Inheritance tax? Has BC ever had an inheritance tax? I know we have probate fees, but the Liberals have not done away with that, and we continue to pay them today. If anyone can tell me when we had an inheritance tax and when BC decided to get rid of it, I'd appreciate it. I have to claim ignorance over this.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we had an inheritance tax under Social Credit that Bill Bennett removed (by coincidence, it was removed while WAC Bennett was in hospital, shortly before he passed away...). That's my recollection...anyone else remember?

Re: BCTF comment. The BCTF story is huge Liberal spin. The story was not "released" by the BCTF, it was grabbed and misinterpreted by the Liberals.
The BCTF has been working steadily on negotiations since the fall. They have been very democratically soliciting members' input on the usual kind of job action plans that any union considers when negotiations are going nowhere.
The May 19 Exec meeting is simply going to be the meeting that is to formulate that member input into an action plan. Within the BCTF's decision making process, any kind of snap "strike vote" is almost impossible.

This BCTF thing is a typical American-style wedge issue tactic. Ontario Premier Ernie Eves used it too...and lost.
People know its a close contest, and the public are smarter than Campbell would like to think. They know why he's trumpeting this wedge issue at the last moment...he knows that he could lose the election.
Instead of rallying people to the Liberal party cause, it might cause them to vote against them.

What is "labour relations decisions based on the overall public interest?"

1. Can one really call Liberals budget balanced? The lie was a hugh whooping deficit. She will balance budgets and she has many small to medium business type candidates. There should be no scare here - she and they can do it.

2. Citzens paid for those top tax breaks. What is the low low rate of taxation for large big buss compared to citzens taxation. Could be maybe 8% to 20-30%.

3. Inheritance tax was answered

4. Agreed but with all the closures and resulting layoffs surely it will now be tough to find those professionals again that were generally in place throughout the province. We abandoned smaller communities - is the 'golden hour' for transportation to a hospital still required or NOT?

5. Agreed but Libs only react when pushed as per Haida blockade on Queen Charlottes.

6. Uhmm. agreed but what about fish farms and oil and gas exploration which a high number of BC citzens want no part of. Oh and moratorium on Grizzles and now yes big bucks for shooting one - how neandrathal.

7. Budgets...I have lived here all my life and never ever before has BC had or needed 'transfer payments'.

8. Labour and in bed - who is in bed here? Libs with campaign finacing 80% big buss to 20 citizens outpacing NDP (80% from citizens believing in citizens and 20% from labour) Ironic and contradictory.

Me thinks Ms McLintock does not or has ever lived in BC, in fact I am beginning to wonder if she is from south of the border - way south. Then again in Feds there's Conserative-Reform and Liberals. Maybe she is Canadian.

Lots of interesting responses.

After spending most of the last 4 years bashing Emperor Gordo, let's give full credit to Barbara McLintock, for asking the questions that Carole James needs to answer before we give her and the NDP a blank cheque.

As for Banquos, I really appreciate his concerns because I may have to vote the same way; and I'm not real happy about it either.

Yes, there are far too many loose strings in the NDP Platform. The critical one for me is their economic plan where they have only estimated things for a period of one year. There is no way that Carole James given her promises can accomplish same without a very large tax increase and or user fee increases. This spells disaster for the average British Columbian.

Tax increases will be imposed to those who provide the very investment for this province and in doing so they the investors will once again abandon British Columbia.

The fact is that the NDP are just too close to their 'Masters' the Unions whose objective is to bilk the taxpayer.

It's puzzling that about 60% of wage earners in B.C. tend to jump on the anti-union bandwagon. You have to consider that it is unions negotiating with owners,who set the 'BENCHMARK' for how much of company profits go into wages as opposed to shareholders and empire building. Decent wages are essential for a thriving 'goods and services' industry and a decent standard of living for most of the population. I question the need for a strong union presence in the very competitive 'goods and services' industry, but I don't think anyone can dispute that their has to be some kind of mechanism to establish a balance between wages and profit.

