Those new ideas, John Martin spoke of, must include creative ways for Liberal MLAs to benefit party supporters, at the expense of BC taxpayers

BC Conservative Party leader John Cummins is reminding all British Columbians that taxpayers are footing payment for bills BC Liberal Vernon - Monashee MLA Eric Foster wracked up ... and for which no paperwork was provided.

John Cummins; "What we have here is exorbitant rents being paid, exorbitant renovation fees and the beneficiary of course, is his Constituency Assistant's husband and her family. I just think it is outrageous. I think the public is certainly upset and they want answers."



BC Liberal candidate John Martin. Which of his words
are true? Those spoken last Spring, or from last Fall.

Gosh I hate to do this again, but really I must.

This reminds me of comments that newly minted BC Liberal candidate John Martin made less than a year ago about the party he crassly has become part of:

JOHN MARTIN: "The Liberal government has failed the people of British Columbia and has squandered trust with the public ..."

Then ... after his leap to the BC Liberals in September, John Martin was also quoted saying, "Premier Christy Clark and the BC Liberals have demonstrated to me that they are open to new ideas ..."

I guess those new ideas include creative ways of figuring out how to benefit party supporters ... at the expense of BC taxpayers.

Maybe that's why John Martin also had these words to say last Spring ... words which are just as true today, as they were then, "The best way to hold Christy Clark and the BC Liberal government accountable is by voting for the BC Conservatives ..."

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops ... with the thoughts of one conservative.

Will BC Liberal MLA Eric Foster confirm taxpayers of BC will be sinking over a quarter of a million dollars into a building that cost the owners $189,000 to buy?

BC Liberal MLA Eric Foster seems to have no concerns as to questionable spending of taxpayer dollars to renovate a constituency office he had JUST leased.  I am not surprised -- but all British Columbian's should be --- and they should know this is okay with BC Liberal Party hacks and elected officials.

Regardless ... the people should however have answers.

Why on earth would Eric Fosters lease a building, to be used as his Vernon- Monashee Constituency Association office, when tens of thousand of dollars were going to be needed to renovate that same building?

Why were the costs for this renovation submitted to the government with no paperwork accounting for what the money was spent on?

Why would he have leased a building requiring that kind of expensive renovation when office space was available that did not require anywhere near this kind of expense?

Can or will Eric Foster (or the BC Liberal government) confirm they approved renovations of $78,000 to be made on a building that had only been purchased for $189,000 -- just 4 days before the 2009 provincial election?

Will Eric Foster and his BC Liberal government confirm that the taxpayers of BC will indeed be sinking over a quarter of a million dollars (including the much higher costs of a new 4 year lease) in to a building that cost the owners $189,000 to buy?

Will Eric Foster confirm the owners of the building are indeed BC Liberal supporters?

NO HE WILL NOT ... instead, Eric Foster dismisses legitimate questions saying; "I think [the BC Conservatives would be well served to find out who owns buildings of other MLA's around the province, on both sides of the House."

This government continues to stagger to the finish line of this electoral term --- and only a miracle will see them win re-election for another term

On February 26th, 2011, Christy Clark was elected leader of the BC Liberal Party, making her Premier of the province ... she was then sworn in as British Columbia's 35th Premier on March 14th, 2011 ...

On May 12th, 2011 she was elected MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey MLA in a by-election ... and on May 30th, 2011 Christy Clark then took her legislative seat as MLA ...

SO ... how many days has the government she leads conducted the people business in the legislature since then?

Dome of the BC Legislature in Victoria

Between April 27th, 2011 and June 2nd, 2011 Christy Clark had the government in session for 20 days ... between October 4th, 2011 and November 24th, 2011 the legislature was in session for 23 days ... and ... between February 14th, 2012 and May 31st, 2012 the government was in session for another 48 days.

Since Christy Clark was elected as the leader of the BC Liberal Party -- and therefore the Premier of the province of British Columbia -- the legislature has been in session a total of 91 days. 

That's just three months.

Christy Clark has been premier for 21 and a half months; government has been in the legislature, doing the peoples business, for just 3 of them.

Given events of the past few weeks with controversy over whether Auditor General John Doyle would be given a second term ... the erratic spending of 10's of thousand of dollars on a constituency office by BC Liberal MLA Eric Foster in Vernon - Monashee ... and the complete mishandling, by the Liberals, of whether BC Liberal MLA John Slater was to have the opportunity to run again for the party ... I'm not surprised its only been 90 days.

This government continues to stagger to the finish line of this electoral term --- and only a miracle will see them win re-election for another term.

A decade of government under the NDP saw reckless spending and numerous scandals. And a decade of government under the BC Liberals has really seen much the same.

Now the question is; will the people of BC turn to, and consider, the option of electing a BC Conservative government led by John Cummins?

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops ... with the thoughts, and questions, of one conservative. 

PLATO: “In a city of good men, people would probably vie with each other in order not to rule.”

PLATO: "In a city of good men, people would
probably vie with each other not to rule"

It's interesting to see the top search that are directing traffic to the Conservative Thoughts blog.  Four of them of course are on the latest trouble for the BC Liberals with FosterGate  and Auditor General John Doyle in the news -- and the one of direct interest to people here in Kamloops with Peter Sharp seeking BC Conservative nomination in the South Thompson riding.

