Wow how time flies! Recently the North Vancouver Liberal Constituency Association sent out reminders of a volunteer appreciation event in Lynn Valley to celebrate "one of the greatest victories in Canadian political history".
So how is our North Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson doing for us anyway?
89 comments:
The Liberals were elected under Obama administration norms. Policies that looked like a good idea then need to be rethought now.
Trump will decrease US Federal Corporate tax to 15% - the same level as Canadian Federal Corporate Tax.
Canadian Provinces also layer on Corporate tax at different levels averaging around an additional 12% (BC is 11% and Nova Scotia is 16%). Some states charge no Corporate tax with others ranging from approx 4% - 9%.
The total Corporate tax will be generally higher in Canada than the US.
Trump is opposed to carbon tax and the Liberals are ramping up to levy one. BC already has one.
Can you say "non-competitive?"
Canadian jobs provide employment and employment provides taxes to the government.
If corporations leave Canada and go back to a more favourable tax regime in the US then both corporate and income tax revenue is lost.
This tax revenue is used to finance Liberal election promises which, by latest estimates, will drive us $30 billion into the hole each year. If the promises are kept then, without the projected tax revenue, we will go even deeper in debt.
Mortgage rates are rising following the Republican victory.
The Canadian dollar is falling. The cost of fruit, vegetables, meat and all goods manufactured in the US is increasing.
The Liberals are going to bring in the greatest number of immigrants since World War 1. 300,000 per year as a base and increasing annually.
Meanwhile there are regular 3 hr. waits at Lower Mainland Hospital admissions. Hwy 1 is gridlocked everyday after 2 pm. Government service costs increase and access to service decreases every year. Transit is overburdened but we need more residents.
They're doing great.
Where did Barry's post go, John? Is censorship the name of the game for this blog from here on out?
Barry's post had to be deleted after threats to kill Mr. Colbert by members of the NSMBA were made including posting directions to his home etc.
Let's get back on topic people:
"Politicians, like gamblers, need to know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em."
Trudeau shows Trump Canada’s cards.
I believe that Trudeau did a lot of damage by putting the NAFTA cards on the table when he spoke to Trump. Why in heaven's name did he do that?
Trudeau tends to do too many spontaneous things like that, and flip-flopping all over the place with his promises. It will be interesting to see how the Trudeau-Trump thing works out long-term.
No kidding!
I think Trudeau is doing fine. Much better than the alternatives would be doing.
Trump does not vote in Canadian elections.
Trudeau's comments were directed at Canadians and the Canadian business community for the purpose of reducing anxiety.
NAFTA has likely benefited the US more than Canada so revisions are needed including a mechanism to manage that commodities are sold through the wholesale system in Canada in US dollars.
Overall Trudeau has done a great job ensuring that the central government reflects Canadian values rather than the alt-right of the former Conservative party. The acceptance of Syrian refugees, the return of OAS and GIS to people at the age of 65, the promised apology to the LBGTQ community etc. are Canadian.
It is also great to see such a diverse cabinet, mot only in appearance but in talent. Remember under Harper most of the Ministers were retreads from the defeated Mike Harris government in Ottawa, spiced with a few folks who had spent their entire lives in Alberta
IN addition it is great to see a compassionate and caring person who treats his family as people, showing affection for them all, rather than the stiffness and standoffishness of Harper who shook his kid's hands and not only slept in a separate room from his wife, but in an entirely different building.
As for managing Trump, Justin can call on those people, who remain with us and saw how his dad handled Nixon, for advice. Justin already knows how Uncle Jean Chretien handled US Presidents - speak to them in English to make them happy, then tell us in French what he really intended to do LOL
Glad to see you on the blog Jon. I hope it's you.
Anon 9:06. Trump does not need to vote in Canadian elections. On our doorstep, 10 times our population and the most powerful nation in the world the US is Canada's largest trading partner. The new US approach to taxation and trade will have a direct impact on the well-being of all Canadians. A thinking and responsive government would be working overtime to craft an appropriate path to deal with that new reality.
Love how you think that Trudeau is going to "fool" Trump by deceiving him in English and then tricking him in French. How Liberal of you. Acting superior and thinking that you are fooling others while our dollar falls and imported goods become more expensive is not helpful.
The national apologizer? This is important to the good welfare of the broad base of Canadians and a big Liberal highlight? Wow. Symbolic gestures and making a great hoopla out of special attention to selected minorities are all great for the vacuous among us but real action improving conditions for the average Canadian and their family puts meat on the table.
Dragging in more folks while our city infrastructure cannot handle the existing population is irresponsible.
Lead item on this morning's news is the rise in Canadian mortgage rates due to anticipated impact of Trump administration on the bond market. This means that Canadians will be paying more just to stay in their homes. What are the Liberals doing? Tightening up mortgage qualification criteria to disqualify Canadians from home ownership.
Interesting that you wrap the Liberal party in "Canadian values". A bit presumptuous to say the least given recent past Conservative majority governments. They appear to have been valued by Canadians too.
Have to admit that Trudeau is more personable than Harper. I would prefer to spend an afternoon at a barbeque with him but wouldn't want him running my business. For that we need someone with deeper fiscal responsibility. Someone who actually is effective. Running a $30 billion deficit every year doesn't really do it for me and I don't think that is a "Canadian value". More like a teenager at the pub with Dad's credit card.
