provincial | Political Insider

Sukh Dhaliwal: His Candidacy is His Way of Standing Up for the Interests of Sukh Dhaliwal!

Former Federal Liberal Sukh Dhaliwal Joins the BC Liberal Team!

Below you can read the email from Sukh Dhaliwal introducing himself as the BC Liberal Candidate for the riding of Surrey- Panoramma .

He says he is not prepared to sit on the sidelines and be an observer during the next election.

Lets be clear: Sukh is on the sidelines because the voters in his federal Electoral District handed him his head on a silver platter in the last federal election.

His email proves he hasn’t learned the lesson the voters sent him.

He follows a Premier who, in year end interviews says she will continue to follow the same course she has followed in the last 21 months.

This course includes bringing in the HST,taking her sweet time getting rid of it once the people by referendum directed her to, adding an extra holiday, raising the minimum wage all at great cost to the very same small business people that Sukh claims to be a part of.

They have raised just about every rate you can name and at the same time say they have a family first agenda.

We have been gouged with gas,carbon and toll taxes in the BC Liberals continuing war in the car.

We have watched as they tried to sell of the Liquor Distribution Branch in their latest attempt at a cash grab necessary to balance the budget.

This failure was followed by the recent beer-gate scandal

Did I hear somebody say Trans Link mismanagement? The BC Liberals took part in that too.

The BC liberals, who Sukh claims are the best economic managers wants to join a team that sets “Apira-tional targets as opposed to realistic ones.

Dhaliwal will fit right in with this BC Liberal crew given the pointers he probably picked up from his formal federal Liberal mates during the tail end of the sponsorship scandal.

I expect that come election night Sukh will find out there is still a place for him on the side lines as I am sure the voters haven’t forgotten.

Maybe while he is waiting he can help the Premier figure out why the women don’t support her in the polls.

That is unless he too in his heart is a Filipina!

THE EMAIL

While we are all getting prepared for the upcoming holiday season, I am also excited to be getting back on the campaign trail.

I have decided to accept the nomination to run in the next provincial election May 14 to represent my riding of Surrey-Panorama. My current MLA, Hon. Stephanie Cadieux, will be moving to Surrey-Cloverdale, where she lives, to take the place of the retiring Kevin Falcon.

I want to thank Kevin for his exceptional service to this province and especially to Surrey. While I was a Member of Parliament, Mr. Falcon was a great help to me on a number of issues. I wish Kevin and his family the best in their future.
The next election is a very critical one for our province. We are at a crossroads. I have made this decision to run because I am not prepared to sit on the sidelines.

I have lived in Surrey-Panorama for the past 15 years, raised my family here, built my business, and of course represented part of this riding as a Member of Parliament from 2006 to 2011.

As a small business owner with 12 employees, I am responsible for the incomes that support 12 families. The prospect of an NDP government is very concerning to me, and to many small business owners who I have spoken to throughout the riding.

It is very important that we have a government that believes in free enterprise and a competitive economic climate.

Premier Clark and the BC Liberals are the best choice to protect our economy, and I am proud to join the team to defend these principles.

As I always have, I believe in governance that is balanced – sound fiscal management with a social conscience. I believe that a thriving economy allows for strong investments in health care, in education, in social services, etc.

I also want to help the Premier keep taxes low, and make life more affordable for families and seniors. This is a fundamental principle that the NDP has seemed to forgotten – that the middle class will be squeezed out, and that they need relief, not extra tax burdens in order to pay for the basic services we deserve as British Columbians.

The future of our province is at stake, and my candidacy is my way of standing up for the people and the interests of Surrey-Panorama.

Mary Polak: BC Liberal Goals are “Aspira-tional”

What do you mean Polak said our Goals are “Aspira-tional”? That was supposed to be kept secret!

I didn’t make that up. Those words came from the mouth of Transportation Minister Mary Polak when she was describing the targets set by her department and questioned by auditor general John Doyle.

This is the same Mary Polak that told us during the HST discussion that BC had the lowest provincial sales tax rate in Canada conveniently leaving out the fact that Alberta has zero.

