Canadian politics thread

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by welfare

It is possible her comment was misinterpreted or taken out of context.
As it was translated into English, things can get lost.
I don't know whether that is the case. But it is possible.

Nothing taken out of context really.

As Teriyaki said... almost like a reverse entitlement.

It reads something like she's the only Chinese candidate and Singh is Indian. And since there are xxx voters of Chinese background in the area, we can control the result.

Again, seeking votes, not with her view, experience or anything... just race. The TL : DR version would be "I'm Chinese, and if you are too, you should vote me because the main competitor is Indian."

[CivicBlues]

This whole Karen Wang debacle makes me feel like I'm living in Malaysia again where all politics is race based. Same 2 ethnicities in play as well.

Fuck, for shame Canada. For shame.

[eclipseman]

Anyone read Speaker Plecas' report on the Clerk and Sergeant at Arms?

Quite the read...

https://www.scribd.com/document/3979...een&from_embed

[Jmac]

Incoming slap on the wrist and fake tears in public apology

[carisear]

while i agree what they did was wrong, that should've been taken care of internally long ago, and not made into a huge spectacle by the speaker. i believe he's jockying for political points.

I don';t think anyone here is surprised by the improper use of taxpayer money.

[Manic!]

Looks like the by election in Nanaimo is going to be a close one. I think the Liberals may take it.

A lot of people in the construction/real estate industry in BC are hopping for a liberal win.

[Jmac]

Originally Posted by Manic!

Looks like the by election in Nanaimo is going to be a close one. I think the Liberals may take it.

A lot of people in the construction/real estate industry in BC are hopping for a liberal win.

So the people who helped contribute to our real estate bubble and unsustainable economy? Perfect

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by Jmac

So the people who helped contribute to our real estate bubble and unsustainable economy? Perfect

The flip side is the construction industry is booming and is hiring a ton of people which create jobs and help other industry. Also a ton of people are buying luxury goods which also create jobs and boost our economy. There are lot of new luxury stores open across Vancouver because of the real estate/construction which brings in rich people. Just look at how many luxury cars are on the road people shopping at HR buying expensive clothing and eating out at restaurants.

[Derpdidoo]

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local...HXpyojHTnaiaJs

I can hear Trudeau waxing his board as he salivates over this. Instead of taking the resort for $1, the feds should pay him for all the money hes invested in it. I'd burn the place down before handing it over at the end of the lease

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by Mr.HappySilp

The flip side is the construction industry is booming and is hiring a ton of people which create jobs and help other industry. Also a ton of people are buying luxury goods which also create jobs and boost our economy. There are lot of new luxury stores open across Vancouver because of the real estate/construction which brings in rich people. Just look at how many luxury cars are on the road people shopping at HR buying expensive clothing and eating out at restaurants.

And the price for that is an entire generation of locals leaving because they can't afford shit in the city?

This is the same idea of our supply chain management system on our dairy. Benefitting a small group of people while making everyone else suffer.

Seriously, it's time for Vancouver to shift its focus onto something less bubbly. If an industry (the largest as a matter of fact) can only be sustained with hype and bubble, it's only a matter of time the bubble will break. By continuing to inflate it, you just delay it, but a bubble will burst eventually.

[Jmac]

Originally Posted by Hehe

And the price for that is an entire generation of locals leaving because they can't afford shit in the city?

This is the same idea of our supply chain management system on our dairy. Benefitting a small group of people while making everyone else suffer.

Seriously, it's time for Vancouver to shift its focus onto something less bubbly. If an industry (the largest as a matter of fact) can only be sustained with hype and bubble, it's only a matter of time the bubble will break. By continuing to inflate it, you just delay it, but a bubble will burst eventually.

That's because they didn't live with their parents and forgo a social life into their 30s so they could buy a condo.

[Infiniti]

Originally Posted by Jmac

That's because they didn't live with their parents and forgo a social life into their 30s so they could buy a condo.

Disclaimer: If you were being sarcastic then please disregard.

An individual who is consumed by work throughout their 20's while foregoing the opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of being young just so they can afford an apartment is regrettable as well. You're only young once. I am by no means advocating that pleasure be the only pursuit for someone in their 20's, but failing to take advantage of ones youth is unbalanced and can be conducive to regrets later on.

