Please post who you are voting for.

Remember folks: the elections take place May 17th

District Maps BC (http://www.elections.bc.ca/map/ed1999.html#DA)

Info on referendum - FPTP vs REP by POP (http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/ge2005/referendum.htm)

District Maps Vancouver/Victoria (http://www.elections.bc.ca/map/ed1999.html#DA)

Party/Candidate Info (http://www.elections.bc.ca/reg/political-parties.htm)

Im not stupid. Liberal all the way.

I say vote NDP BC. Get the economy turned around again. DOnt need growth and become a have not province again.

Yay let's seperate! I won't mind if the libs win, but wouldn't it be cool to be our own country?

i didn't know we had a Conservative Party...and a seperatist party? WTF?


Liberals all the way! not the retarded Democrats!

I say vote NDP BC. Get the economy turned around again. DOnt need growth and become a have not province again.

Hahah, good one.

If I could vote (because I'm only fifteen), I would vote for the Liberals.

The NDPs peeves me off really bad, especially the platform-less Carole James.

i HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE the liberals. HATE THEM SOOO MUCH...

sorry, NDP, and it's going to be the first time i get to vote too.

unless something disturbing happens like with the federal field, the BC Liberals will take Victoria again on May 17.

unless something disturbing happens like with the federal field, the BC Liberals will take Victoria again on May 17.

Except the only difference from the last election is that the NDP will have a lot more ridings and MLAs. It's going to be a close one.

unless something disturbing happens like with the federal field, the BC Liberals will take Victoria again on May 17.

Except the only difference from the last election is that the NDP will have a lot more ridings and MLAs. It's going to be a close one.


yeah, i think so too. in someways, that would be nice, but in others, a whole hell of a lot won't get done.

i don't trust the BC NDP at all. although the Liberals have done a few things that i disagree with such as privitizing BC Ferries, selling the fast cat ferries for nothing, attempting to privatize the Coke. the NDP wasted a billion dollars on the fast cat ferries, but most importantly - creating a dark age for the BC economy during the 90s with their anti-business environment moving all the jobs to Calgary and the 6 consecutive deficits during their reign of terror causing the province to be a have-not province in 1998 for the first time in half a century. Between 1996 and 2000, B.C. ranked last in Canada for job creation. Between 1992 and 2000, B.C.’s per capita economic growth fell to dead last in Canada.



what the Liberals did to healthcare and education had to be done to bring back the economy to its original glory. the whole system had to be reconfigured to fix the mistakes of the NDP, which was why the Liberals ran a deficit for their first few years and with surpluses, they reinvest back into social services with money we actually have.


like i said in another topic, if we want to be rich like Alberta, we should be China's bitch.


Budgeting - After the NDP came to power in late 1991, it blamed its 1992/93 budget deficit of more than $2 billion on the fiscal crimes of the just-toppled Social Credit regime.

A year later, New Democrats blamed their 1993/94 deficit of more than $2 billion of the just-toppled Social Credit regime.

A year later, they blamed their 1994/95 budget deficit of more than $900 million on the just-toppled Social Credit regime and federal government off-loading.

In 1995/96, they blamed their $400 million deficit on the legacy of Social Credit mismanagement and the feds. In 1996/97, the deficit of more than $300 million was the fault of Ottawa again and - a new twist - declining resource revenue.

In the budget year 1997/98 (which ends March 31), the government's tried and true demons will have accounted for another $400 million in red ink.

What about 1998/99? With the federal government approaching surplus budgeting and other provinces getting their fiscal houses in order, B.C.'s demons will prevail once again.


Social Credit? who and what were they? what did they do?

i HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE the liberals. HATE THEM SOOO MUCH...

sorry, NDP, and it's going to be the first time i get to vote too.

You should be sorry

Young, and stupid. - I'm assuming you are a first-time young voter.

Oh look at that, you have managed to turn my opinion button on - oh hell - and now it's jammed in the on position.

It's ok though - you are forgiven: I too used to vote for the New Bolshevik Party once when I was young and stupid like you.

You should be sorry

Young, and stupid. - I'm assuming you are a first-time young voter.

Oh look at that, you have managed to turn my opinion button on - oh hell - and now it's jammed in the on position.

It's ok though - you are forgiven: I too used to vote for the New Bolshevik Party once when I was young and stupid like you.


i have my reasons for voting who i am going to vote for.

i have my reasons for voting who i am going to vote for.

Let me guess, your mom lost her job?

You should be sorry

Young, and stupid. - I'm assuming you are a first-time young voter.

Oh look at that, you have managed to turn my opinion button on - oh hell - and now it's jammed in the on position.

It's ok though - you are forgiven: I too used to vote for the New Bolshevik Party once when I was young and stupid like you.

It depends what you are wanting to support. I don't know who to vote for, I don't trust our businesses in the hands of the NDP and I don't trust our families or well being in the hands of the Liberals, the Greens are too far left, and anything further right than the Liberals are just scary. Calling Jarrod stupid is ignorant on your part. What a condescending prick.

Calling Jarrod stupid is ignorant on your part. What a condescending prick.

Sorry - I sometimes get carried away because I love my province and I believe in wise economic policy :)

Thanks for the compliment :cheers:

Let me guess, your mom lost her job?


yeah, she did. and so did my uncles and aunts, my grandparents, my friends parents, and other people i know.

Sorry - I sometimes get carried away because I love my province and I believe in wise economic policy

What you believe is wise may not be wise for someone else.

We'll see on May 17th. And even then, you might be wrong.

yeah, she did. and so did my uncles and aunts, my grandparents, my friends parents, and other people i know.

That's too bad. It's also too bad the previous government taxed business too much and then turned around and paid people too much.

i agree. and public sector jobs lost under the Liberals is nothing compared to the NDP's actions. for every public sector job lost under the Liberals, ten are lost with the NDP. that's the analogy for the job lost.

fact: 13,000 people were layed off under the Liberals......for the NDP, an estimate of ten times that for the BC economy.

If we want to all be jobless tree huggers who live in the bush and smoke dope all day and beat our piece drums , we should all vote NDP. If we want to work , we should vote anything but, Sorry Jarrod , why NDP again?

edit:

i'm confused now. i don't know who i want to vote for anymore...

Atleast under the NDP we were dead last in job creation so many other people's loved ones weren't working and we were heading for a recession where many more wouldn't be working. Sheesh don't be so selfish.

don't forget that the only reason why the NDP balanced their budget and ended it with a huge surplus was because of huge federal subsidaries. the Liberals would have been able to done that without federal money last year.

fact: 13,000 people were layed off under the Liberals......for the NDP, an estimate of ten times that for the BC economy.

Yeah, that sounds about right. Either way there's no question in my mind that the NDP has the fiscal prudence of a fiending cokehead. This time they promise to keep the budget balanced - tell me, would any of you trust a cokehead?

Before any of you vote - I want you to remember the reality of the NDP regime -- mainly that we were begining to have an economy which was more comperable to Newfoundland's - not Ontario or Alberta.

The last thing I want to do when I graduate is have to move to Calgary or Toronto to find work!

Vote Liberal!! :)

so, i should just lay down and go "oh, eveyone that i love and know lost their jobs because of the liberals, but liberals are ger-ate!" fuck that. i won't. i think THAT's stupid. atleast with the NDP the people i loved worked.

You are voting emotionally. Decisions made emotionally are simply inferior to decisions made rationally.

For example, although your family lost their jobs - if you think about it carefully I'm sure you would eventually conclude - that the Liberals will allow the market to create more employment for all, and chances are this macro-economic environment will help not only you, but also your family in the long-run.

Green Party releases platform

Broadcast News

April 13, 2005

Adriane Carr, B.C. Green party leader. (Global BC)

VICTORIA -- The B.C. Green Party says the province needs a healthy environment, a healthy economy and a healthy population -- and it's the party to do it.

Green leader Adriane Carr released the party's platform for the May 17 election, calling for higher taxes on natural resources like timber and oil.

She says British Columbians are not currently getting their fair share of profits from these resources.

Carr advocates tax shifting, in which taxes are cut on beneficial activities and raised on harmful things like pollution, gambling and junk food.

The party opposes farmed salmon and raw log exports, while supporting small-scale agriculture and tourism.

It also proposes increasing education spending and reducing health costs by supporting programs to keep people healthy.

Carr is confident the Greens can break through this time and elect MLAs, saying her party has remained solid in the polls -- with between 12 and 19 per cent support -- since the last election in 2001.
© Broadcast News 2005

NDP unveils election platform

Broadcast News

April 13, 2005

Carole James, B.C. NDP party leader. (Global BC)

VICTORIA -- The B.C. New Democrats have released a detailed, 73-page campaign platform with the message that everyone matters in British Columbia.

Leader Carole James says she is offering an alternative to what she calls the broken promises and mean-spirited policies of Gordon Campbell's Liberals.

She says key NDP priorities include a pledge to reduce hospital wait-lists, open 1,000 new long-term care beds this year and another 5,000 by 2009.

The NDP says it would rebuild public services, including hiring 1,500 new teachers.

It also pledges to improve child care, reduce class sizes in schools and bring back a tuition freeze for post-secondary institutions.

James says it's a fully costed program, adding that each pledge will be reached while maintaining a $180 million budget surplus and continuing debt reduction

Calling the NDP platform pragmatic and achievable, James says it ensures a good business climate while also moving forward on the priorities of average families.
© Broadcast News 2005

James vows to consult business
NDP leader tells Vancouver Board of Trade she would end the polarization

Glenn Bohn
Vancouver Sun

April 13, 2005

New Democratic Party leader Carole James wooed the Vancouver Board of Trade Tuesday, declaring that "business is not the enemy."

If the NDP wins the provincial election this May, the would-be premier pledged she would bring an end to polarized politics, balance the budget, and establish a permanent economic advisory council made up of business, labour and community representatives.

"You have my word that, under my leadership, B.C.'s business community will have a seat at the table and will be consulted on every decision that affects your business and the economic climate in B.C.," she told about 100 board of trade members at a luncheon.