When conditions change an administration needs to have the flexibility to comprehend the evolving situation and address it early. Federal government awareness and meaningful response needed now.
As the expression goes, "the waves of idealism crash upon the rocks of realism."
Trudeau promised that tax reform would be neutral and middle income Canadians would not pay higher taxes under his plan. This affects the majority of Canadians. Trudeau put in the new plan and taxes went up for the middle income. He lied. Very, very disappointed that he did not keep his word.
I was quite happy that Trudeau was elected. Sure he's spending some money and I didn't personally like the TFSA reduction, but he didn't exactly inherit the best financials as the Conservatives would have us believe.
Trudeau is the last man standing in the world in many ways. As opposoed to many others he believes in plurality and diversity and a coming together.
The World needs more Canada.
Well written John
I have grown so tired of all the, "We have to do what the United States wants because they are beside us, and bigger and we trade with them." Take a look at what we export to them - oil, gas, gold and potassium chloride - now where in the continental United States will America find new supplies of those items if they don't rely on Canada?
Oh yes the Canadian dollar. We must be vigilant. The last time the CAD traded based on fundamentals was under Justin's dad lol.
Yes $30 billion is a lot of money. The US has a $600 deficit. 20x as big as Canada's with an economy only 10x as big. So who is in financial trouble?
Well that's all just great. We really like Trudeau because he's nice. The Conservatives guided Canada through the 2008 recession and we emerged with the best fundamentals of any G-12 country but that doesn't count.
Gee whiz someone is "tired" of our economy being impacted by the largest economy in the world. How sad.
I get tired too. Tired of negligent Federal policies that will devastate the quality of life for Canadian families. Tired of politicians raising taxes when they promise not to. Tired of a government that doesn't have the maturity to respond to unexpected change. Tired of Nero fiddling while Rome burns.
Meanwhile, the adults in the room will recall friends and family losing their homes due to inability to make soaring mortgage payments in response to Trudeau Sr.'s disastrous financial policies in the early 1980's. Deja vu?
Reading the two perspectives this is my take.
Relationships, personable behaviour and friendly acceptance seem very important to the Liberal left. The hard stuff like fiscal prudence and protection of majority interests take a lesser role in their opinion.
The Conservative right of centre is exactly the opposite. They want to protect the interests of the majority of Canadians first and then address the special interests.
Each group takes its turn until the country tires of them and votes in the other.
Anon 8:34
Very few Canadians lost their homes as a result of Pierre Trudeau's so-called high interest rates. That was because most Canadians who bought homes between 1965-1978 took out 25-year term mortgages which were as low as 4.25% In the period 1979-1984 there was indeed some hardship. In 1984 when the Liberals were defeated the country ran a $16 billion deficit.
But that hardship was but a snippett of what came under Mulroney. Over the next 9 years Mulroney ran the annual deficit up to $46 billion, piling on debt, and somehow also managed to force the CAD down to 65 cents US. More Canadians went bankrupt from 1990-1993 (the last three years of Conservative rule) than had gone bankrupt combined in the history of the country up to 1990. To make sure we were completely screwed, Mulroney introduced the GST in 1990.
It is true that Harper et al guided Canada through 2008. Most of that guidance was a function of Chretian and Martin piling up 7 consecutive surpluses, allowing the CAD to rise to parity with the USD, not going to war with Iraq and most importantly not allowing Canadian banks to merge in 1998 and thereby bypassing the absurd bank bailout in the US.
Now as a French Canadian, but as a Canadian Nationalist, I do not give a hoot what happens in the United States or in the mid-East. It is not because I am ignorant. It is because I believe the problems of the word are not in Canada's department.
Thank you 11:12. In 1981 Trudeau was in office. I was working with 3 other men. Every single one of them lost their home when mortgage rates exceeded 20% that year. I was the only one who managed to keep my home by working 2 jobs and my wife working full time. We were "lucky" to have renegotiated a mortgage at 18 1/2%. You are simply wrong. Perhaps in Quebec ordinary folks weren't losing their homes and your view may have been the case but not in BC.
My wife and I recall desperately waiting for the Canadian government to do something and give us and our contemporaries help. On TV we watched Trudeau's finance minister Marc Lalonde look down his long nose and shrug simply stating, "There is nothing that we can do." We were horrified then and even thinking about it brings back terrible memories of wondering what would happen to our young children if the Liberals just shrug as working Canadians lose their homes.
Finally, the electorate tossed Trudeau out of office in 1984 with the largest Progressive Conservative majority in history. Mortgage rates were hovering between 14% - !5% under the Liberals that year. By June of 1985 mortgage rates had fallen to a "manageable" 11.75% (all rates for 5 year fixed term).
The historical commencement of unbridled spending began during the P. Trudeau era and is charted as nearly vertical by Trudeau's reelection in 1980. Yes, you are correct that subsequent governments were hobbled by runaway interest rates that started under Trudeau and that even paying down the interest on the Canadian debt became a challenge for each government.
Finally Canadians had enough. The Reform Party became the official opposition of Canada. The RP flagship policy was that, if elected to government, they would pay down the debt. It was a bold and broadly popular party policy. The idea of a party to the right of the Progressive Conservatives taking power was horrifying to the left leaning Liberals. They held their noses and adopted the popular right wing Reform policy of debt reduction and Paul Martin, to his everlasting credit, stuck with it and actually reduced the debt. Credit where credit is due Martin's application of the Reform policy virtually saved our economy. As a centre-right Canadian I view Liberal Paul Martin as a principled political hero. When one pops up I don't care what party they belong to.