As the saying goes, "Youth is wasted on the young".

[Nlkko]

You mean you don't want to be like Mr.HappySilp

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by Infiniti

Disclaimer: If you were being sarcastic then please disregard.

An individual who is consumed by work throughout their 20's while foregoing the opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of being young just so they can afford an apartment is regrettable as well. You're only young once. I am by no means advocating that pleasure be the only pursuit for someone in their 20's, but failing to take advantage of ones youth is unbalanced and can be conducive to regrets later on.

As the saying goes, "Youth is wasted on the young".

I'd believe he was being sarcastic.

But seriously though... I see people around me and I find it scary.

A vast majority of their entire disposable income is in the housing. And quite frankly, I find it hard to reason from a pure math perspective.

In-law recently sold and currently rent a nice 3600sqft house valued at 1.9xM in the last assessment for $3000 a month. For simplicity sake, let's just assume he can buy it today for 1.7M.
The mortgage payment plus the property tax is at roughly $8000 a month (assuming 3.29% interest rate, which I have my doubts of getting this low now). The $3000 he's currently paying isn't even enough to pay the INTEREST (which rounds at about 40000/year at 3.29) for the first 10 years. Should the rate go any higher, say an average of 5% throughout the 25yrs term. The total in interest would be about 1M throughout the 25yrs. If he rents for the entire term, he'd still pay slightly less than what the interest would have cost him. And the owner has to worry about all the repairs and maintenance for that 25yrs period... which really adds up if one was strict to keep the house in good shape.

This is how absurd YVR's housing market is now. Landlords are literally paying their tenants to stay in their house.

[Manic!]

Not looking good for the NDP.

https://www.straight.com/news/119348...v808KJWgSPC_kQ

[westopher]

Things are looking great for Vancouver real estate investors I guess.

[Bouncing Bettys]

Originally Posted by Manic!

Not looking good for the NDP.

https://www.straight.com/news/119348...v808KJWgSPC_kQ

In the short term perhaps. In the long term, they might easily win a majority if anything comes of this investigation:

B.C. legislature probe could become biggest political scandal in Canadian history: official
The B.C. Speaker’s Chief of Staff Alan Mullen made the explosive prediction in an exclusive interview. 'We are talking about a lot of money. ... A lot of taxpayer money'

The investigation into alleged financial wrongdoing and mismanagement at the provincial legislature could balloon into the largest political scandal this country has seen, says the B.C. Speaker’s chief of staff.

Alan Mullen made the explosive prediction in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with Postmedia three days after Speaker Darryl Plecas released a bombshell report into alleged financial concerns at the legislature. Mullen said he and Plecas will continue to investigate allegations about misuse of taxpayer money, and that the public should expect more reports in the future.

“We are not stopping. I wouldn’t assume we are done — we aren’t even close to being done. I think this could turn into the single biggest item in Canadian political history,” said Mullen. “We are talking about a lot of money. A lot of money. A lot of taxpayer money.”

After conducting a year-long investigation, Plecas on Monday released a report that accused suspended Clerk Craig James and sergeant-at-arms Gary Lenz of “flagrant overspending” that included inappropriate expenses, lavish foreign trips that involved little work, and questionable retirement and pay benefits. The allegations have not been proven in court, and James and Lenz deny any wrongdoing.

Mullen said earlier this week that the report was merely a grenade, and that the big bombs were still to come. When asked Thursday what he meant by this, he cited a parallel investigation by police and the fact that two special prosecutors have been assigned to the file.

“I can’t remember a case in British Columbia where two special prosecutors are assigned, usually it is only one,” said Mullen, a former correctional administrator and prosecutor, including at Kent Institution where he met Plecas, who was a criminology professor and worked part-time as a federal prison judge before his election in 2017.

“There are two special prosecutors because this is so big, and so important and affects every single British Columbian. They just felt that one special prosecutor wasn’t enough. This is too much information.”

Mullen would not say whether criminal charges would be laid, noting that is up to police and prosecutors, but he has said Plecas provided the RCMP with more allegations beyond what is contained in the first report on alleged inappropriate expenses and personal payments.

