Opinion

Fudging Up

Next Tuesday, expect a really big deficit. Colossal, even. But business won't squawk.

By Will McMartin, 25 Aug 2009, TheTyee.ca

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Finance Minister Hansen delivers February's pre-election budget.

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In February, Finance Minister Colin Hansen laboured mightily to produce the smallest-possible deficit in his pre-election 2009/10 budget. Next Tuesday, Hansen will perform a 180-degree pirouette and produce the biggest-possible shortfall in his post-election 2009/10 fiscal plan.

From a relatively puny $495 million deficit six months ago, Hansen now will claim that B.C. faces a massive -- colossal, really -- multi-billion dollar deficiency.

And not only will he manufacture a gargantuan deficit, the finance minister also will project fiscal shortfalls as far as the eye can see. Indeed, Hansen's already announced that the Balanced Budget and Ministerial Accountability Act -- remember when Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals promised they would "outlaw deficits forever" -- will be amended once more to increase the current two-year exemption to four years.

But, just as sensible British Columbians were right to be skeptical about Hansen's pre-election veracity, they again will be wise to question his post-election budgetary sleight-of-hand.

To understand why, think back to February 2002.

We've been here before

On the eve of unveiling his 2002/03 budget, then-finance minister Gary Collins leaked the possibility of a four-billion dollar-plus deficiency. It seemed an incredible number; after all, only six years earlier, the New Democratic Party government had been roasted for incurring a $337 million "fudge-it budget" deficit.

Was it possible that Gordon Campbell's B.C. Liberals would deliver a budget shortfall at least a dozen-times larger than that which ultimately led to the demise of the NDP government?

Indeed, they would -- and did. Collins' budget had a summary accounts shortfall of $3.65 billion, with a "forecast allowance" of $750 million, for a total deficiency of $4.4 billion. Surprisingly -- shockingly -- B.C.'s business community and most of the mainstream news media greeted this stunning figure with quiet acceptance.

But that reserve gave way to outright giddiness one year later, in February 2003, when Collins unveiled his 2003/04 budget. For now it looked like 2002/03 had ended with a much-reduced $3.5 billion shortfall (not including the forecast allowance), and the year ahead would feature a deficit of just $2.3 billion.

These deficits dwarfed the New Democrats' seemingly tiny fudge-it budget, but the business community and the news media weren't about to allow facts to get in the way of a good-news story.

"These guys are good!" gushed the president of the Certified General Accountants Association of B.C. He added: "The Finance minister is quickly putting B.C. on a solid footing with better-than-forecast deficit reduction. CGA applauds the financial restraint shown across all sectors of government that has allowed the minister to reduce the forecast 2002-03 deficit..."

Back to the future

So, when it comes to B.C. budgets, it's not too difficult to see the future -- if one remembers the past. Next week, we can expect Colin Hansen to talk somberly of colossal deficits over the next four years.

But one year afterward, in February 2010, British Columbians can expect the finance minister to introduce a budgetary deficit somewhat smaller than that recorded in 2009/10. The feat will be quietly applauded by the business community, newspaper editorialists and radio talk-show hosts.

And two years after that, in February 2012 -- one year before the 2013 general election -- the Campbell government will bring in a balanced budget. B.C. Liberal supporters will roar with enthusiasm, because instead of four-years of deficits as envisioned by Colin Hansen way back in 2009, British Columbia endured just three!

Business representatives and the mainstream news media will be unable to contain their giddiness. One or more of them will say, "These guys are good" (or words to that effect), and newspaper editorialists and radio talk-show hosts will applaud the BC Liberals' obvious business acumen.

Finally, in February 2013, mere weeks before the fixed-election date of May 14, the BC Liberals will bring down a sizeable budgetary surplus. Newspaper editorials will endorse the government's re-election, radio talk-show hosts will throw softball questions to the Premier ("Gosh, tell us how you did it"), and business interests will buy large advertisements urging the government’s re-election.

Only later will British Columbians learn that, golly, the pre-election surplus somehow morphed into a different post-election picture, and the cycle will begin again.

Business can be counted on to cheerlead

How far will the business community go to endorse Gordon Campbell's B.C. Liberals? Pretty far, if one judges from a pre-election economic analysis prepared by the Business Council of British Columbia.

The Business Council, you see, made the B.C. Liberals' first year in government, 2001, simply "disappear" from their analysis of the province's economic performance in the 1990s under the NDP and early 2000s with the B.C. Liberals. And with that year out of the way, wouldn't you know it but Campbell's Liberals were better stewards of the B.C. economy than the New Democrats! Who knew?

