Easy road to nowhere
February 4, The Tyee published an article by Torrance Coste: Raw Log Exports: A Made-in-BC Problem that’s Only Getting Worse. Work here that relied on reports from BC Stats helped…
Norman Farrell
A camel is a horse…
Voters in Metro Vancouver are asked to approve a regional increase in provincial sales tax to generate an estimated $250 million a year for TransLink. The vote is an advisory…
Public service: a rewarding career
This is a small piece of information learned in my recent examination of business in Norway. In the article Two Oil Economies, I mentioned Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, the…
Eventually, the piper must be paid
L.F. Copeland (1888): Mathematics is an exact fact; figures don’t lie, but liars sometimes figure. Financial statements of governments and crown corporations should be simple and understandable. They should be;…
Performance short of promise
During the 2013 BC election, Liberals talked frequently of “Debt-Free B.C.” The party platform included this: No conscious person will be surprised when I state the performance has fallen short…
Two oil economies: Norway and Alberta
NORGES BANK Using the Bank of Canada’s average rate of exchange for 2014, a Norwegian krone has been worth $0.1757 CAN. That results in a fund value of $1,165,769,500,000 Canadian,…
With Ian Jessop, CFAX1070, Jan 22
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Motorcycle Guy roars, we should listen
This was a comment on the preceding article from a regular reader. He’s a man I’ve come to admire for his dedication as he tries to reveal that government cut…
A few billion here, a few billion there…
Growth in long-term debt at #BCHydro. #bcpoli pic.twitter.com/27grtfWv7g — Norm Farrell (@Norm_Farrell) January 22, 2015 In addition to growth in long-term debt, #bchydro obliged to pay over $50 billion for…
Speaking for the future
This week I got confirmation that new corporate funding has been assembled to counteract bloggers and writers in alternative media who reveal mismanagement of provincial assets and emphasize the public’s…
BC Prosperity Fund Accrual
February 13, 2013, Premier Christy Clark announced …the new British Columbia Prosperity Fund to ensure communities, First Nations and all British Columbians benefit from the development of a new liquefied…
Distracting, dissembling, deflecting – lest you forget
Are you unhappy with rapidly increasing electricity rates and the general state of BC Hydro finances? Are you looking for the party responsible? Well, the Vancouver Sun has the answer.…
A question to consider
A quick reminder about on-screen diversity at Fox News #foxnewsfacts pic.twitter.com/XE7tSHw2p9— The Poke (@ThePoke) January 11, 2015 @ThePoke @Norm_Farrell Can’t help but think if that’s what the collage of missing…
He can’t handle the truth
Laila Yuile uncovered an indication that Stephen Harper has new plans for Gordon Campbell. It involves a telephone pollster with Conservative ties asking a call recipient if Gordon Campbell was…
Canada’s radical makeover
Michael Harris is author of Party of One, published by Viking Canada. he is a writer, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. He was awarded a Doctor of Laws for his “unceasing…
An internet sage speaks
Lew said… about prisons I think there’s a conflict of interest here. The government shouldn’t be allowed to design and build with public money what might (if there is any…
Anything wrong with this picture?
Canada’s governments say that natural resources are driving economic growth across the country. They just don’t specify which country. Resource companies don’t want to pay mining, income, sales and property…
Recipe for disaster: malpractice followed by neglect
Scotty on Denman left a comment at the previous article, Deplan, de plan and, for me, it resonates. Anyone who reads Recalling BC Pioneers will understand why. Captain Vancouver reported…
De plan, de plan!
BC Stats published the monthly numbers for log exports to November 2014. The number reinforce arguments made in a recent Times Colonist Op Ed. An excerpt: B.C. government has gradually…
Political success, program failure
In February 2013, shortly before the provincial election campaign began, the BC Liberal Government made an announcement about a new program that was to be funded with over $100 million:…