Homelessness and Poverty

Poverty in British Columbia is becoming a persistant black mark against our province. For the past six years, all years of BC Liberal governance, British Columbia has ranked as the province with the highest child poverty rates in Canada. Furthermore, in the city of Burnaby where I so happily reside, 29.2% of all children live in poverty. This is heartbreaking on so many levels and needs to be rectified immediately.
There are so many things that can be done, at local, provincial and national levels of government, and even just by regular people reaching out and lending a hand.
Local governments can pitch in by raising awareness of the issues within the city, and re-zoning buildings to be used for social housing or emergency shelters for those who need help getting back on their feet.
Provincial Government; this is the time to start building up social housing in major cities and in every other city in your provinces. We've all been given an influx of cash from the stimulus package, use this money to construct low cost housing for the most vulnerable in society instead of things that can't help allieviate a problem that the United Nations now calls a national emergency.
The Federal Government need to start putting together a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem in a systematic, uniform method that all the provinces can work with. Canada is now the only industrialized nation without a national plan, and it shows in the statistics regarding our poverty levels.
The three levels of government have to start working together to solve this problem, because its not going to solve itself, and these are lives that are being ruined in poverty instead of contributing to society.
For individuals who want to get involved, stick with non-profit organizations, there are charity groups in every city and town just desperate for more volunteers to help feed those in need. Especially since this is now getting into winter, any kind of donation to charitable organizations is welcome, or even a donation of money if you don't have non-perishable food or warm clothes to donate.
The only societies that have poverty are those that allow poverty to exist. Together as citizens and as government organizations, we can work together and defeat poverty in our lifetimes.

New Westminster By-Election

Everyone please come out to support Fin Donnelly, the NDP candidate in the By-election scheduled for November fourth. Fin has been working hard to protect the interests of regular Canadians, and needs our help to go to Parliament and stand up for the middle class.

After a long break

I'm finally back. The end of summer and the beginning of a new school year has really caught me off guard, so I haven't had a chance to bring the fire and brimstone to the webwaves. However, the Parliamentary and Legislative sessions are back on, so its going to get a lot busier here.

Questions to a Cabinet Minister, or two.

The newest reports on child labour have been released today, and the information held within is truly startling. Startling enough that questions have to be asked of our Liberal Government as to why they've allowed things to become as bad as they are for today's youths. Child labour has become more accepted, as youths require more money to do the things they enjoy, and to support their families in these tough economic times, so why is it that the Government refuses to enact means to protect our most vulnerable workers.
So I would like to ask the Honourable Mary Polak, the Minister of Children and Family Development, and the honourable Murray Coell, the Minister of Labour a few questions, since this does relate to their Cabinet portfolios.
First; Why is it that you are supportive of the law that allows youths from the ages of twelve to fourteen to work if they have written parental consent when over fifty-eight percent of those youth report that they have not obtained that consent or given it to their employer? Where is the accountability in creating a law and then doing nothing to ensure it is upheld? Our youth deserve better than to possibly be working without their parents' knowledge or consent.
Second; For the sixth year in a row, British Columbia has stood as the province with the worst child poverty rate in Canada. How are you working to end child poverty in British Columbia, and why have we constantly been ranked as the worst province under your watch? Children should not have to worry about food on their plates or a roof over their heads, but under your governance and guidance, more and more of our youths have to decide between housing and eating everyday, and British Columbians deserve to know why its becoming more of a problem instead of less of one, and what you will do to alter the dismal record your government has created.
Third; The limitations on how long a young person can work in a week are well thought out, but I would like to ask the Honourable Ministers how this is enforced. How does the Government expect British Columbians to believe they can adequately check on the number of hours worked by a youth in a week when they eliminated the only means available to the Government to even know how many youths were in the workforce? Can it please be explained how the Ministers and their staffs are to protect people they do not know are working. Citizens deserve to know how enforcement of youth protections is carried out when the Government cannot possibly be aware of how many youths there are working.
Finally; Why does the Government not legislation outlining what kinds of jobs young people can work in? British Columbia is the only province that does not have any laws or regulations regarding the occupations or tasks that a youth can work. How can this Government claim to care about youths and put youths first when there are no restrictions on the kinds of jobs they perform, including dangerous jobs not suited to younger people.
Thank you Ministers, I hope that you will respond and tell British Columbians that their children are indeed safe in the workplace, and show us how true that statement is with some facts.

