Category Archive: Soapbox

Liberal nod for Rebagliati a sign of party disarray

Posted by Mike Klassen on October 27, 2009

rebagliati-cbc
Rebagliati runs in Okanagan-Coquihalla: what are these guys thinking? And what's with the toque?

So Ross Rebagliati is now a Liberal candidate. I do not know Mr. Rebagliati, and do not disparage his accomplishment of getting gold at the Winter Olympics a few years back. However, from what I've seen and heard out of his mouth in the past few days leaves me to think Minister Stockwell Day has nothing to be concerned about.

Day is the Member of Parliament for Okanagan-Coquihalla, a riding that is solidly Conservative. Day took it in a walk last time out, and the Liberal Party finished dead last. Parties who are worried about their ability to get enough members elected start using the "star candidate" tactic in order to draw more attention to themselves. The so-called stars are sometimes, but not always put into safe (winnable) ridings. They are sometimes also put into swing ridings, where it's hoped that their name recognition will tip the balance and lead to a winning outcome.

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Tagged: conservatives, liberals, okanagan, politics, ross rebagliati, stockwell day

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Independent Power "news" not newsworthy

Posted by Mike Klassen on June 8, 2009

province-ipp-cover
Sunday's Province newspaper cover sponsored by a labour union?

When it comes to the topic of independent power in British Columbia, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I laugh because I find the attacks against it by the BC Hydro union, COPE 378, so disingenuous. I cry because of the pathetic job the industry does trying to get its message out.

Sunday's Province cover story was, well, how do we put this gently...inflammatory? Innuendo-filled? Uh, not news.

Here's what you will learn from Sunday's 2-page spread (!).

Plutonic Power's stock price went up when the BC Liberals formed government. Really? Did it by any chance go down in the weeks before Election Day at the prospect of the NDP forming government? We don't know that if you read the story. Hell, if I had the money to throw around on small company stocks, I might have bought Plutonic a couple of days before the election given that the polls showed Campbell would form government again, and the NDP assured us they would "review" (read: kill) IPPs.
Former government staff now either work for or advise independent power enterprises. More innuendo from The Province, as in "the fix is in." Where is Minister Blair Lekstrom's comment about ALL projects being subject to independent review before being approved, and the strict environmental standards projects must abide by? Buried in the last paragraph. Where are former government insiders supposed to work? McDonalds? Then the story will be how the BC Liberals are conspiring to make our kids fat.

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Tagged: cope 378, green power, independent power, ipps, plutonic, province newspaper, run-of-river

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When really good people run for public office

Posted by Mike Klassen on May 5, 2009

I'd like to give my unwaivering support to a great local candidate running for a provincial MLA seat named Haida Lane. I met Haida through the City of Vancouver's Vision Implementation Committee process. I have participated over at Vancouver-Kensington, and she over at Hastings-Sunrise.

When I met Haida I spotted a real community leader right off the bat. She's a good listener, articulate and has a sense of humour. She's not strident, and comes off as very well informed.

Haida and her husband are raising a young child in her East side borough near the PNE grounds, and I salute her for putting her name forward as a candidate for elected office. Vancouver is extremely lucky to have someone like Haida seeking to represent them.

Politics is an unnecessarily ugly business. For a generation we've made running down elected representatives a part of our culture. Few of them deserve the disrespect they get. Haida deserves the respect of voters in Vancouver-Hastings. Have a closer look.

For more on Haida read this piece in the Georgia Straight, or see her on Facebook.

Tagged: bc liberals, east vancouver, georgia straight, haida lane, provincial election, vancouver, vancouver-hastings, voting

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Thumbs up for Barry

Posted by Mike Klassen on April 20, 2009

Check out Barry Penner setting the record straight on independent power - watch the video

Good work like this video from Environment Minister Barry Penner makes a busy blogger's life easier by giving a straightforward and simple message about the hooey being doled out by BC's opposition party.

I'm a big booster of independent energy production, and like Tzeporah Berman I think it's one of the quick actions we can take to reduce our carbon footprint in energy production with the least impact upon our environment. It's not perfect, but it's the right course for our province.

Tagged: barry penner, bc liberals, independent power, youtube

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Gary Mason gets it right on NDP sell out

Posted by Mike Klassen on April 12, 2009

I quite like Gary Mason's Globe and Mail column, even when I don't always agree with it. Gary's latest is about how the NDP, after four years in opposition could not come up with a single inspired policy idea. Instead they've adopted cheap, Rush Limbaugh-style exploitive policies that will set our province back into the stone age.

Carole James and her party do not care about me nor do they care about my child, who will be the real victim of the unsustainable world James and her generation has created. These people only care about themselves. To put it bluntly, James and her backers crave power. They have no vision for our future because what they propose will simply destroy our economy and our environment.

Here's Gary's story linked here.

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Tagged: british columbia, carbon footprint, cars, gary mason, globe and mail, ndp

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The parents must face justice too

Posted by Mike Klassen on February 8, 2009

Sickening. An eighteen year-old male driving an expensive Buick SUV while drunk, roars around the turn by the entrance of Granville Island, loses control and careens into two pedestrians crossing in crosswalk. The 31-year old man and his 25-year old woman companion die at the scene. The driver makes a run for it and is caught by police. He has been driving under the influence, with 14- and 16-year old girls in the vehicle with him.

Who owns this vehicle? How did an 18-year old get the keys to go for his fatal joyride in contravention of rules about young drivers?

The young driver's parents or guardians must be held partly responsible for this tragedy. Heavy fines and jail time must be a possible penalty. I won't hold my breath though. They'll probably carry on with their lives without paying any kind of penalty, such is the selfishness that too often pervades our society.

This story makes me angry because there will be no justice.

Tagged: autogedden, cars, drunk drivers, granville island, justice system, kitsilano

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Black and white and green

Posted by Mike Klassen on January 22, 2009

Apparently keeping your economy going and creating a consumption tax that targets pollution at the same time qualifies you as a great big hypocrite. So says, David Beers, editor of thetyee.ca the full-time Gordon Campbell-bashing online zine, in an op-ed in today's Globe and Mail.

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Tagged: barack obama, car-oriented living, carbon footprint, favourite, gordon campbell

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Are the Grits getting conned?

Posted by Mike Klassen on December 7, 2008

Okay, conspiracy nuts, here's one for you. I think the Liberal Party of Canada is getting duped by the NDP into a merger, and if you blink the Natural Governing Party™ may go poof.

Money is the lifeblood of politics. The Liberals have none, and the NDP have a tap from big labour they can turn on any time. Stéphane Dion howled recently about the Conservative proposals to sell public assets during tough economic times, but he should be more concerned about his party being sold for scrap.

Seriously, if the Tories want their main adversaries to go away, they should just shut up and stop holding anti-coalition rallies. The Liberal Party will simply implode on its own, with Bob Rae and others lighting the fuse.

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Tagged: canadiana, favourite, liberals, ndp, politics

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