At issue is how to assign a year when a change in government occurs. Usually it's not too difficult. In 1975, for example, the election was fought on December 11, and Bill Bennett's Social Credit party was sworn into office on December 22.

Surely no reasonable person would deny that financial and economic data recorded in 1975 should be attributed to Dave Barrett's defeated New Democrats, not to the incoming Socreds, who were in power for little more than a week before the year-end.

Similarly, in 1991 the election date was October 17, and Mike Harcourt's NDP government was sworn in on November 5. Again, anyone would give the year 1991 to the defeated Socreds, and not to the New Democrats, who held office for just seven weeks out of 52.

Slippery accounting

The year 2001 is slightly trickier, because the general-election writs were dropped on April 18, E-day was on May 16, and the B.C. Liberals took their oaths of office on June 5.

But, actually, it's not that difficult to see that 2001 belongs to Campbell's Liberals. Consider that the defeated New Democrats exercised power for 108 days (from the beginning of the year to the dropping of the writs), while the newly-elected BC Liberals were in office for nearly twice as long, 210 days (from their swearing-in to the end of the year).

Even if one were to assign to the NDP the 28-day writ period, plus the following 15 days before the Campbell's new government was sworn in -- and, really, one ought not to because the incumbent executive council traditionally absents itself from the levers of power once the writs have been dropped -- the count still favours the B.C. Liberals: 210 days to 155.

Even more important, the New Democrats took little legislative, fiscal or economic action before their near-death experience in the general election. Yes, they introduced and passed a throne speech, and even unveiled a budget, but not only were the budget estimates not passed, they weren't even debated before the legislature was dissolved.

Campbell's aggressive moves in 2001

In contrast, Campbell's Liberals took significant fiscal and economic action in their first months in government. On June 6, one day after taking power, they cut personal income taxes by $1.5 billion. Seven weeks later, the corporation capital tax was cut by $273 million, the corporation income tax by $200 million, and the sales tax on machinery by $160 million.

Incredibly, the new administration simultaneously decided to boost Victoria's yearly expenditures by an even larger amount. The Campbell Liberals took the New Democrats' un-passed budget lift of $1.8 billion -- and added another $455 million in new spending!

In just their first two months in office, the Campbell government had whacked Victoria's revenues by an astounding $2.1 billion, while at the same time increasing outlays by $2.3 billion annually.

(Always) blame it on the NDP

Could any reasonable person argue that the year 2001 ought not to be assigned to the B.C. Liberals? The Business Council did.

In fact, in their pre-election analysis, the Business Council of B.C. put forward two scenarios: in the first, 2001 was assigned to the NDP! And, in the second, it simply disappeared. (See figure 2 on page two here).

Under the first scenario, B.C.'s economic growth from 1992 through 2001 under the New Democratic Party averaged 2.8 per cent annually. That was much lower than the mark achieved by Campbell's Liberal from 2002 to 2008, which was 3.1 per cent.

The second scenario -- where 2001 was simply removed from all calculations -- B.C.'s economy from 1992 to 2000 with the NDP grew by 3.0 per cent, which still was lower than the Campbell government's 3.1 per cent.

But surely 2001 can't just "disappear" from B.C.'s record of economic growth. And, as was shown above, it seems silly to attribute the year to the New Democrats -- who exercised power for about 16 weeks out of 52.

It's easy enough to understand why the B.C. Liberals' business supporters either don't want to count the year 2001, or want to attribute it to the accursed NDP. And that's because B.C.'s GDP expanded by an anemic 0.6 per cent in Gordon Campbell's first year in government.

Far from providing a "big bang" (as Jimmy Pattison once said) to B.C.'s economy, the BC Liberals' massive stimulus of whopping tax cuts and an enormous increase in spending had a minimal impact in 2001.

Moreover, when 2001 is correctly assigned to Campbell's government, the comparable record between the BC Liberals and NDP changes considerably. For, where B.C.'s GDP grew by an average of 3.0 per cent between 1992 and 2000, it expanded by just 2.8 per cent from 2001 to 2008.

By that measure, the provincial economy performed slightly better under the New Democrats than it did under the B.C. Liberals. (In a couple of years, when the current recession is counted in the Campbell government's numbers, it won't even be close.)

