IT'S SATURDAY --- “Hello Nanaimo”

People have been streaming into the conference centre for the BC Conservative AGM for the past hour and looks like there will be a good turnout.

Anyone get today’s Globe and Mail? The BC section today has to interesting columns that I had a chance to read between visits with people here at the AGM.

Gary Mason's op /ed was on the front page enttled, “Little to digest with B.C. Premier’s mundane recipe for job creation”.  He started off by saying, “If Premier Christy Clark’s much-hyped jobs strategy announced this week demonstrated anything, it’s how few tools governments now appear to have at their disposal to fire up an economy.”

Adam Stirling's Comment

There have been several great editorials, polls, and news story's regarding the HST in recent days.  One is from Adam Stirling (CFAX 1070 radio), around some of the confusion people have with the question, and it follows below.

The Globe and Mail has a news story this morning as well on 'current' voter intentions (B.C. HST ‘fix’ not enough to save tax in referendum)-- and there is a letter of support from the BC Tourism Industry which has just been published in BCLocalNews.com.  

Meantime, here is the editorial comment from Adam Stirling: 

Which side will come out on top as British Columbians vote whether to keep the HST, or rather I should say whether to kill it?  The distinction between those two questions is important because the yes vs. no question still continues to be a significant problem in term of confusion according to a new survey.

It would be cynical in the extreme ......

Rod Mickleburgh (Senior Writer for The Globe and Mail, based in Vancouver), was quoted yesterday as saying, “... it would be cynical in the extreme for Ms. Clark to go that early to the polls, returning us once again to elections called at the whim of premiers, when they feel there's a political advantage. I'm a big supporter of four-year fixed terms, which eliminates that."

Justine Hunter and Rod Mickleburgh talked provincial election timing, the uprising of the BC Conservatives and the state of the NDP leadership race.

Is getting 70% of your campaign funds from one source is a good idea or not

“A new BC Conservative government would take big money out of politics by banning provincial political donations from corporations and unions.”
John Cummins, announcing his candidacy for leadership of the BC Conservative Party.

A story two days ago, in the Globe and Mail, included comments from University of Calgary Political Scientist Lisa Young, who said that a ban on corporate donations to federal political parties has improved public confidence in the system. “There isn’t that sense that corporations or unions are unduly influencing the process,” she says.

So is the BC Liberal Party thinking perhaps this is an idea they should now jump on – or do they disapprove of this suggestion from BC Conservative leadership candidate John Cummins?