Liberal Senators draw ire of prairie PremiersAs Joan Fraser and the Liberal party's senate caucus plot their next move regarding their controversial ammendments to a bill that would abolish 2-for-1 sentencing provisions, they may want to consider a joint press release written by he Premiers of BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan.In the press release Alberta's Ed Stelmach, Saskatchewan's Brad Wall and BC's Gordon Campbell reiterate their support for the bill to abolish these sentencing provisions. They add their voice to Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, who had previously voiced his displeasure over the matter.“Our provinces all agree that eliminating the two-for-one credit would help our provinces fight organized crime and keep our communities safe,” said Wall.“Albertans expect a system that...
Political tensions over HST have intriguing implicationsOne benefit Canada's recently-averted election holds for Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is the freedom to flip-flop on his own rhetoric without any serious consequences.Take, for example, a recent Ignatieff flip-flop on the issue of the Harmonized Sales Tax.For those not in the know, a Harmonized Sales Tax is a fusion of Provincial Sales Taxes (PST) the federal government's Goods and Services Tax (GST). The argument being raised in favour of these taxes is that they're good for business, making it easier and less costly for business to remit these taxes to the government.The argument against these taxes -- and a very persuasive argument at that -- is that these taxes are bad for consumers, and would apply sales taxes to...
In
Conservative Party,
Liberal Party,
Stephen Harper,
Michael Ignatieff,
BC,
Jim Flaherty,
Ontario,
Dalton McGuinty,
Tim Hudak,
Christine Elliott,
Gordon Campbell
The polls leading up to election day had been very close between the BC Liberals and the NDP, but premier Gordon Campbell prevailed and took his third consecutive win: B.C. Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell has won a historic third straight term as the province's premier, CBC News is projecting. Early results in the B.C. election show Campbell's Liberals leading with 46.2 per cent of the popular vote, ahead of Carole James's NDP at 41.7 per cent. On the referendum question whether British Columbia should adopt a form of proportional representation ("single transferable vote" or STV), current results suggest that BC......
I've just finished watching tonight's leaders' debate for the election in British Columbia on May 12. Facing off were premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberals), Carole James (NDP) and Jane Sterk (Greens). The debate was orderly, with strict time limits. Even during free-debate periods, the three candidates managed to discuss the issues without cutting each other off or trying to drown out the others. James tried to get Campbell to speak about the BC Rail corruption scandal, but he completely ignored her. That made him look petty and like a guy who's got something to hide. Sterk made me laugh when......
With a provincial election just around the corner, the Canadian Office and Professional Employees union is gearing up to take a serious run at Liberal BC Premier Gordon Campbell.Their message for BCers is actually a simple one: Gordon Campbell may possibly hate you.In an ad recently uploaded to YouTube, COPE seems to poke fun at some of bombastic messages of amateur political ads. An obnoxiously-loud voice asks "did you know", then lists off a litany of imaginary Campbell offenses -- trying to "kill your grandma", "is fighting a secret war against wild salmon and river otters", and "eats children" while a more moderate and evidently skeptical voice questions the assertions, although noting that Campbell has closed down hospitals, approved hydro-electric development and ignored child...
BC amalgamation plan will give aboriginals a stronger voiceIn a province where dealing with aboriginal affairs has been notoriously difficult things are about to simplified significantly.In 2002 the people of British Columbia approved the Gordon Campbell government's eight principles for treaty negotiation.Those principles set the Campbell government's criteria for treaty negotiations. They stipulated the following: -Private property rights should be respected, and that treaty settlements shouldn't involve the expropriation of property.-Land use terms and licenses should be respected, and anyone whose commercial interests are disrupted should be compensated.-The use of Crown land should be reserved for all British Columbians, including for hunting, fishing and recreation.-Provincial parks...
Grits target BC in last-ditch attempt to win electionIn a negative ad released earlier in the 2008 federal election campaign, the Liberal party accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of practicing "divide and conquer" politics.Now, with the polls solidly favouring the Conservatives with at least a 12-point lead as the days tick down to balloting day, the Liberals have set their sites on British Columbia in a last-ditch effort to squeak out of the 2008 campaign if not with a victory, then with a less-than-humiliating defeat.The efforts seem to be organized by former BC (NDP) Premier Ujjal Dosinjh, who appears prominently in the mini-campaign.When examining the TeamBC.ca website, it appears that the Liberal tactic seems to be throw everything -- Insite, 9/11 Conspiracy theories, the Canada...