Ah, Ghostsmachine- again, you rock. I know one nurse who can start tomorrow, by the way. She is in her 30's, Japanese, and highly skilled. She can't get a nursing job here though, and is working instead as a "care giver" to a family who are, as far as I can tell, taking advantage of her and paying her a measly $800/mth to be their slave. She must work for them for a year in order to qualify for citizenship (don't want those nasty single women "with no ties to the homeland" leeching off us, now do we?). She isn't happy with her situation but wants to stay here. We've got nurses, right under our noses.

ms. james can't answer most of these questions satisfactorily, at least not until she really does cut the ties with jim sinclair, jinny sims et al. thank you bctf for helping the libs win at least a few more seats with your ridiculous strategy. good luck bargaining with these guys after making such a public display of trying to destroy them.

So much for the contention, by certain post-ers, that The Tyee is just a front for lefties such as the NDP. This article could easily have come out of a Fiberal strategy session to earmark "holes" in the NDP platform. There are holes in every party platform ever in history. Chretien's Liberals once tried to claim a hole-less platform with their thick "red book", with promises such as
that the GST would be scrapped (never happened).
A full up platform is only as good as the trustworthiness of the politicians running on it. We saw with Campbell's Gliberals how worthless their platform promises were last time. B.C. Rail, where are you? Long term care beds, where are you? Fast Ferry Inquiry, where are you?
Of course there are valid criticisms to be made of the NDP's (or any)platform, but this smacks
of fear mongering. eg.The idea of an inheritance tax. With boomers becoming inheritors, any party that introduced such a tax widely viewed as unjust, would be committing political suicide.It's foolish to make an issue of such a non-issue.
Barbara says the NDP have no hope of winning till they answer her 8 points to her satisfaction. Well, they seem to have the momentum now, and at the right time. The voters
don't seem to be waiting for the same answers.
There are some foolish statements in her article.
Vote GREEN and send an important message to NDP and Fiberals alike.

Ghostsmachine, I could feel your words in that last one.

Bob (mark of the beast) - does the Green platform meet your criteria for responsible government? Does the feel-good, sustainable, ecologically sound, and healthily thought out preventative and non-polluting vision for BC strike you as plausible? Would your guilty SUV-driving urbanite David Suzuki-clonesque conscience be somehow more at peace? Would an economy based upon the whims of Greenpeace, the Western Wilderness Committee, and The Sierra Club suit your fancy? If so, pass that pipe - I'll have a big hoot offa whatever it is you've been toking too.

Right on Ghost Machine!

I feel exactly as you about any carpet bagger who wants to go back home. Anyone who feels they need to humiliate the work force in order to make their business successful shouldn' t be in business. They're not smart enough.

Apparently that type of ownership is what happened in Argentina to help clean up the mess privatization and the adoption of the 'free market' left them in.

Robert Owen did that in his factories and they were extremely successful.

so, ghostmachine, is there is a fund going around so you can get the help you really need?
i,d be more than happy to contribute.

To Tommymoore & other green-slaggers: keep your own pipe goin' round & keep it well lit. I run my own innovative group 1 independent school serving 450 kids (that the NDP would shut down in a heartbeat), I've worked for 8 years for a renewable energy company advancing tidal energy that has enormous potential in BC (but ignored by both liberal & ndp) and I am very pleased with the Green platform. In fact, I contributed to it. Given that the Greens are not running to form government, but to elect a few MLAs and help advance some of the more important party planks like preventative medicine, tax-shifting, renewable energy, reducing taxes for small businesses, saving wild salmon, value-added manufacturing, etc., I consider the GP platform a work in progress that has gained much more precision and credibility since last election. I find it despicable that the NDP are working assiduously to stimie the election of key green MLAs, especially GP leader Adriane Carr. In her riding (and mine), residents are getting regular calls from NDP phone banks in Vancouver in an attempt to manipulate and scare voters into voting for lightweight Nicholas Simons. I got a call yesterday from an NDP telemarketer in Vancouver to whom I asked "what business do you have attempting to influence my vote? Are you aware of how patently un-democratic that is ... P--- Off!" Then there was the visit of Carole James here a couple of weeks back - it's a common courtesy (again in support of democracy) that other party leaders don't stump in other party leaders' ridings, but that convention doesn't seem to bother the NDP. Bob is right ... Go Green!

I am not sure what a self owned "innovative group 1 independent school serving 450 kids (that the NDP would shut down in a heartbeat)" is. However, if the students who attend are being taught grammar, punctuation, and spelling by bc4me, I suggest their parents ask for a refund of their tuition fees.

libs up 13 points, according to latest poll from the globe and mail. thank you very much jinny sims the the british columbia federation of whiners.

ghostsmachine is very ignorant and you guys believe him. First off if a business can go set up in Alberta and pay much much less tax and have a much friendlier business environment while still maintaining access to the BC market. Why wouldn't they? Why would a business stay and get spit in the face? I would like to hear the response from the business experts from the tyee.

"Why are people crapping their drawers about corporations moving out of this province?"

They provide the jobs that pay for your social programs. Pretty simple. I have yet to find a money tree. Have you?

Now to the point of Employee Share Ownership Plan. Yes it could work. If employees were willing to invest in their business. Are they willing to put their house on the line to improve and expand the business like a business owner does. Are they willing to risk losing everything in order to make the business successful. Will they share in the losses and take wage cuts when things aren't going good. If they're not, then that doesn't work. If they are willing to accept the financial risk for the growth of the business then it's a good strategy. But I can tell you that rarely happens. Nice dream, but in reality, good luck.

Hearing tyee posters talk about what business will and should do is ridiculous.

It's funny there is one article in the history of thetyee.ca that questions, not even criticizes, the NDP and everybody is about to cry. Give me a break. This adds a touch of legitimacy compared to some of the propaganda being spewed out in here recently.

How many of you in here own their own business? You seem to be real experts. Since it's so easy I should expect all of you to respond yes. Ghostmachine do you own your own business? If not do you invest into your company?

I'd like to see Barbara McLintock's answer if asked why we should trust anything CanWest reports about the B.C. electoral process. This is from B.C.T.F. (I know, I know ... "Squawk: Unions ... bad! Unions ... bad!"

Contrary to reports on BCTV Global last evening and in today's Vancouver Sun, B.C. teachers have no plan for a strike vote.

BCTF President Jinny Sims said she wants to assure parents that there is absolutely no plan for any disruption in the school year.

"It is unconscionable for Premier Campbell to claim that there are plans for a school strike only weeks before provincial exams and days after the election," Sims said.

"It is outrageous that the premier would tell such blatant lies to the electorate," Sims added. "This is nothing less than fear-mongering. It is a disturbing act of desperation from a government that has failed our students and therefore needs to deflect scrutiny of its record."

Sims said there is evidence that the B.C. Liberals had insider knowledge of The Vancouver Sun's page-one story this morning.

"Open the paper on any day of the week, and you can clearly see the close connections between Sun management and the Liberal party," Sims said.

"But today we received a copy of an e-mail that proves Liberal party insiders had advance notice of today's front page story, and which reveals their true intention of using the issue of teacher bargaining to divide the public and needlessly alarm parents."

The e-mail from Irene Barr, president of the B.C. Liberal Women's Commission, stated that she had learned that the front page would feature a story about teachers planning a strike vote shortly after the election.

Barr wrote: "This is a GREAT issue for us to have our supporters rise up on to say NO MORE! Again, this is a tremendous wedge issue being handed to us on a silver platter!"

Sims said she was particularly shocked to note that the e-mail was sent at 1:50 a.m. long before The Sun hits the newstands or doorsteps.

"One wonders how a party functionary would have advance notice of the newspaper's content unless there is active collusion between CanWest and the Liberals," Sims said ...

"This government is unable to defend its record on education, and so they are lashing out at
teachers. It's not right and it won't work."

bc4me stated:

"...I run my own innovative group 1 independent school serving 450 kids (that the NDP would shut down in a heartbeat)"

What is this supposed to mean, if anything???

"I find it despicable that the NDP are working assiduously to stimie the election of key green MLAs, especially GP leader Adriane Carr."

It's called democracy, an element of which is competition for votes among the candidates and parties. The NDP candidate in Powell River -Sunshine Coast is Nicholas Simmons, who as well as being employed by the Sechelt Nation to direct their health and social programs, is a musician and the director of the arts council for the Sunshine Coast. IOWs, his overall "green" credential are at least as good as Adrian Carr's. So trying to picture him as a machine politician is really deliberately misleading.

