Thursday, March 02, 2017

This Day In Clarkland...When In Doubt, Privilege Up!

NotSoInnocentBystandersSomehowNeverGetStuck
ThisIsNotGamblingInHavanaVille


So.

Bob Mackin has been trying, for some time now, to get our fine provincial government to explain the nuts and bolts of our cave-in....errrrr....concessions on the Woodfiber Sparkle Pony deal, including why we did this:

...The new eDrive rate is a $30 discount off the original $83.02 per megawatt-hour power rate the government had set for LNG plants. Eoin Finn of Woodfibre LNG foe My Sea to Sky estimated the eDrive rate would result in a $34 million-a-year subsidy to the plant, worth $860 million over 25 years.

Woodfibre LNG donated $79,500 to the BC Liberals from 2014 to 2016, including $5,000 just 11 days after the eDrive announcement. (Local Lotuslandian VP Byng) Giraud gave $48,964.36 since 2006. Two of Giraud’s 2016 Liberal donations ($10,225, Sept. 30 and $3,050, Nov. 30) bookended the period that included Coleman’s meeting with Tanoto and the eDrive decision. Natural gas supplier FortisBC and its predecessor, Terasen, donated $327,487.79 between 2005 and 2016...




Unfortunately, everything Mr. Mackin has received back in response to FOI applications is heavily censored.

Why?

Well, based on one bit that slipped out it might have something to do with the kind of lawyers that Warren Zevon likely never used when he got in a little trouble:

....On Oct. 13, Coleman and Bill Bennett, the energy minister responsible for BC Hydro, spoke to the Cabinet Working Group on Woodfibre LNG. What they said is a secret. A footnote on their speaking notes says it is “protected by solicitor client privilege.” The government is the client and has the power to waive privilege. But it didn’t...



Solicitor-Client Privilege, invoked to shirk any need (or pressure to?) waive cabinet privilege?

Gosh.

Where have we heard that gambit before?

Well....

We Railgate cultists remember well when it was pulled by the good Mr. Campbell back in the days of yore:


Hon. G. Campbell: I do want the Leader of the Opposition to understand what I've done here. In terms of the (privileged) screening of (Railgate-associated) cabinet documents, all those documents will be available to the Deputy Attorney General. He will make the decision vis-à-vis CABINET confidentiality or any of those issues in consultation with the special prosecutor. He will make the decision without any further consultation with me or anyone in the Premier's office.


Do you see what the good Mr. Campbell did there re: pretending who was NOT the boss in that thing there?


Sheesh.



________
It's pay-to-play all the way baby....And why wouldn't the cronies do it when the return on investment is in the thousands of multiples....Yes, thousands....And if we, the Rubes, errrrr....citizens have to pay premium prices to produce all that 'new' power to sell cheap to the new cronies-in-waiting, well....So be it! 
And, finally....Mr. Zevon?....You bet.



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16 comments:

Anonymous said...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OWUZwkSa4eQ

Anonymous said...

It's pay-to-play all the way baby.?

North Van's Grumps said...

Ministry of Natural Gas Development created this on December 16, 2013:

"Four liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects receive approval"

On page 1 of 2? Quick Facts:

"If five LNG facilities move forward, the cumulative gross domestic product benefit to British Columbia could total $1 trillion by 2046."

http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/pubdocs/bcdocs2014/537395/2013mngd0048-001904.pdf

*************************

Nine more titles for Woodfibre LNG

http://www.llbccat.leg.bc.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1488D8663853C.36493&menu=home&aspect=subtab150&npp=50&ipp=20&spp=20&profile=main&ri=&index=.GW&term=Woodfibre+LNG&x=2&y=10&aspect=subtab150

Lew said...

“She said that most decisions are made in cabinet, and those records are publicly available.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/christy-clark-deleted-emails-1.3286209

Even if tempted to take advantage of a reporter in over his head, Christy wouldn’t lie, would she?

Chuckstraight said...

Isn`t it nice for those of us that pay Fortis- we know in a small way we are contributors to the BC Liberals.

e.a.f. said...

a few more cold winters and higher electrical rates, people in B.C. might start to resent the new improved lower rates for corporations .

The recent cold snap on Vancouver Is. resulted in an electrical bill twice what it was for this time period last year. Makes you wonder what the disabled, those on welfare, min. wage are doing to do????

The photo op queen got her photo op with the hard hat boys and we got the bill. I think there is a problem in there some where. she got to claim all those jobs, jobs, jobs, but really>>>>>>we've heard nothing but job,, jobs, jobs from that woman since she got elected but they haven't materialized. the jobs which are created in this province just seem to be low paid ones.

Its time to give old photo op queen with the hard hat her pink slip and tell her to get a real job. Perhaps fund raising for some one else besides the B.C. Lieberals.

Anonymous said...

Gee, I thought jobs, jobs, jobs was code words for profits, profits, profits!

RossK said...

Anon-At-The-Top--

The Thompson Twins!

Tune good (and most appropriate)...

But, dancing?

Bad!

_______

Anon-Near-The-Top--

And Pay-To-Play All The Way Two, of course, is all this third party stuff that is so very resourceful and so hard at workin' it harder.



NVG--

At this rate....For any one trillion the cronies 'create' it will cost us ten to actually generate it.

_____

Lew--

Ms. Clark clearly has a very, very, very, very, very difficult relationship with anything that is not.

A lie I mean.

The thing about this particular 'privilege' the wizards trot out when needed...It actually takes it out of cabinet's (and by extension Darth Vader's and Ms. Clark's) purview and sticks makes it the responsibility of some shielded OIC flunky.

