Liberal Party.

[Smurf]

LW read your post and think about yourself.

You're right about me and the Liberals. They haven't given me a reason to feel any other way. Think about HST, BC rail and any number things they have done or broken promises they have made. I know a majority of people agree with me on this right now, look at the Liberals popularity.

I probably agree with you on the rest but still do not see why it is any reason not to demand better. They do not need to tell outright lies etc. We deserve better. As long as we keep saying it can't be changed it won't be. I believe it is getting worse and worse and something should be done about it. Right now there is no use asking for election platforms because they are basically a pile of dung. Even promises they make and keep they break later. Law against running a deficit, right, we know how long that lasted. Governments just do as they please with no care for the outcome. They don't even bother to have regular sittings and at least pretend they are doing the work we pay them for. Can you honestly say you like the way this government is being run right now.

[Alvis]

funny how right wing governments do this and left wing governments leave surpluses. must be because left wingers tax appropriately.

But there was no surplus! Remember Gordon Campbell told us so and had an auditor come in and ....oh wait, yes there was surplus. Let's not talk about it anymore.

[Smurf]

I'll make a bet that anyone coming in behind the Liberals is going to find the books worse off than they are shown. If we could ever find any decent records or at least get them without having to go to court we would already know I'm sure. They couldn't understand the figures when they took over and I doubt they can yet. At least as far as just previous to the last election they had no clue or possibly lied about it. They should not be in charge of a lemonade stand.

[LoneWolf_53]

I'll make a bet that anyone coming in behind the Liberals is going to find the books worse off than they are shown.

I'll bet, that regardless of what shape they are in, the NDP will milk the opportunity for all it's worth, as they can then blame the Liberals for any fallout. That bet is as good as money in the bank.

[maple leaf]

I'll make a bet that anyone coming in behind the Liberals is going to find the books worse off than they are shown.

I'll bet, that regardless of what shape they are in, the NDP will milk the opportunity for all it's worth, as they can then blame the Liberals for any fallout. That bet is as good as money in the bank.

You mean like the Liberals tried doing when they got in ,until an independent auditor showed them how full of BS they really were.And there was in fact a surplus.I'm sure the books will be totally messed up for the NDP ,we already know that .The auditors have already said they can't make sense of them.

[Artofthedeal]

You mean like the Liberals tried doing when they got in ,until an independent auditor showed them how full of BS they really were.And there was in fact a surplus.I'm sure the books will be totally messed up for the NDP ,we already know that .The auditors have already said they can't make sense of them.

It's a safe bet that every political party everywhere will blame the party before it for the woes it currently is experiencing. Adrian Dix already has the script ready and waiting, it's done. Look at Obama - I would put down very good money that in 2016 he'll still be blaming Bush for why the debt is at $25 trillion and exploding and the USD is worth less than toilet paper.

[Smurf]

LW I'll bet the Liberals were really miffed when they found out there was truly a surplus and they couldn't blame anything on the NDP.
Will you bet me the NDP won't find a totally different picture, including many things not being kept track of properly as is already showing up.
Must be sad to be a Liberal these days.

[maple leaf]

You mean like the Liberals tried doing when they got in ,until an independent auditor showed them how full of BS they really were.And there was in fact a surplus.I'm sure the books will be totally messed up for the NDP ,we already know that .The auditors have already said they can't make sense of them.

It's a safe bet that every political party everywhere will blame the party before it for the woes it currently is experiencing. Adrian Dix already has the script ready and waiting, it's done. Look at Obama - I would put down very good money that in 2016 he'll still be blaming Bush for why the debt is at $25 trillion and exploding and the USD is worth less than toilet paper.

Theres a difference between falsely blaming the government behind you as the auditor proved and actually having something to blame them for,such as the auditor has already pointed out,he can not make senses of the messed up books kept by the liberals .So when the NDP gets ahold of the books it is already on record that the books don't make sense .

[Alvis]

So am I on the only person in BC who hasn't been told exactly how much the 2010 Olympics really cost?
Also, am I the only one who hasn't been shown the "Olympic windfalls" (direct quote from some BC Liberal flunkie) that was sure to follow and justified the massive amount of money spent by the BC Liberals?

[Artofthedeal]

Theres a difference between falsely blaming the government behind you as the auditor proved and actually having something to blame them for,such as the auditor has already pointed out,he can not make senses of the messed up books kept by the liberals .So when the NDP gets ahold of the books it is already on record that the books don't make sense .