History is repeating itself as we have a Trudeau back in office running up huge deficits again. My children and grandchildren will be saddled with paying for the excesses of another Trudeau. I've lived through it and I don't wish it on anybody.
Harper's excellent guidance through the recession was hardly a function of the Liberals. It was application of conservative policies and brilliant Mark Carney doing a great job as Governor of the Bank of Canada.
Canada is a small player on the world scene. We will be deeply affected by external decisions in the US, middle East, Europe and Asia whether you give a hoot or not. The isolationist perspective only works if you are debt-free and entirely self-sustaining. Most Canadians do not have that luxury and we need a responsive government. Wearing blinders and rose-coloured glasses won't help us. Gook luck to us all.
Anon 4:50
You are correct about mortgage rates in 1980-1981.
However not everyone was negatively impacted. My parents held a 25-year mortgage at 4 1/4% from 1967, and were earning 16& on Canada Savings Bonds. They were putting away $3,000 a month in savings.
What I will grant you was the fraud of "wage-and-price controls" in the 1970s. Yes, private sector wages were controlled but public sector employees, as a result of union contracts which could not be renegotiated. were getting 20% per year COLA (cost of living increases). Yes under Trudeau the public sector started to steal money from the private sector, a process still in place today. The DNv's Dave Stuart, Chief Administrative Officer, earns $300,000. I say he should be paid $65,000.
I could care less about world events. If I cannot pay the mortgage I will draw down my line of credit and the default eventually telling the bank to F-off and mailing back my keys as I move into a seniors' residience (mailing back the keys is called jingle mail).
I am at the stage of life where I am sick of all the BS from the Middle East caused by the turban heads and the Jews who who have been fighting for 2000 years. I have no interest in the silliness of the dumb f#cks in the the US who vote for nut cases like Nixon, Bush Reagan, another Bush and now Trump. I have said it again-and-again, "Be a dufuus and do stupid things but do not visit them on me." I have said the same thing to my municipal council, "Spend all your time on bike lanes and backyard chicken farms just do not visit them on me because I will shoo]t the chickens dead to keep them quiet and spread crazy glue on bike lanes that obstruct me in my 5000-pound SUV."
I am happy in my home and comfortable in my community. I do not give a rat's ass about the idiocy that other people create for themselves and the terrible consequences they bring on their families, their careers and their communities. Just keep their idiocy away from me please :-). Its not too much to ask.
I have no words.
Good. It is time for a common sense revolution.
No one should bear the responsibilities for politicians who make decisions without having to undergo urine tests.
Our pro-Trudeau friend at Anon 9:24 doesn't like silly people or nutcases.
He announces that he is prepared to shoot his neighbour's chickens and spread crazy glue on bike lanes so he can drive his SUV down them.
He doesn't care if Trudeau's policies drive unemployment and mortgage rates to the sky as his solution is to lose his home to bankruptcy and go into an old folk's home. (I wonder if he has checked out the very high costs of old folks homes?)
What about the rest of the working family homeowners?
A well thought-out approach. I am perplexed. Why he doesn't like nutcases?
One of the Liberal base has spoken.
His approach comes across as a rant but the underlying theme is "to each his own." He or she does not care what other people do as long as he or she is not forced to manage it or be impacted by it with no recourse. So if interest rates rise and he or she might lose their home, he or she will manage that situation by transferring the risk to another party and moving on. That is a sound, reasonable and rational way to live. It is called "learn the system and play within it."
A person is not a nut case if their eccentricities are limited to own home, and to the peace and quiet enjoyment of their own life. A person is a nut case if they, in any position of authority or otherwise, force people within their scope of living, into changing their lives and/or living with annoyances that are best done without.
Where we have problems is where some people in authority and often not in any real authority make decisions for which there is no rational recourse. The simple example is someone who blasts music in their backyard in summer thinking all the neighbors enjoy it. Or in a more formal way. a strata council that decides that people no longer are allowed to bike bicycles in their strata unit. Or a municipal government that allows backyard chickens failing to recognize such chickens will attract cougars and certainly coyotes putting at risk the chicken farmers' neighbors pets and children.
High interest rates and unemployment are like bad hair cuts. In time they pass. But lose a child to a cougar attack so that the neighbor's kids can paint fresh Easter eggs right out of the backyard henhouse, that does not pass so quickly.
Thank you Anon 9:24 for explaining your views as Anon 8:21.
Why has this entire blog turned into a platform for anonymous and vicious bullying, threatening and insulting directed at two private residents of the District of North Vancouver by what appears to be 2-3 people associated in some manner with District of North Vancouver Council?
This vindictive approach extends across all social media. If any person makes even a passing reference to what might be perceived as a criticism of District of North Vancouver Council (recently on this blog the matter of backyard chickens), there are 2-3 people who set upon the commenter with invective and insults often spiced with ageist verbal abuse, foul language etc.
I have seen it on several blogs, sites. facebook, twitter etc associated in some manner with the North Shore. Ever seen what happens to someone who posts anything negative on the DNV's Facebook page? They are ridiculed, in-boxed with insults etc. etc.
A conspiracy theorist might think that North Vancouver District Council employed a person whose job it is to scan social media and if there is one word even remotely negative about DNV Council or one of its members, then the originating party is set upon.
Such an odd approach to managing reputational risk and respond to public input.