BC Mary, a great post telling the truth about the BCTF's plans for next week.

But don't put all the blame on CanWest, even though their rabid teacher hater and teacher union baiter, Sun Educ reporter Janet Steffenhagen, was intimately involved in producing this scam. (You will recall how Steffenhagen has been working hand in glove with Educ Min Ton Christensen, merrily playing the public for morons with their proposed on-line teacher snoop file, so all the frightened parents can logon and find out who the perverts are.) Yes, CanWest is happy to play the anti-teacher-union-NDP card, no doubt.

But Mary, before you criticize them alone, logon onto the regional CBC website and read the stuff they've got. It's at least as close to the Campbell campaing bus outpourings as anything that CanWest is offering.

bc4me: This is not a contest for student council president...grow up. Nicholas Simons and James have every right to campaign hard to win...and quit the misinformation about Simons...he is no lightweight... in the federal election he took the polls (all but one) for the NDP in Powell River. He is an intelligent, witty speaker with a great sense of humour...and has great credentials as Budd Campbell alludes to above. At a local candidates meeting the BC Liberal candidate didn't even bother to show up, Simons came even though he was on crutches and in quite a lot of pain...that's somewhat admirable don't you think ?

Although I certainly empathize with ghostsmachine's anger and disgust JIm does actually make a point. Businesses will flee or not establish in the first place if provincial corporate taxes are raised beyond a rate which makes moving and then shipping costs (to maintain access to BC market) more profitable down the road than staying. HOwever, JIm if one follows your logic, as neo con capitalists do and many developing nations are forced to do, why have any corporate taxes at all? Or how low is just low enough? Why not just let 'em rape and pillage as much as they want. Hell, let's pay them to f*** us.

And the question you posed to ghostsmachine re: his willingness to put it all on the line for his ESOP is fair but what director of a big corporation has ever taken a pay cut when their company is faltering. Not many. In fact it seems that's when they cut themselves a fat raise. And ESOP's are not a pipe dream at all. Many are out there and run quite successfully.

An aside to WStander: That's twice I've read comments from you on people's spelling, grammar, sentence structure. Honestly, who gives a shit. This is an open forum and people are thinking and typing quickly. Snob.

Oh yeah, solid questions from McClintock. Well done.

Budd Campbell

You may be interested in the following. It gives some insight into the thinking at the CBC.

It is email corresondence between myself and the producer of the CBC early morning radio show.

It began with an email (nor reproduced here- one of those e-mails sent directly from the CBC web site which disappear into the ether) from me referring to the Tyee article which had reported on the fact that the CBC had cancelled planned appearances by James and Carr because Campbell declined to participate.

Greetings from the Early Edition,

Thanks for taking the time to forward your note to the Tyee regarding our
coverage.
As the producer of the Early Edition I make every effort to ensure our
coverage is balanced-and hopefully intelligent and entertaining as well!

The complaint we usually get is that our show is too NDP friendly in
particular and too 'left leaning' in general.
So in some ways I am pleased to hear a concern that we are 'bending over
backwards to stay on the good side of the Campbell Liberals.'

I like to think we are bending over backwards to bring our listeners fair
coverage. It's true the B.C Liberals have not been as easy to coordinate as
some of the other parties. Still- they do have a lot of support in this
province-so I feel it is important that they have an opportunity to be heard
by the CBC audience.

I thought the Tyee story was a little unfair in how they framed my
comments...and didn't think they did a particularly good job of
communicating what has actually happened with the co-hosted Fridays.

After the B.C Liberals told us that Mr. Campbell would not co-host...we had
tentatively lined up Wally Oppal. But in a discussion that followed a
concern was raised that allowing candidates to have essentially three hours
of prime time airwaves would be unfair. We would have needed to extend an
invitation to other candidates in those ridings to try to balance it off.
The goal of the 'Political Friday' shows is to get smart informed people to
break from message tracks...and go off script. We thought about it and
decided we would get more honest unfettered commentary from former
politicians.

Let me know if you have further questions. Always happy to hear from a
listener.

