And if the history of mining exploitation at public expense continues not only have the taxpayers 'subsidized' this mine but the taxpayers will be left with the cleanup costs as well. Nice going 'Liberals'. Read Diamond's chapter on mining in (Montana)"Collapse" and weep.

As the corporate tax cuts show and other ample evidence such as this, this is a government working hard for Big Business, not with big business.And they do not give a damn about community or individual interests, only big business interests.However they will be working hard to let you know how moderate and harmless they are.

Hmmm... the NDP tried to boost mining for their Union overlords, the Liberals boost mining for corporate friends. Too bad the Unions have no ability to view the picure, because their noses are too far buried in their paystubs... (see: BCTF, contract negotiations.) I will say one thing though... MLA Rustad is certainly a pleasant change from the droll tones and couch-surfing ways of dear ol' Paul Nettleton and his one man quest for political insignificance.

Oh come on ... do you really think that anyone would do all that for a measly 8 thousand dollars?

That is ludicrous.

I'll forgive $3,000,000 if you donate $8,000 ..... be serious.

"I'll forgive $3,000,000 if you donate $8,000..."

You're forgetting that the $3,000,000 was not their money, but the $8,000 went straight into their pockets.

The BC Libs have a long documented history of sleaze and this little incident shouldn't surprise anyone.

Global Village is right. This is, after all, the Sponsorship Party we're talking about.

The political theatre drill where a business leader lobs the quote or gives a full speech or runs an ad extolling the rich blessings of economic freedom granted to his company courtesy of the anti-NDP party of the momemt has a long tradition in BC politics. This episode isn't quite up there with Frank McMahon of WestCoast Transmission telling people on the eve of the 1960 election that if the CCF got in he would have to reconsider his natural gas pipeline project, but it's in the same vein.

And the advertising version of this bit of gimmickry has always been especially entertaining. In the last couple of years we have the BelieveBC ads, some kind of cute in modified travelogue kind of way, most boring and silly. (And did you know that there is now an official BC Achievement Foundation that is going to give out awards to big achievers??? What are you going to achieve???) The BelieveBC ads harken back to the 1980s version, where Fred Latremouille used to appear with Bill Bennett. Yes, the very same Fred Latremouille who hosted Premier Campbell during the ill-fated trip to Maui. And in the radio spots, there was, ... wait for it, ... SKIP TRIPLETT. ("This is Skip Triplett speaking. Did you know that our economy is ...") Skip is now the President of Kwantlen College, a government owned and operated institution, clearly a drag on "our economy" in Fraser Inst parlance.

Global Village Idiot certainly has the right name. Do you think the workers up at Huckleberry care if their boss gave the Libs $8k?

No, they care that their company is looking for additional minerals to keep them employed for longer than the current 2 years of mineral reserves.

Oh, and Imperial also took the idled Mount Polley mine in Williams Lake, found additional minerals and has a bunch of folks working again.

I am not sure how putting people back to work qualifies as "sleaze".

IE: grow up.

All I can say to wow is, Wow, that's quite an argument. Do you work in mining yourself? In what city, and in what trade or occupation. It sounds like you're very well informed about the opinion climate in that industry. Maybe you should be working for Ipsos or Mustel or some other opinion measuring company.

Maybe wow is working for someone. I'm not working for anyone, and I find the usual complaints about money from a union worker is really bad, but from the company is real good. But those guys are real cheap skates if they get a write off of a few millions and only grease Gordo and gang for a few thousands. Sort of brings up the old statement. "We know you are prepared to prostitute yourselves but now we find your price", and in this case they appear to be cheap prostitutes. Hey I have a bit of a mortgage. If you write it off, I'll sent Gordo an amount equal to the interest on one payment.

You see, DL, this is what made this country great. People like yourself who aren't afraid one bit that some idealistic nitwit is going to accuse you of being a cynic. You've identified a financial opportunity, worked out the numbers, and you're making the the moves necessary in order to benefit from this knowledge.

Now if only the dirty smelly bums and hobos who litter the streets of downtown Vancouver could get that same entrepreneurial drive going, ... why, we wouldn't even need Lorne Meinkampf's Safe Streets Act any longer. They'd all have jobs at Starbucks and be bathing regularly!

Isn't NDP MLA Claire Treveena asking the province to offer a total environmental indemnity to any new buyer of the Port Alice pulp mill, something that could eventually cost government $50-$100 million in clean-up costs?

At least SHE is an expensive whore.

Jerry, excellent post. Source???

Jerry seems to be stretching.

http://www.legis.gov.bc.ca/hansard/38th1st/H50914p.htm

Good link, Hansard. I'll bet Jerry isn't aware that therer was no Hansard in BC till Dave Barrett's NDP Govt finally established one in the 1970s.

It looks like Trevena and Hansen have discussed this issue in some depth, which is good. However, Trevena is saying that the government keeps stalling, and I wonder if that's true? Would the Liberals have a motive, say, debts out to other pulp companies, to keep this mill in mothballs?

Oh come on... pulp mills lobbying to keep other mills closed, Hansard in the 70's, blah blah blah.

What's really funny about Claire Trevena is her absolute, bald-faced hypocracy since joining the NDP. An avowed tree-hugging socialist communcations expert, it is pure comedy listening to her demand the re-opening of a (gasp) pulp mill. All her green friends must be awestruck. I guess that for some people, the rather meager $75,000 MLA salary really is enough to sell your soul. God knows, as an opposition backbencher, there's no way she's doin' it for the power!!

budd campbell,,

your-a-flake,,,,dave barrett was 30 years ago,, hello,,nic..

contradiction budd

past post diff blog,, jim green has many wealthy developers at meeting.
i thought pricks like youself stay away from liberal donors, you no ,,dirty money,,budd???

just a working man,,,nic

"An avowed tree-hugging socialist communcations expert..."? Really? What did Claire Trevena do before she ran for public office, Peter. I don't know. Do you?

As for Hansard being introduced in the 1970s, BC under the Coalition and SC Govts was the only place in the Commonwealth that didn't have a record of debate in it's legislative assembly. It was a pretty telling indication of how backward and primitive BC politics were, and to some degree that climate of rough and tumble, or "blood sport" as some have called it, survives to this day despite many institutional improvements.

The recent STV referendum, in which nearly 60% of the public voted yes, is an indication that many BC voters are still anxious for an improvement in the climate and tone of BC politics. I agree we could do with a more adult approach, though I don't happen to support STV. I think it's not the right remedy, either for representing smaller parties or for improving the tone of debate.

I think the best way to improve the climate of debate is to reform campaign finance and to do something about the junky media outlets we have in BC, including some of the Liberal political hacks at the CBC.

I can't believe it, my co-worker just bought a car for $25267. Isn't that crazy!