There is no conspiracy. There is a toxic group of 3 or 4 individuals that detest each other. One or the other or all spread misinformation, disinformation and venom. Including conspiracy theories. Ignore them.
The subject of this thread is how are Liberals doing? Any thoughts?
There is no toxic group. There are 2-3 individuals acting as agents for DNV municipal hall whose role it is put down any form of dissent to the policies of municipal hall. Those people cover every form of traditional and social media, impugning everyone who does not cow-tow to District Hall. Dissenters are insulted, defamed and the subject of false information. It is systemic across all media platforms. Further any person on a DNV Committee who expresses one word of dissent re a DNV policy is removed from the Committee. Community Service Awards are presented, not to people, who are community organizers, but to people who act to implement the policies of municipal hall.
And then there are the conspiracy theorists who project ideas having no basis in reality. The wing-nuttery displayed own this blog is truly astounding. And no I don't work for the DNV or CNV.
Thank you Anon 9:57. Some of the comments are ridiculous.
If someone, including those at a municipal hall, doesn't agree with your perspective it isn't rational to assume that there must be an organized conspiracy against you.
In the real world this is called delusional paranoia.
Again we have two DNV municipal hall surrogates at 9:57 and 11:35 making derisive and insulting comments.
It is just so transparent.
Yeah right. We can't have a discussion regarding the actual subject of this thread which is satisfaction with the Liberal's first year in office. Your issues are just more important. If you don't get your way then those that want to discuss/debate the post topic are part of a "conspiracy".
Get over yourself. Start your own post discussing all your grievances and see if anyone wants to participate.
In the meantime please stop trying to hijack every other topic with your issues and then claim "conspiracy" when others don't want to participate.
Anon 9:46pm, I'm anon 9:57am. Frankly, you're wrong. I speak for me and only me. I don't live in the district, but in the city. You appear to be a small person who is only capable of pointing fingers rather than doing anything substantive with your own life. Maybe get off the internet and do some good in your community rather than spend your time here trying to bring others down just because they have different views than your own. You're the one who's insulting and, quite frankly, offensive. Get a life.
Rise above.
The Liberals are doing the job well enough, but I am very concerned about the cavalier spending without analysis. The deficit for this year will be ~$25 Billion, but I don't feel like anything has heated up. Maybe other regions of the country are getting a boost, but BC was already going along quite well.
Stimulus spending only works when you add capacity to the economy, or temporarily prop up a depressed industry that is expect to recover. The Liberals have been specifically avoiding spending on oil patch projects, and they are calling all manner of project "infrastructure" even if there is no business case whatsoever. In my view, the deficit has been wasted, and will take years to pay it back.
I don't have much of an assessment on Wilkinson except to say he is less visible than either of the other Liberals on the North Shore and certainly less visible than his predecessor Andrew Saxton.
Anon 9:23. I too worry about increasing the deficit unless we really have a pressing need that will substantially benefit Canadians. I agree with you.
My view is that deficits are something that you reluctantly enter into with a defined time frame for paying it off and an expectation for a great outcome that is a strong benefit for those Canadians that paid for it.
Sort of like taking out a loan to start a company that will yield a good living.
Maybe Wilkinson could publish a list of N. Vancouver, Lower Mainland, BC infrastructure spending to clarify? I would also like to see a list of federal handouts that benefit special interest groups without far reaching benefit.
Unfortunately there's some truth found in our friend's posts. At District Hall all you need to do is follow the flow of cash from developer to senior staff/council. I know cause I've seen briefing notes.
Immediately subsequently the Federal election campaign, Mr. Wilkinson went to bat for the North Shore in budget meetings via conference call with Ottawa. I was in his office for one of them. His team had created a list of priorities based on input from North Shore residents. Number 1 was social infrastructure including affordable, quality social housing.
Wilkinson, on the basis of direct input from his constituents, secured $80 million of federal funding for social infrastructure on the North Shore, the highest per capita such funding for the entire province. It has one condition - the two municipalities, the DNV and CNV, had to, through their control of rezoning, zone land for social housing.
Now remember, Wilkinson went to bat based on his constituents' input. How did the municipal councils in the CNV and DNV respond to this tremendous $80 million gift? By raising pages and pages of opposition to rezoning land away from private development to social infrastructure. The CNV and DNV ignored the input from the public, and instead responded with policy that might well have been written by Polygon, Onni, Larco, Bosa etc. Both the DNV and CNV have public land (in the case of the DNV it is the old Delbrook Community Center) available for that $80 million. But both local governments are coming up with all manner of excuses. In the case of the DNV, Walton claims that the Delbrook site is not in one of the "town centers" so not amendable to social housing, an odd claim since one parcel of land within a town center, the old Lynn Valley library, instead of being used for social housing, was sold off to developer Bosa.
The Liberals including Wilkinson are doing a damn good job, but again, we have above the two apologists for local municipal councils whining about federal deficits and blaming Wilkinson instead of setting their sights on the local councils, each with a majority of 4 who are taking bribes into their offshore bank accounts from developers, instead of listening to the constituents of the North Shore and doing the right thing.
I can assure the apologists that we are not returning to the days when coal powered industry and Canada sold off its timber, oil and water at the lowest possible price around the world then apologized for environmental and labour restrictions requiring our work force to be trained, wear hard hats and safety boots, and for out watersheds not to be depositories for coal tailings no matter how much wailing, whining and knashing of teeth by the two apologists above LOL
Stop insulting people and start bulking up on fact. Or do you think fact is hidden, perhaps in books shelved at the library?