James said the economic advisory council would "act as a forum for new proposals and new ideas to build consensus and understanding around fundamental questions of economic and social policy."

"No politics," she said. "Just bright minds and good ideas. I will bring an end to the kind of polarized politics that is now out-of-step with contemporary B.C."

The business men and women had greeted James with about five seconds of polite applause. They remained silent when James attacked the Liberal government led by Premier Gordon Campbell, saying: "Does anyone in this room think it was a good idea to waste $5 million on a mean-spirited disability review to kick 46 people off benefits? Does anyone think it was a good idea to spend millions trying to sell the Coquihalla Highway, creating anger and frustration in Interior communities? Does anyone think it made sense to try and take away senior citizens' bus passes?"

Just a few claps came after her promise that an NDP government would not bring back a corporate capital tax.

James, a former school board chairman and five-term leader of the B.C. School Trustees Association who has never been elected to the provincial legislature, pressed on.

"I am not making my case in an effort to win your vote," she said. "If history were any guide, it would be smarter for me politically not to come here at all. To blame all of B.C.'s ills on the big, bad business community. But I won't do that, because it's not constructive and it's not true.

"In my view, it just reinforces an approach that for too long has characterized our politics and that, I am afraid, has been embraced by this current government."

The applause at the end of the NDP leader's 20-minute speech lasted longer -- about 10 seconds.

gbohn@png.canwest.com

CAROLE JAMES:

- Elected leader of the B.C. New Democratic Party on Nov. 23, 2003.

- Served as president of the B.C. School Trustees Association for five terms, beginning in 1995.

- Elected to the Greater Victoria school board 1990 to 2001.

- Served as vice-president of the Canadian School Boards Association.

- Served on the Greater Victoria region social planning council, the city of Victoria parks and recreation committee, and the task force on violence prevention.

- In 2001, she moved to Prince George to serve as the director of child and family services for Carrier Sekani Family Services.

- Has two children, Alison and Evan.

Source: The B.C. New Democratic Party website

Ran with fact box "Carole James", which has been appended to the end of the story. Profile of Carole James.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005

Greens await breakthrough

In the last election, 197,000 people saw the Green Party as a viable political force, party leader says

Glenn Bohn Sound Off
Vancouver Sun

April 6, 2005

GIBSONS - Almost 200,000 British Columbians voted for Green Party candidates in the last provincial election.

Greens wooed an unprecedented 12 per cent of the province-wide popular vote.

No provincial riding had a larger bloc of Green supporters than Powell River-Sunshine Coast, where provincial Green Party leader Adriane Carr won 27 per cent of the ballots.

Carr, who is running in the same riding again, hopes the 2001 election will lead to an electoral breakthrough for Greens this May 17.

"In the last election, for the first time, significant numbers of voters -- 197,000 British Columbians -- saw the Green Party as a viable political force capable of being elected and serving people's needs," Carr says.

The self-described "fiscally conservative" and "socially progressive" Green Party makes environmental protection one of the central themes of its platform, but also has policies on such things as health, education and transportation.

During a recent interview at the party's provincial office at Gibsons, the Sunshine Coast town where she lives, Carr asked voters to consider the Green vision for B.C. if they are tired of polarized politics from the B.C. Liberals and the New Democratic Party.

"People don't think of the positive choice," Carr argued. "They vote out of fear and negativity. It's going to be a hard habit for people to break. That's partly why parties like the NDP want to keep people focused on fear. They know that if people start searching for a party to vote for and shift their vote to a positive vote, the party that will benefit will be the Green Party."

Since the first Green parties formed in England and New Zealand in the early 1970s, more than 300 Greens have been elected to the European and national parliaments. They've been part of coalition governments in Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico and New Zealand.

Carr, 52, has been part of the B.C. environmental movement and immersed in green politics for decades. She worked on conservation campaigns for the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, an environmental group founded in 1980 by her husband, Paul George.

In 1983, Carr and others formed the B.C. Green Party, North America's oldest green party.

In the 1986 and 1991 provincial elections, Green candidates scraped together less than one per cent of the vote. In 1996, they had two per cent.

During the 2001 election campaign, when public opinion polls suggested Greens and New Democrats each had popularity ratings in the double digits, the news media no longer dismissed the B.C. Green Party as a "fringe" party, as it had in previous elections. Carr was one of the party leaders who participated in a televised debate.

But when Elections BC counted the ballots, not a single Green candidate won a riding.

Even Carr -- who finished in third place, just 33 votes behind the NDP candidate, former NDP cabinet minister and one-time Liberal leader Gordon Wilson -- failed to get elected.

Despite her post-election vow four years ago to make the Green Party B.C.'s "unofficial opposition," it was the defeated New Democrats, whose province-wide popular vote plummeted to less than 22 per cent, which sent two survivors, Joy MacPhail and Jenny Kwan, to the legislature as opposition MLAs.

Asked why the vast majority of British Columbians didn't support the Green Party in 2001, Carr initially replied by insisting "that's not the story."

Asked the same question a second time, Carr reflected a moment before answering.

"Breakthroughs take time," she said.

