March has been an exceedingly busy month for me and that has been reflected in the lack of blog posts. I am happy to tell you that April is the light at the end of the tunnel and you can look forward to a variety of compelling, exclusive stories. For now, I want to take a look at a few issues that have caught my eye, starting with Christy Clarks “launch” of a project here in Surrey that actually began construction in January, long before she was narrowly selected by BC Liberals to lead the party.
This item received a bit of press around the province, and is one of the biggest examples of crafty PR engineering I have seen in some time. Christy Clark, flanked by her team of re-re-run Liberals,all eagerly lined up to accept credit for something she herself has had nothing to do with – the opening of the Surrey Memorial Hospital Expansion – a deal that well underway in October of last year when Kevin Falcon made the announcement that final negotiations were about to begin with preferred bidder, Integrated Team Solutions. Construction was well underway in late January of this year with site preparation, and anyone can see in this video, this project launch is nothing but an attention grab for the new premier, who clearly would love to have people believe this is something she was responsible for.
This may not seem like a big deal to those of you who are well aware the single biggest trick the BC Liberals like to fall back on for press is to re-announce a previously announced announcement. Campbell himself was famous for it! But what really bothers me in this instance is that in none of the media coverage I saw or read of this opportunistic press opp, was it even mentioned that this project was well underway before Ms. Clark became premier. The impression is clearly given that she is somehow responsible for this project and is very proud to launch it. Example : http://news.sympatico.cbc.ca/local/bc/clark_launches_surrey_hospital_expansion/d7623e51
Which leads me to her strategy, which apparently consists of making as many feel good announcements that she can to gain as much positive attention and possibly more votes when she finally does call for an election. First we had the minimum wage boost, a big winner in many areas. Then we had hospital launch, clearly she wanted to win over the increasingly cynical Surrey voters, followed by a toss of a millions dollars to the daycare providers who might(and this is a big might) lose out on some revenue because of the full time kindergarten initiative enacted by the Liberals. And today, more money is heading out in the form of increased community grants. Yes, all lovely and needed to be sure, but let that not take away from the hard reality of what Clark’s real motives and true leadership style are, as already indicated by the people she selected to lead up her transition team,some of whom are clearly in a conflict of interest. Yes indeed, Ms.Manswers Clark, who has tried overly hard to appear completely benign as a threat to this province, has betrayed her own agenda by her own doing. Good luck with that, Clark. It still won’t help you answer questions about what your involvement was in the sale of BC rail…questions the public will surely not forget come election time.
Lobbyist activity to note…. Patrick Kinsella, who worked on Premier Clarks leadership campaign, and partner Mark Jiles, just registered to lobby the government for MWH Global. Look for stunning contracts ahead for this company, who hired the lobbyist with the most pull with the premier…
Something to think about : a contribution from B.C. economist Erik Andersen, who sent these thoughts out this morning.
” Why we need elections; if anyone cares.”
From the book titled “Public Service; Private Profits” by John Loxley; published in 2010.Pages 7 & 8.
“The P3 concept [in Canada] has benefited from the lobbying efforts of organizations like the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships (CCPPP), an increasingly strong lobby group, which was established in 1993 and draws its membership from both the private and public sectors. In 2009, it had fifty-eight sponsors, fifty-seven of which were companies with commercial interests in P3s, such as construction companies, banks and their financial offshoots, bond houses and bond rating agencies, lawyers and consulting companies such as SNC-LAVALIN, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, JOHN LAING, CARILLION, DELOITTE and TOUCHE, BOMBARDIER TRANSPORTATION and UNITED WATER. The only non-corporate sponsor was the Government of Ontario (CCPPP, 2009).
—the CCPPP has a solid membership and financial base on which to promote P3s and has been able to attract prominent politicians and ex-politicians into its fold, such as PREMIER GORDON CAMPBELL of BC, who is currently the honorary chair. The CCPPP can be considered the main ideological proponent of P3s in Canada.