As a District employee with access to info even beyond the reach of foi's I could not agree more. Time for a more balanced Council.
From what I am reading, those discussing the Liberal deficit impact made no reference to municipal politics at all.
There is no such thing as "the Liberal deficit" and more than there is a Conservative deficit.
There may be a Federal government revenue v spending deficit. The Federal government includes all elected officials, the bureaucracy and the judiciary. Again the apologists are trying to insult one party (in this case a political party) rather than having a rational discourse based on fact.
Please, please, on one post, please try to get the facts right.
As for Federal spending on the North Shore, 1/3 of the money for the new interchange at Highway One and Seymour Parkway is Federal funding. This new interchange will be the first material improvement in Highway One through the North Shore in decades. I would say that qualifies as a Liberal achievement.
Hahaha... the federal component of that funding was secured under the Conservatives.
I can't believe that you said "Stop insulting people and start bulking up on fact." in the same post that you said "the local councils, each with a majority of 4 who are taking bribes into their offshore bank accounts from developers".
Evidence please.
As I said previously, follow the money. BTW staff in the know have identified you and know all about ur connections to this web of connectivity. Good luck with future endeavours at the hall. I'm out, you bore me.
"As a District employee with access to info even beyond the reach of foi's I could not agree more. Time for a more balanced Council. "
I'm going to call BS on this one. Half of the votes are 4-3 with different parties on either side, it's about as 'balanced' as it can be.
Just saying "follow the money" isn't evidence of any wrongdoing. I have seen where the money goes, it goes into roads, parks, streetscapes, public art, reccenters, libraries etc.
If you are so connected then become a whistle-blower, right here. If you think you know something that requires "access to info even beyond the reach of foi's" and you think it is evidence of criminal wrongdoing then you have a civic duty to shed light on it.
Otherwise, have enough integrity to stop making baseless accusations.
Nope because I want to cash in on my juicy mpp! Thanks for contributing sucker.
Well this person has done it again. He manages to insert a crumb of something that has anything to do with the subject (federal money for highway upgrade) with a bloated main course of his usual municipal ravings.
I'm not judging as I fell into a discourse too until I realized the poster is obsessed in a bad way.
Erroneous statements, (The Federal government includes all elected officials, the bureaucracy and the judiciary) abound. A little bit like Trump. Keep repeating outlandish opinions as if they are a fact and maybe someone will start to believe.
He can stew in his own juices as I will not be replying to the nonsense anymore. For others that want to have an on-topic discussion I would be pleased to engage.
People on the North Shore including CNV Mayoralty candidate Kerry Morris have taken evidence to the RCMP and requested an investigation.
Before even reading the evidence, the response the RCMP gave was, "We do not investigate municipalities." Now with that type of support behind them what do you think the municipalities would do.
A poster above says he sees money going into public art. Indeed I can point to public art at the S/W corner of 27th and Mountain Highway. I figure it is worth maybe $100,000. But the DNV valued it at $935,000. Where do you think the other $835,000 went? There is no accounting for it...it simply disappeared.
Oh yes....offshore bank accounts. Ask Richard Walton if he or his family hold bank accounts outside Canada? Also ask Robin Hicks if he has ever received money channeled from an offshore source. Then ask Lisa Muri if she ever went to court to block the disclosure of a bank account she holds :-). Again, all the evidence exists to prove these positions BUT "the RCMP does not investigate municipalities."
Hijack alert. The Muniac is ignoring the post topic as usual. Zzzzzzzz....
The apologist for the municipal stooges is trolling the Internet again Zzzzzzz
Maybe it's time to stop anonymous posting after all.
Maybe certain councillors and mayors should pay attentionto what they put out at the curb in their trash bags and recycling bins :-). Their is a wealth of intelligence in those bags, and once at the curb they are considered in the public domain.
Oh the evidence exists all right. Why do you think the DNV and CNV hold those nice free lunches for the RCMP 4 times a year, hand out awards and commendations to the members, read their letters at council meetings....why? "We do not investigate municipalities!"
Even Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder can see through that!
Anon 5:00. Never thought that I would say it but you might be right.
The Muniac is a bully and will not permit discussion of anything but his obsessive focus on municipal politics. In his mind anyone who doesn't care to be manipulated into his playpen is a tool of the municipal conspiracy against him.
He avoids posting a topic himself for obvious reasons. In order to receive posting privileges he would need to disclose his identity and very few here give a hoot about his accusations so his post would die on the vine anyway.
So he continues to hijack the discussions between those that want to participate in the post topic. He answers or expresses support for his own earlier posts by pretending to be multiple personalities and thinks he is fooling the readers.
Now he insinuates that he is trolling through people's garbage. What a loser. Obviously he has no credibility with the police and it seems obvious that he has been written off as a nut at the various city halls.
Rather than stop anon posting maybe it would be better if this blog was tightened up and the post owner deleted the way off topic posts?
Before taking the law into one's own hands, it is vital to go to police first and get them to put into writing that they do not intend to anything. Then POW! The buggers never know what hit 'em!
More money needs to be directed to mental health care in this Province.
The subject is "How are the Liberals Doing."
