Christy Clark looking after families first

[maple leaf]

This woman has no scruples at all .

Christy Clark accused of interfering in local band election to aid brother’s deal
MARK HUME
VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Dec. 08, 2015 8:50PM EST
Last updated Tuesday, Dec. 08, 2015 8:55PM EST
31 Comments


Premier Christy Clark has been accused of interfering in a local band election to help a candidate who supports a $10-million wind farm proposal involving her brother, Bruce Clark.

Ms. Clark was not available for comment, but her office denied that the Premier’s recent visit to Haida Gwaii was in any way meant to influence the campaign of Chief Ken Rea, who was narrowly re-elected Monday, or to assist Mr. Clark’s business deal with the band.

“There’s no merit to this allegation whatsoever,” said Ben Chin, executive director of communications for Ms. Clark.

During her visit to Old Massett, a small native community on the north end of Haida Gwaii, Ms. Clark announced at a public meeting that the province was making a $150,000 grant to the Old Massett Village Council (OMVC).

The money is for a feasibility study of a proposed $4-million expansion to the 40-student elementary school on the reserve.

The announcement gave a boost to the campaign of Mr. Rea, who has been a long-time supporter of Mr. Clark’s proposed wind farm.

But Mr. Chin said there was no link between Ms. Clark’s visit and Mr. Clark’s private business dealings.

“The Premier is not aware of any relationship between Mr. Clark’s company and Old Massett Village Council,” Mr. Chin said.


Mr. Chin said the Premier went to Old Massett as a “relationship building” exercise, and it appears she got caught in political crossfire.

But Kimball Davidson, a candidate who was trying to unseat Mr. Rea, said the Premier’s surprise visit and the grant she announced on Nov. 26 unfairly helped his rival.

“I would consider it political interference,” Mr. Davidson said before Monday’s vote. “It’s in Bruce Clark’s best interest if Ken Rea becomes chief councillor again.”

Mr. Davidson, who got 117 votes to Mr. Rea’s 159, is opposed to the business deal between OMVC and Mr. Clark’s company, Broadwing Renewables Inc. and instead favours OMVC working in partnership with the Council of Haida Nation (CHN) to develop a wind farm.

Mr. Davidson said the school grant is curious because Chief Matthews Elementary School is on reserve lands, and is therefore a federal responsibility, and because two expansion studies have been done in the past 10 years with federal funds.

“I was kind of shocked that Christy Clark would come up here just to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to give you some money,’” Mr. Davidson said. “I think it all has to do with her brother.”

Mr. Clark said he had nothing to do with the grant and denied doing anything to get Ms. Clark to visit Old Massett.

“I have trouble getting her to come for family dinners,” he said.

Mr. Clark said he did help Mr. Rea make connections with government education officials.

“I simply told [Mr. Rea], ‘If you have issues, here’s who you talk to,’” he said.

Mr. Clark said due to his sister’s job as premier he is very sensitive to potential conflicts of interest, and he won’t get involved in business deals unless it’s through a public bidding process.

“At the end of the day, when you go through a public process and you’ve been prescreened and qualified and you have the best price and you win, I don’t see how anybody can complain about that,” he said.

Mr. Rea agreed Mr. Clark’s only role was that he helped make connections with the government.

“I don’t know anybody at the province, so Bruce gave me a number to call,” he said.

Mr. Rea said he dealt with officials in the Ministry of Education, not the Premier’s office, and Ms. Clark’s visit had nothing to do with the election.

“I don’t need her to come up to win or lose this election,” he said Monday, before the vote. “The real value for me to bring the Premier to help our community here is to give [the federal government] a kick.”

Mr. Rea said he was told by officials in Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (formerly Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada) that if he secured provincial funds, he could use it to leverage $2-million out of Ottawa and $2-million out of Victoria.

John Disney, economic development officer for OMVC, said the council has been working with Mr. Clark for several years, hoping to develop a wind farm to replace the diesel generation that now provides electricity on northern Haida Gwaii.

“That project is ready to go. It has been since 2007. The only thing that is stopping it is our own Nation, the Council of Haida Nation [CHN], won’t give us a letter of support for it. So it’s sort of internal politics,” Mr. Disney said.

Peter Lantin, president of the CHN, didn’t return calls.

Mr. Disney said the wind farm would cost about $10-million to develop and Broadwing Renewables Inc. would arrange the financing, bring in a firm to build the project, and then, after about five years, OMVC would buy full control.

The project could not go ahead without an electricity purchasing agreement with BC Hydro. In 2012, the power corporation made a request for expressions of interest on Haida Gwaii and received 26 submissions, including one from Broadwing Renewables. BC Hydro did not pursue any of those renewable power deals at that time for cost reasons.

Mora Scott, a BC Hydro spokesperson, said in an e-mail the corporation has asked the Haida Nation for a proposal, but “no project has been brought forward or selected at this time.”

Follow Mark Hume on Twitter: @markhumeglobe

[bob vernon]

We really, really need to look into changing the name of Westside Road to Christy Clark Way. Both are crooked.

[flamingfingers]

Friday, December 11, 2015
This Day In Clarkland...Nevermind The Plecas.
AllMyDiversions'RYourReal
ProblemsVille

This just in from Richard Zussman of the MoCo:

The Ministry of Children and Family Development will get more money if that is what an independent review calls for — but the money will only be available if the economy has grown, says B.C. Premier Christy Clark.

