BC Politics | Political Insider

BC Liberals Via BC Hydro : Liars,Bullies or Both? #bchydro #bcpoli #bccp2013 #nosmartmeters

I got a message on my cell phone to call BC Hydro immediately.

Once I got to my office I returned the call.

Me: Hello it’s Jeff Bridge I got an urgent call from you, what’s up?

BC Hydro Employee or Call center employee I am not sure which: Thank you Mr. Bridge I was calling to let you know you are the last person left in BC That does not have a smart Meter installed.

Me: Really the last person?

BCHE: Yup and we would like to send somebody out and get that job finished today. Is it convenient?

Me: No ( in hysterics ) in fact I can tell you for fact that I am not the last person who doesn’t have a smart meter/

BCHE: You are

Me: No my neighbor doesn’t have one either as evidenced by the sign covering his old meter telling you to stay off his yard and not to install one. Do I have to walk down the street and do a meter count and make you look even worse. I have no intention of dealing with you any further because you lied and I am not in the habit of dealing with liars.

I wonder how many other people received calls like this?

What could be stupider given all the press over all the that people have refused smart meters.

Is it any wonder that is the approach they would take with their customers given the example set by the current government? ( Just look at the recent round of phone calls on the Surrey Casino project as evidence of how they do business)

They must have all been trained by Rich Coleman.

What next?

Threats in the budget lock up?

Rich Coleman:So Just Who Will Feel The Wrath Of the Bully During Election 2013? #bcpoli #bccp2013 #bully

First this post assumes two things, namely that there will be an election in BC in May 2013 and secondly that Rich Coleman will run again.

Neither of these two are gimmes given BC’s political climate and the party and province’s distaste for the Premier and Liberal leader Christy Clark.

It is possible that when the house returns, the majority Liberals will move (due to some manufactured calamity like Clark being deposed/ disposed of as leader) to introduce legislation to move ahead the fixed election date.

It is also not a gimme that Richie C will run again ( despite the blustery BS from him to the contrary) given the fact that he will most certainly be relegated to the back benches.

Also remember that a mere 6 months or so after the provincial election, nominations and preparations will begin for the next federal election. This is an election where the Prime Minister has pledged open nominations in all seats including Conservative bastions where Coleman resides and votes.He could find that enticing!

Also Clark could get the boot which also might look attractive to Coleman to make a run for her job too under and different election date.

But should things stay on course and we have an election in May, just exactly who might feel the wrath of Rich Coleman just a few scant months from now?

For the answer to that you need look no farther than the recent BC Liberal leadership campaign.

If you recall Coleman mulled over a run for the roses back then and changed his mind.

Ever wonder why that was?

One reason: Mary Polak bailed on him and threw her support behind Kevin Falcon.

Think Coleman has forgotten?

There is about as much chance of that as Polak forgetting that Coleman actually helped put a lot of money in her campaign in 2009 ( nothing untoward, it’s just how the BC Liberals do things).

Not a chance that will happen this time, nor will the volunteers from Coleman’s crew pitch in and help her out either.

Nope, Polak will have more to worry about than the specter of Cummins, the BC Conservatives,Green Party and the NDP to take her seat away.

She will have to spend her days wondering where Rich Coleman will strike next!

Don’t feel sorry for her , she of all people should have known what Coleman was like.

Christy Clark: Leadership Vacuum at the Top!

Christy Clark: In my heart I belong on a Bollywood stage

The optics of last nights Bollywood spending spree by the premier were awful.

The Christy Clark BC Liberal Government pledges $11 million dollars for the copycat film awards ( BC lost the real McCoy days earlier) and in vain attempt to save face, Clark and her handlers picked the occasion of a town hall meeting to “Save BC Film” to make her announcement.

Of course Bollywood investment is important but there is a time and a place to make the big splash. The night when your own film industry meets to find solutions to save the industry from disappearing is not it.

Not only do the people of BC film feel like they got a slap in the face but it gives Clark an excuse for not showing up and answering the tough questions that these folks might have.

Clark does this a lot as evidenced by her making a You tube video instead of showing up at the Coast Guard rally this past weekend.