Environmental proposal

Many people here have heard of a "carbon tax" which would increase the costs of energy. The idea behind such a tax is to reduce consumption of fossil fuels and other carbon producing energy sources, which are a direct cause of global climate change. Instead of a government imposed carbon tax, what would the effects be of a carbon REBATE, whereby corporations and individual homes were give a cash rebate for reducing their annual carbon production? The administration of such a proposal would be challenging, as a baseline annual total would have to be compiled by a government entity before the program could begin. What I'm proposing is that for every ton of carbon dioxide that has been reduced from the baseline numbers, homeowners and businesses could receive a refund of say, $15.00. Theoretically, this would cost the government money, but any reduction in income would be absorbed by consumer purchases of more expensive but environmentally friendly technology. In comparison, the costs of purchasing "greener" appliances would be covered by the rebates being paid to the homes and businesses, resulting in a new micro-economy regarding green tech. As such technologies begin to gain popularity, price would be controlled through competition to ensure greatest number of sales, making the switch manageable for business as well as the government and the consumers. As an incentive, the rebate could increase at certain points when exceptional amounts of reduction have occurred, an example being at one ton per household or thirty tons per business.
EDIT: I got some numbers off of the BC government website, so theoretically this would be the measure in which this policy would proceed, matching the carbon tax and making both revenue neutral to each other.



Liquid Fuels
Gasoline ¢/Litre 2.41 3.62 4.82 6.03 7.24
Diesel ¢/Litre 2.76 4.14 5.52 6.89 8.27
Light Fuel Oil ¢/Litre 2.76 4.14 5.52 6.89 8.27
Heavy Fuel Oil ¢/Litre 3.11 4.67 6.22 7.78 9.33
Aviation Gasoline ¢/Litre 2.45 3.67 4.90 6.12 7.34
Jet Fuel ¢/Litre 2.62 3.93 5.25 6.56 7.87
Kerosene ¢/Litre 2.56 3.84 5.12 6.40 7.68

Gaseous Fuel
Natural Gas ¢/GJ* 49.88 74.82 99.76 124.70 149.64
Propane ¢/Litre 1.53 2.30 3.06 3.83 4.60
Butane ¢/Litre 1.76 2.65 3.53 4.41 5.29
Ethane ¢/Litre 0.98 1.46 1.95 2.44 2.93
Pentane ¢/Litre 1.76 2.65 3.53 4.41 5.29
Coke Oven Gas ¢/GJ* 42.31 63.47 84.62 105.78 126.93
Still Gas ¢/GJ* 51.22 76.83 102.44 128.05 153.66

Solid Fuels
Coal - Canadian Bituminous $/Tonne 20.79 31.18 41.58 51.97 62.36
Coal - Sub-Bituminous $/Tonne 17.72 26.58 35.44 44.30 53.15
Coal - US Bituminous $/Tonne 24.39 36.58 48.78 60.97 73.16
Coke $/Tonne 24.87 37.30 49.74 62.17 74.60
Petroleum Coke ¢/Litre 3.67 5.51 7.34 9.18 11.01
Tires - shredded $/Tonne 23.91 35.87 47.82 59.78 71.73
Tires - whole tires $/Tonne 20.80 31.20 41.60 52.00 62.40

* Gigajoule

If the means to measure these fuels were produced, a proper carbon rebate could be created. Since this is problematic, a pragmatic solution would be to focus specifically on liquid fuels and coal, which are easily tracked and can be rebated easily each year to stack with the carbon tax. This could be done by using the more easily detected CO2e (carbon dioxide equivilant) emissions created by all fuel sources, which would be calculated at the following rates for each of the coming years.

