political blogger | Political Insider

Politics 101:Let the Leadership Race Begin ! #bcpoli #canpoli #election2017

Leadership races are always interesting no matter what party you belong to. They present themselves as a time for renewal and a time to attract new people into the process that maybe haven’t been involved before or awhile.

Additionally, the goal should (and must be) to attract the best and the brightest to get involved not only to lead the party from backbenches, or no benches, but to also attract the best and brightest people into a leadership role in their community.

To get the best and brightest fundraising should be in place as should a good set of policies. Then a leadership race can begin with the best person hopefully chosen as Leader.

It seems common sense, but then nothing should ever be taken for grant, and so I also say that a leaders job is to undertake to increase fundraising, further develop policy, and no matter what the party standing is in the house, hold the current government accountable.

If the party has seats in the house ,questions should be asked, and scrums should be held, with the media ensuring that all the people are represented. Should the party not be in the house, they can hold the government accountable by press releases, social media releases,radio interviews, or even traveling to the House and arranging media meetings outside house when a relevant issue arises etc.

The success of this all revolves around leadership, and that means as I said earlier, having the right leader and the right policies in place to get the job done. This is easier said than done.

A recent review the the BC Conservative constitution ( provincial party) shows this:

Section 11.02 The Leader can only be removed from office by resignation, death, incapacitation, or the
vote of sixty percent (60%) of the Party Members in good standing who vote in a
universal mail-in ballot.

Another way of saying this is that once a leader is elected he or she only needs 40 % of the current members to vote in favor of his or her leadership role to stay in the job. That seems to me to be setting the bar awfully low. It means that a leader would only have to get a few people to vote to save his or her job especially if the party or it’s members is disillusioned.

The question to ask my readers is what do you think the correct percentage is in order to attract talent and correct mistakes in the leadership process?

The Transit Referendum-Another Reason to Vote NO! #bcpoli #notranslinktax #enoughisenough#

As if we need another reason to Vote NO in the upcoming transit referendum, rumors are filtering down that if people vote NO in the upcoming referendum the government will step away and do nothing about the transit problem affecting the Lower mainland.

Nothing could be further than the truth unless you think the BC Liberal government is prepared to walk away from a number of seats they hold in the area.

A NO vote will force the government to act before the 2017 election and perhaps rewrite legislation so that they can reorganize the Translink board and get this whole thing done right.

A NO vote will wrap the whole issue like an Albatross around the governments neck and force them to act.

Don’t let the Yes side convince you other wise.

Any organization that tosses their so called top guy aside and keeps him around at a salary of $35,000 per month needs reorganizing. If you weren’t convinced of that before that happened it’s a no brainer now.

So Vote NO and tell your government to get the job done right!

Of Flags and Ferris Wheels #surrey #bcpoli #pride #itsrasodetime

The Flag everybody id talking about! — The Flag they wouldn’t fly out front of Surrey city hall flies on my blog!

In the last week or so much kerfuffle has arisen form the controversial decision by Surrey Cit Council ( Read Surrey First and their wanna be Mayor Linda Hepner) to refuse to fly the Pride flag on a pole outside Surrey City hall.

Instead in what they think is a movement of political correctness they allowed the Pride folks to set up an exhibit inside the new City hall in the back of the foyer away from the elevators here it would be hard to see.

In case you have never been to New Surrey City hall it is an expensive white elephant everybody has been talking about lately with respect to the huge waste of money that could have been better spent elsewhere.

How hard would it have been to take the flag and fly it on the flag pole underneath the Surrey City flag.

For those folks in the Pride group which is comprised of people that are Gay,Lesbian,Bi-sexual and Transgender ( GLBT) this must seem like a step back.

After all it has taken them quite awhile to get out of the closet without being persecuted so to speak and now be asked to step back in . ( metaphorically speaking the new city hall represents in a way an expensive closet).

A little planning and foresight at the beginning would have allowed for a forth flag pole so that all community activities could have been represented out in front of the city hall.