"The biggest barrier for people to vote for the Green Party is still lack of knowledge. Convincing people that we're electable and would be good in government is certainly part of it, but most people still don't know the Green Party and I don't think The Vancouver Sun has been of service, quite frankly. There was zip coverage of my commentary on the provincial budget, for example."

Although the Green Party hasn't yet released its 2004 election platform, the 44-page election platform it offered to voters in 2001 illustrates the party's priorities and the kind of remedies it wants to prescribe for societal ills.

For instance:

The Greens proposed "phasing out provincial sales tax on necessities and products that benefit the environment or our society (such as solar power, bicycles) and increasing the PST on luxury and non-essential items."

The Green Party also applied its "tax shifting" philosophy to rural development, calling for unspecified "tax incentives to companies that start up or re-locate to rural communities."

Some other planks in the 2001 campaign: spend one per cent of the provincial budget on social housing; create more high-occupancy-vehicle or HOV lanes in cities by reallocating existing lanes, not building new lanes; change the B.C. Human Rights Code so clean drinking water, clean air and safe food are guaranteed, fundamental rights; prohibit raw log exports; rapidly phase out open ocean salmon fish farms and ban any new ones; eliminate all subsidies for mining and mineral development;

Carr said the Green Party's 2005 platform will be "more robust" and "more practical" than its 2001 platform.

For instance, she said the party would cut provincial sales taxes for companies that produce B.C.-made, value-added products. Asked to define a value-added product, Carr suggested a forest company would have to produce something more than a simple two-by-four -- a finger-jointed board, perhaps -- to be deemed eligible. But she offered nothing in writing, such as a list of product categories.

Carr wants to use the tax system to help ensure B.C. complies with the Kyoto Accord to cut greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

"Homeowners and businesses alike should be given tax rewards for energy efficiency," she said.

On the Green Party's web site (www.greenparty.bc.ca), Carr supports, "far-sighted, prudent investments in emerging industries: alternative energy, tourism, high tech and eco-forestry, for example. We would promote tax shifting, which rewards innovative businesses that tread lightly on the Earth and punishes those that continue to pollute and degrade our environment."

A four-page tabloid-size Green Party leaflet prepared for this May's election illustrates the kind of arguments Green campaigners will employ to try to court the undecided.

The leaflet tells readers: "Don't believe everything you hear about the Green Party."

A series of suggested "myths" and counter-arguments labelled as "facts" follows.

One of the "myths": "The BC Green Party is anti-business and would harm B.C.'s economy."

The Green Party's reply, in part: "The BC Green Party is pro-business and pro B.C.-based small business, because locally owned companies keep jobs and profits in our communities. We believe in using tax incentives to shift economic growth towards a sustainable, community-based economy and away from business practices that hurt local economies, damage the environment or widen the gap between rich and poor ...."

The Green Party leaflet says this is another myth: "A vote for the Green Party is a wasted vote. Greens will never get elected in our 'first past the post' electoral system or, if they do, they'll end up corrupt, like all politicians."

The party's answer, in part, states: "We are aiming to elect MLAs in the 2005 election and will especially focus efforts on our 'winnable' seats. Our elected MLAs will be a different kind of 'Opposition.' We believe that it's not only about opposing, but also about offering positive alternatives, working constructively with other parties, and bringing people with diverse ideas together to create the best solutions."

Carr said the Green Party will have candidates in all of B.C.'s 79 ridings.

Asked to identify the ridings where Green candidates have a realistic chance of winning, Carr noted Greens came in second in 12 of B.C.'s 79 ridings last time. Those second-place finishes included all four North Shore ridings -- North Vancouver-Lonsdale, North Vancouver-Seymour, West Vancouver-Capilano and West Vancouver-Garibaldi.

And will Carr become an MLA this May?

"I hope the voters of this riding see fit to elect me," she replied. "My fate is in their hands."

gbohn@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Sun 2005

One of the "myths": "The BC Green Party is anti-business and would harm B.C.'s economy."

The Green Party's reply, in part: "The BC Green Party is pro-business and pro B.C.-based small business, because locally owned companies keep jobs and profits in our communities. We believe in using tax incentives to shift economic growth towards a sustainable, community-based economy and away from business practices that hurt local economies, damage the environment or widen the gap between rich and poor ...."


Translation - they would hurt BC's economy.

Green Party releases platform

Carr advocates tax shifting, in which taxes are cut on beneficial activities and raised on harmful things like pollution, gambling and junk food.


Finally, using market forces to spear-head change - something which economists have been screaming about for 2 centuries. These people are way behind the curve.


"business is not the enemy."

"You have my word that, under my leadership, B.C.'s business community will have a seat at the table and will be consulted on every decision that affects your business and the economic climate in B.C.," she told about 100 board of trade members at a luncheon.

James said the economic advisory council would "act as a forum for new proposals and new ideas to build consensus and understanding around fundamental questions of economic and social policy."


Looks like she has taken a "How to get votes 101".


Just a few claps came after her promise that an NDP government would not bring back a corporate capital tax.


