NDP Have BIG plans in BC again!!!
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Apparently you have not drove that highway much in the winter there maintenace sucks Lady C The highway is in rough shape,the toll money should be going into its upkeep :wink:
Thank goodness LadyC is back! MrMom - ty for the sites, but what I was really looking for is the independent information which people keep saying I should be looking at. The information which people in this forum have been quoting.
Mother Nature wins every year I'm afraid!
Mother Nature wins every year I'm afraid!
Name a highway that came in on budget, and since I live on this island that highway was more than needed here for years. The lives that have been saved from accidents alone was worth every penny.
NON-UNIONIZED contractors were not allowed to work on this highway - LadyC is right - the project could have been done for a lot less money, but the NDP got in the way of that!
The Island Highway should have had a toll as well. The reasoning behind putting a toll on the Coke was that drivers have a choice... as they do on the Island. (Unlike the Sea-to-Sky Highway)
Agreed, pea... the highway needed to be fixed, replaced, whatever. It was dangerous... but it didn't have to go so far over budget. Everyone knew it would, but the gov't didn't seem to care.
Agreed, pea... the highway needed to be fixed, replaced, whatever. It was dangerous... but it didn't have to go so far over budget. Everyone knew it would, but the gov't didn't seem to care.
I don't drive much anywhere in the winter, particularly not in a mountain highway. Imagine... it might snow and the road could get slippery!mrmom2 said:
Name a road anywhere that's in great shape. As far as they go, the Coke always looked pretty good to me. I'll take a closer look next time I drive on it, which should be in about a month. I'm heading up your way, so you can buy me a coffee when I arrive. :wink:
I will buy you that coffee :wink: I drive the highways all over the interior in the winter to snowmobile and I can tell you from first hand knowledge that the Coq sucks 
My mother inlaw and her husband drive truck for a living and the avoid it like the plague :lol:
My mother inlaw and her husband drive truck for a living and the avoid it like the plague :lol:Talk about sweatheart deals sig, well I will have to go and research some of the "sweetheart" deals the liberals have made right here in BC. In the meantime...they have no problem rewarding their contributors.
Top Donors Thrive under BC Liberals
Helping hand to donors Mining, timber and construction corporations enriched by policy changes.
By Scott Deveau
Published: April 14, 2005
T
The corporations who gave the most money to the Liberals have clearly benefited from policy shifts made since the 2001 election, say campaign finance watchdogs.
Since 1996, 69 percent of the nearly $42 million donated to the B.C. Liberals came from the corporate and business sector, according to BCFacts.org, a group with ties to the environmental community.
The BC Liberals’ largest donors are companies in the forestry, mining, and development sectors. All of these sectors have been amply rewarded for their loyalty to the B.C. Liberals, critics argue.
Despite numerous requests by The Tyee, the BC Liberals were not available for comment.
Enviro regs trimmed for mining
Teck Cominco, a massive B.C. mining company worth more than $3 billion in the province, is the B.C. Liberal’s top donor since 1996, giving nearly $750,000 to the Grits.
Greg Waller, director of investor relations for Teck Cominco, said it’s a matter of “corporate responsibility” to donate to political parties.
“It’s to help in the political process because political parties need money to fund their election campaigns,” Waller said. However, it seems Teck Cominco is not interested in promoting every campaign. The company made no donation to the NDP.
Waller said Teck Cominco expected nothing in return for its donations to the B.C. Liberal party. But with commodity prices soaring and the growth the mining company has experienced over the past four years, the company recorded its highest earnings ever last year of $669 million, up from 89 million in 2001, according the company’s 2004 annual report.
“The industry is in a very healthy position,” Waller said and it is providing lots of “good, high-paying, family-supporting jobs,” he added.
Joan Kuyek , national director of MiningWatch Canada, said more than rising commodity prices that has helped the industry over the past four years.
“(Teck Cominco) and the rest of the industry is really pushing the provincial government and the Federal Department of Fisheries as hard as they can to get projects approved with minimal intervention,” Kuyek said. The industry has been successful, she added.