In the financing area alone,of twelve projects identified by the CCPPP in 2009 as being in the works or under consideration, no fewer than twenty-six companies were potential sources of finance; some well known companies such as SNC-LAVALIN, BILFINGER BERGER and RBC CAPITAL MARKETS are active in the CCPPP, —-“
For those among us who do not know why we desperately need elections please read the above very carefully. It takes barely a second to appreciate that here in BC we have had a Premier and Cabinet pretending to look after the PUBLIC’S INTEREST while concurrently, AGGRESSIVELY LOOKING AFTER THE INTERESTS OF PRIVATE P3 PARTNERS. It is difficult not to imagine a more blatant demonstration of conflict of interest.
All you taxpayers should feel royally annoyed that our politicians collected salaries and pensions while working on behalf of private interests.
Keep this in mind when you pay HST; when you get your property tax invoice; when you get your next BC Hydro bill and when you get your chances to vote.
In BC we have had two recalls fail so brace yourselves for even more aggressive spending now that Minister Falcon has the cheque book. He will be emboldened by the evidence of voter apathy.
Canadians are alleged to be upset by what folks say are unnecessary elections. That must have been what the Greeks thought as well.
Well done, Erik! Erik as you likely know, has been a great resource for me in researching P3’s in the province, and is bang on in this regard. I would also like to point you to a video Erik taped last year in which he discusses how he personally looked into and researched BC Hydro’s financials to come to this disturbing questions: IS BC Hydro being deliberately put into financial jeopardy to privatize it? Considering the press release from COPE last week, this video is more relevant than ever.
An ironic news item in the Surrey Leader caught my attention.. “20,000 secondary suites in Surrey… 1 permit application.” This as several builders up the hill from my home are working on putting on the finishing touches on several houses containing multiple illegal suites that are one of the causes behind school overcrowding in Surrey. The new legislation brought into effect in December that requires homeowners to legalize and register their now illegal suites is a stunning example of too little, too late, since the damage from a decade or more of unrestrained and uninhibited construction is far too massive to tackle without a concentrated effort by city staff, which are currently focussing on homes with multiple suites.
For a first hand look at many of this kind of home, take a drive along highway 1o eastbound, and look to the hills along the leftside of the drive between 152nd and 176 for how ridiculous the problem has become, since the vast majority of these homes on the hill each have two or more rental suites within. It brings to mind the million dollar question the city has deflected about the crisis Surrey school district is facing with regards to massive budget shortfalls in the millions : What responsibility does the city play in contributing to this educational mess, when it would take 8 new schools, right now, to catch up to where we need to be? Should the city be completely absolved of any blame or does the sole reposponsibility begin and end with the province and ministry of education?
Considering the mayors hearty endorsement of the past and current development of new neighbourhoods with these multiple suites, should the city be assisting in paying for some of these new schools, instead of say… planning a new athletic stadium?
That’s right, the mayor finds it outrageous that a city of this size does not have a stadium, is spending millions of dollars moving a perfectly good city hall to a new location because the old one”is in the middle of nowhere” ( not at all true, not far from my home and very close to another rapidly growing industrial/residential/commercial centre) and boasts about having over $805 million in approved residential building permits alone in 2010. Only problem with all of this is that while she talks about how important sustainability and livability is and how such thoughts are given great consideration in city planning, the truth is out there for all to see : we have become a city that has vastly outgrown all of it’s infrastructure and services in terms of education and community sustainability, and a city in which poverty and crime is still a massive reality check to new residents. One would think that the key to creating a vibrant city would be to ensure the vital services like schools and health care are kept in line with the growth and demand, however somewhere along the way the reality verged off course from the vision. In this case, the kids are the ones who suffer the brunt of poor planning.
Onto a quick look at the NDP leadership race with this story , also from the Leader, that shows Farnworth far ahead of Dix and Horgan in the leadership race.
As with all polls, the news should be taken with a grain of salt, but this is in line with what I have been hearing from around the province, and I’ve been saying for some time that I think Farnworth is the only candidate who can truly unite the party members who are currently on opposing sides. Both Horgan and Dix came out strongly against the dissidents who wanted to see Carole go, and that still speaks volumes to party members who realise that many of those dissidents are hard-working and well respected in their communities. Farnworth vs. Clark? You be the judge.
Last but certainly not least, fellow blogger Norman Farrell has been belting out the hard lines on his blog, Northern Insights. May I suggest if you do not do so already, please make a point to check his site regularly for a good dose of reality in BC !