Switch on your fudge detectors

So, next Tuesday, when Colin Hansen unveils a gargantuan budgetary deficit, wise British Columbians might want to exercise a modicum of skepticism. There will be a deficit in 2009/10 to be sure; bigger than Hansen said it would be last February 17, but smaller than what he claims on September 1.

And when representatives of the province's business community chime in with their observations, well, it wouldn't hurt to have at hand a grain or two of salt. [Tyee]

Veteran political analyst Will McMartin is a Tyee contributing editor.

30 Comments:

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  • Hermans Hermit

    2 years ago

    You Mean - BC Lost $19 BILLION For Services?!

    "the Campbell government had whacked Victoria's revenues by an astounding $2.1 billion"

    Without these stupid tax cuts, BC would have had another $19 BILLION from 2001 - 2009 for health, education, social services, housing, poverty, etc. No more problems in that regard!

    No wonder BC is in such a mess. Viva La BC Visionistas!

  • seth

    2 years ago

    Carole James refused to listen

    Will more or less came up with the same numbers early in the campaign and that silly twit Carole James refused to use them.

    The woman showed no spine or backbone at any point in the campaign, deferring to her often stated desire for niceness in the politics. Despite all the polling which was saying its the economy stupid, this foolish woman and her incompetent campaign team, with all the ammunition you and others provided for her on the economic front chose to talk about hospitals and the homeless.

    I look forward with anticipation to Will's upcoming articles on the economics of Gordo's private public partnerships, and BCHydro's IPP purchases, two other massive fascist boondoggles that make the fast ferries look like a rainy Saturday at a schoolgirl's lemonade stand. Despite all the research available these were two more economic issues ignored by James and her team of incompetents.

    Without new leadership at the NDP and the bankruptcy of Canwest/Gordo I am afraid Will's deja vu all over scenario is all too probable.

    Given the massive hurdles the recall and referendum campaigns have to overcome, there really is only one way to stop the fascists. Progressives across BC need to buy BCLiberal party memberships en masse, vote out the party apparatchik riding by riding, and vote for massive policy changes and a new leader.

  • Lorne

    2 years ago

    Well done, Will

    Finally a pundit sees through the continual lying of Campbell and company. Just as Will has written, the budget shorfall will be overstated now, only to be miraculously fixed in the budget just before the next election. All due to the Liberal's "making the tough decisions", " outstanding financial acumen", etc, etc. Nonsense! The Liberals control the numbers and only a fool would believe anything they said.
    It's too bad that other commentators, like Vaughan Palmer, Keith Baldry and Les Leyne are either so compromised or plain thick. Perhaps then more voters would be aware of the latest scam being pulled by Campbell and Hanson. But, thanks to Will McMartin at least some of us have been warned.

  • Jeffrey J.

    2 years ago

    Timely & Concise

    Always a breath of fresh air to read candid, accurate history of how things really are. It is becoming really, really difficult to be ruled by so much dishonesty and fraud. For a once great province in a once great country that people all over the world admired, it is a deeply troubling time we live in. Thanks so much to independent and courageous authors like Will McMartin and the Tyee.

  • Cynic

    2 years ago

    I'm appalled at the cynicism

    I'm appalled at the cynicism of this article. Will, surely our benevolent leaders are doing what they can for us. Shouldn't we give them the benefit of the doubt just one more time?

    I think that this time the numbers are really good numbers. I mean, I'm as numb as I've ever felt. And I have pretty good certainty within myself that the next budget numbers will produce the same lovely numbing effect that all this talk of money and deficits and numbers always does. So roll out those numbers! After all, we live our lives by the numbers so the more the merrier! Lovely lovely numbers. And who better than Colin and Gordon to reveal to us the new ones? Plus, I like the infinite variability inherent in the whole thing. Keeps me on edge. Sense of urgency type thing.

  • North of Hope

    2 years ago

    Stop blaming the NDP

    Seth, as I said before,

    It is time to stop blaming the NDP for the disasters the BC Liberals are bringing to this province. If they attack the BC Liberals, they are attacked for attacking the Libs. If they aren't aggressive enough, a very subjective opinion, the NDP are attacked for being to meek. I have heard several reports and interviews where the NDP pointed out the flaws in the omitted issues the Libs have since brought forward. I attended NDP rallies during the election campaign where the NDP slammed the liberal performance. None of that was reported, in fact the MSM did not even attend these political events. Nor did a lot of you. The public did not hear what the NDP was saying due to this boycott. And most of you missed it as well. These policies, HST (one commented the "horse sh*t tax"), IPP's, cutbacks to health and education etc. were not discussed during the campaign by the Liberals, but the NDP did raise them. Blame the liberals for their own short comings.

