The Hook

The Carbon Tax

is a yuppie tax. Out in rural communities, on farms in particular, this tax is costing us. A lot.

Mike Harcourt

Mike backs the carbon tax, not the BC Liberals.
I'm sure there are some things he likes about the liberals and other things he doesn't.
That applies to me as well...there are some things the liberals have done that i'm ok with; but i will never vote for them.

We all know how mini-Wack

We all know how mini-Wack thinks even if he can hardly do it at the best of times. (pssst, he has to be reminded how to and what to think) But Mikey? It's obvious he hasn't been paying attention.

Bill Bennett

Has to have someone change his diaper....

I saw the television piece on Global....Bill Bennett....Alzheimers? he didn`t even know where he was....Someone asked Bill Bennett about the Kelowna bridge named after him...he responded that "he couldn`t get to work with out it"

Funny how global didn`t mention that Bill Vanderzalm is backing Carole James?.......

My prdeiction on Vote percentage...

NDP 44% of the vote....BC Liberal 44% of the vote.....Seat count NDP 48 seats...BC Liberal 39 seats....1 independent...

Harris Decime poll-Neck n Neck----Angus Reid poll neck n neck---Robbins poll,Neck n Neck-----

Mustel doesn`t ask about minimum wage or carbon tax,either does Ipsos reid,or environics.......

75% of all BCers are in favour of raising the minimum wage...the majority are against the carbon tax.........

And the last issue is........

The large majority of BCers say Campbell is NOT HONEST or TRUSTWORTHY

Cheers

Cost?

"this tax is costing us. A lot."

Really? At 2 cents a litre and 5000 litres a year it is a stunning $100. Get real. Even at 7 cents it is $350. Most people spend more on beer.Two six packs a week is $1040 a year.

Harcourt really is the NDP anti-Christ. Amazing, really.

Liberal victory, 50-35.

Wilfred......

You really are a _ _ educated _ _ foon..

Carbon tax is on Heating oil/Natural gas/propane/diesel/.......Carbon tax will cost truckers 5000.00$ a year.....But we all know math isn`t your strongsuit eh Wilfred..........

What Wilfred doesn't say

Is that when the tax rises to .075 it will cost us $375 per year. And I have news for him, it will cost people in the country over $1000 per year when you figure in the natural gas or propane. Is his wage going to go up by $1000 per year. Probably, because he is a Liberal Troll that doesn't have to live on minimum wage. And wilfred. the cost of food is going up proportionately. Did you also notice the frigging oil company gouge that happened two days ago? Another god damn 10 cents a litre OVERNIGHT.

As far as Mikey goes does he even know that the present gas tax is unfair and that's the problem. The NDP want a fair tax that nails everyone. Not just the working poor in this province. If we're going to have a tax then TAX EVERYONE. Equally.

Harcourt

Wow, imagine that.

Harcourt's old boney hand comes up from the grave to give Campbell a hand up!

Surreal.

Is it something in the water at the mayors office in Vancouver?

For a man who has since worked to make a living on sustainable development and first nation's treaty making this smacks of pure opportunism in an effort feather his own bed at the expense of his party.

The old boys club of Vancouver Mayors, someone has to take these guys out behind the woodshed.

Wilfred Laurier

obviously lives in the city or is a Liberal hack or both. I have a farm. I raise food in greenhouses. My carbon tax bill is way more than $100 a year. And I'm in the Lower Mainland. It's not just on gas that you put in your car; oil, heating, electricity, are all affected by the carbon tax. Deliveries cost more; there are fuel surcharges on that too. Get a grip WL; there is a world outside your neighbourhood in Point Grey (with absolutely no offense to the wonderful folks in Point Grey, save one). Your food has to come from somewhere besides California or South America.

More tax nonsense

Harcourt, like Glen Clark has been working for the political wing of the business lobby well before his odious policies gave him the boot from government. Read Thomas Frank's book, The Wrecking Crew on how neocon's subvert and buyout progressive politicians to support the cause.

That said none of the parties have a clue about climate change or what to do about it. These silly carbon tax/cap n trade ideas are absolutely useless in resolving any global warming issues.

