It is not just China.. China + Korea + Japan and now maybe India has formed a block to buy LNG contracts.

Geographically we have an advantage with LNG over the US because it is so cold up north we use much less energy to liquefy the gas, so potentially it can be cheaper.

It is a long term play.. most likely more than a life time of a politician.

BC Liberals to return $93,000 in ?prohibited? indirect donations - The Globe and Mail

Well, looks like the problem is solved.

BC Liberals promise commuter discounts - NEWS 1130

Liberals to cap port Mann and golden ears tolls at $500 per year potentially saving daily users up to $1000 a year. That's huge.

Probably not enough for the The dummies who take patullo etc though since it's the single
Time fee of $3 they don't like lol :/

As the NW councillor (or whatever his job is) said in the news, this is such a non-sensible policy though. The point of imposing bridge tolls is to introduce the user pays concept. Those who use the infrastructure a lot pays for their usage, and those who don't, well, don't! By setting an annual maximum, it just means that the shortfall of the operating (and construction) costs are going to fall back on the taxpayers, and that just completely goes against the user pays concept.

It is such a cheap trick in attempt to buy votes. Unfortunately, I think enough idiots will like it and support it.

Dark

lol are election results up on playnow or betting sites?

NDP with $400 rebate for all renters... :considered:

Nope. Still only showing just a bunch of Trump stuff and UK politics on Playnow.com.

I'm disappointed. Maybe they know the Libs are just going to cruise to another win?

I don't think we can actually wager on our own elections.

I vaguely remember trying to bet on the federal election and BCLC couldn't do it because it's against some law.

Housing platforms of each party

https://thetyee.ca/News/2017/04/14/E...Speed=noscript

Great now I can raise future rents by $33 a month. Also if parents charge there children rend will they get $400 a year?

In before parents start charging their new borns "rent" and collecting the $400.

Haha, no, the provincial NDP are not Liberal. SwiftRage

Election time is 3 weeks away. Driving around today I was thinking about each parties platforms.

Things that matter to me: Housing, reducing rush hour congestion, site c dam, a stance on monetary donations to political parties.

2017 British Columbia

Came across these 2 Crusty attack ads just today, even though they've apparently been around for a while. I personally wouldn't try to interpret too much out of them, but at least I think they could be serve as a good joke:

And if anyone cares, this is the News 1130 Leadership debate:

I watched that last night. I thought Dr. Andrew Weaver did a great job. It would have been nice to actually hear some of the things Horgan and Clark had to say but they kept on speaking over each other, it was a big turn off.

This is why you need a debate facilitator that is willing to step in and tell the other to shut up.

NDP vows to immediately replace the Patullo Bridge, Build LRT in Surrey and Skytrain extension along Broadway, while removing all bridge tolls.

NDP vows to make student loans interest free, give a $1000 "congrats, you got a degree!" payment to students and the $400 renters gift.

Let's not forget $10/day daycare, $15 min wage, Double the budget of BC Arts Council. Along with the obvious increases to Teachers and Health Care workers.

I'll let anyone pick and choose which promises they agree with. My question is where does the money come from? Speculation tax and increases taxes on the wealthy? Possible increased BC Hydro and ICBC fees?

I get it that people feel Christy Clark and the BC Liberals are for sale to foreigners and corporations, but for the NDP to make promises and their plan to pay for these promises is just to increase taxes doesn't sit well with me.

Corporations are always looking for taxes breaks as incentives to do business in a particular city. Increasing their taxes will help drive them away. Remember the whole #savebcfilm movement a few years ago? What happened to that? Oh yeah, the gov't gave the film industry a tax break, BC film is now booming again. Except it recently lost the production of the series "Lucifer" to Los Angeles. Why? Because LA gave the series a tax break.

I wish Christy Clark and the BC Liberals weren't the better choice. But unfortunately it seems like they are. again.

