2001 replies to this topic

[amor de cosmos]

she seems to be using the ihra definition of antisemitism since every instance she mentions relates to criticism of israel, like this:

When any of my colleagues have made anti-semitic remarks it was expected that apologies should suffice. It’s not only Mable who has made antisemitic comments. In 2012 Jennifer Whiteside shared content from the anti-Israel website the electronic intifada and posts from Occupy Wall Street that attributed Israeli ‘theft’ of Palestinian land to capitalism and in 2014 shared articles that accused Isael of ‘pinkwashing’ for their acceptance of LGBTQ2S+ community and again in 2016 shared content promoting the BDS movement and was forced to apologize and distance herself from her past support of the BDS movement.

https://nationalpost...o-bc-ndp-caucus

this whole letter looks like a great demonstration of the inappropriateness of that definition. inappropriate in application because it was never intended to be law or government policy; it was meant as a guide for researchers studying antisemitism. it couldn't be much use for researchers though either since any data a researcher intends to collect on prevalence of antisemitism would be adulterated with political criticism of israel. it's also not the definitive definition by a long shot. & even though she's inappropriately applying an overly-broad, flawed definition to desperately *will* this purported epidemic of antisemitism in the NDP into existence, she has to reach all the way back to 2004 to find examples. it looks like a lot of drama over nothing. or maybe someone's trying to "corbyn" eby the ndp? meanwhile falcon is to be happy to promise a (probably illegal) mcarthyist purge of the public service of people with the wrong political views. & what do you know, there's another jewish person in the ndp caucus, here's what he has to say:
 

B.C.'s Minister of Environment and Climate Change George Heyman, born to Jewish parents who were Holocaust refugees, spoke after question period to denounce opposition attacks, saying Robinson was not the only Jew in government advocating against antisemitism and her experience in caucus was not his.
 
"The implication was made that there's systemic antisemitism in our caucus, in our government and that specific people were guilty of antisemitic acts and statements and I simply want to say that as a Jew, who's been part of this caucus for almost 11 years, that's just simply not my experience."

https://www.cbc.ca/n...esign-1.7136786

[Victoria Watcher]

We need to "unite the right", badly.

 

 

[Nparker]

It's frightening how many people in BC believe the NDP have done anything to deserve 40% of the vote. 

[lanforod]

Good trend.

[Mike K.]

The biggest loser being the United is somewhat predictable, as it's a huge name departure from the BC Liberals.

 

It's going to hurt them for an election or two, but the Liberal brand is so damaged that they ultimately did the right thing. They should have changed the name when Wilkinson was still party leader but they dragged their feet.

[lanforod]

'Unite the right' might sound good, but BC United isn't right-wing or even center-right anymore and hasn't been for a long time. 

[Mike K.]

The question now is, who else will break ranks from United to join the Conservatives?

[Nparker]

...who else will break ranks from United to join the Conservatives?

Anyone who isn't a socialist that wants even a slim hope of getting elected in October.

[Matt R.]

Any good self serving piggy at the trough who wants a shot at getting a pension?

[Victoria Watcher]

B.C. provincial politicians will enjoy a nearly $5,000 increase to their salaries while federal politicians see a $8,500 bump as of April 1.

 

The base salary for a provincial MLA has risen from $115,046 to $119,532 whereas the base salary for a federal MP is now $203,100, up from $194,600.

 

B.C. politicians received their pay raise as salary hikes automatically adjusted to inflation, unlike much of the private sector and even the public service; last year, the legislature did vote unanimously to forgo its 2023 increase, which would have amounted to eight per cent.

 

In addition to the base salary, Premier David Eby now has a $107,579 salary top up for a total remuneration of $227,111;ministers enjoy an additional $59,766 and ministers of state get a $41,836 top up.

 

Meanwhile, in Ottawa, the job of prime minister will see a $203,100 top up, meaning current Prime Minister Justin Trudeauwill earn $406,200 over the next year. Not accounting for the difference in currencies, Trudeau now earns more annually than the president of the United States.

 

An elected member of U.S. Congress earns $174,000.

 

PoliticalSalaries.com ranks Canada second behind the U.S. in terms of political salaries per capita GDP, among G7 countries.

 

A poll commissioned by the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation (CTF) indicates as many as 80 per cent of Canadians do not support the pay raises in Ottawa.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...-raises-8537219

[Nparker]

And the other 20% work for parliament.

[JimV]

Three fresh steaming piles on the NDP front porch:

 

1.  Carbon fund grant program 

2.  Drug use in hospitals

3.  Surrey police mess

 

Of course this is all against the backdrop of the doctor shortage, housing crisis, general unaffordability, repeat offenders, attacks on private property, etc.

 

Maybe even Too Tall is getting a little worried by now.  

[Victoria Watcher]

https://twitter.com/...800981225918948

 

 

[Nparker]

If I believed this would translate into a change of government I would be more hopeful.