We'd be a thousand times as effective on greenhouse gas reductions at no cost to the economy if we forced our government and business organizations to create mandatory telecommuting and 3 day work week plans. Ain't gonna happen.

Overall the problem requires a world wide world war type effort building a least one Gen 3.5 nuclear, then gen 4, then fusion plants a week well into the foreseeable future as well as conservation measures like solar heating and telecommuting.

Until leadership appears to send us in that direction all this carbon tax nonsense is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Harcourt can take his tranlink paycheque

and shove it up his ***! What a low-life, lying sack of ****. Wow, didn't cost too much for his soul, did it? I wondered when I saw him take a giant chunk of money for an appointed position on translink. Our environment is worth less than a translink paycheque to him apparently. He and Suzuki have put the final bullet in BC's environment. Run of the rivers selloff, nothing according to these guys, as long as they keep getting their payoffs from Campbell and his sleazebags. The complete lack of enforcement of environmental requlations, the fish farms destroying our salmon, nothing (did I mention Harcourt's giant ****ing paycheque from translink?). Words cannot explain my disgust for these people who would sell out all of BC for a quick payoff. The tanker traffic that will lead to a destruction of our coast, the whales, the dolphins....all sold out for a nice big liberal bribe...

Wilfred

Your predictions are getting better you are admitting the libs are on a decline and the NDP is increasing in support,,,a trend...

Let's track the IP addresses Tyee.. maybe cbc and ctv will follow...cbc especially.

The Vancouver Province shows me car ads, it's good for that, even though the ads are seldom honored by the car lots. The Times colonists is being handcuffed or recruited by the spin doctors.

The national post can show me the markets and the tyee for fact-based reporting, the old/new model for the future...I did also loose some respect for Bill Good,,,where's Jack Webster...he'd give it to them!

To the tyee, pls implement policies to keep yourselves in check and accountable to the truth.

Cheers,

Strange Bedfellows

Harcourt and Suzuki endorse Campbell, Vander Zalm and now Rafe Mair endorses Carole James. Just another day in BC politics.

In the end

We are going to get a cabon tax, one way or the other be it cap and trade or emission limits, lifestyles will have to become more energy efficient. Carole has made it a political issue for her political gain but if the Liberals propose free milk for babies she would oppose it. That is what the NDP does, oppose things.

Doesn't matter. We have a carbon tax and it is here to stay until at least 2013 because the Liberals will win on Tuesday.

So, Mike, what do you get for this?

Are you getting a "securitization" of your translink appointment? After the environmental devastation becomes more obvious how will you respond? "No one could have forseen the levies being topped...oops, I mean the rivers being fouled"? Will you just sit silently and watch the salmon die and roll around in a bed filled with money to assauge your soul? Will you just pretend you had alzheimers and didn't realize? Do you even give a damn?

I hope you enjoy going down in history as a sellout and just another guy "on the take". Believe me when I say, I will work the rest of my life to see you shamed and your ill gotten gains wiped away by your former friends and supporters turning their collective backs on you.

When I supported you, in years gone by, I never dreamed you would turn your back on us all for a few pieces of silver...

We don't need a new TAX.

My question to Mr Harcourt et al is where are the alternatives to the dirty fuels? What choices do we have? Why tax the average person and let the really big polluters get away with no penalty. How about developing alternative clean energy so we have a choice. People in the colder areas of the province have no choice. They have to heat their homes and that will be a lot more expensive with this tax. I suppose they could use wood instead of cleaner burning natural gas. Yeah, that's it let's all cut down trees and burn them for fuel. This makes as much sense as this carbon tax. Mike Harcourt has finally answered my question as to why he joined Translink. Now I know he pulled a Faust. He has my pity.

That fall off the deck did

That fall off the deck did more than physical damage to Harcourt. What a pity to see him allied with Campbell.

Mike Harcourt

A highly respected politician that led his NDP to victory.

Now, after understanding the importance of policy and not having the burden of partisan knee-jerk opposing, just-to-oppose, he speaks his mind about what he considers an important issue and my oh my; how some in his party gather to crucify him. How viciously they can turn!