You are right. Just because the NDP left one surplus in 10 years of governing (and that's a big "if" but let's just give you that one year) that proves that they were amazing financial stewards who didn't shepherd over a huge increase in the provincial debt, huge downgrades in our debt rating, massive wastes of money on things like fast ferries, huge increases in taxation rates etc. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the BC economy in any way until the Liberals showed up. If that's the giant load you are trying to peddle you are in the right place apparently as there seems to be a lot of true NDP believers on this board. Both the Liberals and the NDP have proved they both are extremely poor stewards of the BC economy.

[maple leaf]

Theres a difference between falsely blaming the government behind you as the auditor proved and actually having something to blame them for,such as the auditor has already pointed out,he can not make senses of the messed up books kept by the liberals .So when the NDP gets ahold of the books it is already on record that the books don't make sense .

You are right. Just because the NDP left one surplus in 10 years of governing (and that's a big "if" but let's just give you that one year) that proves that they were amazing financial stewards who didn't shepherd over a huge increase in the provincial debt, huge downgrades in our debt rating, massive wastes of money on things like fast ferries, huge increases in taxation rates etc. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the BC economy in any way until the Liberals showed up. If that's the giant load you are trying to peddle you are in the right place apparently as there seems to be a lot of true NDP believers on this board. Both the Liberals and the NDP have proved they both are extremely poor stewards of the BC economy.

Compared to 12 years of Liberals ,nothing much to get in a huff about over the NDP's 10 years.

[maple leaf]

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2012
Wazzup, ferry riders?
A few days ago, Mary Polak's Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure announced the "B.C. coastal ferries consultation and engagement process". They invited,
"input on considerations to achieve $26 million in savings to 2016 and input on establishing a long-term vision for coastal ferry services in British Columbia that will keep our ferries affordable, efficient and sustainable."
Anyone else wondering if the current roster of flacks and politicos earn by-the-word bonuses?

Of course, had Ms. Polak and friends been regular readers of Northern Insights, this consultation would be entirely unnecessary. They would captured 94% of the needed sum by reversing the $24.2 million second mortgage BC Ferries gave the Jawl Family when Messrs. Hahn and Corrigan decided ferry executives needed a larger playpen for their shrinking company.

A year ago, Luxurious new offices and enduring gratitude was in Northern Insights:
"In 2008, the company announced plans to move into 90,000 square feet of a building at 800 Yates Street then under construction by Jawl Properties. B.C. Ferries sold its long time head office building, 53,000 sq.ft. at 1112 Fort Street, to the Jawls for $11 million. By sheer good fortune, the new owners quickly found another tenant: Elections BC.

According to Note 12 on the BCF 2011 Audited Financials, the lease of new offices in downtown Victoria is for fifteen years, with four renewal options of five years each. The lease agreement includes payment of building operating costs and property taxes but other terms are undisclosed.

In addition to signing a long term lease before completion, BC Ferries lent the Jawls, developers of the $100 million property, $24.2 for fifteen years, secured by a second mortgage of the property.

What does BC Ferries get out of this? Certainly, it gets substantially more luxurious executive offices, almost twice the size of those in the old building. They also earn enduring gratitude of the influential Jawl family, people who style themselves as the largest private owners of premium offices and industrial space in the capital. Their properties include Cordova Bay Golf Course, Mattick’s Farm, Sayward Hill and Selkirk Waterfront. They are, of course, substantial contributors to the BC Liberal Party."
There is another, perhaps easier way, to find the funds Mary Polak says she needs from BC Ferries. That is to reverse the private company fiction that results in interest rates far higher than the cost of financing that BC taxpayers should be paying.

The long term debt of BCF at March 31, 2012 was $1.3 billion and the average interest rate on this debt was 5.56%. The Municipal Finance Authority 10 year rate in June 2012 was estimated at 3.11% The interest rate difference would be about $32 million a year, which is $127.4 million between now and 2016, five times Mary's goal.

Ferry users and taxpayers are expected to pay for the mistakes of an incompetent board of directors drawn mostly from Liberal Party lists. The current consultation is mere window dressing, lipstick on the pigs that have dined at the public trough.

I suggest you read Thumb in the eye of BC taxpayers. It gives the real story of executive compensation at BC Ferries.

Don't expect to read this version of reality in the mainstream media.