“Aspira-tional goals she said will be kept on the books to what; fire up the staff who know they don’t have a hope of hitting them.

What about setting some realistic goals with a realistic budget that we can all review and evaluate?

Speaking of budgets,I wonder if balancing the budget is “Aspira-tional” to this BC Liberal Government?

One can only imagine the ” aspira-tional” smoke and mirrors that will come out of Polak’s colleague Finance Minister Mike de Jong when that document is released.

What next? Maybe having an election in May will be “Aspira-tional” and that date will be changed when the house reconvenes in the New Year.

With these people you never know.

BC Liberals: The Smoke and Mirrors Continue!

How do you hire somebody in the middle of a hiring freeze?

Simple do it the BC Liberal way.

Shift one employee somewhere elsewhere and tell the world you have a vacancy in that shifted position.

The BC Liberals did just that today with the hiring of Ben Chin into Sara the mouth piece’s old position.

Chin is the former aide to Dalton McGuinty. He worked there when McGuinty’s crew was known as the Fiberals. He should fit in well with the Clark team!

That also makes him a dyed in the wool Liberal, yet another piece in the Clark turn to the left.

Hiring Liberals and spending money that is not there.

How does that make you feel if you are a Conservative?

BC Liberals Dig Us Deeper In Debt!

Inept Premier BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark has been warning voters and taxpayers that today’s economic update was going to be full of bad news,

It was. The current year deficit has grown by $328 million.

According to current Finance Minister Mike De Jong is a delay in the closing of the sale of Little Mountain housing project. Dejong said he does not expect that to close until June.

DeJong then followed in Clark’s footsteps and said no matter, we will balance the budget next year as in February.

unbelievable.

Here are a few things glossed over by both Premier Clark and Finance Manager de Jong.

1) Gone is the $40 million or so revenue from the Telus sign deal at BC Place or whatever you want to call.

2) Whether you were for or against the privatization of the Liquor Distribution Branch,getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar cost the Liberals $700 million which the previous Finance Minister had used in last years budget to project a balanced budget this year.

3) The piece de resistance ( although expenditure wise it pales in comparison to the above numbers) the $15 million your proud government just spent telling you how great they are.

Lets be clear about this too: As you are reading this thinking they are wasting your money, it’s beyond that. They are into your credit cards ( we don’t have any money) so it’s a lot worse.

To give this some context for you.Yesterday Toronto Mayor Rob Ford lost his job for using his letterhead to raise $3,100 for needy children while the BC Liberals used their letterhead to not only blow another $15 million to raise votes for themselves, but also sink you are your family $328 million further in debt.

Where is justice when you need it?

While the Kids Starve the BC Liberals Play Their Games!

The BC Liberal Past 24 Hrs.Started here.

A monster horror show of a day by anybody’s standards is just another day at the office for the BC Liberals.

To Wit : The Christy Clark team, as they were winding down their night yesterday were digesting the news that they were once again caught with their hand in the cookie jar regarding the Anti-Dix web-site. Likely as they were tucking themselves in, blackberries went off with the news that BC Liberal-South Abbotsford Abbotsford executive had resigned en masse over the forced nomination of candidate Daryl Plecas.

After tossing and turning all night I would imagine they awoke wondering what next.

What next would have been more stunning news from the land of BC Liberal booze where Gary Mason exposed the Rich Coleman collect a donation for a tax refund scheme.

Think that was the worst news of the day? Think again.

For Premier Christy Clark and her party who have spent her entire leadership career strumming the ole banjo and singing families first comes the news that BC owns a 14.3 per cent child poverty rate, the second worst in Canada.

The report says to cure child poverty the BC Liberal government must attack child poverty with the same gusto that they attack jobs.

Lets hope not. On November 2,2012 the job report was released indicating that BC had lost 11,000 jobs, more than any other province.

Just another day at the office for Clark and her inept bunch.

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: More Troubles Ahead on BC Rail!

