Ferryman
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Post by Ferryman on Nov 3, 2010 11:15:36 GMT -8
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Post by Mike C on Nov 3, 2010 11:43:50 GMT -8
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Post by Dane on Nov 3, 2010 12:29:34 GMT -8
Although I, and many others have been frustrated with Mr. Campbell, I am somewhat afraid as to what the leadership position will hold for the future of BC. Agreed - hopefully some strong candidates come out on both sides of the political house. James, pass. Any Liberal (at this point), pass. |
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Nov 3, 2010 13:46:59 GMT -8
Let the speculation begin for what the devil made him step-down. At least it will not be Shirley Bond replacing Campbell. Pray however that Kevin Falcon does not replace him. *knock on wood*
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Post by lmtengs on Nov 3, 2010 15:01:12 GMT -8
Although I, and many others have been frustrated with Mr. Campbell, I am somewhat afraid as to what the leadership position will hold for the future of BC. Agreed - hopefully some strong candidates come out on both sides of the political house. James, pass. Any Liberal (at this point), pass. I agree with you. I've been frustrated with Campbell a bit lately, but I for one, would much rather have him than Carol James. But who to vote for if you hate both of them? All that's left is the Weed *ahem*, I meant Green Party. If they get in (which they most definitely will NOT) , I'll hang my head in shame.... |
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Post by lmtengs on Nov 3, 2010 15:20:39 GMT -8
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Post by Mike C on Nov 3, 2010 15:54:29 GMT -8
Agreed - hopefully some strong candidates come out on both sides of the political house. James, pass. Any Liberal (at this point), pass. I agree with you. I've been frustrated with Campbell a bit lately, but I for one, would much rather have him than Carol James. But who to vote for if you hate both of them? All that's left is the Weed *ahem*, I meant Green Party. If they get in (which they most definitely will NOT) , I'll hang my head in shame.... I don't really like any of my options, except for Diane Watts. If I could nominate one person for BC, it would be her. Don't forget the BC Conservatives - who have managed a whole 8% approval rating, which is probably something similar to the Christian Alliance Party (do we even have one of those in BC?) FYI, NDP is at 32%. So the Liberals better pick somebody good or else... bad things will happen... |
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 3, 2010 17:13:54 GMT -8
Good bye and good riddance, Gordo! Hopefully the Cadillac man will not be your replacement.
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Post by Curtis on Nov 3, 2010 17:16:17 GMT -8
Did not see that coming. The question is, who will replace him? I don't really care who does, but what I am afraid of is...Who Will be Premier in 2013?  I don't even want to think about it. I'm sure I know what Carole James is thinking right now. (*shudders) |
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Post by lmtengs on Nov 3, 2010 17:47:55 GMT -8
If the NDP get back in, might we see any significant changes with BC Ferries or the inland ferries? Might we see an amalgamation of the two, or maybe taughtening up the lines to bring BCF back to a crown corporation, similar to the pre-2003 ferries?
Might the NDPs, if they do get in, not build second-generation Super-Cs as BCF's next major vessels, but instead do a total new design and build them elsewhere, maybe locally?
Might Gordo's replacement change anything between now and the next election, ferry-wise?
Speculation is encouraged...
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Post by Scott on Nov 3, 2010 17:57:54 GMT -8
I don't think a lot will change with BC Ferries. Why would it? Most people think that they've improved a lot since became an independant organization. If the NDP ever got in, we might see them try and and influence lower fares on the minor routes, but I doubt the public would go for them returning it to a crown corporation with government control.
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 3, 2010 18:19:19 GMT -8
I don't think a lot will change with BC Ferries. Why would it? Most people think that they've improved a lot since became an independant organization. If the NDP ever got in, we might see them try and and influence lower fares on the minor routes, but I doubt the public would go for them returning it to a crown corporation with government control. John - sorry but BCFS is still government owned and ultimately government controlled. They are not "in name" a crown corporation but what really is the difference? |
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Post by Scott on Nov 3, 2010 20:00:57 GMT -8
John - sorry but BCFS is still government owned and ultimately government controlled. They are not "in name" a crown corporation but what really is the difference? I know, but with the FastCats still relatively fresh in people's minds, do you really think the public will put up with the government financing new-builds and telling them what to build and where to build them? I don't see very much public pressure to go back to the way things were. |
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Post by Dane on Nov 3, 2010 20:14:44 GMT -8
I know, but with the FastCats still relatively fresh in people's minds, do you really think the public will put up with the government financing new-builds and telling them what to build and where to build them? I don't see very much public pressure to go back to the way things were. There certainly is amongst the user groups of ferries - the amount of hostility towards BCFS is still fairly high, and demands are still common place to lower fares that are a product of the illogical management design of the current BC Ferries. It is probably too great a minimization to say that BC Ferries has lost relevency. It could, in my mind, still play as a major elevtion issue IF BC doesn't go back to the polls until the HST referendum. If an election is held in or before September it will be on one issue alone. |
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mrdot
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Post by mrdot on Nov 3, 2010 21:07:19 GMT -8
yes, the fast cats were a monumental [screw] up, but the price paid by good ferry policy, and good government planning has been far exceeded by the need to piss on the last political regeme! When will we ever do the rite thing, rather than the political thing? As for the legacies of Gordo, BC Rail, the Dogwood, GST, I hope I will leave some more lasting ones! mrdot.