It seems anyone who points out the excellent work of the Liberal party including Jonathon Wilkinson is subject to vitriol based on Trump succeeding Obama as President of the US, the so-called Liberal deficit as if is a bad thing, false information about funding of projects such as the upgrades to highway one etc etc.
I suggest that if someone cannot say something good about the pall lifted from the country some 13 months ago under that harsh Victorian school marm Harper, the return of sunny days, a cabinet that reflects the plurality of the Canadian population and actually has qualified and educated people in it, the excellent work of Terry Beetch & Jonathon Wilkinson in getting the CMHC No-Trespassing signs removed from Seymour (when DNV Council failed miserably), funding affordable housing (which the CNV and DNV have failed to do) etc. then please keep your comments to yourself and crawl back under your rock.
The Liberals are THE natural governing party of Canada. At times they are open to criticism. This is not one of those times. It is a time we come together to face the challenges this country faces. I applaud Justin Trudeau for his leadership at home, and his championing of civil rights and humanity around the globe which are threatened by the rise of fascism not only to the south of us, but right here at CNV City Hall and DNV Municipal Hall
Not biting.
That is exactly the mentality that got them tossed last time. There will not be an anybody but Harper campaign again. The Left will splinter because they realize Trudeau needs to expand industry to pay for all of the social programming he wants. The Greens will not support him again, and if the NDP elect a new, younger leader they will erode Liberal support.
Indeed every 15-17 years we can benefit from a change away from a Liberal government. However more recently Canada learned that 4 years under Conservative rule is enough, after 4 years it is all downhill. Trudeau will likely remain as PM for another 8 years, with a Liberal successor to follow. There is always the possibility that the Conservatives come to power earlier but given their existing leadership candidates it is more likely they will won't even form the official opposition. In Canada one can only get so far blaming the French and the Muslims for what ails the country and stating all we need to be a success is to get the women back into the kitchen and devalue the currency.
Nicely said Anon 3:02.
Conservative government in office April 2006 - Oct. 2015.
The Conservatives were in office 9 years, not 4.
Progressive Conservatives in office 1984 - 1993. So in the 31 years from 1984 - 2015 the score is as follows:
Conservatives 18 years. Liberals 13 years.
"Never ruin a good story with the facts."
LOL
You forgot the period 1963 - 1984. Liberals 20 years, Conservatives 1
Tally
Liberals 33 Conservatives 19
Lets add 1935 - 1963
Liberals 22 Conservatives 6
Final tally Liberals 55, Conservatives 22
That is called The Natural Governing Party.
Never ruin the truth with the facts :-)
And the fact is that what happened more than 30 years ago is irrelevant to the majority of voters today. The modern voting population tends to choose the Conservatives over the Libs. and are concerned with current events. It remains to be seen if Trudeau is an anomaly as he has made few big decisions as of yet.
The hard decisions coming up will likely dictate. Kinder-Morgan, Keystone, oil sands, NAFTA, TPP, relationship with natives, relationship with other countries, unemployment levels, carbon tax, key interest rates, cost of living will all be pieces of the puzzle. Far too early to call but easy to see stormy weather ahead.
I predicted that PM Trudeau will be more ostracized than Harper was by the end of his term of office. Barely a year has gone by and the boy wonder is already starting to give the one finger salute to everyone.
I have observed the same thing as Anon 9:43. For much of Canada's history the Liberal Party was dominant, and it has been trending more Conservative in the last 30 years.
I remember when Conservative Bev Oda resigned from cabinet because she billed for a $16 glass of Orange Juice, and she knew that was unacceptable and an embarrassment to Stephen Harper... Now you have Liberals spending hundreds of thousands renovating their offices, one spent $17,000 on a personal photographer to document one event, and renting limousines for thousands from donor's company when a taxi would do. Where is the shame? Where is the contrition? Where is the example from the top? Oh right, he has a personal chef, a fulltime nanny, travels with a huge entourage, has blown past Harper's security budget even when he was at his most paranoid, and now he is spending almost $38 Million to renovate 24 Sussex. (Yes it needed a reno and asbestos removal, but at what point does it seem like King Trudeau is building his palace)
I love it.
Who is spending $38 million to renovate 24 Sussex Drive?
No, not Justin Trudeau. He doesn't even approve it.
The Prime Minister's Official Residence, 24 Sussex Drive, is managed by the National Capital Commission (NCC), a Crown Corporation that reports to ALL of parliament. The renovations have been needed since the early 1980s. Harper lived at 24 Sussex Drive yes, but not his wife Lorraine. She shacked up in a downtown Ottawa hotel - God knows who paid for that.
Beve Oda did not resign over a $16 orange juice. She resigned over a 3-night stay at a London hotel at a cost of $665 per night, when the another hotel room was available free AT A 5-STAR HOTEL, plus a $250 fine for smoking in a non-smoking room, and charging over one-thousand-dollars in limo costs for the ride from the hotel to a convention center about a 15-minute walk away. Oh and what was the subject of the convention - child poverty.
For her long public service - a touch over 7 years, she gets $53,000 a year in a parliamentary pension and an additional $12,000 per year in CPP - a total of $65,000 per year. The woman is as dimwitted as stump and fit perfectly into the Harper cabinet.
I see you read her Wikipedia page... two can play at that game.
Bev Oda resigned over the Orange Juice, there was no story without the orange juice price. It was the orange juice price that ran through the media over and over and yes, I am happy to concede that she was an awful parliamentarian, in fact I will go so far as to say all of the parliamentarians that have come from a media background have been dismal failures and self-entitled egotists. I don't like generalizations, but for the life of me, I can't think of an exception.
