The Keef Report....The Tipping Of The Dippers.

ExileOn
KeefStreetVille


It's not often that we have two Keef Reports in one day, but the following was impossible to ignore:

 Link

Now, based on the time stamp, one can only assume that the Keef banged this out after he learned of the Conservative victory in Manitoba last night.

Interestingly, I don't remember him tweeting anything similar about the Cons after they got stomped in the Albertalands and Fed-Gen elections recently.


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Previous editions of the Keef Report can be found....Here.



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Latenight In Clarkland...This Way Insanity Reigns Supreme.

WhenWordSaladIsNot
EnoughVille


As a follow-up to our last post on carbon and wildfires and all that, our fine Premier has flown up to Sparkle Ponyland and she has spoken.

Jonny Wakefield of Alaska Highway News has the story.

Here is his lede, and a wee bit more, so that you can get a real feel for the insanity she is once again pushing:

Liquefied natural gas can help cut China’s coal consumption and turn the tide against climate change, which is contributing to an early wildfire season in Northeast B.C., Premier Christy Clark said Wednesday in Fort St. John.

The premier was in the Peace Region for a pro-LNG rally, planned weeks before a rash of wildfires forced people from their homes across northern B.C.

Asked about the early start to the fire season, Clark made a pivot to her government’s plan to export LNG to Asia.

“This early start to the fire season is alarming for everyone in the province,” Clark told reporters after a speech to LNG supporters from the back of an oilfield crane truck. “I know it’s been an immediate, urgent issue for people in the northeast, but if it’s starting this early here, it’s going to start early everywhere in the province.”

“This is the reality we’re facing today as the planet gets warmer,” she continued, saying climate change leads to dry conditions that exacerbate wildfires. “If there’s any argument for exporting LNG and helping fight climate change, surely it is all around us when we see these fires burning out of control.”

Clark tailored her comments to the current wildfires, but the argument is far from new. The BC Liberal government has long argued that LNG is less carbon-intensive than oil and coal, making it a net-positive for emissions reduction...


As for upstream emissions and scientists who say that what Ms. Clark is selling is pure, unadulterated codswallop?

Well.

You know...


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And we await, with bated-breath, the puffed-up punditry's coming commentary about how the Premier has once again bested the leader of the Opposition by once again (again!) spouting bullshite that once again (again! again!) has gone unchallenged by said punditry...Sheesh.


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Can You Offset The Carbon From Wildfires?

FoolingAsManyPeopleAsThePossiblyCan
AtAllPossibleTimesVille


The wizards and digitial influencers of Clarklandia  have apparently joined forces with the Ezra-phants in further riling up the folks of Northeastern BC who, as might be expected given the resurrection of the promises of Sparkle Ponies forever, are calling for folks to support the expansion of frack-based fossil fuel extraction in their region.

And I sympathize with them, I really do.

The folks of Northeastern BC, I mean (not the wizards and the full on shillophantic ones, Ezra-linked or otherwise).

But there is a thing downstream of all this desired extraction that we are going to have to come to grips with sooner or later.

Which is that it is only mid-April and Northeastern BC is burning.

And, as climate blogger Robert Scribbler notes, that is a real problem that cannot be waved away by media grandstanding:

...The new Canadian fire season, the one that climate change is bringing on, now starts in April. And it will likely continue on through September of this year. Nearly a half year of wildfires burning in what should have been one of the coldest climate zones in the world. A place now wracked by dangerous and difficult changes. A place where billions of sparks will fly this year over one of the world’s greatest piles of sequestered carbon....


OK?



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This Afternoon In Clarkland: The Forced Closing Of Schools...

...What's In A Number?

Or, to be more precise, what's in that '95%' capacity number that the Clarklandians are insisting upon before they will spend commit money to saving kids from death and/or dismemberment by earthquake?

As Tracey Sherlock reported recently in the Vancouver Sun, essentially nothing.