  • Frank

    2 years ago

    What he said

    Blaming the NDP because 77% of the population either voted Liberal or didn't bother to show up is ridiculous.

    The Liberals have been in power for 8 years so nobody can claim to be surprised by what they do now.

    Anybody that voted Liberal or didn't vote have only themselves to blame, not the NDP.

  • Rubber stamp

    2 years ago

    Mr. McMartin

    You are correct on many things in your opinion piece,your right about the NDP being better fiscal managers,your right about Campbell and Hansen being habitual liars but.......

    Your theory falls far short on accuracy and forward thinking....

    First off, the province depends heavily on natural gas revenue,it has been their one saving grace,if natural gas stay low,or goes lower the province is hooped,IPPs are coming on line which means we will be selling power at a loss,another hit...

    The HST,if in fact it goes through and the consumer pulls back the revenue windfall will be nothing but a fall without the wind!

    Nuoriel Roubini,one of only a few economists who predicted the financial collaspse is predicting a double curve recession,or as I call it a (W) shaped recession,which means we have yet to even enter round 2 of the recession....The commercial real estate is the next shoe to fall in economic circles.......
    I make no bones about it Mr.McMartin,your skill with numbers and revenue forecasts are by far AONE..Top of the class and I`m just a piker compared to you.....

    but,the world has never seen the likes of the fraud,scandal,theft and unprecedented debt,so having said that......

    Any forecast based on patterns of the past are....Well,useless.......

    Even the super computer models said that this latest world collaspe,the depth,the severity would happen only once in 7000 years,they were a wee bit off.....

    Cheers-Eyes Wide Open

  • seth

    2 years ago

    Don't blame Canwest/Gordo!!!

    Sure their coverage was 99% in favor of Gordo's gang but:!!!!!

    I spent many hours listening to Carole James and her team of candidates on radio and TV as well as reading their OpEd's in various papers.

    I never once. not once. repeat not once did I hear or see James comparing the NDP's fiscal record to Gordo's John Horgon spent about 30 seconds defending the record on one show. She could have gone for hours talking about almost 100 billion in off the books PPP debts that Canwest/Gordo didn't include in his propaganda. I don't believe I heard one NDP candidate even mention that the current spot price was 2 cents a kilowatt hour when Gordo went out and purchased 31 billion dollarsof Pirate Power at 10 cents a kilowatt hour. No analysis whatsoever on what power rates are likely to be in 10 years of the 40 year contracts signed.

    Of the thousands of hours of media time and lines of print her and her candidates had available to them, only a tiny percentage of it was spent attacking Gordo's horrific financial performance even though all polls showed the voter thought the Gordo was a far better manager of the economy.

    She could easily have twisted her questions and responses in the debate to emphasis those facts as Will here laid them out.

    That she didn't is a reflection on the abysmal performance of her and her campaign team.

  • Cynic

    2 years ago

    "She could have gone for

    "She could have gone for hours talking about almost 100 billion in off the books PPP debts that Canwest/Gordo didn't include in his propaganda."

    Off book debts? Could this be the "alternative capital procurement" subterfuge brought in under the ndp? Why, I believe it is! Ah yes, anonymous money from anonymous sources. Just think of all that drug money sloshing around, what, $600-700 billion every year, looking for a laundromat. What good fortune to find a government-sponsored laundromat! And this one is olympic sized. Alternative capital procurement indeed.

  • DPL

    2 years ago

    Here we go again. It seems

    Here we go again. It seems so easy to scare the pants off folks, then awhile later say"Hey it's getting better" and the suckers once more support Gordo the troll. Or they do as last time. Not vote to show those NDPers they don't trust them. Result More Visions by Gordo

  • inwonderment

    2 years ago

    Both Parties responsible for the fiscal mess

    As has been pointed out many times by others BC has been on steady economic decline for over 25 years. The latest consumption boom simply masked the fundamental problem. Household formation and oil and gas development has kept the economy BC afloat. Now that phase has pasted the inherent weakness of the BC economy is there for everyone to see. Both parties have failed to deal with the issues - if you think real estate development, purported knowledge industries (in BC's case movies and electronic games), and tourism will support the social and economic needs of advanced economic society I think needs re-examination.