#5  eric foster
#4  BC Liberals
#3  auditor general 2013 john doyle
#2  peter sharp kamloops

and the #1 search phrase is; eric foster constituency assistant

In the case of BC Liberal Vernon - Monashee MLA Eric Foster, his participation, and role in John Doyle not being renewed for another term in his role as Auditor General, is going to be in the news for some time.

Today, BC Conservative Party leader John Cummins had more to ask about the situation.  Here is just part of a news release from the BC Conservative Party today:

Why did renovations in 2009 to BC Liberal MLA Eric Foster's Vernon constituency office cost B.C. taxpayers almost half the assessed value of the land and building combined? John Cummins, leader of the BC Conservatives, asked today.

Cummins also questioned whether Foster knew that the building was owned by the family of a long-time BC Liberal financial donor -- and political appointee to the Agricultural Land Commission.

"We all know of Mr. Foster's recent bad judgement when he continued as chair of the special legislative committee which terminated the appointment of John Doyle as Auditor General, after Mr. Doyle had critically examined renovation expenses at Mr. Foster's constituency office," said Cummins.

A Globe and Mail story on Monday included this quote; it seems a fitting way to wrap this up today.  This story ended with:
Plato had it right: He said that the greatest punishment for being unwilling to rule is being ruled by someone worse than oneself. This is what makes people of good character step forward. “In a city of good men,” Plato mused, people would “probably vie with each other in order not to rule.”

I'm Alan Forseth ... in Kamloops

Foster’s excuse, that he “didn’t know” about the letter, would then seem questionable would it not?

BC Liberal MLA Eric Foster; "I didn't know"

Let's look at this a little more closely:

In the news story ... "Auditor general cited chair of committee seeking to replace him - John Doyle raised concerns over $78,000 renovation of Liberal MLA’s constituency office" ... Eric Fosters says that when the issue over his Constituency Association office came up again in October, he (Foster) said he, "... re-sent the conflict commissioner’s letter to legislative staff."

Here's a rather interesting observation, that perhaps BC Liberal MLA Eric Foster would like to give us clarity on:

The timeline doesn’t make sense.  Why would he resubmit his same info again in October, if he wasn’t aware of the letter that would have been part of the AG’s recommendations?

Here's another observation, and MLA Foster is welcome to correct me if I am wrong in my thinking on this:

I would think that when attending committee meetings, the attending members would NOT see material simply dumped in their laps when they arrive.  Would it not be safe to believe that any material, to be discussed, would always be sent out beforehand.  That way, committee members would have the time to give the material they are discussing, careful and thoughtful consideration. 

They WOULD want to look it over beforehand, and come prepared ... wouldn't they??

Foster’s excuse, that he “didn’t know” about the letter, would then seem to be questionable.

Shouldn't his office have received the material beforehand?

I sure hope that in the interest of good decisions being made by our elected officials, there is indeed consideration of important information to be decided on, ahead of meetings where those decisions are being made.

All of that then, calls in to question what BC Liberal MLA Eric Foster did know ... and when.

I'm Alan Forseth in Kamloops, with the thoughts, and more questions, of one conservative.

Questions -- Questions -- and MORE QUESTIONS about BC Liberal MLA Eric Foster, and the decision NOT to reappoint Auditor General John Doyle

Here's what Victoria Times Colonist writer Les Leyne says, "Liberal MLA Eric Foster is clear on one point — he had no idea while sitting in judgment on auditor general John Doyle’s fate that Doyle’s team had rapped his office earlier for not submitting receipts for a constituency-office renovation." 

OH REALLY??

Eric Foster’s Constituency office in Vernon seems to be pretty basic and very small -- as you can see from this screen shot of Google street level.  Now I'm no carpenter, but one would think that $78,000, or is it $67,000, would practically build a brand new building of this type. 

That's probably one reason why Auditor General John Doyle's office sent up red flags, and:

" ... questioned a $78,000 bill for renovations in Foster’s constituency office in 2009 that was “paid without an appropriate level of review for reasonableness and without adequate supporting documentation,” said the letter.  Foster’s staff only provided a spreadsheet showing $67,000 in work, without invoices or details, auditors noted."

It would seem that Eric is acting like a cornered rat, and acting on the old adage that the best defense is a good offense as we can see in a Globe and Mail story; "MLA Eric Foster demands probe into audit leak"

It is interesting (sadly perhaps) that he’s claiming the renovation expenditures are a “non-issue.”

Maybe that's also why Finance Minister Mike de Jong offered a boat anchor to his caucus colleague.  This news story from the Globe and Mail also says the De Jong had;

... little sympathy, saying the public should have access to details of how MLAs spend public money. “I have long spoken for the need for more transparency and increased public accountability for the dollars that are spent by MLAs and cabinet ministers,”

Again ... Liberal MLA Eric Fosters claims the renovation expenditures are a “non-issue.” 

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 

He certainly hasn’t substantiated that beyond a sloppy spreadsheet.  According to Les Leyne’s second op-ed, “sources say” that receipts were eventually submitted, but I’d sure like to see them.  I think BC voters also deserve to see them.