BCNDP Leader John Horgan (Flickr/BC NDP) and Premier Christy Clark (Flickr/Province of BC) You have to feel sorry for John Horgan, the BC NDP leader. He has had a hell of a time getting traction and seems unable to find an issue he’s comfortable with. Even when a decent one
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The Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: How our “democracy” really works – the charade of party politics and whipped caucuses
Christy Clark being sworn in as Premier of British Columbia in 2011, surrounded by her cabinet (Province of BC/Flickr) Well, it’s the political silly season again, when we democratically come together to decide by secret ballot who will govern us for the next four years. It’s a system we’ve used
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP’s LNG reversal is a game-changer for BC election
BC NDP Leader John Horgan’s decision to oppose Petronas’ Lelu Island LNG project is a game-changer for the upcoming provincial election, says Rafe Mair.
The post Rafe: NDP’s LNG reversal is a game-changer for BC election appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Weaver, BC Greens should quit backing private river power sham
Rafe Mair has praised the Green Party on many fronts, but its BC leader, Dr. Andrew Weaver makes a fatal mistake with his continued support of the Liberals’ private power sham, which is bankrupting BC Hydro while destroying our rivers.
The post Rafe: Weaver, BC Greens should quit backing private river power sham appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: The NDP’s only shot at winning in BC: Embrace the NEW ECONOMY
The NDP has one slim chance of winning the next BC election: Embracing the “New Economy” – creating healthy, sustainable jobs vs. the Liberals’ old, bankrupt ideas of LNG and big dams.
The post The NDP’s only shot at winning in BC: Embrace the NEW ECONOMY appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Politicians shouldn’t be cowed into keeping mum on Saanich LNG project, says eminent lawyer
Should elected regional directors be allowed to voice their opinion on an LNG project before the company formally applies? That’s the question at the centre of a bizarre, heated legal and political controversy in Saanich Inlet – which promises to be the next big LNG battleground.
The post Politicians shouldn’t be cowed into keeping mum on Saanich LNG project, says eminent lawyer appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: By backing LNG, the Horgan NDP lost election before it began
In backing the Liberals’ LNG vision, John Horgan and the BCNDP made a fatal mistake, argues Rafe Mair. Had they done their job in opposition, they would now be poised to take down the government over its failed policies – instead, they face another crushing loss.
The post Rafe: By backing LNG, the Horgan NDP lost election before it began appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Tuesday is BC’s Annual “Deception Day” (a.k.a. Budget Day)
Get ready for BC’s Annual “Deception Day”, says Rafe Mair – when the government’s budget, with its fictitious surpluses and billions in hidden Hydro debts, becomes a game of Three-card Monte
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Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Shame on Premier Clark for playing Site C politics at Bill Bennett’s funeral
Rafe Mair calls out BC Premier Christy Clark for shameless politicking over Site C Dam at Bill Bennett’s funeral and for dismissing LNG opponents as “the forces of ‘No'”
The post Rafe: Shame on Premier Clark for playing Site C politics at Bill Bennett’s funeral appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: How the BC Liberals killed WAC Bennett’s dream of affordable public power, ferries, rail
Longtime BC Premier WAC Bennett’s dream of affordable public power, ferries and rail is dead. Rafe Mair describes how a need generation of right wingers – the BC Liberals – killed it.
The post How the BC Liberals killed WAC Bennett’s dream of affordable public power, ferries, rail appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Why the BC Liberals could easily win the next election
Despite myriad scandals and a lack of popularity, the BC Liberals could easily win again in 2017, says Rafe Mair – especially since the NDP refuse to help themselves.
The post Why the BC Liberals could easily win the next election appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe Mair on the perfect job opening for Christy Clark
After demonstrating her incompetence on the LNG file and all things governing-related, Rafe Mair has a suggestion for Premier Christy Clark of a job she’s actually well-qualified for.
The post Rafe Mair on the perfect job opening for Christy Clark appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP Leader Horgan’s Site C Dam opposition is a game-changer
NDP Leader John Horgan has finally come out swinging against Site C Dam – a wise political move that will benefit his party in the provincial election, says Rafe Mair.
The post Rafe: NDP Leader Horgan’s Site C Dam opposition is a game-changer appeared first on The Common Sense Canadian.
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: BCNDP convention shows they still don’t get it on LNG
BCNDP Leader John Horgan at the party’s recent convention (NDP/facebook) Political pundits are busy analyzing the recent NDP convention and I can tell you it’s easier to interpret the entrails of a rooster. Conventions organized to look like sunny expressions of the party’s solidarity and readiness for an election usually
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: British Columbians reject premiers’ “Canadian Energy Strategy” – designed to push pipelines
Citizens on Burnaby Mountain the day Kinder Morgan’s injunction was read out (Mark Klotz/Flickr) Republished from the ECOreport. According to the Globe and Mail, Canadian Premiers are about to sign an agreement that would fast track pipeline projects. The 34-page-report describes how to deal with the opposition Energy East, Kinder Morgan,
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper and the Last Monster Music Show
The other night I wrote about Stephen Harper's disgusting attack on Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau at a Con BBQ at the Calgary Stampede.Where he accused both leaders of being terrorist stooges, claimed they were out of it, that we were all in terrible danger of being beheaded in our
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: It’s the D-Word and It’s Arrived in Canada
Prime minister Cletis doesn’t seem to have noticed that global warming has arrived in his very own backyard. Funny how he can’t hear all those local Tories squealing like pigs over the drought setting in across the West. It’s the sort of think I watch out of the corner of
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Notley should change electoral system following Alberta NDP win…no, seriously
Alberta Premier Elect Rachel Notley celebrates a shocking victory (Alberta NDP facebook page) Somehow, the day after it happened, the election of the NDP in Alberta doesn’t seem quite as astonishing as it would have say, a year ago. Back then, one would have been in danger of certification as
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: NDP Opposition should try some actual opposing
BC NDP and Official Opposition Leader John Horgan (BCNDP.ca/youtube) I’ve been very critical, especially recently in the tyee.ca, of John Horgan, leader of the NDP, and the Official Opposition itself. This is, I assure you, nothing personal but is entirely a matter of the quality of the opposition presented and
Continue readingThe Common Sense Canadian: Rafe: Christy Clark should try being more leader, less cheerleader
BC Premier Christy Clark dons Canucks jersey during 2013 election campaign (Andy Clark / Reuters) Nowhere in the appalling record of the Liberal government in Victoria has its shortcomings been more obvious than at the very top. Premier Christy Clark has been a terrible leader whose pronouncements get more and more
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