SHADES OF GREEN: The Keystone XL protests and the Occupy Movement
The protest against the 2,763 km Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta's tar sands to America's Gulf States' oil refineries are driven by a deeper concern than risk to Nebraska's Sand Hills region and its underlying Ogallala aquifer. The same applies to The worldwide Occupy movement, too, is motivated by a deeper concern than...
OP/ED: B.C. needs to tighten belts or suffer the consequences
By: Jordan Bateman, Canadian Taxpayers Federation B.C. Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, like a cliché movie hero, is slowly sinking into fiscal quicksand. In his recently released quarterly fiscal report, he told British Columbians that economic growth has slowed, crown corporation revenues are down and the provincial deficit is exploding. The true culprit – runaway spending […]
My Rx for Occupy Vancouver success
I hope the REAL Occupy Vancouver movement does not fade away. For MOST of our sakes, it MUST not. Their message--that the rich must STOP getting richer at the expense of the rest of us--must not die, or be forgotten, or cease to be advocated. promoted and brought to success in our society. Readers of this blog will know how...
B.C. reaches agreement-in-principle with RCMP
The Province of British Columbia has reached agreement-in-principle with Public Safety Canada regarding a new contract for RCMP services in British Columbia. The proposed agreement reflects a new partnership based on transparency and mutual benefits. It contains greater financial accountability and measures to monitor and contain costs over time. Through a new proposed Contract Management […]
Ministerial statement on immediate roadside prohibitions
Solicitor General Shirley Bond had this statement Wednesday regarding the B.C. Supreme Court decision on Immediate Roadside Prohibition (IRP) legislation: “Today, Justice Jon Sigurdson issued a decision on the constitutionality of B.C.’s Immediate Roadside Prohibition program and substantially upheld the program, saying that this is “validly enacted provincial legislation.” The court did find that for […]
B.C. deficit projections up $313 million
B.C.’s deficit is now projected to rise by $313 million to $3.1 billion by the end of the fiscal year because of lower revenues, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced in Victoria on Monday. “While British Columbia is still expected to continue to outperform most other North American economies, we expect revenues to decline and we […]
Child poverty on the rise in B.C. but still no plan for relief
Could B.C. be the very last province to enact a plan to fight poverty? That’s the question asked by B.C. Campaign 2000 last week as it published its latest report card on child poverty. The province’s child poverty rate rose from 14.5 percent in 2008 to 16.4 percent in 2009, using Statistics Canada’s low income […]
Vancouver activists corrupt Occupy movement
This blog comes to you from the United States …where the Occupy movement is real and still relevant.Make no mistake about it there is a BIG difference between the majority of those keeping the Occupy movement alive down south and those Occupy pretenders in Vancouver/Victoria who have co-opted and stolen the original cause. ...
BC Hydro files plan to meet reduced rate expectations
BC Hydro’s plan to reduce the rate increases it is seeking from customers over the next three years will involve 700 job cuts and depends on improved electricity markets to deliver higher revenue from its trading division, the utility revealed Thursday, the Vancouver Province’s Derrick Penner reports. The utility filed its amended application for rate […]
Canada's polygamy laws upheld by B.C. Supreme Court
Canada’s polygamy laws were upheld in B.C. Supreme Court Wednesday, the CBC reported. The court said minors who end up in polygamous marriages should be exempt from prosecution. In a 335-page decision Wednesday, Chief Justice Robert Bauman ruled in favour of the section of the Criminal Code outlawing polygamous unions. In his ruling, Bauman said […]