The Hook

Just a few facts about the

Just a few facts about the Liberals Carbon Tax.

• The tax will increase to 7.24cents/liter by 2012
• Home heating oil will increase by 8.2cent/liter over 5years
• The tax is projected to generate $1.8billion over 3years, which will be redistributed through personal and business tax cuts
• Let’s not forget that $100 Climate Action Dividend we all got last year, that really reduced carbon emissions!

Not one cent is being reinvested to support the development of alternative energy technology. The New Democrat support taxing carbon as well. They just don’t believe consumers should bear the brunt of the burden while big industry to continues to pollute.

realisticman

Did you post the wrong quote? Yours doesn't say what you think it says.

NDP platform

Sounds like the NDP is going to address the areas the Campbell Liberals have ignored. Which sounds good to me.

Sounds good to me too!

Carbon Tax is a sham so good on NDP.

I will vote NDP (and STV-just to shake things up!).

ABC this election!

BC is #1 in job losses

Damn socialists at the Financial Post are trying to make Campbell look bad. How come month after month BC leads Canada in job losses? I thought it was supposed to be Ontario that was hurting?

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1481272

"How come..."

That's easy Frank. BC did so well during the boom that now everyone is taking a well deserved extended vacation abroad. Hence, the high unemployed numbers. As you know, it's all unreliable stats.

realisticman

I didn't realize everyone was vacationing at Euro-Disney. I thank you for clearing that up for me.

Disaster ahead

The campaign so far and now the platform are disastrous.

Replacing the gas tax (and tax credit ?) with a list of questions about cap-n-trade, and abandoning smart meters will reverse the small progress being made on the energy front. How can the party abandon any semblance of environmental concern and expect their core to be energized ?

Tuition freeze !?

Ministry of Women's Equality !?

What century is this ?

To my tired eyes, there is not a single inspiring idea that I wave in front of the uncommitted.

And then they put our least-liked leader, front and centre on everything. The target is so big, the libs don't even have to aim.

The party is still being steered by a power-hungry cynical clique, which has learned nothing from the demise of Glen Clark.

The public is not going to buy it, and I despair for the future. If ever there was a need for new government it is now, but we are headed for a liberal landslide.

I'd better tell them

To make sure they bring back plenty of duty-free booze. I see your NDP wants to seriously raise the price of booze. How creative!

And now we wait

And now we wait for the NDP to whine and whine about how all of those 'Green Traitors' cost them the election by 'splitting the vote.'

Treat the environment as a priority file, instead of throwing it under the bus when politically convineint, Ms. James, and maybe you'll do a little better at attracting Green voters.

puckerlips

What century is this? More like what province is this?

The NDP is willing to talk about child poverty, the Libs aren't.

The NDP is looking to make education more affordable, the Libs aren't.

The NDP is going to reverse cuts the Libs want to make to prosecutions and the courts.

What province are the Liberals living in? British Properties of Bear Mountain?

Boom

Just happened to pick up some interesting stats this morning...seems like CMHC Insurance defaults on mortgages are already up more than 50% - and that's for 2007 over 2006...Wait until they release the 08 over 07 figures...

'Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!'

When I read this

from the NDP I knew you, Garth, weren't on staff as I had expected.

"James said that key to the NDP's plan is a tax cut for average British Columbians and small business, which will add support for jobs and business activity."

Seems like that cut-taxes-boost-growth dictum has seeped across the party lines.

I was also somewhat surprised to see that the environment is all okay, ladies and gentlemen! For a while people were beginning to believe all the talk about climate change.

Tax cuts, reduced price of gasoline, house prices coming down; those four bedroom houses with a nice SUV parked in front will start to look attractive again.

Is this what they call 'progressive'?

realisticman

"To make sure they bring back plenty of duty-free booze. I see your NDP wants to seriously raise the price of booze. How creative!"

That's funny coming from a man who wants to raise the price of gas.

"And now we wait for the NDP to whine and whine about how all of those 'Green Traitors' cost them the election by 'splitting the vote.'"

You Libs always resort to name-calling so quickly.

"Treat the environment as a priority file, instead of throwing it under the bus when politically convineint, Ms. James, and maybe you'll do a little better at attracting Green voters."

Is that experience talking? Is that why the Libs are the last party any true environmentalist would support?

midnightsimon

Actually we don't care enough about the Greens to call them anything.

In another 30 years or so when you are actually able to elect an MLA we might take you seriously.

realisticman

"Tax cuts, reduced price of gasoline, house prices coming down; those four bedroom houses with a nice SUV parked in front will start to look attractive again."

Too bad that the Liberals keep leading Canada in the number of jobs lost eh? otherwise people might be able to afford those homes.

Methinks the Libs should declare that rising job losses is actually a purposeful environmental policy.

Prudent platform....

