Occupy: What can it teach the left?
The occupy movement has been a like a powerful cleansing wind blowing over the political landscape – exposing not just the obscenely rich, and criminally irresponsible political elite, but almost every other political player too: cowardly liberals, cautious social democrats, the strangely silenced churches, social movements...
COMMENT: The costs of being aboriginal in BC
Being First Nations in BC comes at too high a price. We all know the statistics: dismal success at (white) school; endemic poverty on and off reserve; half the prison population despite being only three percent of the Canadian population; high incidence of sexual abuse; the too high a percentage of children in care; high...
ANALYSIS: What is the Keystone XL Pipeline — and why is it so controversial?
By Lois Beckett in ProPublica.By the end of this year, the State Department will decide whether to give a Canadian company permission to construct a 1,700-mile, $7 billion pipeline that would transport crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas. The project has sparked major environmental concerns, particularly in Nebraska,...
COMMENT: Time of use billing has always been the plan for Smart Meters
A confidential report on BC Hydro Smart Meter Business Case by Horizon Technologies Inc. states that "BC Hydro will maintain the same rate structures when Smart Meters are first put in, and implement new rate structures afterwards; so that Smart Meters aren't blamed for higher rates."Read the full confidential report here.Rich...
ELECTRIC GRAPEVINE: Overthink different
After the terribly sad departure of Steve Jobs this week I find myself articulating the undeniable impact of the man. On a marketing level alone I’ve often said he and Apple are far and away the best on the planet and while I’m surprised how much I’m affected by his passing, I am also surprised […]
Are you targeted by the IRS?
Since early July my riding office has been flooded with calls and letters from worried Canadians across the country seeking information and advice on the new enforcement Initiatives for filing US tax returns and reporting foreign bank accounts (FBARs). Frequently the first question asked is, "Will I be affected by this?" ...
Is something happening here?
Occupy Wall Street – and now Bay Street? The 99 per cent? Conservatives losing elections all over the country? A Red Tory elected head of the Alberta Conservatives? American billionaires demanding to be taxed at higher rates? Is something happening here? Perhaps the first indication was the totally unexpected reaction to Jack Layton’s death. It […]
COMMENT: Canada’s disappeared women
This fall British Columbia’s Missing Women Commission will finally begin its work. It does so in under a cloud of suspicion: an inadequate mandate, a potentially compromised commissioner, and a refusal to financially support affected native communities, families, and Vancouver Downtown Eastside community groups to participate...
OP/ED: CTF pushes for municipal political hopefuls to sign contract on taxes
By: Jordan Bateman, B.C. Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation As hundreds of municipal politicians gathered in Vancouver last week for the Union of BC Municipalities conference, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released the contract with taxpayers they will be challenging B.C. candidates to sign ahead of the Nov. 19 municipal elections. “Taxpayers are stretched thin and […]
MP: Honouring Seniors' Day
Today Canada celebrates National Seniors’ Day. It is a day to recognize how important seniors are to the fabric of Canada. A day to recognize the work they do in their homes, in their communities and in business. “Our seniors have built the past and continue to guide us through to the future,” said Atamanenko, MP for BC...