Here is her lede and a bit more (to include a pathetic response from the Clarklandian Ministry of (Anti-Public) Education:

The B.C. ministry of education is forcing the province’s school districts to have their schools 95-per-cent full before they can get funding for seismic upgrades. But next door in Alberta, the Calgary district is working on a plan to reduce its capacity, from the current level of 85 per cent, down to 80 per cent.

The Calgary Board of Education just approved a three-year capital plan asking for 20 new schools and 13 major upgrades. The objective of the plan is to get schools back to just 80 per cent utilization.

“The Calgary Board of Education has a recommended school utilization rate of 80 per cent,” said Joanne Anderson, the board’s media relations representative. “As a whole, the … system utilization rate is 86 per cent, and more than one-third of schools are over 90 per cent. By freeing up space, schools have more flexible learning spaces and can maintain other learning spaces such as music and art rooms and a school learning commons (library).”

In Vancouver, the board is looking at closing as many as 21 schools to get to a 95-per-cent utilization rate, as mandated by the ministry of education, and required before schools will be upgraded for earthquake safety...

{snip}

...When presented with the information from Alberta, the B.C. ministry of education said it all comes down to the budget.

“District-wide utilization rates are a key tool in making sure we deliver the best possible education for our students while ensuring value for taxpayers,” the ministry said in a statement. “Taxpayers want districts to make the best use of existing facilities before we invest millions of their tax dollars in new schools...


So.

There you have it - no justification of the 95% number and the raising of the false flag of 'new schools' rather than seismic upgrading by the Clarklandian Ministry concerned.

My take?

Kids are being used as hostages to force the closing of public schools on a massive scale for no good (or even defensible) reason whatsoever.


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This Day In Clarkland: The Conflict Commissioner Responds To Concerns Of Conflictyness.

SomeConcernsAreMore
ConcernfulThanOthersVille


As we have previously noted, British Columbia's Conflict-Of-Interest Commissioner, Paul Fraser, has a very close relative that has very close ties to, and currently works for (at her behest as an Order-In-Council appointment), the Premier of British Columbia, Christy Clark.

In addition, it was more recently noted that the Conflict Commissioner's then law firm gave a considerable sum of money to the Premier of British Columbia's political party just before he was appointed as the Conflict Commissioner by the previous Premier of British Columbia.

These two facts, which are indisputable, have led to concerns that the Conflict Commissioner may himself, at the very least, be in a perceived conflict of interest when it comes to investigating matters surrounding large donations made by individuals and corporations, at least some of which appear to be law firms, to the political party of the current Premier of British Columbia.

These facts and concerns led to the Conflict Commissioner making public a response to these concerns which the Victoria Times Colonists' Les Leyne noted andcommented on in a column published yesterday.

I am of the opinion that specific aspects of the Conflict Commissioner's response and Mr. Leyne's comments (or lack thereof) require further comment.

These include the following:

"...(Commissioner Fraser told Opposition MLA David) Eby it is well past the time when the career choices of one family member should compromise the aspirations of others..."

I find this statement by Mr. Fraser to be an obfuscation given that career choices and aspirations, compromised or otherwise, are not the point here. Instead, the point is that the Commissioner's son works for the Premier and can be fired by her at any time (and/or anyone who succeeds her). Thus, in my opinion at least, this is a situation that is ripe for potential conflict, particularly given that it is within the Commissioner's purview to make a ruling that could negatively affect the Premier's ability to continue on as Premier.


"...(Commissioner Fraser) said he was a partner with the law firm at the time the donations were made (to the BC Liberal Party), but not the named partner in the title.

The 400-lawyer firm was the result of a series of mergers and was a national firm with offices across Canada.

“I was never active in the management of the firm,” Fraser wrote. “I was not the guiding force in administrative decisions made by FMC in Vancouver or nationally during my tenure as partner.”..."