Translation: she will find some other way to tax

Green party sounds wore then NDP . Total tree huggers . Do away with all BC boom and everyone one can work at Pita Pit . complete morons. I hate parties like this that think small minded, and have no care about jobs or others. The only people who would vote for them are retired, social workers, green piece , and hippie assholes.

^ I want to see a couple Green Party seats, It would be cool to be the first place in the world to elect them.

I was wondering whats happening with the proposed changes to the Electorial system in BC, ive heard that there is a referendum that is happening the same day as the election. What are peoples feelings toward this?

http://www.bcbc.com/images/banner_ads/banner_bcbc_1024.gif

Click Here (http://www.bcbc.com/bcjobs/downloads/BCBC.mpg)

I would vote Liberal Because of the fact that in the last election, they promised for economical growth. They did do it and look at the economy, it is spicing up so badly. Look at the housing economy. I would not vote NDP because I don't trust them. Remember that Glenn Clarke Guy before Ujjal Dosange. He was like... umm..... (Rember that scandal !). Also, under the NDP, BC was very rural-like, so I like liberals more cuz it makes BC more highly developed.

BC is booming!

B.C.'s economy tops provinces in 2004
Booming forest sector helped fuel strong GDP

Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun

Thursday, April 28, 2005

British Columbia had the strongest economy among Canadian provinces in 2004, led by a booming forest industry, Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday.

B.C.'s real gross domestic product rose 3.9 per cent, its best performance since 2000, and well ahead of the national average of 2.8 per cent.

StatsCan reported that resources pushed economic growth across the West, with Alberta and Saskatchewan serving as runners-up to B.C.

Alberta got a boost from heightened activity in its oil patch to log a 3.7-per-cent improvement.

In B.C., consumer spending rose 4.1 per cent, the construction industry was working flat-out, unemployment was near historic lows, and global prices for metals and minerals provided an additional boost.

None of the numbers are considered final, and revised estimates will be published in the fall.

The B.C. figures are more than a full percentage point ahead of forecasts offered a year ago, and show the impact that an unexpectedly strong United States housing market -- and a global commodity boom -- had on this province's economy.

"Forest products experienced their best performance in years," StatsCan reported. "British Columbia profited most from this growth, with improvements of more than 15 per cent for both forestry and sawmill production. Output in coal mining in British Columbia rose 15 per cent, with much of the coal destined for export."

"It was good to see B.C. leading the pack in overall output growth last year," said Jock Finlayson, executive vice president for policy with the Business Council of B.C. "We thought B.C. would be doing well in 2004, but hadn't anticipated that it was going to beat Alberta -- it's quite an accomplishment to beat Alberta on any indicator when it comes to economic performance."

Finlayson noted that B.C. also finished ahead of the Canadian average in 2003, and "virtually matched it" in 2002.

"The forecast, for what it's worth, indicates that this year we will have another year that's better than the national average as well."

Helmut Pastrick, chief economist for Credit Union Central of BC, said average GDP growth in B.C. from 1990 to 2003 was 2.5 per cent, and added that trying to calculate the 2004 number was like hitting a moving target.

"U.S. housing starts were around two million, or so, certainly more than most forecasters had expected entering 2004," Pastrick said. "There was a really big gain in wood products manufacturing, up 16 per cent -- that's primarily lumber, oriented strand board. There was more export volume in lumber, pulp. We saw metals prices higher, coal prices up.

"Housing residential construction was up about 15 per cent or so, adjusted for inflation. Business investment was up. Machinery and equipment investment was up 5.4 per cent in real, inflation-adjusted terms."

He described the strength in the housing market as "surprising -- not just in the U.S., but in B.C. as well. We are on a four-year upswing here. The numbers coming out in the last three or four months have shown amazing resilience. Of course, these low interest rates make a huge difference."

Finlayson said the U.S. softwood lumber tariff, intended by inefficient U.S. producers to drive B.C. out of the American market, has instead made it more competitive.

"It had the effect of accelerating rationalization and restructuring in the B.C. sawmill industry. The U.S. protectionists have created a bit of a monster in B.C."

Craig Campbell, a forest industry analyst with PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the B.C. Interior forest sector "got lean and mean" enough to produce record earnings despite a 20-per-cent tariff, a 20-per-cent rise in the value of the Canadian dollar that imposed a 20-per-cent penalty on earnings, railcar shortages and "a few other complications like pine beetle."

GROWTH SPURT:

B.C. led the nation in GDP growth for 2004, with booms in sectors including forestry, construction, mining and consumer spending adding to the economic groundswell.

GDP growth 2004

Nfld. & Lab. - 0.7%

N.S. 1.3%

P.E.I. 1.7%

Quebec 2.2%

Manitoba 2.3%

N.B. 2.6%

Ontario 2.6%

Canada 2.8%

Saskatchewan 3.5%

Alberta 3.7%

British Columbia 3.9%

Source: Vancouver Sun

Ran with fact box "Growth Spurt", which has been appended tothe end of the story.

nice!

When is the election?

When is the election?

May 17th

B.C. fringe parties flourish

Saturday, April 30, 2005 Updated at 4:36 PM EST

Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — While the Liberals and NDP jockey for position in British Columbia's May 17 election, the fringe parties in Lotusland are almost as thick on the ground as smoke is in the air at a Marijuana party campaign event.