LABELS: BC FERRIES, JAWL FAMILY, MIKE CORRIGAN
http://northerninsights.blogspot.ca/201 ... iders.html

[maple leaf]

This is outrageous and the Liberal government attitude is AH!! so what. And once again everything done on the sly until caught by the media.
B.C. taxpayers deserve better

A rare glimpse inside the cutthroat political scheming that goes on

BY MICHAEL SMYTH, THE PROVINCE NOVEMBER 19, 2012



When Christy Clark's Liberals unleashed their nasty personal-attack campaign against Adrian Dix last fall, the party made clear who was responsible for the political cyber-assault.

"Authorized by Jim Pipe, financial agent, B.C. Liberal Party," read a legal disclaimer on the www.CantAffordDix.ca website.

What the disclaimer didn't disclose was that the website was conceived, planned and executed by legislature staff in Victoria, who used the taxpayer-financed government computer network to do the Liberal party's political dirty work.

It's a clear and brazen contravention of the government's own code of conduct for legislature staff, who have now received a "verbal reminder" not to do it again.

And that's it. No reprimands. No notes on their files.

Just a slap on the wrist for wasting precious taxpayer resources on the Liberal party's character assault against their political enemies.

There wouldn't even be a slap if Province reporter Cassidy Olivier had not obtained the remarkable string of internal government emails published in today's newspaper. (Go to www.theprovince.com to see them all.)

As you read this stuff - detailing how government staffers named the anti-NDP attack website, brainstormed its content, and designed and constructed the site - don't forget you're paying their salaries.

The emails are a rare glimpse into the cutthroat political scheming that goes on in the backrooms of B.C. politics. The fact that publicly-financed government email accounts were used to do it shows a stunning lack of respect for taxpayers.

But it also makes you wonder how deep the mud pit goes. At one point in the email thread, for example, there's discussion of registering a Twitter account called CantTrust-Cummins.

That's a reference to B.C. Conservative leader John Cummins, the target of an earlier Liberal party attack website.

Hmm, did government staffers use public resources on that one, too? The government pleads ignorance when asked the question.

But this is the same government that also downplays the use of taxpayer resources on the anti-Dix campaign.

"It's a bit of a grey area for the staff," said Primrose Carson, executive director of the government caucus, who insisted staffers worked on the anti-Dix website "on their own time."

If that's true, it's amazing how these people can constantly time-phase from work to personal time during the day.

The emails are time-stamped during office hours, though Carson had an explanation for that, too.

"With email, personal communication in the daytime, it's like, you know, you might get an email from your wife at work or whatever," she explained.

"I use a government email account to do some personal emails, like communicate with my daughter through the day, that kind of thing."

Oh, I get it! A call from your kid here, a note from your spouse there, and an occasional publicly funded mind-meld on the latest Liberal party sliming of your enemies.

All in a day's work at the people's house in Victoria. All on your dime. The taxpayers of this province deserve better.

twitter.com/MikeSmythNews [email protected]



Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/taxpaye ... z2ChEOcEan

[twobits]

They used gov't computers to sent emails back and forth. Bet that cost abundle in CPU time lol. Dix's free sky train ride would have covered about 10 million email exchanges so in perspective, who's the bigger thief?

Wonder if that reporter surfs the web with the Province Newspaper's computer system on lunch breaks or sends emails tohis wife? He should be reprimanded for theft of employers bandwidth too! Talk about grasping for crumbs of dirt.

[Logitack]

And it’s not good enough for them , once exposed by The Province … yes, the MSM … to now admit a breach of BC Government Standards of Conduct and just say “Sorry”.

Heads should roll.

Because the ads and the campaign were not put together by some minor official working in a regional office (although even that would be totally unacceptable) but reportedly by Liberal-appointed government employees, right at the Legislature, supposedly “working’ under supervision of the Premier’s Office and Christy Clark.

Inexcusable.These are not neophytes to government: I don’t believe they can argue they didn’t know the rules or just forgot for a moment.

Looks to me like a blatant screw-the-public attitude: we’re in our government offices;we have our government computers;we have time to do it; and, so what if we use all these facilities to communicate for the partisan benefit of the Liberal Party. No one is watching!

snip>>>>>
It reminds me of the “dirty tricks scandal” back in the 1970s when Socred (aren’t they now Liberals?) caucus workers did partisan work and even wrote phony letters to the editor using other people’s names improperly.

Heads rolled then …and should now.

It will be an interesting …and enlightening … experience to see where the Liberals’ ethics are as they handle this one.http://harveyoberfeld.ca/blog/

this is just more of the same from the liberals, what a surprise!