Much more is at stake in the by-election than simply filling a seat

Tomorrow, Wednesday May 11^th, voters in Vancouver Point Grey go to the polls in a by-election ... a by-election to replace former premier Gordon Campbell, who resigned the seat just two short months ago.

But ... much more is at stake in the by-election than simply filling a seat. The reality is that the 41,181 voters in that riding will be passing judgement, for the rest of us, on the political future of Christy Clark -- and the BC Liberal Party.

The provinces best hope for legislative reform, and accountability, would come about through a John Cummins led BC Conservative government

Oh be still my beating heart – I don't know if I can take all the excitement of the current legislative assembly.

One of the few successes however, at least in my opinion, would be Bob Simpson, an independent MLA from my old neck of the woods ... the Cariboo. I suspect that if Bill Bennett could be welcomed back to the Liberal caucus, then the door would have been open as well for Bob to return to the NDP.

He has stated however, “I believe that as an Independent MLA I'm better able to serve my constituents, as my time is 100% dedicated to serving the people of Cariboo North. I'm also able to advocate for policies and programs which will benefit all British Columbian's, free from the constraints of affiliation with a political party or ideology.”

This Week in BC Politics

It's the end of the week, and what a week it was!  Monday was awesome with Harper’s Conservative finally achieving majority government … and of course BC had its own share of political stories.  Some of these you may have missed … and some perhaps not.  So without further adieu, here is the week that just was in BC politics.

HST has been vastly oversold in B.C.,report finds

Tax will give only a modest boost to the economy while creating less than a quarter of the jobs predicted, government-appointed panel says ...

BC Conservatives ready for an election

If the response to this Saturday's fundraising dinner is any indication, the BC Conservative Party has a bright future in the area, says Randy White. The former Reform Party MP is helping to organize the …

BC Hydro Site "C" dam -- part two

Recently, after receiving some information, I decided to try and find out a bit about the Site “C” dam.  It is taking a while, but now that I am asking things a little more specific, the answers are becoming vaguer – interesting don’t you think.  Read on and you decide ...

Good afternoon...

There has been lots of talk in the media in recent months and years with regards to new hydro projects, possible rate hikes, run of river proposals etc.   I noticed more on the BC Hydro website regarding Site "C" and that the project is now in the Stage 3 -- Environmental and Regulatory Review -- process.

I am wondering if you might be able to help me with a couple of questions?? …. (what follows below is the alternating question / answer sequence)  ….

Dear Alan,

Thank you for your email regarding employment numbers associated with the Site C Clean Energy Project……

Would you call that a fair severance package ... a generous severance package ... or an obscene severance package?

One would have to wonder why, when Christy Clark is seeking every bit of media attention she can get,that she missed the opportunity to let British Columbian's know about her latest bit of financial largesse. I am not sure however that you and I would find it in keeping of what we would think is of benefit or help to BC families.

Many of you are likely aware that if you are not part of a union, with a collective agreement in place, that if you are let go, the Employment and Standards Act mandates employers to provide employees with a small amount of money (severance) to transition them to their next job.

Here's how it works ...

• After three months - one week's severance
• After 12 months - two weeks severance pay
• After three years - one week of severance pay for each completed year of employment, to a maximum of eight weeks

Note ... one week of pay is calculated by totaling the employee’s wages, excluding overtime, earned in the last eight weeks in which the employee worked normal or average hours; and the dividing that total by eight.

Given this information, I am sure that you would very quickly be able to determine the amount of severance you would receive if you were to be let go today.

Today’s BC Liberal party is a mish- mash of those on the political left (Christy Clark) … and those on the right (Kevin Falcon)

In my last blog I mentioned that as we are all well aware, the Liberals were pretty much decimated east of Ontario, that the party had received less than 20% of the popular vote, and that party leader Michael Ignatieff himself went down to defeat and will be leaving to take up a teacher career again.

Again I have to ask the question then … why do we need a Liberal party at all --- and what is it they stand for that people on the center right can’t find a comfortable home with the Conservatives … and those on the center left with the NDP (or a new hybrid called Liberal Democrats)?

In BC, according the CBC, 45.5% of the popular vote went to the Conservatives, which was higher than the national average of 39.6%.  The NDP?  … well they took 32.5%, which was just up from the national average of 30.6%.  The telling story is with the Liberals however who continued their free-fall in the west receiving just 13.4% of the popular vote.

I mean no disrespect but again other than have a rather wide boundary of acceptance, and wide boundaries to political viewpoints, what does 'liberal' mean?   When Canada and BC basically had two parties, voters did have a clear choice --- now with multiple parties where do the Liberals fit in??

Before 18 months pass, 25% of Jack Layton's instant NDP MP's will have tired of what it takes, and walk away

The political pundits were hard at before the night was even over – and one thing is definitely certain – things will not be the same again. First a party dedicated to the removal of Quebec, from Canada, was decimated at the polls -- and Gilles Duceppe (leader of the Bloc Quebecois) lost in his own riding.

It is my sincere hope that they will not rise from the ashes of what remains.

But where did all those voter go?? Well for some strange reason, or perhaps not, they went to the New Democratic Party. Quebecers for some reason seem to favour heavy government intervention in many areas ... and an almost paranoid fear of anything federalist.   Even still, why the New Democrats?