NDP appeal to Green voters

What a joke. Carole James is appealing to the Green vote to go NDP.

"I say to voters who are considering voting for the Green party that I understand your concerns,"

She should try running on a policy of sending young women back to the back alleys where they can be killed by the coat hanger wielding "abortionists", then make a big speech to feminists that they should vote for her anyway.

What do the NDP think, they can stand firmly for zero action on global warming and get the votes of people who care about it?

The already did

"how some in his party gather to crucify him"

Harcourt was sacrificed as as scapegoat where "charity" gambling proceeds were directly funneled into the NDP party coffers for years. Really makes any other wrong doing in BC political history pale in comparison. Sad thing was he had nothing to do with it. His only crime was being insufficiently red. He was in fact an excellent premier but the Faithful hate him more than any Socred or Liberal who ever lived. Go figure on that one, eh?

In his place we got Glen Clark, red and Faithful and the Faithful still idolize him even if he did slaughter his party in the polls.

Go figure again.

Wilf

Your arguements are so old, and disproven. Can't you come up with anything new? I guess when you are searching for a way to make the Campbell Liberals look good, you have very few alternatives but distortion and mistruths.

Wilf

I guess you forgot how municipalities were paying money directly to the Libs. Money that would have been used to provide services.

Obviously the Libs felt there was nothing wrong with taking money from municipalities that therefore couldn't afford to help the homeless and others.

David Lewis

I see you're voting for the policies that have increased emissions in BC over the last 8 years and increased the stress on the rivers, ocean and forests.

And the part about blaming the NDP for it all was just the topping eh.

Great post.

realisticman

You're calling a guy you wouldn't have voted for even under torture a highly respected politician?

Are you and David side wagering on who can write the most hypocritical post?

In Harcourt's defence

At least he resigned over the Bingogate scandal, whereas Campbell hasn't resigned over even 10 equivalent scandals.

Resignations..

Speaking of resignations, what are the odds Carole will resign after her defeat Tuesday night?

My bets she will not. Any other opinions?

Frank

You can be really cute and you are not a stupid person, as even that side-kick buddy of yours knows. The one that always hangs around and comes to your defense whenever he feels you're out on an errand and haven't the time to launch a counter attack but you could be perhaps pleasantly surprised were you to know whom I have previously voted for.

As for 'gamedev' suggesting Wilfred's suggestions are, "...and disproven". I presume you are not suggesting that when Wilfred says that NDP premier Mike Harcourt resigned due to the exposure of the NDP syphoning money from a charity to the party coffers, you are not hinting in any non-prejudicial way that Mr. Harcourt was in any way culpable?

I think that we are all agreed that Mike Harcourt was and is an honorable man (except, of course, those that come now to crucify). Yet, even they accept the man's honesty and integrity.

Perhaps you should re-phrase your opinion and point 'gamedev' - if only to remove the slur on Mike.

Realisticman

Now you're phoning it in too.

Just can't help but get personal can you?

The Tyee should avoid sensational headlines.

The headline to the piece above is very misleading. It does not accurately convey the content of the story and in that way it is the type of headline I would expect from the Vancouver Sun or Province. Harcourt is not "allied" with Campbell in the sense that Bennett is. Bennett "squired" Campbell around; Harcourt did not . I have seen nothing that shows Harcourt endorsed another four years of Campbell but a lot of the above posts assume and go on to diss Harcourt at length.

So Harcourt likes the Campbell Tax like others from the NDP. I think he's dead wrong but when he allies himself with the Campbell thugs then I too will think he's a bubble off plumb.

Harcout left the scene back in 1995 so that the NDP would not have to take bingo into the election. He sacrificed himself for the cause. The tragedy is that he never got any credit for doing so. He stopped playing a role and that is partly because he didn't like the "players" who encouraged him to leave. He was a victim of perception created by the same hypocrites who now sing his praises as an honourable man. These were the sam people who portrayed him as a "bonehead" to use a qoute from a Mike Smythe column.

Any comment from the likes of Wilf Laurier and R/Man that Harcourt was a decent, honorable man is the ultimate in hypocrisy. He was, but that is not for these hypocrites to say. They would not have voted for him if he walked on water.