"We don't have the resources to fix those problems unless we grow the economy," Clark said in a year-end interview with CBC legislative reporter Richard Zussman....


Now.

Nevermind that already-in-the-bag 'review' from the good Mr. Plecas.

Because what is really disturbing here is the rationale for not bringing resources to bear to fix the MCFD immediately.

As in right now.

Especially when the resources are there for a business case-free 10 billion dollar dam....A 5 billion dollar bridge...A 10 million dollar Bogus Bollywood Bonanza....Oodles of money for private jets and helicopter trips, not to mention uannounced trips to tiny villages on Haida Gwaii to shovel money out of the back of the podium....And, while were at it....How much will that subsidy be for the Casino-Industrial Complex be again?...And, heckfire, didn't we dole out a big whack of cash to for no good reason at all this time last year to pay for a private corporations football finale under a magic carpet that cost another $600 million?

Look.

We don't need a review from the good Mr. Plecas to tell us that kids who were stuck in hotels have died.

And we sure as hell don't need that review to tell us that many more kids who need our help most are being ill-served by problematic private companies who have been hired (presumably) to cut costs so that we can spend the savings on the billion dollar boondoggles that just keep coming.

And, in spite of all that, our Premier has the gall to say that the MCFD will be the LAST ministry to get money.

This really is heartless.

Not to mention, in my opinion, gutless.

Because, clearly Mrs. Clark is telling us that she doesn't have the guts to stand up to the cronies behind her party's facade when the chips are down and it is time to do the right thing.

OK?

http://pacificgazette.blogspot.ca/

[maple leaf]

Christy Clarks family,friends supporters are all looked after first.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2015
Gas production ↑ 85%, public revenue ↓ 90%


Days ago, Premier Clark averred that meeting needs of children in government care is dependent on new funding from new industrial and commercial activities in British Columbia:
"We don't have the resources to fix those problems unless we grow the economy," Clark said in a year-end interview with CBC legislative reporter Richard Zussman.
That condition was not applied to construction of the Site C dam that will ultimately cost $10-$15 billion. Nor was it applied to about $10 billion of road and bridge construction in the lower mainland or $1 billion spent to deliver subsidized power to Murray Edwards' Red Chris mine. Nor was it a condition precedent when Clark wanted to expand the size of her cabinet or hire yet more government spin doctors. A $200 million tax break for our richest citizens did not depend on new economic activity.

The reality is that Christy Clark uses trick plays in government as Emilio Estevez did for hockey in a Mighty Ducks movie. She was elected in 2013 on a promise that natural gas development would make BC debt free and allow her to eliminate sales taxes while building a $100 billion Prosperity Fund.

However, while she pretended a new affluence for all was just around the corner, her minions were ensuring that government was delivering public resources into private hands, which invariably belonged to generous financial backers of the BC Liberals.

Take, for example, revenues derived from selling petroleum and drilling rights. In the final 12 months of NDP administration, those sales brought in almost $600 million, measured in current dollars. Additionally, natural gas royalties were $1.6 billion. In summary, the natural gas industry paid British Columbia $2.2 billion in a year near the turn of the century. By comparison, in the current year, total natural gas revenues will be well under a tenth of that value. Shockingly, production of gas, measured in millions of cubic metres, increased 85%.

Premier Clark stands before the people, during the Christmas season, and says we cannot afford appropriate care for the province's most vulnerable children. It is hypocrisy that exceeds the most egregious action of a most sanctimonious woman.



Oil and Gas Rights Monthly Sales PDF file graphs here:

http://northerninsights.blogspot.ca

[Rwede]

Take, for example, revenues derived from selling petroleum and drilling rights. In the final 12 months of NDP administration, those sales brought in almost $600 million, measured in current dollars. Additionally, natural gas royalties were $1.6 billion. In summary, the natural gas industry paid British Columbia $2.2 billion in a year near the turn of the century. By comparison, in the current year, total natural gas revenues will be well under a tenth of that value. Shockingly, production of gas, measured in millions of cubic metres, increased 85%.

Your buddy at NI should have done his homework.

Dec 2000 price of NG, on which royalties are largely based: $8.90/million BTU

Dec 2015 price of NG, on which royalties are largely based: $2.09/million BTU


I'm not defending CC's idiocy, because she is an idiot, but I'm not supporting misinformation from an NDP mouthpiece, either.

[maple leaf]

Your buddy at NI should have done his homework.

Dec 2000 price of NG, on which royalties are largely based: $8.90/million BTU

Dec 2015 price of NG, on which royalties are largely based: $2.09/million BTU


I'm not defending CC's idiocy, because she is an idiot, but I'm not supporting misinformation from an NDP mouthpiece, either.

Like he says the figure of 600 million is translated into currant dollars.

[Rwede]

Like he says the figure of 600 million is translated into currant dollars.

But he's being deliberately misleading. If he were reporting factually, he wouldn't do so. As it is, he's just an opinion blog so he can twist whatever he wants however he wants.

[flamingfingers]

So why don't you come up with 'factual' numbers to show that revenue share has remained stable and has not decreased?

But congratulations for saying,

I'm not defending CC's idiocy, because she is an idiot,

- it sure has taken you long enough to realize this fact!