Westcoast Views with Laila Yuile 
I noticed the other day that Global TV had an extensive report on the bus load of BC Liberals having what Sue Hammell says is the 13th ceremony announcing the current expansion at Surrey Hospital. I actually had tuned in hoping to see a report on the opening all-candidates debate of the NDP leadership candidates, which took place in the far-off community of Surrey.
It was not important enough for Global to cover by more than a passing mention. The topic was education, by the way. They had another debate in the Okanagan about Justice. I wonder what was said.
LikeLike
BTW, thanks for the shout-out for Northern Insights. I’m looking forward to your pending contributions.
LikeLike
No thanks needed Norm, I haven’t had much free time lately, but I know you routinely post excellent commentary and links that are important to all British Columbians.
On your other note… the NDP hosted a leadership debate here in Surrey? You kid me not….oh yes, I think I saw something about it on CBC .. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/03/21/bc-ndp-leadership-debates.html
The lack of attention by the MSM towards the NDP in general is why I find it ironic the NDP themselves have failed to capitalize on the independent writers and bloggers out here, myself included. Email communications of press releases and events are crucial to getting the message out, however they have all but disappeared for many of us since the last election, and for the NDP,that failure is akin to shooting oneselves in the foot. They need to be working harder now than ever to get their messages out, and failing to utilise such a powerful medium in BC politics is a large oversight on their part.
LikeLike
You are correct. I’ve twice asked for material from the Farnworth camp and received nothing. Horgan and Dix campaigns have been good at sending me information and Adrian Dix even told me he was willing to sit down with bloggers, either face to face or online.
LikeLike
Just to add something about this MWH Global that Kinsella is lobbying for- details above. This press release was on their site http://www.mwhglobal.com/MWH/newsroom/pressreleases/BC_Hydro_Contract_Extension.html
“Beginning in 2008, BC Hydro faced a major challenge to make substantial investment in new and renovated dams, hydroelectric, and transmission and distribution infrastructure. To meet this demand and enhance delivery of its capital projects, BC Hydro hired MWH to create a capital improvement delivery platform. As part of the contract, BC Hydro and MWH established an integrated team that includes business governance and project planning and controls groups to implement best project management practices on three major capital improvement projects: John Hart, Ruskin and Upper Columbia. The team is incorporating consistent capital delivery processes, best practices, systems, tools and expertise across all three projects.
“We’re confident that the improvements to BC Hydro’s new capital delivery capability, including knowledge, processes and tools will yield real benefits in the years ahead,” said Chris O’Riley, executive vice president of the Engineering, Aboriginal Relations and Generation Division of BC Hydro. “The capital delivery environment is like a one-stop shop: new processes aligned to the project lifecycle, detailed steps for responsible delivery, supporting documents in one location and robust scheduling and performance reporting. MWH has supplied very knowledgeable, capable people who have worked in our organization to get things done. We particularly like the way BC Hydro staff and MWH staff have integrated in programmatic delivery to add capability and capacity and to transfer knowledge.”
The contract between MWH and BC Hydro includes three phases of programmatic delivery engagement spanning three years: planning, establishment and implementation. The contract extension is part of the implementation phase and will cover activities through June 30, 2011.”
Can we look forward to MWH being a key player in the outsourcing contracts mentioned in the COPE press release before this post?
LikeLike
Re: Christy Clark and the SMH hospital announcement – another of her “genie in the bottle” comments – putrid smelling, self congratulatory pieces of bottled flatulence. Way to go BC Liberals eh !!
Thx
LikeLike
Kinsella; greasin’ the wheels.
Farnworth needs a communications team that can counter the globalist-privateer controlled main media. This could include some successful alternate-media tactics like facebook and twitter etc. There are news-making tactics that have yet to be tried and implemented – all it takes is a bit of genius, fun and beautiful outrageous spirit !
Towards the end of the run… Christie Clark’s involvement in the SELLING OFF / GIVING AWAY of B C Public Property – especially BC RAIL – *** HAS*** to be hammered and driven HOME to all voting British Columbia citizens. It has to be front and center because that IS the KEY ISSUE. If the ‘ BC “Liberals” ‘ get re-elected we can kiss the Universal Health Care system good bye; we can kiss the public owned provincial physical infrastructure good bye; we can kiss our social net-works and the quality of worker’s lives good bye. We can can also kiss Ms. Clark’s global corporatist A$$ while we’re at it: because we will have destroyed our children’s future.