All the best,

Laura Palmer
Producer-The Early Edition
CBC Radio Vancouver
700 Hamilton
Vancouver,British Columbia
V6B 4A2
Phone: 604 662-6118
Fax: 604 662-6106
E-Mail:

I responded as follows:

Not convincing. In fact, I would again challenge you to take the polygraph
when you make the statement that "the complaint we usually get is that our
show is too NDP friendly". If you passed on that one, I would suspect it
is only because there has been an orchestrated response from the Liberal
party, not from your listeners. I know at least enough other listeners share
my opinion that you were forced to personally make an apology for the
inaccurate story you ran earlier this morning.

To balance the media coverage in the Lower Mainland, would, of course
require you to be out and out partisans for the NDP. I realize that is not
your job and it would be wrong if you did.

But, back to that polygraph, if you were hooked up to it, I'd wager a buck
or two that the needle would jump if you said you weren't going to vote
Liberal, and although it is more subtle than the overt boosterism of your
competition, it shows in your program and it shouldn't.

Because Campbell declines to participate, why cancel the other leaders? You
say that because the Liberals have a lot of support in the province "it is
important that they have an opportunity to be heard by the CBC audience". I
couldn't agree more. But when you asked them to participate you gave them
the "opportunity to be heard by the CBC audience" . When they declined to
take advantage of the opportunity you gave them, that was no reason to
muzzle the other side, or have your staff read Liberal talking points as a
false homage to "balance". If Liberal candidates refuse to attend All
Candidates Meetings (as many have done), should the meetings be cancelled?
I think not, and the situation you described is no different.

Speaking of "balance", you had Dave Barrett on. Why not, for balance sake,
did you not have George Kerster as well. Kerster was the Socred (sires of
the Campbell wing of the Liberal party), who was the man who defeated
Barrett back in the seventies. As a set up, you could have discussed both
that campaign, and Kerster's recent conviction for attempting to obtain the
sexual services of a minor. Or maybe Bill Bennett, and you could have
discussed his conviction for insider trading and the $1,000,000. penalty
that was imposed on him as part of his penalty. Certainly Sven Robinson's
conviction for shoplifting a "21,000." ring was a prominent part of the set
up you choreographed when he appeared as a host.

And I can't help but think that when you asked Moe Sihota to be a host,
(apart from Glen Clark, the politician most likely to cause a negative
visceral reaction against the NDP no matter what he said), when one of the
Liberal talking points is that Carole James has not distanced herself from
the NDP administration of the 90's, you couldn't help from smiling when he
said yes.

It's not easy for a listener or reader these days. To stay current, there
are few options other than the CBC, but I would think you would be striving
to be something more than the best of a bad lot.

PS Unless you have some reason why I should not do so, I intend to share
your opinion that "the Tyee story was a little unfair in how they framed
(your) comments...and (you) didn't think they did a particularly good job
of communicating what has actually happened with the co-hosted Fridays," if
the opportunity arises in an appropriate context..

I did not get a resonse , and I think this is an appropriate context.

Laura Palmer
Producer-The Early Edition
CBC Radio Vancouver
700 Hamilton
Vancouver,British Columbia
V6B 4A2
Phone: 604 662-6118
Fax: 604 662-6106
E-Mail:

And as far as willingness to share in losses, it's not so much a willingness as a necessity is it, JIm? Once you're an investor in anything you share in gains and losses. Heard of mutual fonds and stocks?

Good on ya Wstander. Amazing that when the Libelers decline an invitation the others are then declined in turn by the CBC and the producer has the gall to take cover under "fairness" What a farce!!

Why should anyone believe Jinny Sims? CanWest is lying becasue they support the Liberals. But Jinny is telling the truth because she is unbiased and looking out for students. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Why would you want the right to strike if your not going to use it?

jtothenfk, your correct. It's not nice sharing in the losses, but that is also why you can make much more money. You have to decide between the risk and the reward. And the fact is business owners take lots of risks. That's why some of them lose everything they own and some are rich. But most are in between who live very stressful lives trying to keep their businesses going and creating jobs for the residents of BC.

Everybody but thetyee.ca posters feel the CBC is left of center. Maybe you guys are so far left that there is not a publication outside of union handouts that you agree with. Let's face you guys aren't objective what so ever so calling the CBC biased is a little bit hypocritical.

Ghostsmachine, excellent post. Keep on keepin' on!!!

First off you are using the largest corporations. What percentage of businesses are represented on stock exchanges? My guess is it's realatively low.

"and yeah JIm - I'm the sole owner and employee of my own business. Did you need my GST number?"

You don't employee anyone so we'll see if your attitude changes if you ever employee people that smoke joints at lunch, come late, miss days, slack off and don't work as much or as hard as you. Do you want them determining the fate of your business? Are you going to give everything you worked hard, i assume, for to someone else for ideological purposes. Will you let 20 years of dedication and hard work be decided by someone who works only the minimum? Maybe their investment will give them motivation, but some people just are not good workers. I know you want a utopian situation with little bunnies hoping through the blossoming fields and everyone singing and dancing in a circle, but lets be real.

In my work, people refuse pay raises because that pay raise also comes with added responsibility. They would rather make less money than take on extra responsibility. This has happened multiple times. What would happen if we went and asked them to get $50,000 to invest in their future and the future of the company. They would laugh at us.

Most people would rather make a wage, have dedication to company, but not risk everything they own to work at that company.

One thing I do agree with you is. Economics should be taught as a part of basic curriculum.

I'm interested when your going to start selling your business to employess?

And JIm, most of us live with lives of varying degrees of stress, business owners or not. And, yes, investment inolves sharing in profits and losses. I think one of ghostsmachine's implied points is that a more equitable accountability in those profits and losses is long overdue and when employees are also owners, there's a certain security and greater accountability that ceos and directors don't/won't accept. When a small business fails, I empathise with the owner and employees. A small or mid sized business owner doesn't necessarily quickly close up shop and ship out when tax rates increase by .75 points, not if they're a member of that community. Large corporations do exactly that with nary a thought about the hundreds/thousands of investors/employees they f*** by doing it. And I think if you're working at say a WalMart you're certainly less obliged to give two shits whether bozo in aisle 11 is being promptly looked after in his search for the cheapest child made cheap-ass My Little Pony than an employee/owner would be. Which points to the larger issue of empowerment and accountability that ESOPs offer.

I agree that small nominal changes in tax rates will not drive business out. But that combined with other factors will. The NDP not only raises taxes, but tilts the labour code even further towards their big union supports. The labour code has some balance now, but it is still heavily tilted towards the employees. I'll admit that isn't all bad, but those type of red tape issues also drive business out.

I do struggle trying to understand why big unions hate big business. If it wasn't for big business and governments there would be no unions. What small business can afford union demands? They are biting the hand the feeds them.

Remember that work can now also be easily offshored. If the NDP gets in and does what they have done every other time in power I can just see the jobs going to China, India, Vietnam, US, nevermind moving to Alberta. A business is not going to go under because of some other peoples ideological views, they WILL move elsewhere.

My company does profit share in relation to wage levels, so we already do that.

"Consider that risk is now spread evenly throughout an organization instead of concentrated."

That is the point not everybody wants that risk. And you can't say everybody does. Many people just want to go to work and that's it.

I'm still wondering when your going to start selling your business that you worked hard to build?

JIm says:

"I do struggle trying to understand why big unions hate big business. If it wasn't for big business and governments there would be no unions.".

I think it is more accurate to say that if big business, (even smaller ones- remember Ebenezer Scrooge?) hadn't abused their employees there would be no unions.

Unions arise out of the need for otherwise unempowered individuals to act collectively to even the playing field when they have to negotiate with more powerful employers.

Unfortunately not every employer gets visited by the three ghosts of Christmas, and unions were a real world response to meet the problems of exploitation of the weak by the strong. It didn't need to be that way if the strong had resisted the temptation to be exploiters.

wstander, I really liked your correspondence with the CBC Liberals. I think they have been secure in their bastion for a long time, and it's high time someone put the question to them, "What's going on here?"

But you know, while I long ago tired of hearing Dave Barrett I still enjoy listening to Moe Sihota, who may be a bit over the top, but is still a genuinely intelligent guy.

Jim, I worked for three years for a man who owned a private language school in Gastown. Through word of mouth, and because the students loved what the TEACHERS did and the intimate class sizes, it gained the reputation as one of the best language schools in downtown Vancouver. The school went bankrupt last October and we got phone calls over Thanksgiving weekend. The students (including new ones who had enrolled and paid tuition up front) got nothing. They showed up and the doors were locked. My cowardly employer couldn't even face the 20 some odd people he had "working for him." We did come face to face at the trustees' meeting and when us teachers let him know how disgusted we were at the fact that he had hidden the financial trouble of the school from us, and packed away a nice sum for himself so that he could buy a condo in Coal Harbour because the school was going down, he had the audacity to be offended that we "didn't understand" his stress. What?? He was over $300,000 in debt and after delaring bankruptcy walked away with a condo. Our last paycheques bounced and we will never get the money because it turns out he owed Revenue Canada thousands because he hadn't been remitting the money he was TAKING OFF OUR PAYCHEQUES!!! It also turns out he wasn't remitting $$ for dental coverage that some teachers had (thankfully, I had decided not to go with it) and guess who is now getting dinged with $1500 dental bills?? Not him! I guess the whole thing taught me that some business owners, contrary to what you say, are NOT "willing to put their house on the line/willing to risk losing everything/ willing to take a loss", at least not without taking others down with him. He had his ass covered. He had the nerve to whine about his investments that had gone down the drain. HE WAS THE OWNER!!! None of us signed up for that risk. We did the work, we deserved our paycheques.
I ran into one of those ex-students recently and she lamented the school's closing, saying she missed us teachers and the fun we all had. She said nothing about P-error/ P-arrears (nicknames we've given him :)

Budd Campbell

AS to what has been going on at the CBC, I did have the temerity to muse, in the e-mail that went directly to the CBC from their web site, whether the reason the CBC seemed for the last year or so to be "bending over backwards to stay on the good side of the Campbell Liberals" had anything to do with the fact that Carole Taylor had the corner office.

Jim: Teachers have a right to collective bargaining and that is what is taking place. There will be no strike vote before the end of the school year.

Rumour of a strike assumes Hindenberg proportions these days - oh the humanity of it all!... how the mere thought of one tortures so many frail genteel souls and their carefully crafted lives...but useful all the same as a sly political wedge as someone noted above... as the Tin Man (thanks allan) makes his last desperate play...let's whack those teachers one more time... raise the volume on the evil BCTF and sail the "S" word out there and see if we can turn the ominous tide...

Collective bargaining, that's all folks...mundane as hell.... a simple truth...let's see what kind of big lie the mainstream media can help Mr. Campbell make it into.

wstander said: "... I did have the temerity to muse, ... whether the reason the CBC seemed for the last year or so to be "bending over backwards to stay on the good side of the Campbell Liberals" had anything to do with the fact that Carole Taylor had the corner office."

Well, it's so obvious what the answer is that I think you have to give them gamesmanship points for refusing to answer.

What gets me is that federal Tories who see this going on are Okay with it, ... little realizing that once Harper gets his election they will be in Gloria Mackarenko's gunsites just as surely as Carole James and Jack Layton.

I agree with you Budd C. on the CBC's news coverage in BC.

There has been more than a subtle change in coverage of provincial politics and on other issues., from the rock'em sock'em coverage of Glen Clarke's '96 victory through until he left.

I've heard a dumbing down of news reports, a tendancy to lob soft questions during interviews on most of the CBC talk shows.
I exclude Mark Forsythe from that criticism.

One other change I sense in the news stories between govt. and opp. is a tendency to lead stories from a government perspective even when the story was obviously generated by the other side.

From out here in the wilderness I sense there is a changing of the guard evolving in CBC's editorial services.

It seems the department heads, vps, etc., have had a look at the new wallpaper in the boss's office.

The last thing that a mid or even senior level manager needs is an office that clashes with the boss's new colours.

I don't say the above with malice. I am a regular CBC listener, who has grown to believe the CBC is one of the few truly strong chains that keep this country together.

But when the government gets tons of airtime for government announcements the NDP is seldom heard in response. Yet if the opposition gets air on an issue, the premier's team gets the same.

Is that fair? Would that be fair if the Liberals had only one more seat than the NDP? How is it fair when the seats stack up 76 to 2?

It's certainly not fair for the listener who is fed a regular CBC meal of Liberal government gruel, sprinkled rarely with anything, when a better balanced one is available if the messenger justs goes and gets it.