“I could certainly confirm that the police are looking at expenses, but they are looking at a lot more stuff too. They are preparing production orders, i.e. search warrants. They are all over this. And it is not just about: ‘You claim per diems when you get a free meal,’” he said.

“I would say (police) are working around the clock.”

When asked for an example of issues that police could be investigating, he declined to comment, but suggested the public may hear more from police by the end of February or early March.

Plecas’ first report focused mainly on James and Lenz, with brief mentions of former speakers Linda Reid and Bill Barisoff. When asked if future reports could include additional people, potentially other politicians, Mullen was non-committal.

“It is possible, but it is too early to say at this point,” he said. “There are already some implications about others, but we are not going to be saying anything negative until we are sure.”

The first report focuses on the past 18 months, and Mullen estimates it documents a couple million dollars in alleged inappropriate spending when vacation payouts, benefits, and expenses are included.

After reviewing the report, MLAs from all parties voted unanimously for a forensic audit at the legislature, which Mullen would like to see go back to at least 2012 — when it is alleged James received a $257,000 “retirement allowance” for which he may not have been entitled. If the audit goes back six or so years, Mullen believes the total amount of misspent money could be in the tens of millions.

Issues that could be the focus of future reports, he said, could range from the alleged inappropriate termination of legislative employees who raised concerns about financial irregularities, to the alleged misuse of severance packages.

The first report includes an odd exchange between Plecas and James, in which the Speaker — who made enemies with the Liberals and was expelled from the party after taking the Speaker’s job — said he knows his expenses would always be scrutinized. Plecas claims James then told him not to worry because the clerk had “so much dirt on the Liberals” that he could threaten to “stop paying their legal bills” or “quit paying their severance payments.”

When asked about this exchange, Mullen alleged that some employees of the Liberal party received three severance payments after the 2017 election — when the government changed to the NDP, when the party’s interim leader was named, and when the new leader started.

“You can’t do that. Unless, of course, you just do it anyway,” he said.

These allegations have not been tested in court.

For now, it is unclear what will happen next.

“As frustrating as it is for the public and for us, we have to be patient and let the police do their job and let the special prosecutors do theirs, and we’ll see if there will be charges or not,” Mullen said.
https://nationalpost.com/news/politi...b-6cdbd3de745d

[Hondaracer]

BC politics in one picture?

[whitev70r]

https://nationalpost.com/news/politi...ybould-resigns

Earlier on Monday, Trudeau had told reporters in Vancouver that he had “full confidence in Jody” and had met with her twice since landing in the city on Sunday. “In our system of government, of course, her presence in cabinet should actually speak for itself,” he said.

Jody Wilson-Raybould just said a big FU to Trudeau.

[westopher]

Canada is so fucked. Start saving your money and get ready for 4 years of the 61 cent CAD under the "fiscally responsible" conservative government.
All Trudeau needed to do for four years to be re-elected was nothing, considering the other options, and he couldn't even do that right.

[zyzzjr]

[westopher]

It won't be the only factor of course, but you think Scheer is going to be able to steer the ship? Things aren't looking good with any of Canada's major trading partners, and he's not going to be building any bridges.

[Infiniti]

Originally Posted by westopher

Canada is so fucked. Start saving your money and get ready for 4 years of the 61 cent CAD under the "fiscally responsible" conservative government.
All Trudeau needed to do for four years to be re-elected was nothing, considering the other options, and he couldn't even do that right.

Conservatives winning the next election is not a foregone conclusion so chill out

[westopher]

I can’t see any other possibilities at this point. I’ll be HAPPILY wrong.

[Infiniti]

Originally Posted by westopher

I can’t see any other possibilities at this point. I’ll be HAPPILY wrong.

Trudeau may very well win again. Albeit, maybe not with the same majority. History is on Trudeau's side though as most governments get re-elected for a second term. You'd have to go back to Trudeau Sr's last term as PM in 1980 for a single term tenure.

A few points to consider why the Cons may not win:

-Scheer's "brand" awareness is low.
-Conservatives have yet to identify any sort of major commitments they will be campaigning on.
-The Bernier split is going to hurt the Conservatives, especially in Quebec.