That for me would be inclusion and a way to connect with the people.

What a wasted opportunity!

Which now brings us to Ferris wheels and back to wanna be Mayor Hepner.

About the same time this was going on she announced her intention to run for Mayor.

She also announced she wanted to put in a Ferris wheel.

This on the heels of the Surrey First/Hepner argument that a fourth flag pole would have been too expensive. ( Full disclaimer here folks : I haven’t shopped for either but I would bet the farm and the farmer that a Ferris wheel costs a tad more than a flag pole!)

Part of her reasoning would be that it would get children a fair like experience in an area known as Bridgeview.

News flash for Linda and her crew ; There are a large number of those same children in the lower mainland, part of which is Surrey that includes kids in The GLBT group who would have been served exponentially had a Pride flag been flown out in full view where they could have seen it.

Sure a Ferris wheel would give a kid a bit of instant gratification but a flag flown shows a victory earned and a colossal sign of strength.

Just ask any Vimy Ridge veteran.

It would have made these kids feel an important part of the community.

It would have said to them, you matter.

To me they do and that is why the flag flies on my blog.

UDATED:Quebec Election 2014, A Liberal Blowout and a Marois Resignation! #qc2014 #bcpoli #canpoli #goodbyepauline

The final numbers aren’t in ( Lib 70,PQ 30,CAQ 22,QS 3) but make no mistake about it, this is a Liberal blowout of herculean proportions!

The Quebec voters have handed Philippe Couillard and his Liberal Party a majority and by doing so have put the boots to Pauline Marios and her separatist crew for some time to come. ( More on that later)

In his victory/concession speech lucky new PQ MNA Karl Pierre Peladeau sounded more like a man who was giving Marois the Royal shove off the stage as he paid homage to the victory of Philippe Couillard.

For what it’s worth local politicians never congratulate leaders of winning parties. They usually leave that to their leader, unless of course that MNA already thinks he is the leader.

His speech sounded like the groundwork for that campaign and lets face it, who in the PQ would take him on right now.

Of course victory for him won’t be easy especially if you are a PQ member who blames Peladeau for the loss and lets face it his entrance into this contest and his sovereignty proclamation turned this election on its ear and handed it to Couillard and the Liberals.

Since Peladeau gave his speech he has already been telling reporters not to be blamed on him.

Personally I don’t think Peladeau will stick around and he will quit soon. A by-election will be called and the CAQ will pick up another seat.

The debates played a role and showcased the leadership of Francois Legault. His superb performance propelled the CAQ to upwards of 20 seats a new high for the party. They no doubt peeled off disenchanted PQ votes because of that and likely because a vote for them as well as Quebec Solidaire was ” safe’ in this election.

What about Marois? She will likely lose her seat by the hair of her chinny chin chin and either give herself the hook on a speech expected shortly or be given the boot by the party aka Peladeau.

She called an election a mere 18 months into her mandate ( David Peterson could have taught you a thing or two Pauline) and she lead what could be classed as one of the worst campaigns in history.

In her speech she resigned? Why wouldn’t she, she left the party in shambles.

What of Separation?

The separatists have a number of problems to deal with.

1) The current old generation of separatists probably just saw the last of their elections.

2) There are 3 parties in the house , 2 of which grew in size and who also troll for separatist votes.

3) Once the aforementioned old guard retires they will have rely on the young vote to help their cause and we all know the young folks don’t vote.

To be sure, Philippe Couillard has been given a big mandate not only to grow the economy but also to keep his foot on the throat of the separatists.

Will he do it?

Will Francois Legault be able to grow the CAQ as a viable alternative to the PQ?

Will the PQ go the way of the dodo bird? Who will be their new leader.

Will Peladeau quit soon and go back to private life?

What do you think?

Quebec Election: Monday’s Fun #canpoli #qcpoli #bcpoli

What a difference a month makes!

It wasn’t long ago the pollsters had the PQ up 22% and ready to form a majority government and wreak havoc on the rest of Canada.