LikeLike
Hi Laila,
Just starting to follow your site, after beginning to follow the blogosphere during the NDP internal coup that led to the ouster of Carol James.
I have read some of your previous posts about P3’s. It appears that you are opposed to P3’s in general, and I wanted to make sure I have a proper understanding of your opinion. Are you opposed to the concept of P3’s or do you just feel that the process which we have followed in using in P3’s in BC is flawed? And if so, in which part of the process do you feel the citizens are not being well looked after.
For the record, I can appreciate the benefits that P3’s can bring to us, but I have not investigated their execution here in BC to see if they are being carried out in a way that does benefit us.
Looking forward to our conversation. And I appreciate your hard work on putting out this blog.
LikeLike
To the person with the question on p3’s. If you have to ask, you are either one of the little people from the PAB in Victoria, or have been living under a rock for the last 10 years.
There is no way a P3 private providers can borrow money cheaper that the govenment AND after these same people add 25to30% more to pay off sleazy polititions and other insiders to get the job, can it be done cheaper,as per the hidden tolls on the sea to sky hwy.
LikeLike
Ken Barry! Don’t be so hard on that poor person. For goodness sake – there are a host of P3 proponents a whole lot smarter than you and I – all with an axe to grind! You (and I) know what a scourge on public resources these are, and I could (and do) argue until I’m blue in the face – mostly to no avail. Most people are too busy trying to earn a living and taking their kids to hockey/soccer practice to spend the time neccessary to overcome the MSM liberal bias to what is ‘politically’ correct.
I just hope we don’t have to become Egyptians or Lybians to get our point across! Hats off to Laila, BC Mary etc for continuing to flog what apparently is becoming a dead horse. I for one, will not cede to the idea that it is dead!
LikeLike
Laila, I’ve watched that area of #10 blow up in the last couple of years, and continues. I believe that whole mountain is going to become homes, it pretty well is now. The other side is starting also, just off 64th. There was a complaint not long ago from one of the new homeowners up there that is not happy about the area right below him becoming light industrial, a few shops and a gas station. It was/is farmland. He has a nice view. Didn’t say anything about it when he bought. Duh. What did he think was going to happen? Appears they put the squeeze on these little acreage owners by building all around them where it is impossible to carry on business and so they let their land go to hell and sit and then sell out eventually to the developer who has just been biding his time. There’s a few more pieces in there I’ve been keeping an eye on. Should be going pretty soon now. Go down to 32nd (between 176-152) where once was large farms. Now all humongous homes and continuing to build that whole area of what was once ALR. And you know what, all those homes are “ugly”. No curb appeal, big nothings.
And Watts? Useless. You are so right, city hall is fine where it is. We don’t need to be spending money on something that is fine where it is and nothing wrong with the building, when we need schools, decent, “maintained” roads. I don’t buy the trying to clean up Whalley.
Oh and get those new bylaw officers they’re hiring out knocking on doors and investigating the suites. When citizens file complaints, send them out to investigate each and every one of them. Then do as Delta, it’s 1-200 a day the homeowner has to pay until they bring it up to code and it’s registered.
LikeLike
Uh, I am not Ken Barry and John’s Aghast are referring to me or not. Let me know.
Thanks,
LikeLike
Codysage, I was in your position a scant six months ago (not being into this ‘blog’ thing)
No, I was admonishing Ken Barry to cut you a little slack – suggesting you lived under a rock for ten years was a little extreme. I suggest you go back into Laila’s archives for a couple of months. You will see where she is coming from, and why I think she is a Goddess! (Should that have two d’s?)
Regards, and sorry for the confusion.
J.A.
( John,Goddess is correct, I popped another one in for you : ) Wow, me ? Maybe a P3 goddess..lol, although I am guessing the Libs have another name for me! )
LikeLike
Hi Cody, and welcome to the blog! I always enjoy new visitors questions and comments and encourage them, so don’t mind the regulars giving you a rough time.. ; )
I understand the essence of your question, and can understand why you would ask… John is correct, if you go back through the archives, read the best of, or even Google search term: ” Laila Yuile + P3″ you would have enough reading material on the issue to last you a few days! It is something that I have spent countless hours researching and studying, not only here in BC, but across Canada, North America and the world.