Moderator Edited.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 3, 2010 21:36:37 GMT -8
I don't really care who the Liberals choose as their new leader. One thing I know; it'll be another Liberal, and policy won't change substantially. I didn't think Campbell was all that bad, as conservatives go.
Why so many of the younger forum members dismiss the NDP as an option isn't clear to me, mainly because their stated reasons quite often don't extend beyond comments like "shudder", which really doesn't articulate much. Maybe that's valid political comment in MSN-speak, but I wouldn't know. I remember one member commenting before the last election that he was against the NDP because they were always negative; but I doubt that he had a look at their extensive policy document that was freely available online and gave pretty specific indications of what they wanted to do, and not just what they opposed. It's entirely valid to look at a party's platform and decide it's not for you, but I'm not sure people are always willing to make an honest effort to do so. It's fashionable these days to lambaste all politicians as shysters. It doesn't take any effort, and it sidesteps the reality that very often, politicians reflect the ethics of the people who elect them, for better or worse.
A Carole James government would probably resemble Gary Doer's run in Manitoba. Light on the ideology by NDP standards, pragmatic, and relatively business friendly. Doer left after ten years to accept a diplomatic post, and left his party and government in good standing, with a poll showing that after almost ten years in power, he was the second most popular premier in Canada. Like James, not the most colourful person in politics, but too much is made of that sort of thing. Whether James could counter some of the old hardliners in the party is yet to be determined, but I don't think she's given enough credit for her backbone.
In any event, love him or hate him, Campbell gave many years service municipally and provincially, and he deserves credit for that... at least for today.
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Post by fargowolf on Nov 4, 2010 5:12:06 GMT -8
Now the question is, is who's left? The NDP is STILL trying to regain trust after the extreme corruption of Glen Clark's govt, though I feel they will probably form the next govt. Whether or not that's a good thing, nobody knows.  Gordie Campbell will spend as many years having to do the same thing. The conservatives, or whatever they may be called now will probably move to second place. ============ moderator edit to remove expletive phrase. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 4, 2010 6:14:20 GMT -8
2 times in the last day, we've had to modify posts to remove expletives.
- in the item that I just modified, there was enough of the word showing to make it clear what the person was saying, but that's still too much.
Come on people, this is not the "comments section" of The Province or a rhetoric forum. Leave the expletives off of this forum, and try to express yourself using more civilized words.
If this is too difficult for some, then please don't post.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Nov 4, 2010 7:07:17 GMT -8
Too little too late with the tax cuts. It is interesting the difference in the two provinces that initiated HST close together. Ontario introduced the tax cuts first then the HST. The kerfuffle here was much less.
It caused some readjustments to the real estate market for those properties near the cutoff. However with over 36,000 condos at some stage of development currently in the Toronto market, the concern is more for oversupply and when things are going to slow dramatically then HST. A substantial amount of the condos are investment driven.
Making an election promise and a few months later launching the HST and then doing it badly, will go down as blunder of note. Voters all over seem to be angry and willing to make change and this issue appears to have put a fire under the you know whats of BC voters. The Obama smack down, Wizzard of Oz Tea Party, Toronto's new mayor the reincarnation of Ralph Klein and other examples, are going to make politics very interesting and infuriating at the same time. Make the wrong decision BC and things will get worse before they get better.