July 1, 2010 - $20 per tonne of CO2e emissions
July 1, 2011 - $25 per tonne of CO2e emissions
July 1, 2012 - $30 per tonne of CO2e emissions
July 1, 2013 - $35 per tonne of CO2e emissions

In order for this to be revenue neutral, 1.849 billion dollars in eco-friendly sales have to be purchased, which is returned to the consumer via both lower carbon tax payments and a carbon rebate equal to the amount of CO2e reduced from the previous year's consumption will be sent to each household.

Harmonized sales tax

The new harmonized sales tax proposed by the BC Liberals, to be put in place for July 1st 2010 is easily the best way to destroy our recovering economy. On paper, the harmonized tax looks as though it won't change the cost of any goods as you currently purchase them. This is untrue. The harmonized sales tax forces consumers to pay what was previously the goods and service tax on goods that was not previously taxed, thus increasing the price of things such as "non-essential" groceries, as determined by the government.
First and foremost, how do the BC Liberals intend on paying for the tax rebates promised by switching to the harmonized sales tax? The BC Liberal website claims that there will be yet another low income tax credit, just as there is with the carbon tax. It claims that there will be rebates on all new housing projects, as well as rebates municipalities, churches and other qualifying non-profit organizations. The BC Liberals state that the harmonized sales tax will remove over 2 billion dollars in costs from BC businesses. With the Canadian Government only giving the province 1.6 billion dollars to cover the transition to the new harmonized tax, where will the money be found to cover the costs of the rebates, as there is no new government income being created, if you ask the BC Liberals. So how does the government propose that the taxpayers pay for their own rebates? It seems that there is no answer given to that by the BC Liberals. Make no mistake, this inability to answer where the money to pay for the tax shift is problematic, and could undermine the economic recovery we currently have in place.
Why do we suddenly need to switch over to this new harmonized sales tax? Ever since Premier Campbell won his first term in government, the BC Liberals have been trumpeting how British Columbia is the best place on earth. There's no disputing that from me, but if British Columbia is such an attractive place to live and set up businesses, why is the government so interested in suddenly fiddling with the tax system that made us the best place on earth, especially at such a critical moment when the economy is beginning to experience positive growth again. What do the BC Liberals hope to gain by changing how we pay taxes?
But there doesn't need to be an answer given, this is just another choice made by the BC Liberals. A choice to protect and help their friends in big business instead of helping the middle class of British Columbia. No help for BC families, just BC CEOs.
Say no to the harmonized sales tax.

BC Rail emails required

So, the BC Supreme Court has ordered the BC Liberals to hand over emails regarding their sale of BC Rail and the alleged improprieties of the sale. It seems clear now that the courts, at least, think there is something to be gained from a more thorough investigation into the Campbell government, and its improperly deleted emails. We were told during the May election campaign that there was nothing improper done by the BC Liberals in the sale of BC Rail, yet the sitting Justice found there was enough probable cause to ask for these records. So where are they Premier Campbell? Why is it that you and your co-defendants are having such troubles giving the court all the documents that have been asked for?
What we're seeing here is a pattern of events showing Premier Campbell and his BC Liberal allies do not believe they is constrained by the law, and that it should have no bearing upon them being allowed to keep their jobs as public servants. What does it say about a government that only forces its members to resign when they're apprehended for their wrongdoings, instead of resigning prior to the arrest and avoiding conflicts of interest? It tells me that Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals cannot be trusted on matters of integrity such as the sale of a crown company. If our government doesn’t have belief in their good faith on a sale bid, how can we trust them to follow through for British Columbia’s interests at any other time? How can we trust the BC Liberals if they continue to act in a manner that flaunts the law and the public trust?
The people of British Columbia deserve full disclosure about the BC Rail sale Premier Campbell; you didn't give it to the People when BC New Democrats asked you before, will you do so now that both the NDP and the courts require it?