Speaking of Carbon Tax. Our

Speaking of Carbon Tax. Our son in law , the farmer has been in the fields all week on his tractors or in one of his three trucks. His fuel costs are higher than last year, so his produce will cost more even if you buy it at the farm gate, or in the local stores. Their old farm house is oil heated. Something has to give and it's going to be you. To convince yourselves that a carbon tax is revenue neutral is simply dumb. The paper work, the cheque handling and the beurocracy all costs money. Go ask some government employee what it costs to cut one cheque, and be surprised.
Harcourt seems to have suggested a Carbon tax, and a Cap and Trade will eventually be in place. Maybe The liberals on the blog conveniently missed the second part of what he said. I don't think you will be seeimg Mike harcourt hand in hand with Gordo going door to door in the next couple of days.

DPL

Gas is 25% cheaper this year! Where's your son-in-law?

CBC has gas cost average: $1.245 (April 22, 2008), it went $1.35 in May 2008.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/11/17/f-map-pumprices.html

"Looking at some other markets across the country: Victoria's average gasoline price was unchanged at 98.9 cents a litre; Vancouver recorded the highest price for a major Canadian centre with a 1.1 cent increase to $1.006 a litre;"

http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/Vancouver+prices+highest+among+Canadian+cities/1566112/story.html

Gas Prices

When the carbon tax was added to gas here last summer in Vancouver, it brought the price to a whopping $1.52 a litre. I filled my car at $0.969 Thursday night. Any argument that the 2 cents a litre is somehow breaking people's wallets is pure silliness.

LOL!

"His fuel costs are higher than last year"

LOL!

DPL

He's probably got a leak somewhere, or he's stuck in first gear!

The Silence

Is deafening. Just like it will be Tuesday night.

What difference does the price of gas make?.

You are still paying more than you should, Next year you will be paying even more than you should for a silly extra tax that won't do a damn thing for the environment. Everything will still cost you more than it would otherwise. All you who argue that just because gas went down a few cents from last year that the tax is justified shouldn't inhale. You are just blowing smoke. The only people like Realisticman who is not and Wilf Laurier who insults the very name and who think this is a good tax are those who could afford a doubling of gas prices and they'd still drive their Hummers to go shopping.

Sorry - wrong

Victoria's average gasoline price was unchanged at 98.9 cents a litre;

Victoria's gas price is 102.9/litre.

And Wilf, thanks for making the point of how useless the Campbell tax is - gas at $1.50/litre high in 2008 and consumption was up 4%...

Has it finally sunk in?

Hummer? LOL!

"Hummers to go shopping."

LOL, if you only knew what I drive!

Garth

Garth, if the carbon tax, in this exact form, was an NDP creation you'd be all for it and you know it. Besides, it is here to stay because Campbell will win his third term Tuesday night. You know that, too.

Garth, you're full of gas!

Your CBC says it was:
$1.367 (May 27, 2008)

Skywalker.
Might be attractive:
http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/05/02/2009-05-02_hummer_to_produce_hybrid_h3_which_company_says_gets_100_miles_to_the_gallon.html

Rman/Whiffred........

Do you see people line up at one gas station over another to save 1 cent a litre?

Oil closed at 59$ a barrell, gas will be 1.30 a litre by july........

Only fools would say.....I don`t mind paying extra gas taxes when the gas price is down,I will only get angry when the price goes back up?
I couldn`t give a rats ass about Harcourt,know one knows who he is anyways......as for Bill Bennett,people saw what I saw,a tired old man being carted around for a photo-op,Bennett is ready for one of those 800 new long term care beds ..........

I have studied all the polls,read the commentary,and I have come to the conclusion that the vote spread is almost dead even,green support is waning,conservative vote is rising and a lot of people who voted green last time or didn`t vote at all are upset with themselves,....1200 votes in 7 ridings and Campbell would be gone........

Interesting that Ipsos poll has the exact same spread as last year in their pre-election poll....
Ipsos and Mustel left themselves an out..