Although not every riding may reflect it, there are 45 registered political parties in British Columbia, making democracy alive and well in the province.

But besides the novelty factor of some of these so-called fringe parties, Norman Ruff believes they can also serve a valuable purpose in the electoral process, as long as they don't undermine the main parties.

“If it gets some people aware there's an election on, it's a good thing,” said Ruff, a political scientist at the University of Victoria. “I regard them as harmless outlets.”

The parties range from the People of British Columbia Millionaires Party to the Communists.

However, if making money or figuring out how to redistribute it across the economic spectrum doesn't appeal to you, there's the Work Less party or the Sex Party.

In a satirical prod at the 40-hour work week, Work Less party faithful gathered recently at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Wearing rat noses and whiskers to poke fun at the rat race, they staged events such as the Church of Pointless Consumerism and were yelled at by a supervisor with management aspirations.

Party co-ordinator Conrad Schmidt said if they form the government, the work week would be reduced to 32 hours.

“We need time for the more important things in life,” said Schmidt, “time for things that are not only good for us but for the planet as well, like music, art, culture, sanity, family, friends.”

But maybe at the top of the list of B.C. fringe parties vying for seats, or perhaps comfortable beanbag chairs, is the Marijuana party, which attracted 1,000 pot smokers to its Toke the Vote campaign kickoff in downtown Vancouver during the first week of the election.

Party spokesman Kirk Tousaw said the party is aiming at having a pro-legalization candidate in every riding. “We've got at least half the ridings covered,” he added.

The party wants to ensure there are candidates who are “willing to talk loudly and longly about the issue of allowing the provinces to regulate marijuana in an above-ground market instead of Ottawa's federal criminal law pushing everything into the black market,” he said.

“Our party is the only party whose policy is going to make our neighbourhoods safer, whose policy is going to get commercial grow-operations out of neighbourhood basements and into farm and industrial areas.”

Party president Marc Emery is running in the Fort Langley-Aldergrove riding in suburban Vancouver against Solicitor General Rich Coleman.

With so many registered political parties in B.C., the province is a Canadian leader. Ontario, Quebec and Alberta each have nine parties.

In the 2001 B.C. election, the Marijuana party got 3.22 per cent of the popular vote, while 17 other parties combined to garner 1.98 per cent.

Noting the Marijuana party's rise in support four years ago, Ruff said it may help attract young people to the political process.

“Young people just aren't voting,” he said. “It's a major, serious problem to bring people into the political process. If the Marijuana party at least captures their attention, it's got a valuable role to play.”

If the Marijuana party's not your thing, you may want to swing to the Sex Party.

The party would support sex education that encourages sexual activity, but in a gradual and disciplined way, including instruction in “sexual gradualism” to teach teens to explore the “erotic responsiveness” of their bodies without contact with other people.

Other party policies include requiring all public parks and beaches larger than one hectare to designate areas for nudists. And Valentine's Day would be declared an official holiday.

The party wants to run candidates in all of B.C.'s 79 ridings under the leadership of John Ince, described as a 25-year veteran of issues around sexual justice and health. In the first week of the campaign, it had two candidates.

Unlike the Sex Party, the Annexation Party of British Columbia is less interested in coupling than uncoupling. It wants to sever B.C. from Canada and make the province America's 51st state.

“It is imminent that one day we the people of Canada will in one form or another become joined together with our brothers and sisters to the south, the United States of America,” party founder Gordon Brosseuk of nearby Langley wrote to President George W. Bush two years ago.

“It is my belief that the time has come for British Columbians to seek acquisition of this province by the United States.”

But should B.C. remain in Confederation, the Platinum Party of Employers Who Think and Act to Increase Awareness has pledged to hold those who work in government to the highest standards of behaviour.

Its mission statement says it will reveal “any and all incidences of civil mischievousness, deception and corruption of public policy.”

And if none of the above suit your political views, there is the Party of Citizens Who Have Decided to Think for Themselves and Be Their Own Politicians.

The party's website says it is not libertarian and that anarchists “are correctly regarded as political nut cases.” Unfortunately, the number listed for party spokesman Franklin Wayne Poley no longer works.

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Sex Party? :hahaha: Gonna love the wacky world of politics.

okay, everyone don't pay attention to my previous posts. now, i really don't know who to vote for. i have been seeing what has happened in the province now and i feel that we are in better shape now then we were before.

but i'm just confused.

Liberals try to crash NDP event
Last updated May 6 2005 08:44 AM PDT
CBC News

VANCOUVER – A group of B.C. Liberal party organizers tried to disrupt an NDP "Thank the Volunteers" event featuring NDP Leader Carole James in Vancouver on Thursday night.

They were unable to get into the reception sponsored by Vancouver-Fairview NDP candidate Gregor Robertson, but did get into a verbal battle with NDP supporters outside the building.

The Liberal protesters said they're upset that the NDP has brought in campaigners from Saskatchewan to help in the election.