As you and I both recall, this happened over and over again back in the Railgate days.

_______

Very good point about us having to fork over cash to help fund the neverending grift

_______

eaf--

Clearly Hydro, at least so far, is the biggest grift of all.

So much so that I very much look forward to the Tweet from Ms. MacDonald that informs us that we really do need all these contracts given that consumption is sure to go up by 947% given the Mexican's soon to be announced initiative to heat up the Salish Sea by 10 degrees so that he and his high flying backers from the wizardry can then market the Gulf Islands as the new Northern Caribbean.

Or some such thing.


.

e.a.f. said...

Lew, loved the last para, ..............I think that is going to happen by 2050, of course we will still be paying or rather the grandchildren and their children will still be paying for queen of the photo ops, photo ops.

plse don't give MacDonald and Crhisty any ideas, she may run with them. hey she ran with the LNG and the trillion dollars and the 100K jobs, and what was worse voters in this province actually believed all that B.S. Just watch them buy into that woman's version of the truth............ms. perky two shoes........wonder what she has for breakfast that causes her to be able to say all those things with a smile and act like its the truth. Oh, right could be a really really good liar, could be missing something from the second etage, who knows.........

Too bad the MSM hasn't gone after Christy Clark and her handling of the economy, ICBC, B.C. Hydro, all those dead kids, spending, etc' the way they have gone after Mayor Moonbeam and his new stationary.
If they had Crhisty would have been out of a job at the last election. :Looking forward to the MSM throwing their support behind the B.C. Lieberals come this election also. B.C. Hydro and all its debts didn't happen in a vacumn. the msm just didn't do their job.

Anonymous said...

With her track record the scariest thing You Take Her at Her Word..?
Propaganda working?

e.a.f. said...

when is the premier lying? when her lips are moving. Of course I don't believe what that woman says, but a lot of voters in B.C. do. They think anything is better than the NDP even while kids in care are dying; billions of outstand debt at B.C. HYDRO; ICBC out of money; the list go on, but as sure as death and taxes the MSM will back Christy clark for Premier come election time. They can't afford to loose all that beautiful money they are making off of the provincial government ads. The fact kids die is simply not part of the profit equation.

Anonymous said...

Can somebody explain to me why 50 % of BC vote for a party which represents only 2 % of it's population?
Wild west donations?
98 % may 2017?
Unlimited?

e.a.f. said...

ah, A. 10:16 a.m., welcome to B.C. it has been like this ever since I can remember. When I was a kid I thought it was a disease here in B.C. or something very crooked. You see between elections no one ever voted for the Socreds, you'd be hard pressed to find some one who would admit it. Then come the next election, they'd get elected again, so as to why they vote for a party which represents about 2% of the population, After approx. 55 yrs I can only conclude there is something in the air at all polling stations in B.C. O.K. a few times they left the stuff out of the air and we had an NDP government. Now we have the B.C. Lieberals and the stuff they put in the air at polling stations is there again. the only other thing which comes to mind is some how the newspapers the day before the election hipnotise the population with their editorial advising them to vote Socred/B.C. Lieberal.

My Mom told me the people of Richmond sold their souls for a dollar a week, the election they decided to go with a Socred MLA, Ernie L. He promised to remove the tolls on the Oak St. bridge if they elected him. it explained a lot about politics in this province for me.

There isn't much difference between what went on in B.C. politics back in 1963 that are not going on to day except its just more blatant today, especially those pay to play soirees. By 1963 I understood what went on with contract being awarded in B.C. its still the same. (O.k. I listened in to adults when I shouldn't have)

Part of why people vote the way they do in B.C. is, B.C. has always been the end of the line. You couldn't go any further. so the dreamers stayed here. why they vote against their own interests maybe the same as why people chased gold back in the day. perhaps its wanting to belong to a group, they don't belong to, but the leader smilies upon them from t.v. and they just fall for it. Join us and we will lead you to prosperity. they want to believe.

Our Mother told us the only thing which gets you prosperity was a good education, a good job with the government or a Unionized company, and working hard. No one was ever going to give you anything especially the government which was made up of people far richer than us.

Perhaps B.C. remained in its colonial mind set for longer than other provinces. who knows. it was always we know better, just vote for us. Back in the day the majority of politicians were of British descent. An attitude prevailed in this province back then.

At times the Alberta P.C.s were more progressive than B.C. Socreds and B.C. Lieberals. Other provinces changed governments when they didn't like them, who knows why B.C. votes the way it does, .....

my prediction for this election, Christy Clark and her B.C. Lieberals perhaps this time with a smaller majority or a minority, but they'll still be there and the next week another child will die in care and every one will deny voting B.C. Lieberal/

North Van's Grumps said...


Globe and Mail: Kathy Tomlinson:

.... Mr. Jiles and Mr. Giraud are among the biggest Liberal supporters on a list of 53 frequent donors ...

Does this mean that Jiles and Giraud are no longer on the list 53 frequent donors list OR does it mean that there are 51 more frequent donors not known to Elections BC or the BC Liberal Party?

Is there a Shadow list, double set of books that hasn't been provided by Leader and Premier Christy Clark?

e.a.f. said...

I'd bet the next pension cheque there is another set of books or rather no books at all, just a fast cash in a brown or some coloured envelope. there are all sorts of ways to "donate" money to the B.C. Lieberals and if its not on the books like who would be surprised. That woman has no sense of morality or ethics, just look at the number of children who died who were her and her cabinet minister's responsibility. She didn't care, nothing much changed, kids still died. so if kids dying in your care how do you suddenly grow "sense" when it comes to money?

Anonymous said...

Victoria rules?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTxSNosJrDo