottawa suggests what might turn out to be a made-in-Canada global encryption backdoor. The post Canada and “Five Eyes” spying partners must respect encryption appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe to Horgan: Get Serious about Kinder Morgan, Woodfibre LNG

Jul

28

2017

John Horgan being sworn in as Premier, with Environment Minister George Heyman looking on (Photo: Flickr/Province of British Columbia) Dear Premier Horgan, My congratulations to you and your new government. I can tell you that a great many British Columbians who do not usually support your party voted for you on May 9 last with ...

The Common Sense Canadian: As Big Oil tanks, why is Canada so slow to adapt?

Jul

27

2017

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (Photo: Premier of Alberta/Flickr) The business model of Big Oil has already started to collapse. The model is premised on strong growth to fuel high prices and render economically viable the exploitation of expensive-to-develop, non-conventional fossil fuels, including the tar sands and shale oil and gas. Persistent low ...

The Common Sense Canadian: NDP must name & shame or catch the blame – Don’t let Libs off hook for disastrous record

Jul

24

2017

Former BC Liberal Premiers Christy Clark (Kris Krug/Flickr) and Gordon Campbell (Province of BC/Flickr) One of the biggest mistakes Barack Obama made was not doing more to expose George W. Bush’s disastrous financial record as president. As a result, he was quickly blamed for America’s “Great Recession” though everything that set it in motion occurred ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe to NDP: Now you’re the government…here’s what to expect that you’re not expecting

Jul

21

2017

NDP Premier John Horgan and his cabinet being sworn in by Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon (Photo: Province of BC / Flickr) In politics, speculation is half the fun – the other half is figuring out how, with all your experience in the field, you could have been so bloody wrong. Actually, for the new minister, ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Liberal Opposition will make life very difficult for NDP-Greens

Jul

12

2017

BC Liberal MLAs in the Legislature (Province of BC / Flickr) I wish John Horgan and his new government well. He has his work cut out for him. There has been a load of pollyannish bullshit spouted by the media about what will and what will not happen to his shaky government when it finally ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP-Greens good to govern – but beware Weaver’s IPP support

Jun

27

2017

Andrew Weaver (left) and John Horgan (Photo: BCNDP/Flickr CC Licence) Looking ahead at our political situation in BC and assuming that the NDP will govern with a one vote majority, perhaps it might be well to consider what that actually means. An accepted authority is HOUSE OF COMMONS PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE, edited by Robert Marleau ...

The Common Sense Canadian: True Patriot Love: Why the Kinder Morgan pipeline will never be built

Jun

19

2017

Photo: Damian Manda / Flickr CC License The Trans Mountain pipeline [Kinder Morgan] expansion project will never see the light of day. -Grand Chief Philip Stewart, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs If you live anywhere in Canada other than British Columbia, you’re probably convinced that the Kinder Morgan (Trans Mountain) pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby, ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP-Green pact should mean good riddance to Kinder Morgan, but Liberal opposition won’t make life easy

May

30

2017

John Horgan and Andrew Weaver seal their pact (Photo: @jjhorgan/Twitter) It will be a much postponed verdict but my initial reaction to the NDP-Green deal is positive. Whether so motivated or not, Andrew Weaver has done the right politically moral thing – contradiction in terms though that is – by agreeing to support John Horgan ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair: Rachel Notley can go to hell for threatening BC over pipeline

May

23

2017

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley (Flickr CC Licence / Premier of Alberta) You can go to hell, Rachel Notley. Now, everyone, repeat after me. OK? Here we go. There is no risk in transporting Alberta’s bitumen through our forests, over our rivers, past our sparkling, azure lakes, through our cities, into Vancouver Harbour, over the Salish ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Weaver would be crazy to make pact with Christy; NDP should have nailed Libs on economy, LNG

May

11

2017

The three BC leaders at the televised debate (Photo: Broadcast Consortium) It’s May 10, 2017 as I write this, an appropriate date to examine the election, being the anniversary of the Nazi invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940 and the day Winston Churchill came to the rescue. Like then, much of the ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Green Party campaign manager quit over Andrew Weaver’s bullying, bad policies

May

8

2017

Andrew Weraver attacks BCNDP Leader John Horgan during the televised leaders’ debate On the eve of his candidate’s kick-off event, Green Party campaign manager Troy Grant reached his breaking point with Andrew Weaver, causing him to resign. “I can’t support the BC Green Party because of Andrew Weaver,” Grant now admits. Here’s why. Troy Grant is ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Why the BC Liberal economic record is actually worse than the NDP’s in 90’s