"The gentleman running the campaign there was bussed in from Saskatchewan. He is a Labour Congress member and the head of the NDP labour unit," said Greg D'Avignon, the campaign manager for Vancouver-Fairview Liberal candidate Virginia Greene.

But James was unapologetic for the fact the NDPers from outside have arrived from other provinces to help, and says she welcomes any volunteers.

"I think it's wonderful that people across Canada want to make sure we bring a balanced government back to British Columbia. I would welcome anyone from across the country," she said.

B.C. jobless rate improves again
Last updated May 6 2005 11:04 AM PDT
CBC News

VANCOUVER – B.C.'s unemployment rate dropped 0.4 percentage points to 6.1 per cent last month, its lowest level in nearly 25 years.

April unemployment

B.C. - 6.1% (down .4)
Vancouver - 6.3% (down .2)
Victoria - 5.4% (down .1)
Canada - 6.8% (down .1)

About 13,000 jobs were created in B.C. in April, according to Statistics Canada. The biggest increase came in food services and accommodation.

Vancouver jobless rate dipped from 6.5 per cent in March to 6.3 per cent in April. In Victoria, it dipped 0.1 percentage points to 5.4 per cent.

The national unemployment rate also edged down last month – by 0.1 percentage points – to 6.8 per cent, the lowest it's been since December 2000.

The jobless rate in Manitoba fell by 0.5 of a percentage point between March and April to 4.8 per cent, while Alberta's unemployment rate rose half of a percentage point to 4.0 per cent, still the lowest jobless rate in the country

The unemployment rate in Newfoundland and Labrador rose 1.2 percentage points to 16.1 per cent..

Some economists say the overall improvement in the jobless rate could lead the Bank of Canada to increase increase interest rates.

BMO Nesbitt Burns chief economist Sherry Cooper predicts the central bank will tighten rates provided the U.S. soft patch does not deepen,

TD Bank economist Carl Gomez said that with the unemployment rate near all-time lows and pointing to an extremely tight labour market, wage pressures could easily rise – a development that would make the the Bank of Canada leery.

Business leaders endorse Liberals
Last updated May 13 2005 10:09 PM PDT
CBC News

VANCOUVER – Leaders of the B.C.business community were front and centre on Friday, telling voters that a vote for the Liberals is good for business.

The 17 representatives from all sectors of the economy say the Liberals handling of the economy has been a boom for business.


Despite the NDP's efforts to win business support, there was a clear warning that voters should stick with the Liberals.

"If British Columbians change direction as a result of this election, it will send a shockwave through the business community and through the investment community globally," says Jerry Lampert of the Business Council of B.C.

"If you want build a vibrant diversified economy, and if you want to keep technology companies from relocating to other jurisdictions, there is only one thing to do on May 17th and that's vote B.C. Liberal," says Barry Jinks of Colligo Networks.

And Kevin Evans of the Retail Council took direct aim at NDP Leader Carole James.

"She has to come clean on what she has in mind to reform the labour code, because if she doesn't, unfortunately it fuel the perception of who's agenda is play here anyway."

James had met with many of the same business leaders last year in an effort to convince them they have nothing to fear from an NDP government.

* INDEPTH: B.C. Votes 2005

And on Granville Island on Friday, NDP candidate and businessman Gregor Robertson hosted a lunch aimed at showing the party is business friendly.

"This is a big chunk of the socially responsible business community, people who are really committed," says Robertson.

But Julia Levy, the founder of major Canadian biotech company QLT, says while her social democratic principles keep her loyal to the NDP, she knows the party is a tough sell in the business world.

"I can understand why a lot of people were extremely disappointed and angry basically about the last four years of the NDP administration in the province," she says.

End of Liberal dominance?
Dirk Meissner
Canadian Press

Thursday, May 12, 2005

VICTORIA (CP) -- A virtual free ride that the Liberals have enjoyed for the past four years appears to be coming to an end and political observers say a significant NDP opposition would mean some change for B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell's government.

Even Campbell, whose government is expected to win a second term in Tuesday's election, says his party won't take 77 of 79 seats as it did in the 2001 slaughter of the New Democrats.

Instead, the one-party dominance of the B.C. legislature looks like it will be transformed, with possibly more than two dozen New Democrats and perhaps even one Green party member in the house.

"The personal dynamics in the house will change," said Lynn Hunter, a former New Democrat MP from Victoria who now works as an opponent of net-pen fish farming.

"There has been such a culture of arrogance," she said. "Just in the policy areas in which I'm working, it was very ideologically based. They can't afford to do that with a house that is more balanced."

Based on polls, the Liberals are widely expected to win a second majority government on Tuesday, but the NDP is also forecast to experience a major revival.

With a substantive NDP opposition, Hunter said the Liberals can expect more questions and more political leaks.

"People in the ridings will now be able to give opposition members information," she said. "As an opposition MP, I got a wealth of information from people from all across Canada. I used that in speeches in the House and going and button-holing cabinet ministers."

Reg Whitaker, an expert on Canadian politics at the University of Victoria, said B.C.'s legislature has not been functioning properly since the 2001 election when Campbell chose to deny the two remaining New Democrats official opposition status. When the house was dissolved there were three New Democrats in the legislature.