This is nothing more than the kind of weak leadership we have come to expect from Christy Clark and the BC Liberal Government.

We deserve better!

Christy Clark:Where is She and for that Matter Where is the MSM ?

You have just as much chance of locating Christy Clark as you do the MSM. Look hard enough and you might at least find Waldo!

Once again Premier Christy Clark disappears when it’s time to get into the tough discussions. Last week it was Fostergate and this week it’s Slatergate.

Where is the Premier when top notch leadership is needed?

For that matter where is the MSM?

Clark’s office says they cannot not support Slater due to personal reasons.

Given the Liberals track record with sludge and scandal one can only wonder how bad those reasons are.

Once again however, the MSM is MIA and the Slater story is already on its way to the bottom of the page.

What’s with that?

Had this been a scandal involving the NDP ( Such as the leader of the opposition skipping out on a fare) it might headline for a day.

Go figure.

BC Liberals to Give Auditor-General John Doyle the High Hard One? #bccp2013 #bcpoli #canpoli

de Jong: One less hurdle between me and the budget!

According to the Vancouver Sun, the scandal plagued BC Liberal Government is about to send Auditor-General John Doyle packing and not renew his contract.

That the BC Liberal Government would do this should not shock anybody!

Doyle has held the Liberals feet to the fire over such things as deferral accounts for BC Hydro and Christy Clark’s favorite file, the BC Rail case.

In the latter, Doyle has been trying to gain access to documents related to the $6 million dollar legal fees that the government wrote off regarding Basi and Virk.

Applications for new applicants must be received by January 25,2013 and John Van Dongen need not apply.

He will be the only one left going to court to get the aforementioned documents as I would imagine anybody with an ounce of integrity will be screened out during the interview process.

The lucky applicant will also be too busy during the early stages of his or her new appointment to review any of the hogwash the Liberals will no doubt bring forth in their pre-election budget.

You also have to remember that this is BC Politics in action and this committee has to vote unanimously,secretly and without accountability to renew his contract , so I would also take with a grain of salt what the NDP will say happened. Their people could have also voted against renewal to ensure the Liberals looked stupid.

Only in BC!

The BC Citizen’s Fiscal Cliff

As we ring in 2013, all of us in BC will wake up closer to our own fiscal cliff.

Starting January 1, 2013 ( Tomorrow for those who have been sleeping away the holidays) you will see increases in the following: 1) Property taxes 2) Utility bills 3) Health care premiums 4)Employment Insurance Premiums ( your cheque will be less to pay the increases above) 5)Canada pension premiums 6) Bus fare
7) Ferry fare .

Further on in 2013 expect to pay more to cross the Port Mann,trans link taxes,more property taxes and whatever else they will raise to balance the budget.

If you are an employer you match premiums so you will have an increase there too! You will also get to pick up the tab for Christy Clark’s brand new Family Day.

The year is already off to a grand old start isn’t it!

The Christy Clark BC Liberal Government Reaches a New Low!

We all missed a game changing opportunity!

I am not talking about a flashy new poll being released, I am talking about excluding Amanda Todd’s mother from the conference on bullying. How dumb can you get?

She should have been front and center showing those people the scars of her childs death.

Premier photo-op and crew have dropped the ball once again.In fact we all did.

This was an opportunity to set politics aside and do the real work to make life more bearable for the kids in the province.

Instead a meaningful conference once again becomes a political football and a huge fumble for the Premier of our province.

You would have thought she would have been a little smarter given the vote she wants to recover is the women’s vote.

I recall, when my granddaughter was killed last October and I was in Comox for the funeral, there were a number of stories written in the local papers about kids, girls in particular committing suicide in the area. The deaths were not necessarily attributable to bullying but symptomatic of a larger problem that affects kids in this day and age.

I think there was three in the space of a month.

Something needs to be done and it has to be a lot more than the political hi-jinks of the last week.

Part of the problem is that we all stand back and accept this stuff from our politicians again and again.

We go to the polls like sheep and vote based on party lines. Those that don’t vote are making a statement albeit the wrong one.

All of us need to get involved,get outraged, be it at the next election or even now and ensure everybody knows that the status quo is no longer acceptable.