May

5

2017

Many people are ready for a change in Victoria. Christy Clark is one of the least popular candidates for premier in BC history and, after 16 years of scandal-filled rule, her Liberal Party has tried British Columbians’ patience to the extreme. Yet everyday on social media, I run across a familiar refrain: “Better than going back to the ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: It’s got to be the NDP to replace Lyin’ Liberals…but LNG complicates matters

May

3

2017

NDP Leader John Horgan Like a large number of people in the WestVancouver- Sea-To-Sky constituency, I am breaking the usual rules – I want the NDP to form the next government but I am passionately opposed to Woodfibre LNG which the NDP candidate supports. If I were to support her, my neighbours, with every justification in ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Heartwood: How Vancouver Island lost 90% of its ancient rainforest

May

3

2017

In Part 1 of this new 3-part mini-series titled Heartwood, filmmaker Daniel Pierce explores the endangered old-growth forests of Vancouver Island. Despite the reality that less than 10% of the prime, low-elevation old-growth remains on the island, these forests continue to be converted into second-growth tree farms. Pierce unpacks what the loss of these forests means ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Christy Clark’s LNG promises are nothing but hot air

Apr

24

2017

Premier Christy Clark at her government’s LNG conference (Province of BC/Flickr) We have all been screwed, blued and tattooed in the riding of West Vancouver-Sea-to-Sky, and let me tell you how this affects every British Columbian in every region of the province. Just as Kinder Morgan would use the Salish Sea as the sewage disposal and ...

The Canadian Progressive: Canadian Conservatives still support the TPP, which died after Trump’s withdrawal

Apr

20

2017

The Conservative Party of Canada maintains its support of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which is now doomed following the United States’s withdrawal earlier this year. The post Canadian Conservatives still support the TPP, which died after Trump’s withdrawal appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair: How Liberal myths about the NDP distort BC’s political history

Apr

14

2017

Christy Clark (Province of BC/Flickr and John Horgan (BCNDP/Flickr) Let’s look at some political myths and near-myths. The BC Liberals are hammering away at the NDP, saying that the last time they were in office, it fiscally ruined the province; this from the government that in 16 years, in 2016 dollars, has doubled the provincial ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Economist: Thanks to Liberals, BC is Canada’s most indebted province

Apr

10

2017

The Liberal Government has already made BC Canada’s most indebted province. Projects like Site C, which Premier Christy Clark is shown announcing here, will only make matters worse (Province of BC/Flickr) Almost four years ago I prepared an article on the financial affairs of BC, musing about the way BC voters returned the BC Liberals to ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Christy Clark must go!

Apr

6

2017

British Columbians have had enough of Christy Clark, say Rafe Mair (Province of BC/Flickr) The Christy Clark government and Clark herself must go! I am not a socialist but neither are the NDP. Of course, we must have a thriving economy that supports our necessities and has room for earned luxuries. What we can no ...

The Common Sense Canadian: BC Hydro’s real debt has grown 1337% under Liberals…Shouldn’t someone call the cops?

Mar

20

2017

The Keystone Kops (1914) I start this exercise with a couple of general comments. The detailed information available on the “progress” of BC Hydro since the Liberals took over in 2001 would be very difficult to pull together if we were left to government confessions of error or sleuthing by the NDP opposition. In fact, ...

The Common Sense Canadian: The Shattered Mirror: What caused the fall of mainstream media – the Internet or shoddy, sycophantic corporate journalism?

Mar

4

2017

“Nine-year-old newsie and his 7-year-old brother ‘Red.’” (1915 Photo: Lewis Wickes Hine/Shorpy) OOOOH CANADA, WE STAND ON GUARD FOR WE … On January 27, an outfit called the Public Policy Forum released a report call the The Shattered Mirror, dealing with the state of Canada’s media. It was quarterbacked and written by Edward Greenspon, best ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe to Justin: Kinder Morgan pipeline would drive a permanent wedge between BC and Canada

Feb

27

2017

Former BC Minister and longtime journalist Rafe Mair (photo: Youtube/CMHABC) Dear Prime Minister, I’ve reached a point where I can say what I please without concern for personal consequences. My age of ambition is long gone and social disapproval simply doesn’t matter anymore. That is where I am and intend to speak my piece. I’m ...

The Common Sense Canadian: Trumplandia vs. Clarklandia: How BC stands to lose on LNG, lumber and trade

Feb

17

2017

Part one in a series by Kevin Logan February 17th 2017 As the faux populist facade fades and the new reality show “Trumplandia” begins to emerge from the ruins of the Democratic elite’s embrace of hedge funds and wall street masters, one thing is crystal clear: Big oil and gas is now in the driver’s ...