:rant

THIS! It worked for Trump. :fullofwin:

The NDP would have a fair shot at winning but its supporters would be branded as ignorant racists and anti-establishment goons, much like they are in the USA. I'm not sure how some life-long NDPers would feel about that, but there are lots of "anti-foreigner" citizens amongst the wealthy and middle class in BC. Following this mantra would for sure increase the amount of NDP supporters. FeelsGoodMan

I completely agree with you on all of your points -- except that Crusty and the Libs are the better choice here.

There is no doubt the NDP platform is unsustainably expensive. But is that necessary an unacceptable thing? As a province, we can take on a certain amount of debt. In this election's case, I think the more appropriate question to ask ourselves is -- is BC sustaining 4 year's worth of NDP deficit budget better or worse than having Crusty and the Libs to continue to pillage the lower and middle class' wealth and transferring them to the foreign "investors" and big corps? The beautiful numbers presented by the Libs are factual, but what lies beneath those facts are how the money came about -- it came from raiding crown corps' balance sheets, reducing some much needed social services, selling our province out to speculators and profiteers, etc. In the end, these aspects come back to bite our a$$es one way or another. The crown corp raiding means we are seeing massive Hydro and ICBC rate hikes. The social services reductions means our child poverty is serious, mental health patients not supported, and these in turn manifest themselves as troubled youth, drug abuse / OD crisis. Selling the province out can pad our short term balance sheets with nice, "comfortable" surpluses, but then they come back to haunt us as house affordability crisis and shxt tiny 400 sq ft "living spaces".

So I am going to urge you -- don't just look at the short term balance sheet. Look at something bigger, with a wider and longer term perspective.

I am normally right of center on the political spectrum, and that means I should be more of a Liberals supporter. But after 16 years of their shxt, I'd say the province has swung too far off to one side now.

The problem with the NDP is that a lot of people still have the taste of 90's NDP in their mouth, much of which Horgan was involved in.

With the provincial liberals, and hell, even the federal liberals, I don't agree with a lot of what they do. I'm also more right wing and with the lack of a true Conservative party in BC the liberals are about as conservative as it gets here.

Didn't like truedeu and the libs getting into power, but let's face face, little to nothing has changed in the way my daily life goes. Things are pretty damn good imo.

That's the way I see the liberals as well. The cold hearted me only really cares about issues thay directly effect me. I don't have a big problem with tax increases to fight the drug problems, money going to social and mental health, hospitals, ER waits, infrastructure, etc. I do have a problem however with my tax dollars going into affordable child care, "affordable" housing in Vancouver, their student loan policy, etc.

Giving people money simple to pull a shroud over their eyes that they are doing "ok" or getting by isn't what any government should be doing. Vancouver is expensive, insanely expensive, and with a zero vacancy rate people are finding ways to be here because they want to. Empty homes and airBNB do not make up a large enough percentage to desimate the market, it's the people who have no business living in Vancouver being block heads thinking that they could not ever possibly live in cloverdale or Langley. When in reality, that change in scenery would probably increase their quality of living substantially.

With the liberals in power almost everyone I know has done quite well during their reign and continue to do well. Everyone has work, has money, many have homes and enjoy their current situation.

A lot of those same people lost jobs, lost companies, lost a hell of a lot of money and equity in their lives through the NDP in the 90's. Many of their current policies sound like they could have the same effect.

So you're suggesting we elect a gov't that will spend a massive amount of taxpayer dollars on services for all citizens while not concerning themselves of how they will recoup the money they've spent?

Isn't that like maxing out a credit card on car parts and ignoring how you will pay back the credit card company but atleast you have a nice looking car that makes you feel good emotionally, makes you feel like you've increased your social status and makes you feel like you are at par with other car enthusiasts on the road?

:considered:

Wow that Horgan guy is rude as hell. That debate reflected horribly for NDP.

I think what they NDP needs is a real economic plan. That's their biggest weakness. It comes off as wreckless spending.