Justin Trudeau joined by Canadian premiers at Paris climate talks in 2015 (Province of BC/Flickr) Justin Trudeau is not as young as he looks – obviously. If he was, he would have noticed a sea change in public attitudes that this old man, more of his father’s generation, has not
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The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Christy, Libs let off hook for ruining Hydro, ICBC, failing on LNG
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
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canada and “Five Eyes” spying partners must respect encryption
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.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe to Horgan: Get Serious about Kinder Morgan, Woodfibre LNG
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: As Big Oil tanks, why is Canada so slow to adapt?
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: NDP must name & shame or catch the blame – Don’t let Libs off hook for disastrous record
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe to NDP: Now you’re the government…here’s what to expect that you’re not expecting
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.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Liberal Opposition will make life very difficult for NDP-Greens
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP-Greens good to govern – but beware Weaver’s IPP support
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: True Patriot Love: Why the Kinder Morgan pipeline will never be built
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)
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP-Green pact should mean good riddance to Kinder Morgan, but Liberal opposition won’t make life easy
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair: Rachel Notley can go to hell for threatening BC over pipeline
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Weaver would be crazy to make pact with Christy; NDP should have nailed Libs on economy, LNG
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.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Green Party campaign manager quit over Andrew Weaver’s bullying, bad policies
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.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Why the BC Liberal economic record is actually worse than the NDP’s in 90’s
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: It’s got to be the NDP to replace Lyin’ Liberals…but LNG complicates matters
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Heartwood: How Vancouver Island lost 90% of its ancient rainforest
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
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Christy Clark’s LNG promises are nothing but hot air
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
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canadian Conservatives still support the TPP, which died after Trump’s withdrawal
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.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair: How Liberal myths about the NDP distort BC’s political history
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
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