The liquor prices......

Rural liquos stores allreadey pay this tax,they are extending the tax to all private liquor stores(IE the ones in the cities)
Raising minimum wage.....All that money goes directly into the economy......

Taxing the emissions of big-oil n gas,taxing them for all the GAS FLARING they do(spewing millions of tonnes of GHG into the air)
That will force big oil n gas to pay for their polluting or sequester it .

A one year small business tax holiday,that will give small business a chance to adapt or cushion the raising of the minimum wage........

Cancel the USELESS Campbell gas tax..That will keep 1.8 billion dollars in the economy(over 3 years) and will keep the tax cuts as a stimulus package,this measure shuold bring in about 400 million or more in added revenue to goverment on the increased economic activity.....

Freeze on ferry rates.....great....rollback transit fares,great........
MORATORIUM on IPPS.......

ROLLBACK of Campbell`s raises,senior goverment wage rollbacks.

Yes,an honest,prudent,populous budget,and.........

A full public inquiry into BC Rail......

But what I read and get a feel for in this budget is.......

pride,respect,accountability......

Campbell`s budget and platform is from the Fraser institute,Campbell is advocating slavery(on wages).......

Ask yourself why did goverment create a minimum wage?(because business would pay nothing or 1.00$ per hour if they could)

If you couldn`t raise minimum wage when the economy was humming and you can`t raise it now,when does it get raised?

If Campbell`s philosiphy is to believed,his Fraser institute policy,minimum wage would never,ever be raised!

How come BC has the lowest minimum wage? We are the most expensive province in Canada to live in?

250.000 THOUSAND MAKE MINIMUM WAGE

wow

from the hostility from the BC Liberals on this forum, I think they're a little spooked about the NDP platform. From my point of view, its a pragmatic document that offers realistic solutions to the most pressing issues. This one was well thought out...good work, NDP.

R/Man

Surely you know my tax policy by now...Tax every dollar, however earned, as income - scoop up all those free-floating bucks from capital gains and dividend income into the bargain and there will be tax cuts for the poor and the middle class...who’ve been marching backwards in this province for the past 8 years while your Liberal buddies have been cleaning up…

I'm surprised you'd even bring the subject up - the idea of rolling back taxes on high income earners and leaving the capital gains and dividend tax situation as it is is a Campbell/Harper strategy - remember?

You're right pkelly, the neo cons are feeling a kind of tightness in their shorts these days - mind you that hasn't stopped them shelling out shekels to shilling Liberals by the bushel load...

Now

How about all those mortgage defaults on CMHC loans that you said, right here on these pages, would never happen?

Campbellwearsatutu

"How come BC has the lowest minimum wage? We are the most expensive province in Canada to live in?"

You're right about that Brian. Geez, look what you can get cleared PEI waterfront lots for, $29,000.

http://www.peirealtor.info/html/211.html

And they aren't the province that lost 100,000 jobs since Christmas.

No Ninjas here

Don't worry about your bank shares West, if they are insured by CMHC the fund will cover them. As you well know, what is happening and has happened in the US is a different animal. Can you distinguish and decipher no equity-ninja? If not try Google.

By the way, have you forgotten that the day after Campbell came to power as premier he lowered taxes for all taxpayers and removed a massive number the lowest earners in British Columbia from the tax role completely! Perhaps you are one of the high rollers that didn't notice.

Just wait R/Man

It's coming, and it has your number...BC is now leading the charge toward wholesale joblessness...and on the shift of your NEOCON heroes.

Since the election in May 2001, the Gordon
Campbell Liberals have adopted Mikey Harris's playbook from cover to cover...
Mr. Campbell delivered a 25% personal income tax cut to British Columbians. The bulk of the cut goes to high income earners with the wealthiest 1% of income earners will getting 25% of the cake. And I know you haven't forgotten that business was to a Smorgasbord of lowered taxes just a few months later such that, after less than six months in office, the CEO had created a $2 billion deficit and he promptly aunched an program of cuts to public services.
The impact of the CEO larceny, combined with his unprecedented sellout of public assets to foreigners, has been reverberating through the economy ever since.

Something YOU well know, but choose to ignore.

He needs to be confronted with his 'record' at every opportunity until the people of BC recognize what this liar has done from the moment he was first elected.

To whom it may concern

"Don't worry about your bank shares West, if they are insured by CMHC the fund will cover them. As you well know, what is happening and has happened in the US is a different animal."

Excellent, so none of the USA problems here eh? That's great!

Now explain to me why then Campbell lost over 100,000 jobs in 3 months if there's no problems here.

pkelly

Well this boy ain't no liberal, and my party is the NDP, who I will probably vote for if I can find a clothspin strong enough to seal my nose.

The platform may be well constructed, but that doesn't mean it's honest or inspiring.