    Both parties have failed to propose and articulate a sound economic and industrial policy for the province.

    The way in which we the residents have allowed our one time oil and gas development money to be used cover annual government operating cost is a crime against future generations.

    A pox on both the NDP and Liberals - neither deserve our trust at this moment.

  • alive

    2 years ago

    voter apathy

    inwonderment:
    A pox on the voters, would be more appropriate!

    People do not bother to get informed and generally are too lazy to go vote.

    All the information is available if one searches a bit, but it involves using ones brain, and that may be the problem here.

    Yes, The NDP did not get their message across, but who said we should have to baby-feed info to voters?

    In this life you pay for your actions and inactions, so suffer the consequences of not spending the time to draw a conclusion and vote for the party that represents you best.

  • Skywalker

    2 years ago

    Excellent Will

    Sometimes the best columns are the ones that explain how we got to this. Hoisting a politician by his own petard as it were. Pointing out the hypocrisy of comments then and now. One could call it accountability. Maybe this time we will see a 3 inch bold print headline "Liberal Fudgit Budget" in the Vancouver Sun and Province. Who knows I might be tempted to buy one of their rags which I have not done in 16 years. One can dream...

  • Matt T.

    2 years ago

    Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives - NDP Fudge

    The Lieberals fudge and the NDP fudge according to the CCPA:

    Quote:
    Halifax, Nova Scotia – Today’s launch of the interim report of the government’s “independent” review of the province’s finances is an exercise in cynical political manipulation, says a new report issued today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Nova Scotia Office.

    Quote:
    NDP governments have a history of releasing dire financial reports immediately after their election in order to dampen the expectations of their own members, the public, social movements and trade unions, says the report’s author, Saint Mary’s University professor Larry Haiven.

    http://www.policyalternatives.ca/reports/2009/08/08/?pa=BB736455

    An honest politician? Now that's an oxymoron!

  • G West

    2 years ago

    Matt T

    Who wrote that report Matt?

    http://www.gov.ns.ca/finance/site-finance/media/finance/final_report.pdf

    Deloitte and Touche LLP are 'organs' of the NDP?

    Seems a bit of a stretch to me.

  • Matt T.

    2 years ago

    G West

    The Socreds, NDP, and Lieberals all played the same game here in BC as well.

    Will McMartin's earlier article also confirms that:

    1975:

    Quote:
    in 1975 when Bill Bennett’s Socreds beat Dave Barrett’s NDP government. Clarkson Gordon was retained to conduct an ‘independent’ financial review. Their study identified means by which the Bennett government could retroactively suppress revenues and boost expenditures long after the New Democrats had been defeated.

    1991:

    Quote:
    Returned to government in 1991, the NDP exacted their revenge on the defeated Social Credit government by hiring Peat Marwick. In total, the New Democrats increased their inherited deficit by more than $600 million, long after the Socreds had departed.

    2001:

    Quote:
    The pattern was set for the new Campbell government to merely follow history when they appointed Barefoot, Duholke and the others to conduct an "independent" review of B.C.’s finances

    http://thetyee.ca/Views/2005/05/14/RememberNDPStructuralDeficit/

    As the Centre of Canadian Policy for Alternatives stated - cynical political manipulation.

    'Honest' politicians my arse.

  • freebear

    2 years ago

    Pic of Finance Minister: I caught a fish and it was this big!

    Or at first I thought the deficit would be this big, but now its this big!

  • G West

    2 years ago

    Matt T

    But that's not the point - in fact, as Will McMartin has demonstrated - the claims that the last NDP administration had played fast and loose with the purse strings and left an enormous deficit - which Campbell used as the proximate cause for his services cuts and enormous tax gifts to his corporate friends - was a figment...as you well know if you've been 'reading' the Tyee since 2003.

    I think your definition of 'cynical' may be a little different from mine. As for the record, I think you'll find that NDP governments all over the country have a better record relative to running deficits and keeping them under control than either Liberal or Conservative ones.

    AND, generally, they've managed, on balance, to do that without laying waste to the social programs and selling off the fundamental assets of the state in ways that the last 8 years should have made us all aware.

    The fact you think that politicians are all the same and all dishonest seems a bit over the top to me.

    In fact, I daresay there are even a few Campbell Liberals who are decent sorts - sadly, they belong to a government where all the decisions are made in the Premier's Office and they seldom get a chance to show how moral they are.

    Personally, I think there ARE big differences between the 'brands' and I have no trouble marshalling plenty of evidence of why.

