Premier of BC's Remembrance Day Message

Courtesy of the Hon. Christy Clark - Premier of British Columbia:

“Each year on Remembrance Day, we say thank you to all those who gave their lives for our country, for our freedom.

“It is when we pay silent tribute to the names of those etched in stone in cities large and small so generations who follow remember the price of their duty.

“It is when we honour all those who served – in conflicts past and current – and have returned home to towns, villages and cities across British Columbia, their service complete.

“As Canadians, we have never sought conflict but always rise to the occasion when asked to defend our ideals.

“We know and appreciate what a special place we call home, where differences are settled with ballots and not bullets, where tolerance binds us together and fear does not tear us apart.

“On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month we join together to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives and those who suffered the ravages of war on our behalf.

“Time may make the service of so many seem a distant memory, but that is their lasting gift, a peace that endures, a belief in democracy and a spirit that won't die.

Let us never forget.”

Video:



Pictures from today's Williams Lake Remembrance Day ceremony can be viewed here

A Proud BC Liberal Supporter...

Readers' on this blog know that I'm a proud BC Liberal supporter and will continue to support them, much to the chagrin to BC Conservative supporters...

BC Premier Christy Clark reviews 2012 in this video blog post - see below:

But I'd point out that as we approach the 1st Anniversary (Feb 26th, 2011) of Christy Clark winning the BC Liberal Party Leadership, she and I would both agree that much work remains to be done but she's insured a good start but the global economy doesn't help and it certainly doesn't help that she has had to clean up a couple of files (HST & CLBC) that she did not initiate under her Premiership but has had to get fixed because that is what the public demanded.

But as Premier Clark notes - BC Liberal Party members', like myself, will have significant input into Party policy going into the 2013 Provincial General Election (good on BC Liberals to use online platforms to gather policy input).

Like any government (and party members having input into that government) - it sometimes moves slower than you want but it very well has legitimate reasons as to why it can't move faster (hint to BC Conservatives & BC NDP on HST Rules... tax law is not as simplistic as you make it out to be...)

Meanwhile, over on his blog - my uncle and BC Conservative Regional Director Alan Forseth has a blog post worth reading:

1) Why I can say this? I'm one of the voters BC Liberals drove away!  - Read here

Having read the article that Mr. Forseth refers to - Warren Kinsella speaks the truth.

Remember the elections of 1991 & 1996 ... when the "right" is split like it regrettably is right now - the BC NDP always win.  Also - think about this - both the BC NDP/BC Liberals had plenty of contenders for their leadership races but yet the BC Conservatives acclaimed their leader... people should ask - Why is that ... ?  People should ask Mr. Cummins and his party what kind of provincial political experience they bring to the table... especially voters' should ask if Mr. Cummins (if Premier) will abandon his "bull-headed" fights over First Nations' rights and fisheries... one of my personal chief reasons NOT to join the BC Conservatives...

So as we progress towards 2013 - should the BC Liberals' lose in 2013 (and it is starting to look that way, based on recent polls), the NDP should thank the BC Conservatives for playing spoiler, just like the Federal Reform  & Canadian Alliances parties played spoiler in the 1993, 1997 and 2000 Federal Elections... until the conservative right parties merged into one Federal Conservative party in 2003 and thus allow like-minded Conservatives on the federal scene to win minority governments in 2006, 2008, 2010 with a majority government in 2011

Finally - Message to BC Conservatives or disenfranchised BC Liberals...

Come back and join the BC Liberal "coalition" before you help indirectly to elect BC NDP MLA's and send BC back to the "lost 90's"

SBF

A Conversation with the Premier

BC Premier Christy Clark sat down with the Globe and The Province summarized her time as BC Premier in 2011. Read those articles -- here (Globe) and here (Province)

You can also watch a YouTube video where Premier Clark goes over what the BC Government will be doing in 2012

See below:

Home Owner Grant changes for low-income vets

Courtesy of the Government of BC:

The Province is proposing to enhance the home owner grant to assist more Canadian veterans with low incomes.

