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!
I was going to ignore this whole episode but Dave Obee wrote a column in the Times Colonist that reeks of BC Liberal bandwagon and is totally out in LEFT field.
Of course Clark is not facing a double standard.She is dealing with a standard that she created by answering questions off the cuff and without thought.
A sitting premier should have simply said that the question was inappropriate and moved on.
Not Clark, she had to come up with a dumb answer that mocks all women and for that matter certain animals.
This is yet another gaffe not just by Clark but by the very people that handle her.
She should be aware that dumb questions will be asked and know how to answer them.
Christmas is a time of thanks and today I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and also say thank you for reading my blog. It would not be possible without all of your support.
Please from my family to yours enjoy the holiday season and have a peaceful and prosperous New Year!
Without question would give my vote if I had one to Carol Todd!
Carol is the mother of Bullying Victim Amanda Todd.
Carol, after the death of Amanda, somehow managed to get front and center in front of the cyber bullying and teenage suicide issues to arouse public sentiment and get the government start on the road to real change to protect our kids.
What a joke the Canadian Press is. I can’t think of any other way to put it.
At a time when most people are beside themselves with the glorification of idiots,knuckleheads and murderers in the press, these idiots vote one of the worst ones as the Newsmaker of the year.
Just what nut-bars need, more free publicity.
As far as I am concerned, none of these people are responsible enough to deserve holding down a job of a profession that used to be held in high esteem.
They will all have blood on their hands if future tragedies along the same lines occur.
They built a new 8 lane bridge only drive-able in good weather!
Can’t the BC Liberals do anything right?
You think at least on of the geniuses somewhere would have taken into consideration that yes, even in Vancouver winter rears it’s ugly head once in a while.
But no not in Liberal land.
If you are reading this from outside the province, our brand new bridge was shut down in the first winter storm of the year due to falling ice and snow hitting cars and breaking windshields.
This bridge is a major transportation route that is tolled between downtown Vancouver and the suburbs.
One can only imagine the mess that would have occurred had the old one been torn down already.
Today’s released Angus Reid poll shows Adrian Dix at the top of the list ( tied with Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil) as the best opposition leader.
Perhaps then since Dix has played the role so well he should be returned there after the next election to continue.
After all if you are good at something you should play to your strengths, correct?
In the who would make the best premier list Brad Wall finished first while Ontario’s Dalton McGuinty
finished last.
This is after McGuinty saw the writing on the wall and announced his resignation.
That would therefore imply that our Premier, Christy Clark,who finished second last would actually be the last once McGuinty leaves.
Had the folks in budget planning read at least until they got to page 6 they would have seen that natural gas was trading even lower in 2011 than it was in 2010.
We know from the last economic update a few weeks back that that figure is even worse now and took a lot of the blame for the increase in the deficit from our fearless Finance Minister Mike ( Don’t worry I will still balance the budget within two months) de Jong.
If you are familiar with the expression bullshit baffles brains; be prepared for the Liberals to do everything they can ( Including having Suhk Dhaliwal say he supports the BC Liberal Government‘s Economic record ) to henceforth pull out all the stops to,well, baffle your brain.
This all happened, by the way while the house was not in session ,because the BC Liberal retreaded Ministers had to spend that time getting familiar with their files?
Next thing you know, they will tell the house in the spring they need more time to get the budget in order when they put through legislation to change the fixed election date.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.