Two examples off the top of my head, one: they promise to "regulate" the sale of export logs. That is already the case. They could have said "ban". They didn't, ergo no change in policy.

Two: No mention of returning Ferries to crown corp status, ergo no change, just a weaselly promise to freeze fares, which offers no real change in mgmt.

It's a horrible piece of work, and I expect the campaign to unravel over unspoken details and half-truths like this.

Tragic. We desperately need change.

Keep your hands on your wallets

Tax increases will be inevitable if this NDP budget becomes reality. A casual read quickly shows some serious flaws in the assumptions. For example, flaring royalties cannot generate $400mm in 3 years as wells with flaring are marginally economic now; reallocations will not save $1.2 billion in 3 years because the Libs have already cut contracts and travel and the exec salary increases have not been fully granted; increased water rentals and reduced hydro rates don't add up; 20% return on infrastructure investment is simply not credible. And expect reduced resource revenues as investors shy away from a NDP governed jurisdiction.

Frank

"Excellent, so none of the USA problems here eh? That's great!

Now explain to me why then Campbell lost over 100,000 jobs in 3 months if there's (sic) no problems here."

Please scroll up and you'll see that West was discussing and I was responding to his comments on difficulties in the 2006/07 mortgage market. Not quite sure who's trying, perhaps absentmindedly, to change the subject here.

You do however raise an important point and we thank you for that. Anyone other than the comatose realise that the US housing market has absolutely pummeled the forestry sector in British Columbia and that's why there have been such job losses. The USA is our largest customer and the rest of the world is also affected by the US downturn which has now become a world-wide downturn. It's difficult to say whether chopping down lots of trees will come back soon but recent figures show some of the excess capacity being taken up. It's not practical to try and imagine how any Canadian premier can seriously affect world-wide events but the recently announced infrastructure programmes are good and we are in good financial shape to be able to afford them.

reallife

Are you suggesting they are fudging the figures in their budget? There's already an expression for that.

Frank

Help me out here. I see from David's survey of Tyee donors that the economy is 9th on the list of importance. The environment second. Are all the donors independently wealthy?

Not changing the subject at all

Just casually mentioning another of your many earlier claims which has now, like so many other ones, proved to be wrong.

As for the Tyee readers - I see corruption is right up there in their analysis - big surprise.

By the way, keep your eye on the news, there's a lot more coming about how crooked CEO government has actually been.

realisticman

"It's not practical to try and imagine how any Canadian premier can seriously affect world-wide events but the recently announced infrastructure programmes are good and we are in good financial shape to be able to afford them."

Really? because you were against those infrastructure programs when the Coalition proposed them and the Conservatives said we didn't need them.

And why is it every other premier in Canada is doing a better job at handling this current downturn than Gordon Campbell?

Frank

The Coalition only proposed a coup that was properly rejected by the populace as well as the GG and the leader resigned in disgrace. Coup plotter number two has seen his star fade too. If you want to continue to flog this dead horse Frank then go ahead but you really surprise me. Nevertheless, I was, as you well know, referring to the Provincial infrastructure programme but, since you mention it, the Federal programme will also create jobs. As I said before we just came off a boom and the losses are natural. I didn't see exactly where, in the NDP platform is the Grand Plan to create thousands of jobs. Could you point this out?

Maybe I've found it

"Providing a tax holiday for small business. Carole James and the NDP will boost small business with a one year tax credit against the small business income tax.

Mining has been a key part of BC’s history and will remain so with the NDP. Carole James will listen to and support, a strong, environmentally sustainable mining industry that ensures long-term stability for jobs.

Pushing the federal government to change federal tax laws to encourage the development of market rental housing."

All these tax cuts and boosts for business, mining and landlords. Could be the Alberta Conservative platform!

The Goodie Bag

Carole is promising everything to every interest group she can because she is comfortable in the knowledge she is not going to form a government.

By promising everything to everybody, she can say "I told you so" when she is again in opposition.

"I see from David's survey of Tyee donors that the economy is 9th on the list of importance. The environment second."

The NDP's environment platform is sadly lacking in substance. I say tax the dickens out of carbon. It is the only way to reduce the use of it, period. Cap and trade is folly.

realisticman

"The Coalition only proposed a coup"

There are good books that explain how parliament works. I suggest you read one as you seem to think we live in the USA.

"Nevertheless, I was, as you well know, referring to the Provincial infrastructure programme but, since you mention it, the Federal programme will also create jobs."

And you were against the federal program when it was proposed by the Coalition. You posted on here that running a deficit was exactly the wrong thing to do in these times and that a) Canada wasn't in a bad way like the US and that b) interest rate and tax reductions were the way to go and not Keynesian type fiscal stimulus. Of course you changed your mind about 2 minutes after Flaherty did.