Coup de Etat coming in Canada?

Canadians rejected the Liberals last month, the party did worse than ever before, and now they want to be government? They are suggesting the Liberals and NDP have a coalition government. The two parties together are smaller than the governing Conservatives.

A coalition of 114 seats compared to 143 Conservatives - they simply have no right to govern in any way shape or form. No governor general will agree to that.

The Bloc as part of coalition? Dream on, no chance. The Liberals and Bloc with Dion? With the clarity act? The heirs of Trudeau in bed with the separatists? Are you nuts?

On another point, I am really pissed off that the opposition is ignoring the fact the government has already done a $31 000 000 000 stimulus package through tax cuts - the only type that works.

Harper is Canada's Obama

I know this will tweak some noses.

Obama had a large volunteer base and a lot of donors - so do the Conservatives.

Obama supports the war in Afghanistan - so do the Conservatives.

Obama did not take public campaign financing - the Conservatives want to end some of it in Canada.

Obama wants to do politics in a different way - Harper is doing politics differently, he has managed to govern as a minority longer than anyone else.

Obama is from outside of the traditional political circles - so is Harper.

NDP, Liberals and Bloc pushing to make recession worse.

It seems that the Liberals, NDP and Bloc all want to harm business in Canada and put more of a burden on taxpayers by having the federal government do a 'stimulus' package.

Government does more harm to the economy when it tries to pick winners. There is no economic stimulus package that makes any sense other than lowering taxes.

The NDP is so fundamentally out of step with economic reality that it make my head spin. Government has to get out of the way of business, it has to reduce the burdens on business, it has to let businesses themselves figure out what works and what does not.

If business is hurting, reduce the cost of doing business.

Opposition willing to risk another election!?!!??

And over what? The fact there is a government with the balls to cut off the political parties from getting taxpayer funding.

There is no place in Canada for tax dollars going towards political parties. It was a disgusting and crass move by the Liberals when they decided to reward political parties with tax dollars.

Funding of political parties is fundamentally undemocratic. No one asked me if I wanted my tax dollars going towards political parties I disagree with. We are not give public access to their books and internal workings, but we are expected to pay for them.

The fact the NDP, Liberals and Bloc want to keep stealing money for their personal political gain from the public horrifies me.

They should go further, no tax reciepts for donations and no donations from anyone that is not able to vote. If you can not vote in the election, you have no business taking part in any part of the election, especially not giving money.

Let an election come on this issue. Who is going to vote for backroom party bosses enriching themselves off taxes?

David Emerson Resurfaces

I never thought that David Emerson would be out of circulation for very long and he is in a new job. Here is the press release from the provincial government:

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
2008EMPR0068-001807
Nov. 25, 2008

Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

DAVID EMERSON TO CHAIR B.C. TRANSMISSION CORPORATION

VICTORIA - Former federal cabinet minister David Emerson will serve as the new executive chair of the British Columbia Transmission Corporation, presiding over the board of directors and assuming the responsibilities of the chief executive officer, Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld announced today.

"This new structure will allow for a smooth transition in the BC Transmission Corporation's corporate leadership," said Neufeld. "David Emerson's successful experience in both corporate sector and government makes him well-suited to lead the company.

"Chair Bob Reid has done a great job for all British Columbians, and although his term as chair ended at the end of September, we are pleased he has agreed to remain on the board to ensure a smooth transition with the new chair. Departing CEO Jane Peverett has equally shown dedicated leadership that has resulted in significant advances for the organization. Bringing on Mr. Emerson at this time will provide a strong transition and continuity for this important corporation."

Emerson has served in numerous public and private capacities, including several federal government cabinet portfolios. Prior to his retirement from elected office, Emerson served as minister of foreign affairs, as minister of international trade and minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, and as minister of industry. David Emerson has also served as deputy minister of finance and deputy minister to the Premier in the government of British Columbia. He was first CEO of the Vancouver International Airport Authority, and served as president and CEO of Canfor prior to being elected as a federal MP for Vancouver.

Emerson has extensive experience from his service on numerous corporate boards, including Telus, Terasen Gas and BC Ferries. He was the first chair of the BC Progress Board, and has also served on the boards of the Canada West Foundation, the Forest Products Association of Canada and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.

"The British Columbia Transmission Corporation is a critical part of B.C.'s energy strategy," said Emerson. "British Columbia is already a North American leader in clean energy generation and transmission. I am looking forward to working closely with BC Hydro in further developing our province's potential in opening up new opportunities for investment and family supporting jobs in clean energy.

"I welcome the opportunity to work with the highly skilled employees at the BC Transmission Corporation in developing cost-effective electricity transmission for B.C. residents, businesses and industry," Emerson said. "We have enormous challenges in meeting British Columbian's future transmission needs, but also terrific opportunities for new solutions that will turn our province into a true energy powerhouse."

