BC leaderless political parties

The political scenario in BC is a very interesting one at the moment. Some people may even find it very amusing. We have the two main political parties in the provincial government without aleader. Both leaders, Gordon Campbell of the Liberal party and Carole James of the NDP party resigned shortly one after the other. Gordon Campbell recognized his unpopularity with the BC people, and Carole James was pushed out by 13 dissidents in her own party.

We now have a number of politicians contesting the empty leaders' seats. On the NDP side we

have the spectacle of a party at odds with its own constitution the demands that one of the three top posts in the party be occupied by a woman. On the Liberal side, we have ex-ministers of the Gordon Cambell government, disclaiming having had any part in the sale of BC Rail.

Christy Clark is the only outsider, who was not in Gordon Campbell's government when he resigned. I do not believe that Ms Clark had any part in the sale of BC Rail. It is quite clear that she supports a referendum on the HST in June, earlier than the September referendum supported by her political opponents. She is the only one who has taken up a clear-cut position. PersonallyI would give my support to her in her quest for the leadership of the BC Liberals.

Too little spending on Seniors Centres

Demographic studies show that in the next 9 to 12 years seniors in BC will grow from 14 % of the

population to 23% of the total population. Yet the majority of Seniors Centres were built at

least 30 years ago to accomodate a senior population that numbered about 10% of the BC

population. Centres for seniors are being squeezed and as a result activities for seniors are

unable to expand for lack of physical space.

Our local governments, who are the major players in creating Seniors Centres, have neglected

spending enough, in response to the growth in the senior population. Their excuse is lack of funds.They must realize that they cannot sit back, and hope that some miracle will occur to

help them cope with a burgeoning senior population who will be quite different from the older

generation. Younger seniors will be healthier, better educated, and their financial situation

will be superior to older seniors. They will need more activities corresponding to their better

health. The days when seniors will be happy sitting down playing card games are over.Local

governments had better wake up to the more active needs of younger seniors.

Carole James has had two chances to become Premier of BC. In spite of the low popularity of Gordon Campbell, who recently announced that he will be stepping down as premier of BC, she has been unable to increase her own popularity in the polls.She has not shown the dynamism that a leader of the opposition should have. What new ideas has she brought to the BC political scene ?If the Liberals are able to find a new leader who has projected the kind of personality that Carole James lacks, I predict that the BC NDP will remain an opposition party in 2013.

Speaking to people, whom I would think would be strong supporters of the NDP, I hear the words: "I may not vote for the Liberals, but I will not give my vote to the NDP, as long as Carole James is their leader." These are women to whom I am speaking. You would think that they would support another woman. But they tell me that Carole James does not project the dynamism that they expect of a political leader.

The truth about the BC Rail Sale

Will the public ever know the truth about the sale of the BC Rail? The abrupt end of the trial of Mr Basi and Mr Virk with a guilty plea and a ridiculous sentence of two years minus a day home incarceration leaves more questions than aneswers.Gordon Campbell apparently thinks that the public has no right to obtain these answers, although it is the taxpayer who ultimately pays the bill.In his usual haughty way he places all the blameon on these two ministerial aides,who were hired by his own chief of staff, Martyn Brown. Like Pilate, he washes his hands, and passes sentence on the two aides appointed by his own government and placed in the ministries of Finance and Transportation.
After the police raided the legislative offices of Mr Basi and Mr Virk in December
2003, it became clear that the fous of the investigation was on the BC Rail.Why did the Liberal government go ahead with trhe sale? They cancelled he pproposed saleof a BC Rail subdivision, but went ahead with the main sale. There seems to be a real
contradiction here. Is it possible that CN Rail was already selected to win the bidding for BC Rail? There were repeated allegations made in court by the defence that the "fix was in" for CN Rail to win the 2003 bidding . .the abrupt end of the trial means that the truth of that claim will not be tested.
The Liberals do not wish to have their part in this sordid affair revealed.

BC Rail outcome

After seven years of investigation, the two ministerial assistants charged by the RCMP, ended trheir trial by pleading guilty to two counts

Chilean miners real rescuers

In all the news reports about the the rescue of the 33 Chilean miners, little or nothing was said about the people who worked behind the scenes to bring the miners back to the surface. There were many pictures of the Chilean President embracing the miners as they came out of the rescue capsule. The billionaire President, who also owns the TV station qwas the central figure of all the pictures.
What about Albert Iturra, the psychologist, who cared for the mental welfare of the trapped miners or Andres Llarena, the naval commander and physsician, who was at the mine since August 24, advisingon the care of the miners while underground.There were other rescuers,such as, Patricio Robiero, an expert in hostile environment and rescue zones, who served in Iraq between 2006 qnd 2008.There weere also Andre Sougarret, the Civil engineerwho was ccalled in by the Chilean state mining conglomerate to coordinatethe rescue operation. Jeff Hart, the drill operator from Denver, Colorado, whose drill broke through to the miners.Not tobe forgotten are Laurence Golborne and Dr Jean Ramagloni.The former, a mining engineer may make a bid for THE Presidency in the next elections.
I had to go to a British newspaper, the Telegraph, to get this information.

The Questionable HST

Now that Van der Zalm has shown to this government of Gordon Campbell how unpopular the HST is, the Liberals have been forced to hold a referendum on the issue in September 2011. Does it take a year to know the opinion of BC voters? I certainly do not think so. This is a delaying tactic on the part of the Campbell government. He hopes that a year will give him time to show by devious arguments and the use of the media that he is right and the rest of the BC population is wrong. Gordon Campbell is well schooled in Macchiavellian politics.
If our Premier is so right about the benefits of the HST to the economy, why have only three of the ten provinces adopted the HST? Tell us Why, Mr. Premier. Has he considered the fact that the ordinary working man feels that he is being taxed up to the neck? Not too long ago , the Liberal government introduced with much self applause the Carbon tax, following the example of Governor Schwartznegger, the leader of a now bankrupt California state. No other Canadian province followed the example of Gordon Campbell. Why, Mr Premier? Or is it that they see you as a Moses leading our province into deep waters that will not part?
I suggest that this Liberal government got us into waters where they could'nt swim
when they staged the Winter Olympics. We are now like Montreal after they held the
Olympics, and like Greece we also needed a handout to keep our noses above water.
Whither are you leading us, our BC Moses?