Top 10 most expensive cities to buy gas in North America are all in B.C.
BC Election: Time for a Rethink?
Many BC voters loathe Christy Clark. And for good reason. She’s as phoney as a $3 bill and sincere as a pawn shop owner in Vegas. Voting for her BC Liberal party is not something one would do with any enthusiasm.
But as the May 14th election draws near, the province’s numero uno socialist/communist, Adrian Dix, is getting more brazen with his pronouncements. This and this and this and this, amongst many others, are very disturbing. As the lead architect behind Glen Clark’s failed government, which bankrupted the province, the notion that Dix is openly flaunting similar policies, which are certain to have the same end effect, is revolting.
Update: Ezra Levant discusses BC’s “Energy Election” with Alise Mills.
The Great Divide Between Canada’s Private & Public Sector
Yesterday I had dinner with a visiting cousin of mine. He was born in 1950 and grew up on a farm in central Saskatchewan. In more recent years he has lived in suburban Alberta and has built a successful career as a contract maintenance supervisor. My cousin is a big, burly guy who might best be described as “salt of the earth” and an absolutely decent, down-to-earth fellow.
He’s not particularly political but we did delve into the subject because of this story in the newspaper: B.C.’s retiring MLAs to hit pension jackpot thanks to taxpayers’ generosity
This morning I was checking out the latest videos at Sun News and watched this segment: LCBO staff vote to strike
Tying these two disparate news items together, what’s the underlying message to private sector workers in this country? Might it not involve the word “suckers”?! When even normally apolitical taxpayers are upset, surely change has got to be coming.
Canada’s Destructive Teachers’ Unions in 2013: Out of Place, Out of Time
More than a few Canadians have noticed how incredibly backwards and downright unruly public sector teachers’ unions across Canada continue to be. Listening to the rhetoric of their leaders, one should be forgiven for thinking they’ve been transported back to a 1920’s Marxist-Communist rally. Not too long ago Margarete Wente wrote a column about the Ontario Teachers’ Union. A few days ago Jon Ferry did the same about the BC Teachers’ Union.
Today, Roy Green discussed Ferry’s column with him. It’s well worth a listen!
Would Canada’s Real Conservative Party Please Stand Up
Canada’s 375,000 federal public employees now make, on average, $114,000 in salary & benefits. This amount is expected to rise to $129,800 in the next 3 years.
The report which revealed these figures was released by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. It also stated the following:
“Total compensation (per full-time employee) in the federal workforce outpaced not only CPI (inflation), but also that of the Canadian business sector and provinces and territories over the study period.”
Greg Thomas, of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, discusses these outrageous revelations.
Air Canada Union Not Happy at YVR
More than a few travelers at YVR were frustrated with this blockade.
CTF: Growing Government Pay and Pension Gap
Canadian Taxpayers Federation Needs Your Help
Via email;
The CTF’s annual waste recognition event – the Teddy Waste Awards – are approaching and we need your help.
This is the biggest media event of the year that blows the whistle on government waste. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. And nothing will change unless we put wastrels in the spotlight and demand better from those charged with managing our tax dollars.
The worst wrongdoers – the most specious spendthrifts at the local, provincial and federal level – are singled out for a Teddy – the golden sow, a handsome gilded symbol of government waste and extravagance of the highest order.
And that’s where we need your help. Have you heard of a local, provincial or national story of government waste that you think deserves to be nominated for a Teddy?
If you have a great nominee please email us at: research@taxpayer.com
Hope for the Future
BBC Business reporter Peter Day has published a new podcast that provides an historical perspective on recessions/depressions, with a particular focus on the one the world is currently going through. Hopefully you’ll find it inspiring and realize that there is light on the horizon … especially if the economy-killer, Obama, is fired next year.
Update: Or you can just laugh your way into oblivion! (Better than crying) – h/t LC Bennett
Have Canadian Booksellers Finally Smartened Up?
A long standing pet peeve of mine has been the unwillingness of Canadian booksellers to acknowledge the fact that the Canadian dollar is no longer worth 30 – 40% less than its U.S. counterpart. Even though the two currencies have been around par since March 2010, booksellers north of the border have been pulling a Deaf, Dumb, & Blind act similar to this.
I was therefore most pleasantly surprised, when I went to order Mark Steyn’s latest book, to discover this:
Canadian Price:
American Price:
Lorne Gunter: Time to Privatize Canada Post
Gunter: “We need a Crown corporation delivering our mail the same way we need government-owned telephone services or public buggy whip makers.”
P.S. Denis Lemelin, the president of Canadian Postal Workers Union, talks with Krista Erickson of Sun News TV.
The Sound Of Silencing Scientists
Dr. Tim Ball is widely recognized as one of Canada’s first qualified climate scientists and has long been one of the most prominent skeptics taking a stand on corruption and unethical practices. Two exponents of the global warming scare Ball has targeted, professors Michael Mann and Andrew Weaver, are now suing him for libel.
Many suspect the David Suzuki Foundation is funding Vancouver libel specialist, Roger D. McConchie who is representing both Weaver and Mann against Ball. Suzuki is reported as wanting skeptics like Ball “put in prison.”
Well, so much for Ball’s “Big Oil” funding – these actions put those lies to rest. SLAPP suits aren’t effective on targets with fat bank accounts.
You can donate here. I already have.
“I take great pride in following the rules.”
Judy, Romanian Strippers, Sgro says that she wasn’t aware that expensing rent to her children landlords was against the rules.
But, we don’t need to look at MP’s lunch tabs, right, Iggy?
We, The Undersigned…
Traffic at the CTF website has gone through the roof – wonder why?
Convicted criminals like serial child killer Clifford Olson, who are over the age of 65 and reside in federal and provincial jails, are currently eligible to collect Old Age Security (OAS) and Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) payments from Canadian taxpayers.
These programs are intended to help seniors make ends meet, not to fill the bank accounts of incarcerated convicts.
Go help out them out here, if you’re so inclined. They hope to deliver the petition in a couple of weeks. My guess is they’ll need a truck.
Is this a plan to “return to balance?”
Canadian Taxpayers Federation President Troy Lanigan explains the Conservative’s 2010-11 budget in Loonieland. New spending outstrips savings by a ratio of 14 to 1 and commits only to budget deficits for the next five years.
View other CTF videos here.