Folks did over the HST and it made a difference.

Otherwise we will get more of the same under the guise of change.

In the coming weeks I will write a post describing what I think people want and desperately need in their governments today.

We need to make real change and make the Amanda Todd’s of the world’s lives mean something.

We need to do more than what the BC Liberal government has been doing.

It’s time for real change and that time is now!

Christy Clark:Amateurish and Sneaky!

I could not believe what I was reading this morning in a piece written by Jonathan Fowlie regarding the dismissal of Ken Boessenkool.

Tonight Vaughn Palmer follows that up with an excellent column of hos own describing the premier as amateurish and sneaky.

These are not exactly the qualities the voting public wants in a premier especially with the upcoming debate over the Enbridge pipeline.

It’s not exactly the confidence builder the folks who just left the BC Liberal get pumped from the election convention want to read about either.

It is basic human resources cover your ass stuff to have documented files from everybody that saw,knows and talked about the type of complaint lodged against Mr. Boessenkool.

In fact most companies I have worked for document files on 3 month junior employees just in case.

The type of complaint leveled against Boessenkool, senior employee, is not only documented but referred to legal counsel before anybody gets disciplined let alone canned.

Politics, as even a beginner knows is ass covering 101 so even Clark at the very least knew to get the file going unless as Alex Tsakumis says something worse is hiding behind the proverbial curtain.

Her actions speak more of a senior level employee in over her head and stressed out than a strong leader or Premier for BC.

It also makes you wonder how complicit she might have been in the BC Rail case, for amateurish and sneaky are qualities somebody trying to cover up that fiasco would have too!

What do you think?

Update:Christy Clark on Enbridge: Brainstorming Potential Answers is Not Her Responsibility!

The only MSM in town that bothered to report to this point on Inept Premier Clark’s visit with Alberta Premier Redford in Calgary today had the line for the ages.

When asked by reporters about her meeting Clark ,apart from saying it was frosty, advised anybody who would listen ( and by extension anybody who would read the Globe and Mail) that it was not her responsibility to brainstorm for answers regarding the dilemma with Enbridge and the pipeline.

The operative word of course in the quote was ‘Brain’ and we have all learned by now anything to do with that area of the human body is not a Christy Clark strong point.

So Premier Clark, if not your responsibility,whose?

Essentially today’s meeting was a great big waste of Premier Redford’s time.

Why on earth would Clark drop in without any new solutions to restate her position on the project?

Why hasn’t the brainstorming been done?

Could Clark have been hiding in Alberta to avoid bad press over the 12% increase in BC Ferries rates?

Watch the Calgary Herald Video where you will hear Clark’s first words’ Well um it was Frosty”

Clark in Calgary

We have,ladies and gentleman, what sounds like a 12-year-old girl as Premier.

Next she’ll be singing ” The good ship lollipop”!

What an embarrassment!

Need I say more?

What are your thoughts?

UPDATE Some 6 hours after the meeting,NONE of the BC Electronic News Sources( Sun,province,Times Colonist) have a line about the meeting. They are still saying she will meet with Redford later today; Geesh!

The Premier”s Office Revolving Door Revolves !

Pretty Soon these people will be running into each other!

Once again the hot corner in Politics proves to be working in the Premier’s office.

Today after nine months of employment Ken Boessenkool resigned after an incident he deemed ” an incident he acted inappropriately”

I am not going to speculate what may have happened,there are enough different versions on different mainstream and non mainstream media websites.

What I will do is question why it took two weeks to complete the resignation if he apologized immediately and ask why the premier is not coming clean once again.

I understand Mr.Boessenkool’s family reads but what’s worse: Knowing the truth or reading all the rampant speculation.

The best thing of course would be for Ken to make a statement and clear the air so to speak unless of course there is more to this than meets the eye.

This of course is yet another black eye on the Clark Government, a black eye that will get worse until the cause is released.

Of course Clark’s new replacement also has some explaining to do.

If this just all happened this Last night/this morning why would you give up a stable career job as board chair at BC Hydro for a job that will probably die out by May 2013 at the latest?

What do you think?

Is there more here than meets the “Black” eye?