Gas Tax/IPPs/Minimum wage/corruption....This election is breaking before my eyes.....When the canucks lose on monday night we are going to have an angry electorate.....
And which political party is going to pay the price for angry canuck fans.......

NDP 48 seats--Libs 36--1 independent.....

Cheer-Eyes Wide Open

A valuable endorsement.......

I think Campbell will be worried about the north island/east Kooteney/and a couple more ridings,......

I bet Campbell isn`t too thrilled about re-jiggered ridings that brings first nations votes into 5 swing ridings.......

The chief of chiefs has endorsed who? ......
Carole James.......

http://www.vancouversun.com/First+Nations+Grand+Chief+Stewart+throws+support+Carole+James/1581401/story.html

I wonder if perhaps the Bill Bennett ad has made the rounds?

You know that ad,the ad that Bill Bennett insinuates that first nations don`t pay taxes,and their not really Campbell voters!

NDP 48 seats-Libs 36 seats--1 independent

Cheers_Eyes Wide Open

realisticman

I sincerely thank you for your kind words but my "side kick" as you call him writes far more informative posts than I do and the Tyee should be thankful that he chooses this place to post.

With Harcourt coming out

With Harcourt coming out like that so close to election day it just backs up my theory the NDP is a divided party under Ms. James and divided parties do not win elections.

Like why else would he say that so close to election day for?

bought and paid for

"Like why else would he say that so close to election day for?"

He's a rat. Bought and paid for. Enough said.

Let me repeat...................

...............the Carbon Tax is a gas tax in drag. To reduce carbon, you must reduce auto use. To reduce auto use, you must provide an affordable and attractive alternative to the car. The only transit mode today with a proven record in attracting the motorist from the car is modern light rail. You need at least 300 km. of LRT to provide the network, to attract the motorist. 300 km. of LRT could cost as low as $5 billion. 300 km. of SkyTrain would cost more than $35 billion!

The carbon tax in BC goes into general revenue and not spent on transit.

Harcourt and Suzuki are media mavens, who have become legend in their own mind and really haven't a clue about carbon emissions or how to curtail them and are just old tax and spend types, who believe you can tax people to be carbon free.

Nada and to date the Carbon tax is a tax on the poor, young families, and the elderly, Gordon Campbell's favourite people to tax!

Shame on Harcourt!

Shame on Suzuki!

Shame on everyone who supports the Carbon tax, because you have been duped and duped badly. As Barnum observed, "There's a sucker born every minute!"

Dan

If the NDP is divided how come its polling in such high numbers?

Methinks there's a few who don't like James and would like to stage a coup d'etat but they certainly don't seem to be very left-wing do they?

Are some Greens trying to take over the NDP from the inside? A Cortes-Island conspiracy if you will?

Imagine....

Imagine and NDPer being against taxes. Oh, I forgot, taxes are great if someone else pays them. An NDPer will give you the shirt off of someone else's back!

Grumpy, I would love to see your engineer hat. Maybe Translink would hire you, you seem better suited than any transportation engineer.

"He's a rat. Bought and paid for. Enough said."

Leftie panic. I will relish the silence Tuesday night. Then will come shock, and then blame of everybody but themselves. A repeat of 2005.

3/4

"If the NDP is divided how come its polling in such high numbers?"

Three out of four polling agencies give the Liberals a comfortable lead. The fourth has the two parties tied. I am not exactly convinced their methods are valid, especially since the Faithful are very motivated to such things. People who create wealth are usually out doing that, whilst the Faithful try to stack polls.

Liberal 50. NDP 35.

Wilf

"I will relish the silence Tuesday night. Then will come shock, and then blame of everybody but themselves. A repeat of 2005."

What a small little man you are if that's the kind of thing you actually sit in your little hovel wishing for.

Ignore the problems of the world, don't engage with others for a better community through volunteer work, just sit in the dark wishing for bad things to happen to other people.

I pity your kids.

Last Word, Frank

"What a small little man you are if that's the kind of thing you actually sit in your little hovel wishing for"

Frank, you have no idea of where I live. I also do not call names.

When the NDP is seen as "negative" read your above post. As yourself why you lose so many elections.