Then Pierre Karl Peledeau turned the election upside down with his entry as a PQ candidate and his one fisted ( some would say ham handed ) declaration that he was a candidate for one reason and one reason only: Separation.

The election was turned upside down!

With 2 days to go it appears that the Liberals are going to win.

The latest Ekos poll shows them somewhere around 40% and the PQ support is still crumbling while the CAQ support is on the rise.

Anything can still happen ans we have seen from election polls turning on a dime recently.

Lots of questions still to be answered: Who will win? Majority or Minority? What will it mean?

Lost in the discussion it seems is the question “What will the voter turn out be?”

A large turnout will surely mean a PQ wipe-out and perhaps a surprise with a large number of CAQ seats.

Today, Premier Marois is threatening the Quebec voter with the resumption of the corruption hearings and how the Liberals will cover that up if they win.

Marois would do well to remember that ” she who lives in glass houses should throw stones” given the PQ has a lot to lose with the resumption of those hearings as well. I think this strategy will also backfire and drive even more of their traditional support into the waiting arms of the CAQ.

The PQ could finish as low as third!

I think the big questions that will be answered quickly after the election are : How long will it take Pauline to retire and will we have to wait until the polls close before the knives come out to get her. ( Maybe Pierre Karl Peladeau will shove her off the stage )
Should be a fun night!

What do you think will happen?

Pierre Karl Peladeau The Man Who Would Be King ! #canpoli #bcpoli #qcpoli #pqpoli

In another move, reminiscent of Pauline Marois looking stupid and playing the Symbols in the run up to last years Quebec election, The Premier has appointed so called superstar candidate Pierre Karl Peladeau to run for the PQ team in the curent election.

With this move I predict thankfully that Pauline will pull a BCNDP and turn certain victory into the jaws of defeat in this camapign.

Peladeau already thinks the political arena is his to own and has gone on record proving he does not understand politics and the people who he thinks are peasants who he would like to elect him.

To Wit: He thinks he is beyond the reach of the ethics boss in Quebec at a time when the average voter in Quebec and Canada for that matter want openness and transparency.

It is a political strategy that the government tries to choose an issue and define what the election is all about.

He has made the election all about sovereignty with his radio interview proclamation that if it wasn’t for the separatist cause he would not be part of the election team.

A recent poll shows that 61% of Quebecers want nothing to do with separation.

Given those numbers the Quebec voter gets the big chance now to avoid the walk down referendum boulevard and vote these people out before they waste taxpayers money on another needless vote they can’t win.

The smart money says they will.

Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard should hammer the PQ,Marois and Peladeau hard everyday until the election is over.

It’s my bet that Marois,Peladeau and crew won’t handle the pressure and the internal bickering will start resulting in the aforementioned blown election.

Peladeau play second fiddle to Marois? Not for long!

Just watch.

It should be an interesting ride.

What’s your prediction on the outcome?

Justin Trudeau Campaigns With Kathleen Wynne; LOL #bcpoli #onpoli #canpoli

Yup Tonight’s By elections certainly were a joke, weren’t they!

Tonight Kathleen Wynne and her merry band of Ontario Liberals had their heads handed to them in two by elections that served to put the government on notice that the passing of their spring budget ain’t no gimme.

Prediction: Look for this government to fall and we will get a twofer.

Quebec and Ontario will likely go to the polls at the same time in a dual race of the have not provinces. ( Ask Jacques Parizeau if you don’t believe me )

Wynne pulled out all the stops including campaigning with Pierre Jr.aka Justin Trudeau.

These defeats knocked a little polish off his so called star as well.( The Liberals just didn’t lose , they got hammered so Justin ( lets fire up a blunt) Trudeau had virtually no buoyant effect on the results.

It won’t be soon enough before Ontario gets it’s general election and Kathleen and her corrupt government are sent packing.

Do you think there will be a spring election or will they get the required votes to pass their budget?