The mining sector’s lobbying efforts resulted in amendments to the Environmental Assessment Act, removing requirements for sustainable development. The changes have also helped clear the way for several major mining projects in the process, including the Tulsequah Chief, the Kemess North, Galore Creek, and Red Chris mines, she said.
“It’s really quite dramatic what they’ve done,” Kuyek said, though she was also quick to point out Teck Cominco is “no worse than anyone else” in the mining industry.
The provincial government also put $91 million aside in B.C.’s budget for the clean up of abandoned mine sites.
“Which is good,” she said, “except the mining company should be paying for it.”
Major changes to forest laws
In addition to Teck Cominco, three of the B.C. Liberal’s top-five donors are from the forestry industry: Canadian Forest Products Ltd., West Fraser Timbre Co. Ltd., and Weldwood of Canada. In total the group donated roughly $930,000 to the party since 1996.
The latter two, West Fraser and Weldwood, merged at the end of 2004, and have seen a steady increase in sales, despite the softwood lumber dispute.
Jessica Clogg, staff council at West Coast Environmental Law, said the merger itself is a byproduct of the benefits the forest industry received over the past four years.
Part of the amendments made to the Forest Act and the Forest Protection Code removed the need for Ministry of Forest consent on tenure transfers, which virtually eliminated the minister’s ability to insert conditions on transfers, Clogg said. Those conditions were normally used to protect the interest of First Nations, she added.
As a matter of policy, when timber tenures in the past changed hands or there was a corporate merger involving a company that had timber tenures, there would always be public hearings.
“That will no longer be the case,” Clogg said.
But these changes merely scrape the surface of the changes to the industry, Clogg said.
“Virtually every aspect of forestry environmental laws in B.C. have been repealed or rewritten since the Liberal’s came into power,” Clogg said.
The process leading up to the Forest Act amendments was a closed door industry/government process under the auspices of the B.C. Lumber and Trade council, Clogg said. That spun off a series of industry/government working groups that proposed amendments, many of which were subsequently implemented, she added.
Firms ‘write their own rules’
The amendments also eliminated the requirement for companies to operate mills, and licenses are replaced every 10 years now instead of five, which again impedes upon the ministry’s ability to place conditions on the land.
“Changes to the forest practices code are essentially an industry wish list in terms of companies being allowed to write their own rules,” Clogg said. “Although there was official public process around changes to the forest practices code, none of the directions from non-industry folks ended up being incorporated.”
There’s no longer ministry approval for site level plans and there has been massive reductions in front-line staff to enforce the laws that are in place, Clogg said.
“This provincial government has made it extremely clear that their goal is to increase certainty for industry at the expense of communities and the environment,” Clogg said.
Anti-union contractors gave big
Rounding out the top-five BC Liberal donors is the International Contractors and Businesses Association. The lobbying organization for the open shop construction industry gave the Liberals more than $260,000 since 1996.
Jesse Uppal of the Federation of Labour said the ICBA’s involvement with the Liberal party is more ideological than anything else.
Like the Social Credit before it, the ICBA has a history of contributing to conservative parties, Uppal said.
However, changes to the labour code, the gutting of the apprenticeship programs, and cutbacks in the Workers Compensation Board and for WCB onsite inspectors were all policies supported by the ICBA. The NDP took in $3,817,000 in donation in 2004. The BC Federation of Labour gave more than $135,000 to the party last year, and since 2001, the BC Fed has donated nearly half a million dollars to the NDP.
But since 1996, labour donations account for less than 10 per cent the NDP’s total donations. The large majority of NDP donations, 87 per cent, have come from individual donors.
The NDP platform pledges to eliminate corporate and union donations in BC, which would bring the provincial system in-line with the federal. Similar legislation has been adopted in other provinces, like Manitoba, and caps have come into affect in others like Ontario.
The BC Liberals have set no such priorities.
Top Donors Thrive under BC Liberals
Helping hand to donors Mining, timber and construction corporations enriched by policy changes.