I am a better person than you, Frank. I create. I don't hate.

As I am a better person than you, I will allow you the last word.

Editor

"I pity your kids."

Editor, I find highly offensive and in violation of the posting guidelines of the Tyee. It also shows blatant editorial bias and is a black mark or your journalistic integrity.

Wilf

"I also do not call names."

You do it all the time, when you're not doing the constant trolling that you've been banned for in the past.

But like I said, you sit on the Tyee saying forest workers, fishers, car makers and unionized workers etc all deserve their unemployment because they're lazy and uneducated.

You've stated that minimum wage workers and others living in poverty deserve their fate because they didn't get a university degree.

Any story posted here on the Tyee about people suffering for one reason or another has been subjected to your personal brand of condemnation, the old blaming the victim bit.

All you do here is spew vitriol at anyone and everyone you see as being beneath you, which seems to be everybody.

I stand by what I said, you've proved yourself to be a very little man.

And...

I will add that the tolerance people here show towards you is commendable.

Earth to Frank...

Humans live on Earth, Martians live on ...

Mmmmmmmm.... not exactly...

1. Mustel - 9% spead in favour of the Libs;

2. Ipsos - 8% spread in favour of the Libs;

3. Innovative Research Group - 9% spread in favour of the Libs;

More telling is the Ipsos question whereby 66% stated that they are absolutely certain to vote.

And that "66%" approximates past voter turnout.

Under that scenario, the Lib spread increases from 8% to 11% in the Ipsos poll.

The motivation factor kicks in, in terms of the "absolutely cerain" to vote question.

Election eve will see a 10% spread in favour of the Libs with the Libs garnering 55 - 60 seats (v. 25 - 30 for the NDP).

Aside from 2001, the winning party has not had a 10% spead in its favour since the 1960's and that magnifies the seat count in favour of the victor.

Wilfred......

You are nothing but hate speak,your phoney indignation will garner no sympathy here!

I feel sorry for all kids,especially if Campbell pulls off an upset win......

You look the other way with corruption,lies,breaking laws,selling of future generations assets.......

And the most intelligent thing you ever posted here at the Tyee is NA NA NA NA NA....
You Wilfred,are the type of person that built gas chambers and covered up the evidence.......

Frank,G west,and most posters here are the swing voters,we punish ALL parties when they deserve punishment........we switch parties,we boot out tired old goverments,we are the judges.......

Admit it Wilfred,Campbell could get a dozen impared charges,sell everything,fuck every WILLING female married or not,line ALL his freinds pockets,slash and burn every worthwhile program and you Wilfred..........

Would still vote for and defend Campbell.......and because of that,I feel sorry for all children of your ilk!

Cheers-Eyes Wide Open

Luke

Ipsos Reid---Partners with Canwest global who endorsed Campbell and donated 50 thousand dollars to the BC Liberals.

Mustel Poll--Joan Mcnytire`s business partners company,the same Mustel who had the Liberals up by 17 points?

Innovative group....Greg Lyle, a regular guest of Christy Clark and a Howe street boy who also claimed Canadians are in favour of the Carbon/gas taxes!

Angus Reid--2 point spread--The king of pollsters,the most accurate in the last federal election.

Harris Decima--2 point spread,a long polling history....

Glen Robbins--The world`s most accurate pollster--a 1.7 % spread.......

Environics--Phil Hocstein poll--NUFF SAID

Mustel--no detailed tables

Environics-NO tables at all

Innovative--no tables at all

Ipsos Reid--Canwest global controlled--

Minimum wage/Gas tax/corruption/arrogance/vote buying/.....

This election is about motivation......

Will that be cash or cheque?

Attacks and Negativity

Quarry, when you lose on Tuesday night, the reason will be the person attacks and negativity your party base election campaigns on. You have little policy, only hate and negativity.

While I do not agree with your political views, I would not stoop to personally attack you or anyone else here.

The fact that most voters reject this kind of thing really should be something to learn from. I doubt, however, it will be.

Mars to Luke

The Lib numbers have nothing to do wit hthe NDP. The spread between the two parties means nothing in the context of my point, which is that the NDP is polling high.