    I also read mostly everything that the CCPA publishes and I usually find its worthwhile without pulling a couple of quotes from a text.

    I think you'll find, if you do the same, that Gordon Campbell's 'record' is in a class by itself.

    Cheers.

  • morechatter

    2 years ago

    Blame it on NDP

    First 77% of the population did not vote for the Liberals as barely 50% of the population came out to vote during the last election. As Canwest rebuffs the NDP saying party is just fear mongering and making things up and is to negative and MR.Campbell's government was right on and BC finances were not in the Negative and the province was in good shape under Campbell's craftiness.
    It was part of the Liberal's campaign as public told the NDP are making it up as Liberals make it impossible to see the negative state of BC's finances. And here it was the Liberals lying all the time as Campell has taken the entire BC Democratic system and turned it upside down and inside out so everyone is left clueless to the actual going on of its government dealing and voters futures in the province and fiances left in a huge Negative.
    We need a complete overhaul of our system where politicians accussed of corruption and fraud don't have the case put on hold while having evidence implicating premier destroyed as its only a promise of more corruption to come. Or where the actual finances of the province are not kept from voters as its what voters need is the facts to mark their x not a fascade perpetatited by a premier.
    http://www.bcliberals.com/?section_id=1344&section_copy_id=15888

  • Frank

    2 years ago

    morechatter

    Just to be clear, I didn't say 77% voted Liberal, I said :

    "Blaming the NDP because 77% of the population either voted Liberal or didn't bother to show up is ridiculous."

    In other words, I added Liberal voters and non-voters together which I believe is fair since non-voters are almost as responsible as Liberal voters for inflicting a third Campbell term on us.

  • Wilfred Laurier

    2 years ago

    Fewer Voted NDP

    "The HST,if in fact it goes through"

    It will, for sure, 100% sure. Campbell knows how to lead and he will do so.

    Frank, I might remind you that even fewer people voted NDP than Liberal.

  • Wilfred Laurier

    2 years ago

    And....

    What NDPer designed the Tyee's "new" site? Total incompetence. I hope they didn't get paid.

  • Skywalker

    2 years ago

    Initial government audits.

    What is the problem with a newly elected government auditing the books so they know what they have to work with. As long as the audits are made public and the audit has a broad parameters. A government would be foolish to start without one. It is what happens post audit that matters. The world doesn't start the day a Campbell comes into the premiers office and when they come up with mythical "structural deficit" which includes the cost of their own decisions, that is then dishonest and blatantly crooked.

    In fact it should be automatic that the BC Auditors Office does a complete audit whenever there is a change of government. The rules and scope for this should be enshrined in legislation. That way you avoid such silly accusations such as Mat has made about accounting firms. How else do we hold a government accountable. They should now be permitted to bury their incompetence just because people like Matt T don't like it. The truth shall set you free!

    As for accounting firms and their perceived bias, they simply follow the mandate (rules and scope) given. If this was always the same then people could compare one government change with another.

    Finally the comment that a particular accounting firm is pro NDP is insane. No accounting firm would risk being identified as pro the very few NDP institutions that exist and deliver reports favoring these institutions. They'd go out of business.

  • Frank

    2 years ago

    Wilf

    "Frank, I might remind you that even fewer people voted NDP than Liberal."

    Thank you, and I'd like to remind you that it didn't snow today.

  • snert

    2 years ago

    'Switch on your fudge detectors"

    Yup. it'll show just how incompetent the 'Indian givers' really are. Then there's Alberta with it's 15 billion dollar screw up.

  • OilbertaRedTory

    2 years ago

    the Alberta Advantage

    - the biggest and bestest Royalty Roller-Coaster in Canada :

    http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Alberta+fiscal+situation+numbers/1931618/story.html

    brought to you by the Galaxyland people ;
    our numbers are out of this world !

  • zalm

    2 years ago

    100% brain-dead

    It will, for sure, 100% sure. Campbell knows how to lead and he will do so.

    Gawd Wilfrid, you're hilarious! edited for personal insults -- Tyee Moderator

  • Skywalker

    2 years ago

    "Knows how to lead".

    Same thing could have been said of every dictator in history: Stalin, Hitler, Pol Pot, Pinochet Yup, they all knew how to lead.

  • Chris Keam

    2 years ago

    leader?

    "Campbell knows how to lead"

    Campbell knows how to RULE.

    fixed it for ya!

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