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From Marcella Bernardo, now workin' it hard (and very well) for CKWX:
While campaigning in Kelowna, she (Christy Clark) was asked about an investigation which revealed more than $140-million worth of (provincial) tax dollars have been spent giving tax breaks to more than 80 foreign companies.
Here’s how Clark responded to the claim only 300 jobs have been created by Advantage BC.
“I am really impressed that you made it all the way through that article and were able to figure out what the guy was trying to say.”...
Gosh.
Is it possible that Ms. Clark, she a former member of the local ProMedia, thinks that the inverted pyramid lede should lead every story that is critical of her government's policies straight into the deepest, darkest corner of King Tut's tomb?
In the particular case of the New York Times story under consideration by Dan Levin, I reckon the lede actually leads to this million watt candlepower blowtorch:
...Participating companies have created few jobs, according to government figures, while more than 140 million Canadian dollars ($106 million) have been doled out in (BC provincial) tax refunds since 2008, when the initiative was expanded...
The incentives operate under a cloak of secrecy that is unusual for similar efforts in Canada and the United States, critics say. The province (of BC) will not name the companies that get the breaks. The only information available about them is on the website of a nonprofit that promotes the program.
“This is essentially a temporary foreign-worker program for the rich, with secret government subsidies for multinational corporations,” said Dermod Travis, the executive director of IntegrityBC, a nonpartisan political watchdog group based in Victoria, the provincial capital. “The government is selling B.C. as a tax haven for the global elite to park investment here, but not have to contribute.”...
What's for our fine Premier not to understand?
Except, of course, that long division would tell her that $140 million could fund 2.7 million bus passes for the disabled.
Yes.
You read that number right.
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Wednesday, May 03, 2017
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6 comments:
Premier Clark's comment about the NYT article makes me thing of the adage, 'better to say nothing and appear stupid than to say something and remove all doubt'.
Thank goodness for Integrity BC, and for Ross K getting it to us.
It's remarkable how ideologically neo-right the BC Liberals are. Their obsequiousness to the cabal of stateless corporatists is, for all we can know at this point, and for a relatively peripheral player, appalling.
BC Liberal ideals are celebrated in private because it's impolitic to admit ethical deficit financing by way of secrecy, perfidy, and inhumanity.
Curse them and their craven prostitution of our fair province to their shadowy masters.
That's some adage, that Iron Ivanka Bird adage (follow-up post will more fully explain).
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Scotty--
Ms. Bernardo is one of the good ones. She gets to the details of a story that matter.
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And, now that I think about it....
One can only wonder if Ms. Bernardo's demonstrated rigor as a journalist is the reason that she didn't receive a sinecure from the Wizards of Clarklandia after she left CKNW and/or that new Pointy station.
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Time to blow the lid of this corrupt government. One has to wonder how many more sweet deals have been made with foreign companies and rich individuals, to fund so called projects in this province.
Advantage BC needs to be investigated, especially its association with corporate groups like PacNet.
We are in need of a serious corruption enquiry in this province.
Someone on the Horgan campaign should juxtaposition a clip from Clark's acceptance speech from the last election where she blathers about government transparency and openness and her secrecy surrounding this latest issue. The stark contrast between the two statements may open many voters eyes and reveal Clark's true nature. On the other hand,for many voters, a smile and a wink seems to be what determines their vote.
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