“This act of gratitude is a small token of thanks on Remembrance Day to all our veterans for their service and sacrifice,” said Premier Christy Clark.

To pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of younger veterans who have served here at home as well as in foreign conflicts, British Columbia intends to provide an additional grant to help reduce property taxes for lower-income former members of the Canadian Forces by up to $275.

The home owner grant currently provides a maximum reduction in residential property taxes of $570 in the Capital Regional District, the Greater Vancouver Regional District and the Fraser Valley Regional District and $770 in other regions of the Province.

Homeowners age 65 or over, some homeowners with permanent disabilities, and older veterans and their spouses may already be eligible for an additional grant of up to $275.

But under existing rules, only some veterans of the Second World War or the Korean War and their spouses are eligible for the additional home owner grant.

“To recognize those who have served their country and who now face income challenges, the Province is proposing to expand the home-owner grant so that low-income Canadian Forces veterans may be eligible for the additional grant amount, regardless of the conflict they served in,” said Finance Minister Kevin Falcon.

The proposed changes would create a further grant of up to $275 for low-income Canadian Forces veterans with more recent service in the event they do not already qualify as seniors or persons with disabilities.

Details of the intended change will be announced in Budget 2012 and, subject to approval of the legislature, would take effect for the 2012 property tax year.

For a video of Premier Clark reflecting on veterans and Remembrance Day, visit:
http://youtu.be/pCkPo-RiPF4

BCLTV - Oct 14th edition

In this week's BC Liberal TV Rewind:

1) Health care announcements
2) Cycling path announcement
3) BC Jobs Plan

Latest Provincial Political Poll from Ipsos-Reid

Recently - Ipsos-Reid did a poll on support for provincial political parties.  You can review the particulars of that poll here

Overall - the NDP hold a 36-45% support lead over the reigning BC Liberals who have between 30-38% and voter support for the BC Conservatives' between 9-12% and 16% who are undecided.

But - on support for provincial political leaders:

Christy Clark - 45% support with 46% non-support and 9% saying "Don't Know"
Adrian Dix - 43% support with 36% non-support and 21% saying "Don't Know"
John Cummins - 23% support with 33% non-support and 45% saying "Don't Know"

Finally - by sub-region:

Metro Vancouver:

NDP - 45% support
BC Liberals - 35% support
BC Conservatives - 14% support

Vancouver Island:

NDP - 54% support
BC Liberals - 31% support
BC Conservatives - 8% support

Interior/North:

NDP - 39% support
BC Liberals - 46% support
BC Conservatives - 9% support

Final Comments:

While the NDP have support in Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, the reigning BC Liberals have comfortable support in the Interior and Northern BC.  Meanwhile - the BC Conservatives have just enough support to play "spoiler" in Interior/North and Vancouver Island to the BC Liberals' but could have enough support (if developed over time) to elect a few MLA's in Metro Vancouver.  Also - if John Cummins converts his 45% "don't know" into "support", things could get really ugly for the BC Liberals as we approach 2013

Overall - the BC Liberals have a ton of work to do in Metro Vancouver/Vancouver Island to get rid of the NDP's lead in these sub-regions while watching the BC Conservatives behind them, with little time remaining to do so (with just under 2 years before the next election)

Finally - while not part of this poll - if the NDP/Liberals and BC Conservatives run candidates in Cariboo-North - I wonder if a 4 way race for this riding could spell doom for Independent MLA Bob Simpson come April of 2013...given when he ran in 2009, it was a two way race with only the NDP/BC Liberals...but on the other hand - BC Conservatives could, in a 4 way race, play "spoiler" to the BC Liberal candidate.  But it would come down to how many "NDP" supporters back Mr. Simpson as an independent and not back the local NDP Candidate.  This riding may end up being one to watch - given the only other independent MLA in BC is in Delta South (Vicki Huntingdon)

SBF

$30 million dollars for Local Recreation Facilities in BC

In her speech yesterday to UBCM (Union of BC Municipalities) delegates - BC Premier Christy Clark announced Victoria would make available to local governments $30 million for their local recreation facilities.  See more details here

But there are a few things:

1) If divided equally among the 200 UBCM Members - it works out to $150,000 per community/regional district

2) The period to apply is October 14th - December 28th with municipalities being allowed to apply once but regional districts being allowed to apply multiple times

3) Until the thorny issue around fitness programs, including a possible review of same, at the Cariboo Memorial Recreation Complex is resolved (this will be discussed at the 5:00pm October 26th Central Cariboo Joint Committee) - the Joint Committee should not apply to this funding.  In addition - there is no plan for a new pool at this time so we are, as a community, not ready to apply to this funding for that project but the City of Williams Lake should look at the $30 million for other "recreation" purposes like assisting trail development at Scout Island or even any infrastructure needs at our local parks...

In fact - Quesnel is probably the most ready to lobby for its' Multi-Centre, given it only needs $10 million from Victoria and that would reduce the corporate goal from $20 million down to $10 million over 2 years which may be enough to get their Multi-Centre going before 2013

Breaking News: Iain Black leaves BC Politics...

This afternoon - Iain Black announced that he was leaving politics to take up his new post as President/CEO of the Vancouver Board of Trade.  See more here

In the meantime - local Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Donna Barnett says that with Mr. Black leaving, it is a big loss for the BC Liberals

Meanwhile - over in Twitter-ville:

1) Two more BC Liberal MLA's may be on the "bubble" of leaving
2) Premier Christy Clark is not worried about two Cabinet Ministers leaving inside of a week
3) According to her, Clark says press worry more about fall election than she does.  Really.... this after Premier Clark says she needs a election, sooner than later, to get a mandate from voters, as soon as this fall (from earlier this year)

My thoughts - With both Barry Penner/Iain Black out - if I were the BC Liberal Caucus - I'd be really nervous, especially with a possible fall election looming and a BC Conservative Party behind them and with 2 others possibly looking at leaving - I'd be armtwisting Christy Clark in private and saying - just announce you won't be calling a fall election and will concentrate of governing, for the moment and we'll look at a provincial election sometime in 2012

SBF

Letter to BC Premier C. Clark/Minister Ida Chong on Municipal Auditor-General

Today, I wrote BC Premier Christy Clark and Community, Sport and Cultural Development Minister Ida Chong on the policy idea of a Municipal Auditor-General.  See below for the letter:

I am writing to you on the proposed establishment of a municipal Auditor-General for the roughly 180+ municipal/regional district governments in the Province of British Columbia

For someone who has actively watched local governments in the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 2001, the primary reason as to why a municipal Auditor-General is being proposed and, in my humble opinion, thrust onto local governments relates to the public perception about local government spending, especially as it relates to those local governments in Metro Vancouver where a big chunk of the increase in spending either relates to decisions made by local municipal governments or as it relates to union contracts, again decisions made at the local level

Secondly – I’ve reviewed the distributed survey to all UBCM members on a Municipal Auditor-General. To be perfectly frank – I find the language very leading, which leads me to believe Victoria has already decided to have a Municipal Auditor-General, regardless of how local governments respond to the survey. I find this development stunning, just after going through the very public exercise over the Harmonized Sales Tax debacle

Thirdly – I categorically reject the assertion that small local governments (ie: Villages, Districts) need the position of a Municipal Auditor-General, in order to conduct “value for money” audits. If a village or district, in addition to other local governments, want to do a “value for money” audit in addition to a special audit (outside of the usual auditing of Financial Statements), then a local government can choose to do so. Victoria should not dictate this to local governments, especially after Victoria enacted the Community Charter in 2004 with Section 1 of the Charter stipulating as follows:

1 (1) Municipalities and their councils are recognized as an order of government within their jurisdiction that

(a) is democratically elected, autonomous, responsible and accountable,
(b) is established and continued by the will of the residents of their communities, and
(c) provides for the municipal purposes of their communities.

Fourthly – By the actions of Victoria on a Municipal Auditor General – announce first, then consult with the UBCM breaks previous practice and doesn’t build a consultative relationship between the Union of BC Municipalities and Victoria, as was present during the building of the Community Charter. Saying that Premier Clark announced this during the recent BC Liberal Party Leadership race and local government officials should have paid attention does not, in itself, constitute consultation with UBCM and local governments

In conclusion - The provincial government would do well to kill this proposal as it does nothing to solve the issue of municipal spending. If Victoria decided not to get directly involved in the issue of industrial taxation issues, then Victoria should be prepared to do the same on general municipal spending, which in my opinion, is directly tied to the proposal for a Municipal Auditor-General, but will only add to the bureaucracy. In fact – there is no information, at present, as to who will pay for this position. Will local governments have to pay for this post or will provincial taxpayers have to pay for another bureaucrat?

I strongly encourage you to repeal this policy idea and allow the debate of spending by local governments to take place at a local level, as it should and will take place in our local communities, especially with civic elections coming up in November

Should you wish to discuss this letter further – I can be contacted in the following ways:
Phone – 250-267-6725
Email: sforseth000@hotmail.com

Respectfully yours,

Steve Forseth
Williams Lake, BC

CC: Alberto DeFeo, CAO – District of Lake Country (via email)
       Al Richmond, Chair – Cariboo Regional District (via email)
      Mary Sjostrom, Mayor – City of Quesnel (via email)
      Donna Barnett, MLA – Cariboo-Chilcotin (via email)

Fall Election Speculation

Earlier this week - former NDP MLA and regular political pundant David Schreck commented on the possibility of a fall provincial election and which ridings are weak for both BC Liberals and BC NDP and what a magic number would be for the NDP to get elected, whether now (fall), in 2012 or by the mandated next election date of May 12th, 2013.  See Mr. Schreck's analysis here

My own view is that the possibility of a fall election is out the window, given BC Premier Clark has scheduled a fall sitting of the BC Legislature in October, a trade tour to Asia (India/China) and the results of the HST Referendum vote won't be known at least until August 25th.  In addition, the heavy debt situation in both the US/Europe lead me to believe that a fall vote is out of the question.  More likely scenario would see a provincial vote in 2012, likely Fall of 2012.  I just can not see Ms. Clark gambling the BC Liberals hold on power, just after the HST vote and given the weak situations in the US/Europe when waiting a year may improve her electoral chances

SBF

Barry Penner resigns as BC Attorney-General

From the Province of BC:

Premier Christy Clark issued the following statement regarding Barry Penner’s resignation today as Attorney General:

“Late this morning, Barry Penner advised me that he would be stepping down as Attorney General in order to spend more time with his family.

“I have asked Shirley Bond to serve as Attorney General on an interim basis, in addition to continuing her role as Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

“Barry Penner has served this government and British Columbians with distinction and honour. I first had the privilege of serving with Barry in 1996 and it was at that time I realized his passion for making British Columbia a better place to live.

“As the longest-serving Minister of Environment in Canada, Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation and most recently as Attorney General, Barry has a breadth and depth of knowledge and experience that contributed tremendous value to the cabinet table.

“As much as anyone in public life, I understand the need for striking the right work/life balance. I wish Barry all the best as he enters a new chapter of his life and focuses on his family.”

Municipal Auditor-General - A Very Bad Idea!!

Yesterday in the Vancouver Sun - veteran political columnist Vaughn Palmer digs into Victoria's plan for a Municipal Auditor-General (MAG) - see his column here.  Also - Tom Fletcher (Black Press's political columnist) looks at this issue as well here.  However, Charlie Smith from the Georgia Straight says that a Municipal Auditor-General is necessary - see his column here.  Also - the Union of BC Municipalities or UBCM gets into this issue as well by issuing a "background paper" on this topic here.  Strangely enough - UBCM reports that a local government already can appoint, on its own, a Municipal Auditor-General without Victoria butting in