By Scott Deveau
Published: April 14, 2005
T
The corporations who gave the most money to the Liberals have clearly benefited from policy shifts made since the 2001 election, say campaign finance watchdogs.
Since 1996, 69 percent of the nearly $42 million donated to the B.C. Liberals came from the corporate and business sector, according to BCFacts.org, a group with ties to the environmental community.
The BC Liberals’ largest donors are companies in the forestry, mining, and development sectors. All of these sectors have been amply rewarded for their loyalty to the B.C. Liberals, critics argue.
Despite numerous requests by The Tyee, the BC Liberals were not available for comment.
Enviro regs trimmed for mining
Teck Cominco, a massive B.C. mining company worth more than $3 billion in the province, is the B.C. Liberal’s top donor since 1996, giving nearly $750,000 to the Grits.
Greg Waller, director of investor relations for Teck Cominco, said it’s a matter of “corporate responsibility” to donate to political parties.
“It’s to help in the political process because political parties need money to fund their election campaigns,” Waller said. However, it seems Teck Cominco is not interested in promoting every campaign. The company made no donation to the NDP.
Waller said Teck Cominco expected nothing in return for its donations to the B.C. Liberal party. But with commodity prices soaring and the growth the mining company has experienced over the past four years, the company recorded its highest earnings ever last year of $669 million, up from 89 million in 2001, according the company’s 2004 annual report.
“The industry is in a very healthy position,” Waller said and it is providing lots of “good, high-paying, family-supporting jobs,” he added.
Joan Kuyek , national director of MiningWatch Canada, said more than rising commodity prices that has helped the industry over the past four years.
“(Teck Cominco) and the rest of the industry is really pushing the provincial government and the Federal Department of Fisheries as hard as they can to get projects approved with minimal intervention,” Kuyek said. The industry has been successful, she added.
The mining sector’s lobbying efforts resulted in amendments to the Environmental Assessment Act, removing requirements for sustainable development. The changes have also helped clear the way for several major mining projects in the process, including the Tulsequah Chief, the Kemess North, Galore Creek, and Red Chris mines, she said.
“It’s really quite dramatic what they’ve done,” Kuyek said, though she was also quick to point out Teck Cominco is “no worse than anyone else” in the mining industry.
The provincial government also put $91 million aside in B.C.’s budget for the clean up of abandoned mine sites.
“Which is good,” she said, “except the mining company should be paying for it.”
Major changes to forest laws
In addition to Teck Cominco, three of the B.C. Liberal’s top-five donors are from the forestry industry: Canadian Forest Products Ltd., West Fraser Timbre Co. Ltd., and Weldwood of Canada. In total the group donated roughly $930,000 to the party since 1996.
The latter two, West Fraser and Weldwood, merged at the end of 2004, and have seen a steady increase in sales, despite the softwood lumber dispute.
Jessica Clogg, staff council at West Coast Environmental Law, said the merger itself is a byproduct of the benefits the forest industry received over the past four years.
Part of the amendments made to the Forest Act and the Forest Protection Code removed the need for Ministry of Forest consent on tenure transfers, which virtually eliminated the minister’s ability to insert conditions on transfers, Clogg said. Those conditions were normally used to protect the interest of First Nations, she added.
As a matter of policy, when timber tenures in the past changed hands or there was a corporate merger involving a company that had timber tenures, there would always be public hearings.
“That will no longer be the case,” Clogg said.
But these changes merely scrape the surface of the changes to the industry, Clogg said.
“Virtually every aspect of forestry environmental laws in B.C. have been repealed or rewritten since the Liberal’s came into power,” Clogg said.
The process leading up to the Forest Act amendments was a closed door industry/government process under the auspices of the B.C. Lumber and Trade council, Clogg said. That spun off a series of industry/government working groups that proposed amendments, many of which were subsequently implemented, she added.
Firms ‘write their own rules’
The amendments also eliminated the requirement for companies to operate mills, and licenses are replaced every 10 years now instead of five, which again impedes upon the ministry’s ability to place conditions on the land.