The post I would like to direct you to is this: http://castlegarsource.com/news/politics/tax-cuts-ensuing-loss-revenue-deliberate-financial-crisis%E2%80%A6and-reason-introduce-p3s-bc-
Ken is absolutely correct and his point is part of the basis for my stance.You may look at a completed P3 project and see a “benefit”, I look and see 25 years + of very profitable payments to the private partner, and a project that could have and should have been built for far less cost.
The fact is that government can borrow money at a far lower rate than any private partner on any project, across the board. That is an absolute certainty. In an examination of several notable P3’s in the province, it was proved that each project would have cost the taxpayer far less as a public project, because as Ken mentions above, the private partner has to ensure a return on their investment. This is what the attraction is for private partners and why such companies like Macquarie even lobbied the government to push P3 projects, because they are very lucrative, very stable long term investments that pay well. And now in BC, we are beginning to see the secondary P3 market flips, where the initial investors sell their shares in the project to another investment company waiting in the wings, licking their chops ( see recent sales of the initial investor shares in the Sea2Sky and Kicking Horse Canyon) http://www.blakes.com/english/view_bulletin.asp?ID=4499
Clearly, if the government is cutting P3 deals that are so lucrative there is a secondary market of private investors chomping at the bit to get into them, there is no way, in my view, that anyone can argue that taxpayers are getting value for their money, which the government uses as their justification for these deals. The other issue that arises, is when a government who is unable or unwilling to borrow to pay for needed public projects begins to look towards P3’s as a solution, the governments long term ” contractual obligations” become a massive burden to the provincial cashflow and the taxpayer, because these amounts owed on all these contracts, are not included as debt in the provincial budget, completely skewing the real financial picture of the province.
As it stands, the Liberal government has committed taxpayers to so many long term P3 deals across the province, they have in essence mortgaged the next 30 years away, and none of this shows as debt. And I stand firm this is one of the biggest reasons to ensure they are not elected in this province again. They have been dishonest, unaccountable and unethical in far too many regards with how they have managed the province in what will be looked back upon as a decade of sorrow, rather than a decade of gold. Considering who Christy Clark has heading up her team, and who her advisors are ( SNC, Encana, Enbridge) you can bet your behind she and Falcon will lead in exactly the same manner, banking on peoples lack of interest or knowledge in this kind of financial sleight of hand.
LikeLike
Hi curt! Doing well , I hope?
Yes, I know all about the development going on south of highway 10 too, which is something I have been quietly working on for a story to come closer to Watts election time. Should be interesting ; ) It is a sad state of affairs when the gloating continues unabated, all the while our children are in dire straits in schools so crowded I fear what would happen in an emergancy in terms of keeping track of students. In speaking with a new neighbour who doesnt drive and came here from a city where that wasnt an issue, she feels isolated because of the lack of ability to walk to shops etc as well as the fact anywhere out south of Surrey transit is a nightmare and in some cases, not even an option. But yes, Watts has that vision of changing Whalley to a bustling, thriving gentile neighbourhood, the one she promised many years ago would appear and never has. The SFU didnt change the area, nor did the mall where more stories have vacated than stayed and security is crawling all over the place because of the “issues” with characters coming in from Drug central, oops, I meant Surrey Central skytrain/Bus loop. It is a a joke. She needs to boost the RCMP budget immediately, she needs to address the issues I have been writing about for years, rather than spend money on a new city hall, in a new location, and looking to the province to help fund a new stadium. New stadiums dont make cities livable, safe neighbourhoods that are livable do. I can’t run for provincial politics this year, but I could run for city hall …. and it might be prudent to do so.
LikeLike
Laila, (and John)
Thanks for the prompt and thorough reply.
Boy, I just show up and already I have a ton of homework to do!!! 😉
But I am all for it, and I will read your previous posts and the links that you directed me to. The thing I love about the blogosphere is that you have ready access to the actual facts of an issue, so it makes for a much better debate.
Let me pay my dues to make my contribution here.