But a strengthened opposition would ensure question period is once again an opportunity to bring the government to account. That was difficult for overworked New Democrats who at times sat and listened as members of the Liberal government used that time to lob soft questions at cabinet ministers, said Whitaker.

"It will certainly shift things," he said. "It'll put the government much more on edge, on its toes."

A larger NDP presence would also mean more scrutiny of Campbell's leadership, Whitaker said.

"Even if the Liberals are back with another government, the electors have sent a negative message simply by the number of Liberal MLAs that will lose their seats," he said.

Whitaker noted that British Prime Minister Tony Blair, fresh from winning a third majority government, now faces criticism from inside his own Labour party for not winning big enough.

"There will be some of that with Mr. Campbell," he added. "If the NDP does quite well, that is say 30 to 35 seats, then, sure, there'll be questions asked about Mr. Campbell's leadership."

The Canadian Taxpayers' Federation sees a role reversal of sorts occurring in a restocked legislature.

Rather than the Liberals focusing on cutting costs, the Opposition NDP would put Liberal spending programs under the microscope, says B.C. spokeswoman Sara MacIntyre.

"It will be interesting because what we'll see is probably the NDP taking pokes and jabs at the fiscal management of the Liberal government," she said

That's because the Liberals, who are promising a golden decade ahead for the province, will move ahead on an ambitious spending agenda as the province prepares to host the Winter Olympics in 2010, MacIntyre said.

"You'll have the NDP criticizing them for either not spending enough on social services or criticizing that they're spending in the wrong direction or that they're spending too much."

MacIntyre said the Liberals should concentrate on getting tough on B.C.'s $36-billion debt if they truly want to mint a golden decade.

"Right now is the time to do it," she said. "We can't afford not to do it now."

Campbell's Liberals have proven they can save money, but now that they have money the real test will be if they are able to spend wisely, MacIntyre said.

On the personal front, Hunter said she even expects Campbell to face some challenges to his leadership if the NDP closes in on 30 seats.

"There are other people there who probably do have leadership aspirations," she said. "He's seen as someone who costs them support rather than adds to their support. There'll be other people out there who think they can do a better job than he's doing."
© Canadian Press 2005

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/www.canada.com/vancouver/bcvotes/images/2005_bc_poll.jpg


NDP downplay polls showing Liberal lead

Amy Carmichael
Canadian Press

Friday, May 13, 2005

VANCOUVER (CP) -- British Columbia New Democrats played down polling numbers Friday that suggest the Liberals held a comfortable lead this week, making a last-minute drive for votes with a promise to open more long-term care beds.

Even with what appears to be a solid lead, Premier Gordon Campbell maintained his attack on NDP Leader Carole James, accusing the party of using children as pawns as a debate over the right of teachers to strike became a flashpoint in the final stages of the race before Tuesday's election.

The NDP would undo legislation passed by the Liberals that largely limits the right to strike.

A survey of 1,000 voters done May 9-11 by Strategic Counsel suggested the NDP lagged 13 percentage points behind the Liberals. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The Strategic Counsel survey, done for the Globe and Mail and CTV, found the Liberals were favoured by 49 per cent of those surveyed, while the NDP had 36 per cent support.

James said she doesn't believe the poll results accurately reflect what is happening in the campaign.

"I think those numbers are quite different from other polls that show between a five and an eight point gap," she said.

"We know it's going to be a close election, that's certainly what our numbers are showing us. That's why important to work hard right up to Tuesday night and get our vote out."

She said the heavy turnout at advance polls is a sign that people know the vote is a critical one for the province, a chance for seniors and the most vulnerable working families to share in the provincial wealth.

A second survey by Ipsos-Reid suggested that 47 per cent of decided voters supported the Liberals, up one point from two weeks earlier. NDP support was unchanged at 39 per cent and the Greens had fallen two points to 11 per cent of the decided vote.

The poll, conducted for BCTV on Global and the Vancouver Sun, surveyed 1,050 voters between May 8 and 10. The results are considered accurate within 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Campbell continued to hammer at James on Friday over the possibility of a teachers strike after reports this week about a plan by the British Columbia Teachers Federation to decide on a strike vote two days after the election, something the union has denied.

"I think that it's clear that the (British Columbia Teachers Federation) and the NDP have a different agenda than the public and we're going to make sure that people understand that," Campbell said on a Vancouver radio show Friday.

Campbell is warning the public that an NDP government would allow the federation to strike and send the education system into chaos because the party is controlled by big labour.

He said Thursday the union has a secret plan to strike and disrupt upcoming provincial exams, which the federation has flatly denied.

James, meanwhile, said Campbell has sacrificed the care of seniors in his cuts to the health-care system.

James promised to immediately address what she called a crisis in Delta and Surrey hospitals in suburban Vancouver.

She was responding to an announcement by Campbell on Thursday that he would create a study and later decide whether to expand a Surrey health care facility or build a new one.

"That's long term, we need to do something now," James said.

"I will increase funding, staff and resources to upgrade 40 beds to acute care status."
© Canadian Press 2005