The 2011 rumours of a separation between the Harper's circulated around the blogs based on a photoshopped picture of the couple. Conspiracy Theorist bloggers mused that the only reason to photoshop two married people together from recycled photos must be because they are separated. They weren't.
Incidentally, if you search Justin Trudeau photoshop, you get this photo of Trudeau hosting a gun show.
The NCC's "renovation" of 24 Sussex is ENTIRELY under the direction of the Prime Minister's Office. Even calling it a renovation is ridiculous because it will include an entirely new 7500 sqft house for the Trudeau's, as well as the renovation to the old building.
Not to threadjack, but is any one else weirded out by the school district paying for pro school district news articles in the North Shore News? This weeks paid advertorial.
I know the municipalities pay to advertise their services and events, but it is usually clearly within a box, with the districts logos, this is written as though it was an article, or advertorial.
Weird.
One advantage of having been from Ottawa is that I have visited both 24 Sussex Drive and Rideau Hall, many times particularly on New Years Day.
"Oh no, there is no way you could have visited 24 Sussex Drive," will claim Anon 1:55, "That is a private residence."
WRONG AGAIN
24 Sussex Drive is comprised of BOTH the official residence of the Prime Minister and the much larger portion of the building which is a pubic building used for official government functions. The public space is open for tours. It has not been renovated since 1950 and much of it dates back to the 1800s.
Justin Trudeau does have some say over his family's PRIVATE quarters but the broadest aspect of the renovations are to the public space. Even the private space has not been updated since I lived in Ottawa - over 31 years ago, except for some changes by the Mulroney's paid for privately they claimed, when it fact it was paid by the Conservative Party through donations and included furniture the misses stole out of 24 Sussex Drive but then had to return a few weeks later from her Montreal home. Given that my DNV Mayor Walton claims that a private residential building, multi or single family has a life span of no more than 40 years, substantive renovations are obviously required to 24 Sussex Drive.
I guess my solid built house is now considered a teardown? The developers must be frothing at the mouth to build their million dollar shacks of particleboard.
In the last 2 days...
Trudeau lauds deceased dictator Castro who oppressed his people for decades and drove his country's economy into the ground.
Trudeau attends Francophone conference and gives away $100 million Canadian taxpayer dollars to Africa.
He's doing great.
How about a different spin:
In the past 48 hours our good Prime Minister The Right Honorable Justin Trudeau lauded the Cuban people across the world including those who live today in Canada, and recognized the regime of Fidel Castro and the economic damage to the country brought on by a 50-year economic and military embargo by the United States of America.
At the Francophonie Summit, Trudeau confirmed $54 million in funding to support various humanitarian and development projects in Haiti in the wake of the the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. A further $50 million to promote the right's of women and LGBT rights globally including in Africa was committed.
I suppose Anon 4:59 considers that whenever the name Mathew and $$$ are mentioned, they should only refer to Councillor Mathew Bond's vote buying of NSMBA members during municipal election, such vote buying which is welcomed by Anon 4:58 as a legitimate political process. Besides, best to hate Justin Trudeau because he is French (he and rest of the Liberals are ramming the French language right down your throat aren't they), and Africa & Haiti as well since they are mostly populated by your hated Blacks - oh and Muslims too - don't forget to hate them as well through your proxy Trudeau.
Deplorable.
A lot of assumptions and pure BS.
"The Cuban people?" You've got to love a pure apologist. No, it was a brutal dictator inappropriately lionized.
Giving away other people's money while driving those same folks into debt. Not admirable.
As for the rest, beneath response.
Justin Trudeau’s lament for the dictator Fidel Castro confirmed every lampoon of the prime minister’s foreign-policy vacuity - Maclean's magazine
The Right does it again.
When their opposition quotes from a media source, the content is labeled "pure BS."
But when they quote from a media source, often the same source, the content is sacrosanct.
Neither the Right or Left hold any monopoly on irresponsible fiscal spending.
It does seem however when the Right runs deficits it is to provide incentives for oil & timber industries,subsidize the export of bulk water, to bulk up police forces and to invest in jails. When the Left runs deficits it is grow electricity and public transit infrastructure, make higher education more accessible, build hospitals and invest in social infrastructure.
In the end it comes down to lifestyle. Do you prefer a scenario where you drive your own gas powered vehicle to your job in a sawmill with the risk the police will jail you for having tinted windows. Or do you prefer taking the Skytrain to your job producing and exporting CGI to California, where your MSP premiums are paid by the government?
To each his own
"Oh no, there is no way you could have visited 24 Sussex Drive," will claim Anon 1:55, "That is a private residence."
HAHAHA, I have seen straw man arguments before, but this is legendary. You anticipate a quote, based on a reaction to a statement that you haven't even made yet, and then beat that fictitious quote down with your superior brain type thing. Priceless.
The pure BS had nothing whatsoever to do with any publication. It was a bunch of nutjob pontificating about hating blacks and others. Sick stuff from the liberal left.
Anon 11:29
It is not the superior brain the separates the Left from the Right.
It is the superior education, broader social experience and ability to show compassion.
The Left tend to have brains much like parachutes. They work best when open.
...we are so superior thought Hillary and the Democrats. Arrogant losers.
Hitler also won a democratic election in the same manner as did Trump.