But just to let you know where I am coming from this on, 1st of all I believe in small governments, so I want to see the government focus on 1)security of person, 2) health, 3) education. Everything after that I start to question if the government is the best entity to providing the service to our community.
I believe that the principle of P3’s is to transfer the risk of building the infrastructure to the private sector, and allow them to have the commensurate reward. I believe that the private sector is more able to build the infrastructure and assess the risk than the government, so this makes sense to me.
However the government must get competitive bids for the projects, or have very astute advisors assessing the proposals. We cannot afford to get taken to the cleaners by private corporations (the way we were when we sold the Expo lands!) I know that Kiewit got the Port Mann bridge seemingly without a competitive bid, so that does not seem right to me. So although I may agree with the P3 concept in principle, I may not agree with how our provincial government is running the process (hence my initial question to you)
I should also let you know that I have shares in a Macquarie infrastructure fund so I have a vested interest in p3’s!! (although the fund is diversified around the world, and I think the amount of the fund based in Canada is 6%)
Let me do my homework, and I will get back to you all. And John, thanks for the clarification. As there is no body language or inflection available on the internet it is sometimes hard to get the real message in a post. Your clarification was very welcome,
Take care,
LikeLike
Christy Clark has said, she is going to persuade Harper to expand Prosperity Mine. Thing is, the back door was left open on the Prosperity Mine expansion. Hawes said, the expansion could be reapplied for. Harper and Campbell, have worked together on, the Prosperity Mine. This has been a done deal, so no kudo’s for Christy. She is merely Campbell’s mouthpiece.
Campbell also, signed in favor of dirty oil tankers from China, coming into the beautiful BC coastal seas. So the Enbridge pipeline, will be forced on the people, the same as the HST was. We live in a dictatorship regime, where people don’t matter.
Harper and Campbell are working on, drilling oil and gas wells, off BC’s coast. Seems a 6.1 earthquake, off the Queen Charlotte’s is of no concern to them.
Well, this is a wait to see if all of that materializes. Campbell did say, he may stick around, as an adviser to the BC Liberals. He has too many irons in the fire, that are not completed. Campbell is a control freak, there is no way he would trust Christy, to complete his dirty work. Campbell has corrupted everything in this province, by his threats. Anyone opposing Campbell loses their jobs. I still see evidence of him, all over the place. Campbell hasn’t gone anywhere.
LikeLike
Click to access 2011AG0003-000294.pdf
BC gov press release detailing the move up of the HST referendum to June of this year and it will be a mail in ballot.
LikeLike
It seems our condecending new friend, Codysage, is spreading a little codswallop to see how many flies he,she, or it can attract.
LikeLike
Cody makes a good point about the competativeness of the bids in the Port Mann. There was none when the decision was made to move to a public project, it should have been re-tendered to be fair, but it was not. Stinks to high heaven and I have been working on a story about this since last November.
Where I disagree with you Cody, is where you say the risk is transferred to the private partner and their expertise is more apt than the goverments. This does read like a line from Partnerships BC Value for Cost report..lol.. And it simply isnt true about transferring risk, because there have been many cases where the private partner has left the government high and dry,and left to hold the proverbial bag. Not to mention there is a huge lack of understanding on how those long term contractual obligations which are anything but transparent, impact the amount of budget allotted to things like education, health care etc. It simply does not fly, and that is why there is a growing trend in some countries who were into P3’s long before Canada, to move away from them, in particular when it comes to public utilities, health care and vital structures – there is a marked loss of quality control over the life of the contract on behalf of the government, who is usually less experienced than the private partner at writing these contracts, and in the end often relies on that private partners expertise. Macquarie is a company to stay away from and has been divesting itself of many interests worldwide. Might be something you would want to have your advisor really look into, or better yet, do that yourself so you can see where that money comes from. Ethical investing ?
LikeLike
Laila,I’ve been looking around and I can’t find out where the NDP stand on these P3 projects, do you happen to know?
LikeLike
Hi RP,
I have actually emailed the NDP office several times about their position on Public Private Partnerships and have never received a reply to my queries.