An optimist might think that when government opposition is weak (76-2 and no budget for the latter), journalists would try to fill a void by bringing differing views into the story for their audiences.

That's the job of a reporter. It certainly isn't (at least in my books) to worry if government is upstaged once in a while because it wasn't contacted.

Good stuff JIm. I can't believe the lack of intelligent commentary in this string. Pretty typical stuff for tyee.ca. And most of it is too, too funny.

I particularly like the stuff from ghostsmachine. I wonder what kind of business he runs (or doesn't). One that allows him to smoke his own big fat one every lunch so he can have a relaxing low stress afternoon I'll bet.

I have been a self employed tradesman in this province (and the one next door) for over 30 years. I have worked alone and employed up to 15 other people. I have even voted for the NDP in my impressionable and uninformed youth (and even once since then). I don't like all of what the present government has done this past four years, but I also remember the eight years or so before them. Sometimes tough choices are required. Just ask any cancer surgeon.

Like the old bumber sticker says- NDP NFG. I just could not bring myself to vote for them again, no matter what until two thing happen. One they must distance themselves from all public sector unions and two they must change their name. Anything except the NDP.

Oh yes. Loved the teachers strike vote story. Usually it's only Reform/Conservative politicians who poop on the hall floor and then walk in it. Yes! There is a god. And as far as their denial goes- how can anyone believe anything that Jiny Sims says, or for that matter any teachers union spokesman. Of course, we should because their only motivation is to protect our kids education. Hahahahahahah!!! Wanna buy a bridge?? Cheap!!

Thanks Barara for telling it like is is.

I say, you write just like JIm.

Not certain who you are or are you just shy?

BTW, read today's Globe where the Liberal claim of a pending teachers' strike is laid out as the bogus lie it is.

Lamentable, but certainly the usual drivel coming out of the Tin Man, who would choke it he uttered an honest statement.

Actually I Say, I don't expect you or any of your other nom-de-plums to respond in anything but the cynical style that you practice in you Change-the-subject JIm personna.

i say; take it easy on ghostsmachine. at least he's good for a very hearty laugh, as are the morons running the bctf. $5million to help secure a huge majority for their enemies.
priceless!

I've heard of a circle jerk but it usually involves more than one. I think JIm's throwing out his wrist givin himself the ol' reverse grip with the velvet glove. "I Say" is either a clone or the one and the same.

Love JIm's comment above re: labour code being tilted towards the employee... Hilarious. Good one JImbo. real knee slapper

sirjohnny, the story's been established as a bunch of turkey bunk. Let it lie.

banquos; it's settled. you definitely win the blather blather blather award. hands down.

2 most recent opinion polls put Fiberals
way ahead, and likely to win perhaps twice the number of seats to the NDP (so says Vaughn Palmer).
...Fast forward to next week's Black Teusday:
"FOUR MORE YEARS! TAKE THAT HIPPY!"
-Gordo "I'll drink to that" Campbell

That BCTF story was a ploy to divide and conquer..one of Campbell's favorite things to do to people in this province. Stop looking at your neighbour as the enemy and point your fingers at the true enemy...Campbell and his band of liars. Once more people have swallowed this tripe hook line and sinker. It will be a miracle if the NDP gain any seats at all..if you are still listening to what Campbell fabricates for your over active imaginations. Do you really..honestly think..that ANYONE in their right mind would plan a strike directly after the election? I do believe that most or all of our teachers have been educated in university..haven't they? Give them some credit for once. After all, they are the ones who will educate your children, and believe it or not..they do care how that gets done.

stander: By golly, you've cheered me up. Are you the one who should (after the election) write an article exploring what we can do about media ...

Seems to me that in Canada, in a post-Trudeau era, and after a war supposedly fought to ensure "the four freedoms" (one of which was freedom of the press), the present media's track record is intolerable.

Surely there's some accountability in law, for the damage done to B.C.T.F. by CanWest's false report of a strike vote. Surely there's accountability for a biased Globe & Mail poll, just hours before a B.C. election.

Is it time for a court challenge? I mean, no citizen could do this kind of damage, especially for a benefit to himself or his group, without being zapped by the law.

Good luck Carol, keep your back against the wall and watchout for Glen's buddies.