[Awaiting Juno]

If I believed this would translate into a change of government I would be more hopeful.

 

If the mantra is *Not NDP* it might. People will have to be strategic though, and will have to pick the *not NDP* candidate who is best from those running in their riding and vote accordingly even if it's not their preferred flavour of Not NDP. Personally, I'd prefer United, but that said, I will likely vote conservative this election (I'd consider Green EXCEPT, they aren't Weaver Greens, they're dysfunctional Langford-esque Greens). I don't even know who the united candidate in my riding is yet - but given the groundwork Tim Thielman has already done unless someone gives me a very compelling reason not to vote for him, that's the way I'm likely to go. 

[Nparker]

Tim Thielman phoned me last night. We spoke about the importance of the upcoming election. This is more than I can say for any other party's candidate. Unless something changes drastically in the next 6 months, he has my vote.

[lanforod]

A green party door knocker yesterday got told to take a hike... effort does not = my vote to me.

[Nparker]

While I generally agree that cold calls and door-knocking do little to enthuse me, Mr. Thielman did take the time to listen to me and seemed to genuinely want to hear my concerns regarding the current political landscape.

This is significantly more than Grace Lore and Laurel Collins have ever done - combined - during their years in office; prerecorded robo-calls notwithstanding.

[Victoria Watcher]

To take it a step further: The official Opposition has an obligation, a responsibility, to provide cohesive policy alternatives in the next election.

This is not happening in British Columbia today. Blame personalities and egos.

With a lengthy list of major issues facing the province, this year’s election should be hotly contested. It should allow voters to pass judgment on the platform of Premier David Eby, who has not won an election, before giving him free rein for another four years.

His platform has been clear. Does it face up to the huge challenges we face? There are bold initiatives, but there are also problems worthy of debate.

The shortage of family doctors is having a negative impact on a million British Columbians.

Thousands have died in the fentanyl crisis. The government’s safe supply ideology is failing.

Eby’s government is fully responsible for the rising tide of government spending, evident in the nearly 50 per cent increase in staff without a matching improvement in services.

The economy is weakening. Our credit rating is dropping, meaning more money spent on interest charges and less on programs. The private sector is not creating new jobs, nor is the government investing in research to spur productivity growth.

Housing is in crisis, and Eby has been busy with announcements and policy changes. Some of his ideas are sound — but his government has raised our costs, taken away property rights and made it less attractive for people to own rental property.

Will these changes create more housing? They haven’t so far; they have simply directed more money to the provincial government and taken control from local elected governments.

And don’t forget the glacial pace of aid after the fire in Lytton and the flood in the Fraser Valley. Or the disrespect shown to Selina Robinson.

https://www.timescol...he-test-8629417

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 April 2024 - 07:40 AM.

[max.bravo]

No kidding. If the conservative alternative can’t come up with a clear platform and a solid slate of candidates (no weirdos please), then I think this province is doomed to rot.

It should be extremely easy to garner support for a conservative alternative. Here, I’ll consult for free.

- petition the federal government to limit immigration to sustainable levels, ie- do what we were doing before COVID.

- massive expenditure over 10 years to revamp health care, increase seats in bc med schools, attract more doctors, with the goal of every bc resident has a family doctor within 4 years. Petition Feds for funding help. Allow private-pay diagnostic clinics to do business here, a % of private revenue goes into bc public health care. Allow paramedical professionals (like physio/OT/psych/optometrists/dentists) to requisition diagnostic procedures (x-rays, mri, eeg) like they do in other provinces. Invest massively in telehealth as primary care option.

-ban foreign ownership of single family homes outright. (Existing ones can be grandfathered) (this doesn’t accomplish anything, it’s just for optics)

-allocate 5 new sites of crown/timber lease land for brand new BC cities. Pre-subdivided; planned, and zoned, with x number of schools and 1 hospital committed from day 1. Provincial help with utilities development / delivery (paid back to province via property taxes / liens). SFD lots can only be purchased by first time homebuyers with Canadian citizenship or PR. Houses must be built to some LEED standard. Investors can build apartments and condos. MOTI to build new highways linking to services.

-fight climate change by investing in clean electric ferries (bcf is already doing this so it costs nothing and looks good). Also invest in a program to encourage residential solar panel installation, and require it on new builds (like California and Australia), giving us clean energy independence, reducing dams that are harmful to salmon, and makes bc hydro profitable by selling excess capacity to other jurisdictions

-recriminalize and enforce illicit drug laws

-criminalize public tent encampments in cities

-form a working group with federal criminal justice to petition for more severe criminal sentences for fentanyl traffickers (this is truly the epidemic we should have been worried about instead of COVID)

-freeze all gas/road/pst/carbon taxes. Freeze all utility rate hikes until x years when the economy has stabilized.

What did I miss?

I really think if you offer that, 60% of bc will vote for you.