Now that is an interesting argument. Essentially, if I understand correctly, Mr. Fraser is using the Sergeant Schulz 'I know nothing' defense here by saying that it is a large national firm and that he had nothing to do with the running of the firm's operations in British Columbia because he was not a 'named partner'. However, as is implied in his statement, and is clear from the 'biography' page on the official 'Office Of The Conflict Of Interest Commissioner' website, Mr. Fraser was most definitely a 'partner' in the law firm concerned. Therefore, while may not have been a 'guiding force' is Mr. Fraser arguing that, as a partner operating in British Columbia, he was unaware of administrative decisions made by the firm, particularly those involving large political donations to a political party in British Columbia?


"...(Commissioner) Fraser said large law firms have contributed for years to all mainstream political parties and he said his previous firm’s were comparatively modest. “FMC was not well known for its political connections.”..."
Oh boy. Where to start with this one?

First, does not the fact that Mr. Fraser's law firm at the time was not well known for its political connections and that its previous contributions were modest in comparison to other large firms actually make it more noteworthy that his firm gave more than $25,000 to the BC Liberals during the two years before the then BC Liberal Premier appointed him Conflict Commissioner?

Second, if as Mr. Fraser says, 'large law firms have contributed for years to all mainstream political parties', does this not make the fact that Mr. Fraser's former law firm contributed, as Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch has pointed out, ONLY to the BC Liberal Party in the period under consideration even more noteworthy?

****

And with that I will stop this bit of fisking.

Except to finish with one final comment.

Which is that, again in my opinion, Mr. Fraser's response to the previous concerns raised actually raises further concerns about the possibility of, at the very least, a perception that a conflict of interest could arise during his investigation into the propriety of the BC Liberal Premier of British Columbia holding of secret meetings with large donors, corporate or otherwise, to her political party.


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And, if anyone thinks I am being unreasonable here, please recall that the Commissioner previously recused himself from investigating an allegation of conflict involving the current Premier of British Columbia once already.
I haven't been able to find an actual copy of the Commissioner's 'response' that Mr. Leyne says was made public. Thus, I have relied on the excerpts that Mr. Leyne and the VTC have published...However, if anyone can point me towards the response in its entirety (NVG?) I would be most grateful...



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He said he was a partner with the law firm at the time the donations were made, but not the named partner in the title.
The 400-lawyer firm was the result of a series of mergers and was a national firm with offices across Canada.
“I was never active in the management of the firm,” Fraser wrote. “I was not the guiding force in administrative decisions made by FMC in Vancouver or nationally during my tenure as partner.”
- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/columnists/les-leyne-commissioner-says-he-s-not-in-conflict-1.2233880#sthash.SZ6ZrK28.dpuf

The Keef Report...Shadow Boxing The BC Liberal Government On Hydro.

FauxPunditry
MeansNothingVille


Given the header above, and the pre-amble to, his latest print piece in Glacier Media print organs you might think that the Keef has seen the light and is ready to go toe-to-toe with Clarkandia when it comes to the malfeasance going down at BC Hydro.

But then he pivots by first doing a little bit of historical both-siderism before he throws the ultimate pillow-fight punch down at the fiscal gun-fight corral:

...The government has locked-in contractual obligations to independent power producers to the tune of nearly $60 billion, which means that in some years, BC Hydro will likely be paying over-market prices for electricity it doesn’t need...

So what is it about the qualifying 'most likely' in 'some years' that makes that punch so pillowy?

Well, as well known 'idiot blogger' Norm Farrell has demonstrated unequivocally...

This:

Gosh.

Would-a-thunk it.


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Previous Keef reports can be found...Here.


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The Selling Of Site C...Laila Injects A Few Critical Facts Into A Shillophant's Pitch.

AlwaysBeClosing
HiddenPAB-BotVille


Former BC Liberal government member and current CEO of the Vancouver Board of Boring Folks, Mr. Iain Black, has written a shillophantic OpEd on Site C that was recently published in the Vancouver Sun.

To make his (and/or his patrons') case, Mr. Black mixed in a wee bit of grease-laden reality into his lumpy bucket of codswallop in an effort to smooth things out for the big bamboozle.

To wit:


....Despite the advanced state of construction on Site C, and the decades of study and due diligence, there continues to be some who call for a delay or an outright cancellation of the project. The rationale for such a delay is that B.C. Hydro has an energy surplus and should therefore not be planning to bring on any new supply. Others suggest that in a slow economic environment, B.C. Hydro should take a wait-and-see approach before embarking on one of Canada’s largest infrastructure projects. Others believe the project warrants even more review.

In reality, this is the ideal time to undertake a project of this significance. Building Site C in this landscape of low interest rates, depressed material costs, and a ready workforce will help keep the project on budget, and amplify its benefits. Furthermore, the timing of Site C construction offers opportunities for B.C.’s workers, businesses and communities hurt by the mining, and oil and gas slowdown...


Do you see what the good Mr. Black (and/or the ghostly writers behind his words) did there?

If not, Laila steps in to make things clear with actual facts about what has actually been done (or not done) with respect that 'decades of study and due diligence' bit that was used by Mr. Black in an attempt to wave away the naysayers while he simultaneously waved the pom-poms:

Fact: The government exempted this project from the only review that looks at the financial aspects of the project and balances them with the benefit or not, to BC Hydro ratepayers.

Fact: The 2014 joint provincial and federal review panel could not see a need for the project and advised that it be sent to the BC Utilities Commission for review.

Fact: That same bit of legislation that exempted Site C from review, also exempted IPP’s, or Independent Power Projects, which we know now BC Hydro is often paying to sit idle and NOT produce energy

Fact: BC Hydro mislead the BC Utilities Commission once already,which resulted in an apology from the BC Hydro president,clearly demonstrating why this independent oversight is so critical.

Fact: BC Hydro borrows money to pay the BC government annual dividends, a foolhardy practice that is irresponsible and unsustainable – something we talked about here last year.


I'm sure we'll be seeing such a countervailing listing of such facts on the VSun OpEd page any day now...


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As she is always exceedingly careful to do, Laila fully shows her work in her post, which is well worth reading in its entirety.


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This Day In Clarkland...More Potential For Perceived Conflictyness In Commissioner Land.

Money
TalksVille


Previously, we noted that there appeared to be an element of, at the very least, the potential for perceived conflictyness for the provincial Conflict Commissioner, Mr. Paul Fraser, particularly when it came to his ability to investigate anything (and everything) to do with the goings on of British Columbia's current Premier, Ms. Christy Clark.

Why?

Because the Commissioner, Mr. Fraser, has an extremely close relative who has extremely close ties to Ms. Clark.

So close, in fact, that the Commissioner previously recused himself from an investigation that was centered around the previous actions said Premier, Ms. Clark.

But now, Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch has unearthed more.

Bob Mackin has the story in The Tyee:

...(P)ast donations to the BC Liberals linked to Fraser are raising concerns about his role in investigating allegations that Clark's fundraising activities violate provincial conflict rules...

{snip}

....Fraser was a partner in the Vancouver law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain. The Elections BC database shows the firm donated $25,383 to the BC Liberals from 2005 to 2007, including $10,000 to the successful Vancouver South campaign of Wally Oppal, the former B.C. Supreme Court judge. The firm donated to no other party...



So...

Just in case you have forgotten, Mr. Fraser was appointed Commissioner by then BC Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell in November of 2007 (i.e. just after his law firm gave big donations to the BC Liberals).

And, currently, Mr. Fraser is getting ready to launch a conflict of interest investigation into whether big money donors to the BC Liberals, now headed by Ms. Christy Clark, received favours for said big donations.

So (again)...

How is this there not, at the very least, the potential for a perception of conflictyness (in extremis) here that is so obvious that Mr. Fraser has not already recused himself from the matter at hand?

And, perhaps more to the point, how has the irony of all this been lost on the puffed-up members of the local proMedia pundit gentry, including one member who has stenoed-up the fact that Mr. Fraser has waved away the matter because the law firm is really, really big, or some such thing?


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Your Monday Morning Read...Mr. Farrell On BC Hydro.

DoingTheJobTheProMedia
Won'tVille


Stop hanging 'round here this fine morning looking for warmed over snark and, instead, get over to Norm's place right now.

Instead of the usual lede, here's his kicker:

...In FY 2015, BC Hydro facilities generated 41,443 GWh of electricity. In FY 2001, those very same sites produced 49,940 GWh, which is 20% more.

However, here's a vital point. In 2001, BC Hydro had assets of $12.6 billion. In 2015, assets had grown to $27.8 billion. The company has been spending heavily, allegedly to make the system more efficient. In fact, what is continuing is misappropriation of public wealth for the benefit of suppliers, contractors and other BC Liberal friends.

Some people believe the government intention is to privatize BC Hydro. However, I believe the present situation, with another $10 billion of public funds being thrown at Site C, is working just fine for Christy Clark, her cabinet colleagues and their sponsors.

Citizens should be asking for explanations, from politicians and the pro-media journalists who choose to ignore these facts.


Now get on over there and read the entire thing.

There are more of Norm's patented charts, based on publicly available material, and everything.


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Why does that 'publicly available material' tag matter?...Because it means that anyone in the puffed-up punditry could be writing about this stuff, right now....No censored FOIR and/or super-secret leakrative insider access required.



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This Weekend In Clarkland...Fighting Gangsters Yesterday And Today.

ProblemCreated
ProblemSolvedVille


Today (i.e. April 2016)...

 
Yesterday (i.e. August 2014)...

The RCMP in B.C. is facing millions of dollars in provincial funding cuts for the coming year, creating a budget squeeze that the Mounties say will lead to staffing reductions in its organized crime and homicide units...


Gosh.


I think I see a pattern here.



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And as for root causes?....Who needs to deal with those silly little trivial things!...After all they are nowhere remotely close to becoming a brand new "#1 Priority"...


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This Afternoon In Clarkland...How Many '#1 Priorities' Can One Premier Have?

FoamFingers
ForEveryoneVille



Well.

According to the sleuthwork of the sharp-eyed folks over at the PoMoPoCo Election Blog there have been at least five #1 Priorities for our fine Premier over the last couple of years.

These include, but are certainly not limited to:

- The Forest Industry
- BC/Alberta Hydro Grid
- Class Composition
- Families and All The Firstyness That Fits
- Sparkle Ponies....errrrr...LNG


All of which leaves one wondering what Ms. Clark's real/actual  #1 priority is.

Any guesses?



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No word, at least not yet, as to whether gangs 'n guns and/or unlimited cash for Crimestoppers tips are Ms. Clark's new #1 priority...I suppose we will have to wait to see how the focus groups, the polling and the media play goes before we find out about that. 
Tip 'O The Toque to Laila on the Twittmachine for the link to the PoMoPoCoEBlog.


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This Day In Clarkland...Parents And Students Are Hopping Mad.

Can'tYouJustSendThemAllToThe
PrivatesVille


Folks are pretty upset with what's going down in Lotusland Central when it comes to budget cuts to public schools.

Tracey Sherlock has the story in the VSun. Here is her lede:

Parents and students spoke out Thursday night — for the third evening in a row — in an attempt to save programs that could be lost because of Vancouver School Board’s planned $24-million budget reduction.

More than 40 people spoke about the importance of programs like the band and strings program, a Mandarin immersion program, librarians, literacy supports, gifted programs and other special programs that could be lost if the planned reductions necessary to balance the board’s $477-million annual budget go through. Poverty was mentioned many times by the presenters, as were special needs students and the supports they require...


Gosh.

Does this mean the Keef will go after these folks for their 'confusing' and 'wrong' information just like he did with another group of folks involved with the public schools awhile back?

But, you may be asking yourself...Why doesn't the VSB just refuse to pass a budget that will cut programs to shreds?

Well...

You know...

...By law, the board must pass a balanced budget by June 30, and if it doesn’t the government could fire the board and appoint a trustee, as happened to the Cowichan Valley School Board in 2012 and to the VSB in 1985...


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This Morning In Clarkland...Who Should Be Assisting Those That Need Help At Translink Fare Gates, 24/7?

NevermindTheBollocksHereComeThe
ClosedFareGatesVille


The latest in the travesty that is costing we, the people, $200 million and counting, as reported by CTV:

A university student who relies on the wheelchair-accessible gates to be open to get into transit stations says he’s frequently locked out under the new Compass system.

When TransLink started closing all the fare gates last week to clamp down on fare evaders, officials said they had a fix for people with disabilities unable to tap their Compass card in or out.

Spokesperson Jennifer Morland told CTV Vancouver it would continue to have staff at most of its stations along the SkyTrain and SeaBus...


So.

Who should be manning those unmanned  (i.e. not 'most of') gates 24/7.

Well...

My vote goes to the F'in Fare Gate Glimmer Twins, Mr. Kenneth Dobell and Mr. Kevin Falcon.

To start, at the very least.


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Again, this stupid system (which still won't take bus transfers bought with cash) was conjured up, pretty much out of thin air, to deal with a fare evasion problem that did not exist before it was manufactured by forces aligned with the two former public servants mentioned above, and then wurlitzered by a compliant Lotuslandian proMedia herd...The real solution?...If these bloody things can't be made to work for absolutely everyone they should be yanked out immediately before they cost us even more money and grief...Or, at the very least, open them all up and let people keep using the cards as they were up until last week. And for those that can't let validated their cards at the gate, let them get them validated by staff, security or otherwise, anywhere within the system (and if those staff, security or otherwise, aren't encountered by folks that need them, tough)...Alternatively, we could all be given information on how to do the bloody Compass Hack given the embedded stupidity within the stupidness of the ridiculously stupid system that, again, we are paying $200 million for thanks to the Glimmer Twins mentioned above.


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At The End Of The Day...

...It can be a really good thing to stop reading the theses that piled up while I finished grants and shipped another and just eat a big huge plate of Bigger E's vegetarian spaghetti and (not)meatballs.

'Twas very spicy and very good.

I will now waddle around block with the waiting Whackadoodle and beach guitar slung over back so as to practice latest entry in my own private Idahoan 'Even Better Than Wagonwheel!' contest.





(hint: Think pre-Southeastern Isbell and ol' fashioned cough syrup with the whallop)


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This Evening In Clarkland...Tomorrow's Stenography Tonight!

BromancingThe
StoneVille


From the hallowed halls of Clarklandian PAB-Bottery...

Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport, and Cultural Development and Minister Responsible for TransLink, today issued the following statement regarding recent meetings with the federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities:

“Last week, we had the opportunity to meet with the federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Amarjeet Sohi.

“We are pleased to say that the meeting was productive and echoed the substantial commitment the federal government has made to infrastructure spending in the recent budget.

“During the meeting we learned that the federal government is making good progress on defining the framework and criteria for various federal infrastructure programs and our focus now is to continue to work with our federal colleagues to align our priorities for funding. This means we will work to ensure British Columbia gets its fair share of the $11 billion that is available over the next three years...



So.

Which local proMedia Club member will hew closest to the press release in their piece tomorrow?

And which quotes attached to the official  PAB-Bottery do you think they will pull?

Regarding the latter, something tells me it won't have anything to do with the following:

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What's that last bit all about, Alfie?....Well...This.


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