The BC Transmission Corporation is a provincial Crown corporation responsible for planning, operating and maintaining the province's publicly owned electrical transmission system.

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Galore Creek Project

I have been watching Nova Gold's Galore Creek project for some years now. The project is located in the Northwest of BC about 150 km north of the port at Stewart and 70 km west of highway #37.

The project is in the top ten undeveloped copper/gold plays in the world. It has the potential to be a huge mine and operate for decades. The resource value is on the range of $25 000 000 000 to $35 000 000, more if prices for copper go up again and there has been an up tick lately as stocks seem to have stopped rising. Gold is holding its value as other metals are falling, today it is around $805 an ounce, only 20% off of the peak.

Nova Gold has a set a good corporate example of how to work with First Nations as shown through their agreements with the Tahltan. The mine would have provided long term consistent employment for the aboriginal people of the northwest.

The project would also have been an important boost to the port in Stewart BC. The port is an amazing location but is very isolated from everywhere else expect for the mining region in the northwest. I would love to see a rail line built into Stewart from the region so that the bulk commodities could be moved, there are some nice coal deposits in the region.

The project is a 50/50 partnership between Nova Gold and Teck and was put on hold last year because of the escalating capital costs. Now there seems to be a problem with Nova Gold's own financing as shown in this press release.

If Nova Gold is in trouble, this puts the odds of Galore Creek coming online anytime soon remote. Galore Creek is one of the important projects along highway #37 that could use the extension of the grid. The provincial treasury could use the income from the mine, it would have been over $100 000 000 per year for decades.

The delay of the project holds up development of the whole area and means it will take a lot longer before the infrastructure in the region is upgraded to where it should be. The people of the region will also have to continue leaving to find work, the constant problem in rural BC.

Food Security

The concept of Food Security has become a big political issue for certain segments of society.

What exactly is meant by food security is not a clear concept. In general it means having food produced closer to where people leave. Closer does not have a specific definition, it can mean something like the 100 Mile Diet, or it can mean food from your country, or food from your region. Ultimately it is not the definition that is the issue, it is the underlying ideological thinking going on when people speak of food security. Typically food security is a defacto code for a number of concepts

• Peak Oil - the idea is that if peak oil happens and we no longer have oil to transport food a long way.
• Corporate control of food - here the belief is that smaller scale local farmers are better for us than large businesses running farms.
• Reduction of genetic diversity - large farms have smaller set of goods they produce and therefore a narrower set of genes in use.
• Dealing a natural disaster - if we have a big earthquake, how will we feed ourselves?

Much of what I see, underlying all of this is a fear of a global corporate agricultural system. Many of the food security activists are really looking to attack free trade and the capitalist system.

I like local food because I like to feel connected to where my food comes from and I like to have fresher food than what most big stores offer. I have no time for the idea of food security because none of the arguments work.

Peak oil is not an issue, we are not about to run out of oil anytime soon and long before we come close to running out, we will have other energy technologies to move our goods. Oil is used because it is cheap and abundant.

If the cost of shipping rises enough, growing food on Vancouver Island becomes economically viable. It costs a lot to farm here and live like a middle class Canadian and the economics of farming is why we do not produce food here. We could feed ourselves on Vancouver Island on an area that is 15 000 hectares of land - that is an area that is 10 km by 15 km. The Cowichan valley could feed the whole island.

Corporate control of food has brought us cheaper, better and safer food than ever before in human history. We need to spend a lot less of lives making sure that we have the food to feed ourselves. We have more and better selection than ever before. Corporations have given us a cornucopia of food. A family of four can comfortably feed themselves for $600 a month in most of Canada. Corporations have made this possible.

As to the genetic diversity issue, it is a red herring to blame the global agricultural business for this. Genetic diversity is something government needs to address and not business.

In the case of disaster, people need to be able to feed themselves for a while. I keep being told we only have a three day supply of food on the island, but that simply does not ring true to me. Most people have enough food in their homes to feed themselves for two weeks - it will be pasta and rice at the end, but the food is there. The stores do not completely turn over their stock in three days, there is no way you can convince me of that. My sense is that on Vancouver Island there is enough food on the island for use to survive for three to four weeks, not three days.

My family could feed ourselves for about six to eight weeks with the food we have on hand, though it would be boring and starchy by the end other than the eggs. I have six chickens that lay one egg a day on average.

Local growers are nice to support, but they are much less efficient that big farms and tend to use a lot more energy per calorie of food produced. The largest amount of fuel expended on each calorie of food that is produced and comes into our home is from ourselves when we drive to the store.

Food is an emotional issue and food security is one of smarter pieces of political marketing that I have seen in a long time, but that is all it is, political marketing.