Bonnie Rai and her NDP family secrets

Current Position: NDP Candidate for Abbotsford South

Past Positions: Ran as a member of Jack Layton’s team during the last federal election.

Family Connections: Rai was a relative unknown until she ran for the federal NDP in the last election where she finished third.

Family Secrets: Rai likes to take shots at her opponents…until she is caught. Then she has problems taking responsibility for her own actions.

Carole James wants to spend more and tax less - where would the money come from?

How does Carole James plan to pay for all the spending she is planning? Her party platform is expected to cut many sources of government income and taxes, yet her platform promises significantly more spending. She is kidding herself to think she could manage a provincial budget with that kind of thinking.

As Vancouver Sun political columnist Vaughn Palmer points out:

“There's much less discretionary money in the budget, at a time when James wants to spend more and tax less… if you put together all the places where she would second-guess the government plan -- a deeper decline in the economy, less revenues, more tax cuts, more spending -- it points to bigger deficits than the $750 million over two years projected by the Liberals.”

We’ve been saying for weeks now that letting the NDP have a say in BC’s economy is inviting a return to the bad old days of the 1990s when the NDP ran huge deficits. And now the Sun agrees:

“…that may recall the record from their last time in government, when they produced eight deficits in 10 years and doubled the provincial debt. Not the most welcome point of comparison when opinion polls already suggest that voters think the Liberals are the best choice to manage in tough economic times.”

What revenues will James cut? For starters, she’s made it clear she’d get rid of the carbon tax, losing $2.3 billion in projected revenues over the next three years, but would keep the tax breaks brought in by the Liberals to offset the carbon tax. As we’ve pointed out before, the carbon tax hasn’t been a hardship for British Columbians and is doing what it set out to do, so getting rid of it can hardly be seen as prudent fiscal management.

There have been NDP calls for lower ferry fares and lower Hydro rates (even though are hydro costs are among the lowest in North America) and condemnations of liquor taxes. How much revenue would that all take out of the province?

And how much more does she plan to spend? She keeps criticizing the Government for not spending enough on everything from children at risk to forestry to health care. But if she started spending more, where would she get the money from?

Granted, deficits are expected for a couple years, but if Carole James gets her hands on our budget, she is ready to drag us back to the 1990s with huge debts and long-term deficits. British Columbians can’t afford to let Carole James determine spending and taxation for our province. Small family owned businesses will pay the price if this inexperienced leader is ever in charge.

Wrong leader. Wrong Party. Wrong Time.

NDP blowing smoke

After last week’s provincial budget, one of the first things out of Carole James’ mouth was disappointment that the carbon tax hadn’t been axed. The NDP, self-professed home of environmentalists, continues to claim that the BC carbon tax is bad for taxpayers and bad for the climate. But the facts keep proving them wrong.

As pointed out last Thursday in the Victoria Times Colonist by Les Leyne, the tax is actually doing what it’s supposed to do. And the new budget contained a report card on the carbon tax that proves it.

“The carbon tax ogre is an essential part of the New Democrat election campaign. They need the impression that it's a punitive assault on pickup truck-driving rural B.C. to hold as much sway as possible for the next three months. So they'll likely just keep talking about it, regardless of the facts.”

Over the last eight months, gas consumption declined (although high prices at the pump probably helped that). But the structure of the tax has now created a net benefit for BC taxpayers.

The government’s report card on the tax showed that the 2.4 cents a litre more we've been paying at the pumps and similar hikes in heating fuels have been offset by the low income tax credit, the corporate and small business income tax cuts, and the reduction in personal income tax. The tax brought in $300 million in revenue, and the corresponding tax cuts have cost $338 million, leaving BC taxpayers $38 million ahead.

As Leyne wrote:

“…the vast majority of people came out slightly to the good in the first winter under the tax.”

"Are the NDP really sacrificing environmental good sense just to win rural voters driving seven gas guzzling pickups and blasting the home heating with all the doors and windows open? Because those nine people are the only ones coming out on the wrong end of the carbon tax."

Wrong party, wrong leader, wrong time.
http://www.votesmartbc.com/

I spy with my little eye, union reps on the NDP's Exec

Despite claims of severing ties between the BC NDP and unions, Carole James and other senior NDP people clearly don’t intend to break those bonds.

"We want working people and their families to join and become active in the NDP because we share the same values of social justice and solidarity. Throughout our history, we've only been successful when unions and the NDP have stood together united. That's how we will defeat Gordon Campbell in the next election." – Carole James, Lead of the opposition, The Democrat, December 2006

"Labour is an integral part of the NDP. We need to get union members more involved at every level in the Party." – Jeff Fox, President of the BC NDP, The Democrat, December 2006

Look at the list of the NDP provincial executive and you’ll find:

- former BCGEU Director of Organizing and Field Services, Jeff Fox
- current Vice-President of Canadian Office and Professional Employees (COPE) Local 378, David Black
- current Secretary Treasurer for BC Federation of Labour, Angela Schira
- current communications for BC Federation of Labour, Glen MacInnes
- OPIEU’s Kelly Quinn
- current President of USWA Local 2952, Scott McRitchie
- current chair of HEU Provincial Bargaining Committee, Barb Burke

It would appear that Carole and Jeff have gotten their wish of getting union members involved in the Party.

Unions paying the piper for NDP

In the last four years, unions have donated more than $3 million to the NDP. This is on top of the money – another $3 million -- unions have spent for their own third-party advertising leading up to and during election campaigns. Ties between the NDP and the unions are as tight as they ever were, with the BC Federation of Labour continuing to hold hands with Carole James and her party.

Carole James committed years ago to severing ties with organized labour, but obviously that doesn’t count when it comes to taking their money. In a recent speech to the BC Fed, Carole James made it clear that the NDP and the BC Fed were one in the same. She said:

"Together we will stand up for working families, for the everyday people who keep B.C. going. And on May 12, 2009, we will win an historic victory!"

How much did the BC Federation of Labour and its affiliate members donate to the BC NDP? The reports cover each calendar year, and January to October 2008 (when two by-elections were held in Vancouver):

2005-Oct 2008

· Total union donations: $3,320,751.52
· Total donations from the BC Federation of Labour: $614,783.00
· Total donations from the BC Federation of Labour affiliate unions: $2,386,664.51
· Total union donations for 2008: $483,186.51
· Total union donations for 2007: $219, 841.00
· Total union donations for 2006: $86,925.00
· Total union donations for 2005: $2,530,799.01

Do we want unions dictating economic policy for our province?

Wrong party. Wrong leader. Wrong time.

NDP in need of acronym translator ASAP, current one MIA

The NDP is running scared after the Vote Smart BC campaign launched. So scared that they’ve created a website mocking our campaign. But they’ve missed the point, and can’t even focus their attack on the right group. One email sent to promote their fake website said Vote Smart BC was launched by the “Independent Contractors Business Association”, and another said it was from the “Independent Contractors and Builders Association. We’re pretty sure they know what the BCTF, HEU, and BCNU acronyms are for, but they just can’t quite seem to zone in on what ICBA is an acronym for.

The group behind Vote Smart BC is the “Independent Contractors and Businesses Association”, something the NDP and their supporters would know if they actually took the time to read our site, or even googled “ICBA BC.” Can we really turn our economy over to a group that can’t even look up the right name for something they oppose?

Of course we really should thank them for giving us more exposure!

And for the record, ICBA is a member-based organization that represents open shop construction companies in BC. If the NDP could find our website, they’d see that we offer a full suite of member services, including affinity programs, insurance and health plans, apprentice programs, education, networking and other benefits for family-owned construction businesses in BC. Our website, in case you want to let the NDPers behind the failed attack know, is http://www.icba.ca/.