My personal take on it is that a MAG from Victoria will not solve spending issues except create more bureaucracy.  Municipalities and Regional Districts are already required to have their books audited on a yearly basis, in addition to a municipality and regional districts holding a budget meeting to discuss a yearly budget/5-Year Financial Plan prior to adoption

If the public was looking for another tool to increase public accountability - then current recall legislation should be extended to include Mayor, Councillors and Electoral Area Directors if the public feels strongly that their locally elected officials ought to be recalled (thrown out of office).  Although - I feel the threshold to successfully recall a local politician out of office should be lower than the recall standard for provincial politicians.  For example - the standard to recall a local elected official should be, say, 20% of the voting public.  If the public is mad enough, at say, Williams Lake Council and under this proposal - a City Councillor or the Mayor could be successfully recalled or turfed from office if 1,550 signed a petition to recall said Mayor or City Councillor within the timelines laid out in the Recall and Initiative Act

Though I'm a Christy Clark supporter - this is one policy initiative I absolutely disagree with and should be withdrawn forthwith and reading the UBCM background policy paper - the idea of a MAG is also something municipal politicians don't buy into either

SBF

Glimpse into inner workings on how BC Public Service briefs new incoming Premier-designates

From the Globe and Mail:

Interesting article on how the BC Public Service provided a briefing to BC Premier Christy Clark, just after winning the BC Liberal Party Leadership Race earlier this year.  See the article here

See the FOI (unfortunately some material is deleted to cabinet advice or other information permitted to be "redacted" or whited out under the Province's FOI Law) for the briefing binder to BC Premier Christy Clark here

Msg from BC Premier re: BC Day

“B.C. Day is a time to celebrate all of the things that are most important in our lives - the friends, families and neighbours who mean so much to us, the many blessings and privileges that we enjoy and the very special nature of this place that we call home. It is also a time to consider how we can continue to strengthen the future for our children and our communities.

“As British Columbians, we are fortunate to enjoy multiculturalism, which enriches us all. People from across the world have immigrated to B.C. and along with our First Nations, have worked hard to build a strong and vibrant province in an embrace of cross-cultural acceptance. This has made B.C. a shining beacon throughout the world, and it reflects who we are as a province.

“In 1858 Queen Victoria named a rough and lonely outpost of her empire ‘British Columbia’. Today we reflect on those humble beginnings and the impressive record of achievement that created the province we know today.

“Ours is a province of promise and opportunity where we live together in mutual respect and inclusiveness. We enjoy peace, security and freedom, and a healthy environment of unparalleled natural beauty. None of these things can be taken for granted. They are privileges that we must protect and celebrate.

“I encourage you to enjoy time with family and participate in some of the many festivals and events taking place across B.C. this weekend. On behalf of the government of British Columbia, I extend my best wishes for a safe and fun B.C. Day.”

Hon. Terry Lake vs MLA John Les

After the decision to approve Metro Vancouver's Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) which included incineration in the Fraser Valley Air Shed, which includes the City of Chillwack - the MLA for Chillwack and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier, John Les, express his public outrage at the approval for this plan - see here

But a couple of issues come up:

1) Why this plan with incineration was approved, given historical opposition to incineration by Fraser Valley BC Liberal MLA's going back to the late 90's and the apparent lack of knowledge on this by Terry Lake?

2) With Cache Creek Mayor John Ranta express his deep disappointment in this decision - see here but it remains to be seen (and I would support it) if Mayor Ranta attempts to meet with Terry Lake and get him to revisit the decision on incineration and the Metro Vancouver SWMP

Finally - with policy decision reversals between Blair Lekstrom and Christy Clark over the Evergreen Line and now this apparent reversal to approve the Metro Vancouver SWMP, given past history of BC Liberal MLA's in the Fraser Valley

As a BC Liberal Party member - we, as BC Liberals', are plain not ready for a fall election and we should look towards a new time table of either the Spring or Fall of 2012 and use the time between now - Spring/Fall of 2012 to get our $#$##$ together to start governing like a team, lest the voters say - enough is enough! - send the NDP in, they can't be any worse

SBF

BC Premier's July 4th Quarterly Web Report