However, in the 2009 election platform they said this:
“A FAIR SHARE FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES
Restoration of local autonomy. Carole James and the NDP will repeal the Significant Projects Streamlining Act, end Gordon Campbell’s requirement that all projects over $50 million be public- private partnerships, and restore local oversight of power generation. “
From the Williams Lake Paper I found this: http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_cariboo/williamslaketribune/news/118123264.html?mobile=true
This is a good start, but clearly they have not ruled out P3’s in an NDP government. Of course, this is of great concern to many and I would hope that in a general election the new leader would move back to the 2009 stance of repealing the requirement for every project over a certain dollar amount must be a P3. Anything less would be unacceptable in my view.
LikeLike
Ken Barry,
I was not trying to be condescending at all. I apologize if I created that impression with you. Just for my knowledge, what phrases or words did you find condescending?
I believed that all I had done was ask reasonable questions to help me clarify someone’s position, and to express my beliefs (and prejudices!) so that people can better understand me.
(all in following that Steven Covey advice – Seek first to understand, then to be understood).
And just to make it clear – I have to do a lot of reading of what has been posted here before I can express an informed opinion. Right now I am just understanding the different points of the discussion.
LikeLike
The long and the short of this Cody, is that we the people, meaning we the screwed over taxpayer, are ultimately financially responsible for everything that happens in the public and private sphere.
Asset backed commercial paper in Canada’s case and of course the derivative scam in the US and the rest of the world, just to name a few of the debacles that we the tax payer bailed out.
Keep Reading.
LikeLike
Campbell has set this province to favor the wealthy. The HST was a boon for big business, that tax was shifted onto the BC citizens. BC as a province of natural resources, the HST does squat for the people who, were forced to pay it. Besides, Campbell gave our HST to Harper. Harper in turn, gave the HST to big business. Campbell’s sea to sky highway scam, thousands of us will never use that highway. But we will pay for that road, for 25 years. There should have been a toll, so the wealthy could pay for their own dammed highway, to their ski hill. If you can afford to ski at Whistler, you can afford to pay a toll. We are also paying, for the new Kelowna bridge, from our tax dollars. There are few goods, we BC people are not taxed for. Big business pays Campbell big bucks, to keep the HST. Hochstein said, he has $2 trillion dollars to spend, to fight to keep the HST. Campbell used every dirty tactic, against the BC people to keep the HST.
Campbell and the BC Liberals are, the dirtiest, evil, arrogant, thieving, most corrupt government, this country has ever known. Campbell is the most corrupt, and shameful, deceitful Premier, in Canadian history.
LikeLike
I get the feeling that Julie dislikes the Liberals! And Cody, the Private Sector NEVER takes on risk without charging for it.
LikeLike
Hi Laila,
Just wanted to let you know I am deep into this. Daniel Cohn has been kind enough to send me the two papers that he did on BC P3’s. I listened to your interview with Guy Gentner last night. Tons of great information.
This is not really meant to be a public post, just an update to let you know I am doing my work.
As I had expressed previously, I appreciate the work that you have done on this topic. However after just dipping my toe into the pool of available material on P3’s I realize the enormous amount of hard work and effort you have devoted to this. My appreciation is now that much greater. I don’t know yet if we will share the same opinion on this matter, but I am glad you have provided me with a path a greater understanding of it.
Thanks!
LikeLike
Hi Cody, sorry for the late reply, but I have been extremely busy today, and only now have time to reply. FYI, I do not moderate comments and thus anything submitted as a comment is public domain barring any profanity etc caught by the spam catcher. Should you wish to contact me directly, please use the contact page form which is directed to my direct and confidential email !
Daniel’s papers were very pointed and I enjoyed his perspective greatly, since I value the ability to speak ones thoughts honestly rather than sugar coating the obvious to make it more palatable. The time I have devoted to this has been well spent in my endeavor to serve the public through this site and for a possible future in the political arena, since the publics best interest is at the heart of my work – not only in revealing the truth and facts behind the fiscal malfeasance undertaken by the Liberals, but also looking towards the future cash flow of this province.
Cody, my hope is that what you find here becomes the catalyst for seeing a point of view based not only on fact, but on experience in corporate finance and management. My professional and educational background has provided me with a wealth of resources and knowledge in which to base my conclusions, and I offer all of it willingly to provide the citizens of British Columbia with the facts needed to make an informed choice at the polls. Feel free to contact me at any time.
LikeLike