Neville Chamberlain, did not respond, as he should have, aggressively. We cannot make that mistake again.
My scenario:
Within two years the USA will be involved in a regional Mid East war alongside Israel against Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Eygpt, Jordan and Turkey. The war became not winnable by either side but greatly depleted the US armed forces many stationed in Israel after Trump's strategy to use precise nuclear weapons against Saudi Arabia failed when Russia responded with nuclear attacks against Israel wiping out the entire nation including 2 million American soldiers. America was demoralized and wanted an end to the war. The Republicans tried to impeach Trump who ordered that Mike Pence and Paul Ryan be shot for sedition. Steve Bannon pulled the trigger in the White House Rose Garden. Two days later, Canadian, Mexican (and other Latin American armies), along with Korean armies joined with loyal Democratic American forces in California and other Western states to retake America from the Right. At the end of the war, North America was reshaped for the better - two existing countries remained - Canada and the United States of Mexico. Cascadia, a new country, joined comprised of Washington State, Oregon, California and Nevada. The remaining former US states became known as the American federation, a protectorate under Cascadia and solely under state rule which prohibited a standing army and required that people graduate from high school before having the right to vote in elections, the requirement ending the Republican party. Most former supporters of the Right were neutered and went to work as drones in agricultural fields, pastures etc in the protectorate. Decades later the period was described by anthropologists and historians as The New Renaissance. It ushered in a new ear of progressive thought, enlightenment etc and spread world wide.
Well that pretty much explains the other posts with no foundation in reality either.
Meanwhile, back at the topic. Late breaking news. Justin has approved the Kinder-Morgan pipeline. That ought to set the cat in with the pigeons among the Liberal left.
Some will be falling all over themselves trying to stay on the approved speaking points and support the leader.
Others will feel betrayed and hugely disappointed that the Carbon Tax kid could do such a thing.
Stay tuned for the Liberal point of view. It ought to be a beauty.
There is no betrayal.
The Liberals showed the requisite Lefist compassion to the illiterates in Alberta who need the oil revenues to pay for their pick-up trucks and children by their cousins. Do you think Rona Ambrose could find them jobs in the back room of the WalMart?
The Right will be happy since their precious taxes will not rise, and that hated deficit will be lower than expected. Next they are hopping for the legalization of marijuana since that will keep their grandmother out of orange. Then they will support the the random beatings of people of colour by their friends in the RCMP.
I remember when Steve Shutt played for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980s, and Danny Galavin, the legendary hockey broadcaster would say, "Shutt up the right wing."
No truer words were ever spoken.
Yup, it's a beauty.
Why doesn't anybody factor in the high probability of an earthquake around here? What about the tankers languishing in Burrard Inlet until it is deemed safe for them to leave given bad weather? Are they earthquake-proof?
I asked a right wing politico about his concern re earthquakes. His immediate response was, "damn Liberal deficit would probably be the cause. Hey will my taxes go up if there is an earthquake or if Trudeau causes a volcano to erupt! Damn Liberals and their taxes. Do you know who much I pay in tax. Let me tell you....."
"Do you know WHO much I pay......"
Asked a question at 5:34, answered himself at 5:55, imploded at 6:11.
Thank goodness for this Liberal. He is a great example of the looney left which tarnishes the credibility of those Liberals not so far out there. There is a reason that other Liberal voters are not jumping in here to support this liberal extremist.
This is the mirror of Trump who is at the nutty end of the right. Trump and his camp are an embarrassment to conservatives. Their views are trumpeted by the far left as the views of all conservatives, which is no more correct than the extreme views of this poster being the opinion of all Liberals.
Thank you looney left poster for exposing that there are quiet Liberal and Conservative folks that don't espouse extreme positions.
The definition of the Left, written by the Right.
1. Left of center moderate - someone who can read text not created on the Internet, and can both read and write in cursive (rather than only in BLOCK)
2. Popular Leftist - one who has post secondary education in the humanities, sciences and/or business from a recognized Canadian University found in the annual McLean university rankings, a University that has a library.
3. Hard of Center Leftist - one who visited the University library, took out books etc wrote essays, went to class, learned to listen along with being able to speak at least two languages, can write more than a post on a blog or a greeting card at Christmas and has traveled outside of North American on something other than an all-inclusive.
4. Extreme Leftist aka Elitist - someone who, along with the above, can calculate their grocery bill to 10% before arriving at the check out line.
The definition of the Right, according to the Right
1. Moderate Right - Someone forced to endure French commies like that damn Trudeau, and Castro and ANYONE from Quebec. Or from Mexico. We don't Mexicans like those people from Brazil, oh and the damn Muslims from Pakistan.
2. Further Right - the above plus someone who is overtaxed and its all because of the elites who write in cursive. Oh and also because of Trudeau, all the Trudeaus all the way back to France. Oh yes, the darn French, they delivered the apocalypse.
3. Extreme Right - there is no one at the extreme right. We are all moderates or slightly more right. By the way, what-the-heck is that Trudeau doing now? Oh my taxes, OMIGOD my taxes, do I have a sob story to tell. Oh yes and do you know about the Liberal deficit? Well let me tell you a thing or two.
P.S Lets play groundhog day. I post, you delete. I post you delete. I post you delete. Like Dr. Strange bringing time to a universe with no time......
Perfect. You make my point (again). Thank you.
If you comb your hair just right, we do not see the point :-)
Isn't it great that Justin approved Kinder-Morgan!
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