Scenes from a BC Liberal Nightmare: The Birth of BC Rail.

Did Christy Clark break the law in 2003 with her handling of the BC Rail issue?

John Van Dongen thinks she did and accordingly has asked Conflict of Interest Commissioner Paul Fraser to conduct a formal inquiry into the matter.

Van Dongen’s request of the Commissioner was done in the form of a 24 page letter.You can peruse it here.
Seems Like MLA Van Dongen has done his homework.

So has Blogger Alex Tsakumis.

He has written a number of outstanding articles on the subject, the most recent of which is here.

The evidence is clearly pointing to Clark having involvement in BC Rail where she ought not to have.

Clark says she will cooperate with the commissioner during any inquiry yet she knows full well that any inquiry by the commissioner must come before the house to be voted on.

First and foremost the problem there is the Premier conveniently prorogued the house so unless she recalls it there would be no vote until the spring.

Secondly, the premier holds a majority in the house and her party would most likely vote down any potential inquiry the commissioner requests.

What she needs to do is to take leadership of the issue,recall the house and call an inquiry herself.

Failing that she should come clean and explain her involvement in BC Rail and what the conflict that she suggested was.

Of course coming clean would no doubt lead to her stepping down.

For BC and the families she allegedly cares about its time to do the right thing.

What do you think will happen?

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?

BC Election 2013: The Main Issue

I have been listening to discussions a lot lately about what issue or issues the BC 2013 election will be fought over.

One pundit says the economy ( I guess that’s fashionable since James Carville coined the phrase ‘it’s the Economy Stupid!”),another says the election will be fought over BC Rail,another says it will be all about getting rid of the BC Liberals.

Some people even say that this election will revolve around the environment or post secondary education.

What about fracking?

One thing they all seem to agree on is that the government should be framing the ballot box issue.

In truth and in fact they are all wrong.

These are not issues they are files within a mandate.

Elections are about Leadership!

You don’t vote on the economy you vote on who best to lead you through a rough patch or who to lead and manage a good economy.

BC Rail? You are not voting on that, you are voting on who best to lead the legislature to make sure that never happens again?

The environment? Post secondary education? Those are not issues; the issue is who best to lead the province in the right direction and manage those two files.

The pipeline? Just another file. You vote on who best to handle the file.

The Government frames the issue right?

They should be. Gordon Campbell ( no matter what you think of him) was very good at framing the leadership issue. He won three elections. He also left when he realised he could no longer frame this as his issue.

Today the government is no longer setting the pace on the main issue for the upcoming general election.

If you believe the polls the BCNDP are framing the issue of leadership for the government.

Adrian Dix is waging a very calculated and to this point successful campaign showing himself to be the best leader.

He is including everybody in the discussion and is not afraid to release bits of his platform.

A case in point: His recent speech at the Vancouver Board of Trade. he told a largely pro business audience that if successful in the election he would raise corporate taxes back to levels of 2008.

He is showing extreme confidence and speaks with out emotion.

He lays claim to wanting to do politics differently and backs it up with statements like” If the Federal government changes their mind and does not close the Vancouver Coast Guard I will be the first one to issue a press release applauding the government and that decision.

Contrast that with the premier who, when asked on a radio show ( Bill Good to give credit where it’s due),to comment on the polls showing the women’s vote is going to the NDP said after a few callers phoned in, it’s early,people are not paying attention and I plan to run on my record.

What the premier should have said was’ those polls are on me, I am the leader and I have seven months to work hard and prove that I am the right person for the job.

So as of right now the she is right, she will be running on her record.It is a record of not taking simple leadership of a simple question.

Likewise the optics from the recent BC Conservative AGM and dissident fiasco were not good for the party and when contrasted against the backdrop of Adrian Dix’s handling of George’s Heyman’s position on fracking ( George is entitled to his opinion we welcome discussion here) once again gave the voting public something to compare them to.

There are seven months to go until the election.

To be successful the BCNDP needs to continue what they are doing, the other parties have to catch up.

What do you think will happen?

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!