“Changes to the forest practices code are essentially an industry wish list in terms of companies being allowed to write their own rules,” Clogg said. “Although there was official public process around changes to the forest practices code, none of the directions from non-industry folks ended up being incorporated.”
There’s no longer ministry approval for site level plans and there has been massive reductions in front-line staff to enforce the laws that are in place, Clogg said.
“This provincial government has made it extremely clear that their goal is to increase certainty for industry at the expense of communities and the environment,” Clogg said.
Anti-union contractors gave big
Rounding out the top-five BC Liberal donors is the International Contractors and Businesses Association. The lobbying organization for the open shop construction industry gave the Liberals more than $260,000 since 1996.
Jesse Uppal of the Federation of Labour said the ICBA’s involvement with the Liberal party is more ideological than anything else.
Like the Social Credit before it, the ICBA has a history of contributing to conservative parties, Uppal said.
However, changes to the labour code, the gutting of the apprenticeship programs, and cutbacks in the Workers Compensation Board and for WCB onsite inspectors were all policies supported by the ICBA. The NDP took in $3,817,000 in donation in 2004. The BC Federation of Labour gave more than $135,000 to the party last year, and since 2001, the BC Fed has donated nearly half a million dollars to the NDP.
But since 1996, labour donations account for less than 10 per cent the NDP’s total donations. The large majority of NDP donations, 87 per cent, have come from individual donors.
The NDP platform pledges to eliminate corporate and union donations in BC, which would bring the provincial system in-line with the federal. Similar legislation has been adopted in other provinces, like Manitoba, and caps have come into affect in others like Ontario.
The BC Liberals have set no such priorities.
The changes in governmental policy are a reduction in RED TAPE. An innitiative that the Liberals were voted in on. As a Business owner I praise the Liberals in their red tape reductions! I can only hope they continue to reduce the red tape.
by the way - where did you cut/paste that article from???
by the way - where did you cut/paste that article from???
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/BC_Office_Pubs//costshift.pdf
Chewy I reposted that link for you its a great one :wink:
When posting links use the URL button then paste and then use the button again same thing for Quotes it makes things a lot easier for everybody else to use and read :wink:
Keep up the good work
Chewy I reposted that link for you its a great one :wink:
When posting links use the URL button then paste and then use the button again same thing for Quotes it makes things a lot easier for everybody else to use and read :wink:
Keep up the good work
Thanks, I cleaned it up. Sorry about that pure bedlam here, had to take my wife to the hospital, irony... unfortunatly we have to return to the ER in the am.mrmom2 said:http://www.policyalternatives.ca/documents/BC_Office_Pubs//costshift.pdf
Chewy I reposted that link for you its a great one :wink:
When posting links use the URL button then paste and then use the button again same thing for Quotes it makes things a lot easier for everybody else to use and read :wink:
Keep up the good work
I'll be gone for a week too I'll try and pick up where I left off. I like debunking the illusions of the Liberal Party almost as much as I like debunking the ones created by the Bush groupies.
peapod said:
Uhhhh - excuse me, pea, but can you tell me how that statement means we should pay for a highway for twenty friggin' YEARS - and you don't pay a DIME?
You don't think there were lots of deaths in the Fraser Canyon?
We still pay - but you ride free?
:roll: :roll: :roll:
I read through that ANTI-LIBERAL document and I couldnt find information on LPNs. Where did you find this information? Post Proof!
I was watching the GLOBAL News last night, and the first 15 minutes were all about how good our economy is right now. This is indicated in BC's Economic index http://bcbc.com/archive/BCEIndexv4n1.pdf
It's funny - NDPers get their hair on fire about non-facts - and use wild EVIL words such as CORPORATE, PRIVATIZE, RICH, CUTS, yet much of this is unsubstantiated and taken out of context.
Please tell me why privatization is BAD (in all of the circumstances which you mention) ie - BC Ferries, Support Staff at hospitals, etc., and actually substantiate it with fact.
That document you forwarded was ridiculous. It went on and on about the tax cut we received. Obviously someone who makes more, is going to receive a bigger cut in taxes - that's simple grade 7 math!