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mrdot
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Post by mrdot on Nov 4, 2010 9:10:42 GMT -8
:)as the moderator has reminded us, we must all work on being pollitically correct and I must commend the premier for the present he gave me on my birthday, too bad it didn't include cancelling the GST and reinstuting the dogwood. Thanks again to all for the birthday wishes, and may I extend my wishs to all the other members I have not acknowledged in the past and for future dates. mrdot.  |
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 4, 2010 10:24:10 GMT -8
But that is land based. Continue on with this thread if you're interested, but with this forum's website, it is for me a pleasureable time to be virtually at sea. The political junk can stay on land where it belongs. Have I used the term 'paulitics' before? That describes the practise of jumping in with a political opinion, but then closing by saying that you're just here to talk about ferries. Happens every time. |
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Post by Mike C on Nov 4, 2010 12:45:13 GMT -8
I've noticed a lot of people are absolutely convinced that the NDP are going to wring out the Liberals in the next election - I wouldn't be so sure... it will all depend on who they bring in. And if the NDP doesn't ditch Carol Lames, then things will get tough for them in 2012. Back to ferries and more interesting things. Have a nice day. I think this furthers his point... I believe the thread is titled "Good-bye Gordo!" and not "Queen of Alberni discussion" - unless you are positive that the blue-stripe livery of our ferries depicts preference to a certain Conservative party, much like the SeaBus did for the NDP................... |
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Post by lmtengs on Nov 4, 2010 14:29:03 GMT -8
Why so many of the younger forum members dismiss the NDP as an option isn't clear to me, mainly because their stated reasons quite often don't extend beyond comments like "shudder", which really doesn't articulate much. Maybe that's valid political comment in MSN-speak, but I wouldn't know. I, one of the younger members, just find that Carol James just bickers and bickers and bickers, shouts and shouts and shouts, constantly to no end, which really doesn't appeal to me. Also, I find that from what I've seen, she is more talk, less action, which I don't like. So for now, I'm against the NDP in BC, but if they bring in someone else who's a little bit more of a "work now, talk later" kind of person, then I might be a bit happier. |
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mrdot
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Mr. DOT
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Post by mrdot on Nov 4, 2010 14:30:44 GMT -8
we need to get off this thred, if this is a forum of maritime theme we need to leave all this political crap behind, ship livery should have no political stripes, otherwise if we go biblical and have a ship of many stripes, it might look even more rediulous than the worn out olympic livery that needs to go! Ships were handsome and much more shipshape before the age of supergraphics, and left all political stripes behind! mrdot.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 5, 2010 20:39:20 GMT -8
we need to get off this thred, if this is a forum of maritime theme we need to leave all this political crap behind... . This thread is in the non-ferries section, and it is really easy to avoid if people aren't interested. A couple of previous remarks about "Carol Lames", and "...(she) bickers and bickers and bickers and shouts and shouts and shouts" pretty much illustrated my point about younger posters and how they articulate their insight into the political scene. Now that he's going -eventually- I was thinking about what might have been the best and worst about Gordon Campbell, admittedly, from my very biased viewpoint. I wouldn't even put the HST on the worst list, because I've never fully made up my mind about it, and anyway, shifting taxes from corporations to citizens is the kind of thing you expect from a right wing, business oriented government. Tearing up signed contracts was pretty unethical. But what stands out for me was the refusal after the 2001 election to grant official party status to the two NDP MLAs, because the rule is that you need four to qualify. Joy McPhail and Jenny Kwan were left to represent the hundreds of thjousands of British Columbians who voted NDP with an absolute minimum of resources, and no research staff. It was vindictive, ignorant and contemptuous of democracy for Campbell to do that, and even more egregious when you consider that Jenny Kwan was trying to be fifty percent of the Opposition while pregnant. Gordon Campbell debased himself and cheated British Columbians with that kind of pettiness. There were many other negatives, but I'll admit they are simply a reflection of my political perspective, and that's not the point here. On the positive side, Campbell did a 360 in his attitude toward negotiating native land claims from his position when Opposition leader. There haven't been enough results, but I respect a politician when they have an honest change of mind. Something else that surprised me was the program of buying up sleazy Vancouver eastside residential hotels, and converting them into public supported housing for the homeless and hard to house. That was a big investment, and it was probably the most tangible effort toward making a dent in homelessness that any provincial government has made in many years. It's worth noting when politicians take initiatives that aren't entirely consistent with their usual ideology, and also when their personal foibles lead them to nasty partisan actions, and we had examples of both with Gordon Campbell. |
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I don't even want to think about it.
Gordie Campbell will spend as many years having to do the same thing. The conservatives, or whatever they may be called now will probably move to second place.
