In politics, there are no free rides.

Adrian Dix, the leader of the British Columbia NDP must feel as though he was born under a lucky political star, the tempest that could have been an obsession with his recent confession of fare evasion on the Vancouver Skytrain system seemed to dissipate quite quickly, thanks mainly to the growing drama enveloping his main competitor Premier Christy Clark.

Dix, made the news cycle last weekend after it was revealed that he had been issued a warning ticket over the issue of not having proof of purchase for transportation services on the Greater Vancouver transit system.

Just another, all be it high profile, fare evader (to be fair Mr. Dix did say that he believes he misplaced his SkyTrain ticket), as things turned out however, it was an issue that actually proved in the end to be more embarrassing to the government, than the NDP leader.

The word of Dix's fare evasion problems, proved to be but a minor detail in the larger issue of uncollected revenues from actually issued tickets.  A rather startling figure of some 7 million dollars per year in revenue not pursued by the Provincial government, dating back more than a few years, now that's a lot of valuable revenue the government seemingly let drop through the seat cushions.

While we remained focused on the incredible nature of the left hand of government, not knowing what the right hand is doing, Mr. Dix perhaps sighed a breath of relief, thankful that his very public embarrassment didn't percolate in the news machine for long.

However, not to let him off the hook completely, Vancouver Sun columnist Vaughn Palmer offered up some helpful advice for the NDP leader, some talking points he may wish to consider should he wish to avoid any further faux pas in the months to come.

CTV-- Adrian Dix caught on SkyTrain without ticket
CBC-- B. C. NDP leader Dix caught without transit ticket
Canada.com-- Last train to Dix-ville
Surrey Now-- The Dix double-standard
Vancouver Province-- No one should get a transit fare warning

Another log on the labour fire for Ms. Clark

It's probably not in force, but perhaps a new dress code should be put in place for the British Columbia Legislature, one that takes into account the current level of labour strife in the province.

Trading in skirts and blouses, shirts and ties, for togas, for if any province is starting to resemble the labour anarchy that is Greece, it would be British Columbia.

Already, the Premier's government is in the midst of a rather acrimonious stand off with the British Columbia Teacher's Federation,  a dispute that still would seem to have many miles to go before any sense of normalcy ever returns to the province's educational system.

Next week perhaps, the health care sector will apparently test the government's resolve, as the provinces anesthesiologists served notice of their intent to hold labour disruptions to the plans of hospitals across the province starting on Monday. Though that would appear to be a problem deferred for the moment with the introduction of an injunction on Friday.

As well on Friday, the provinces largest public sector union the BCGEU, stepped away from the bargaining table and talks that might have led to the settlement of outstanding concerns of some 35,000 BCGEU members. Those workers intend to hold their own strike vote over the next few weeks, leading up to a potential strike situation for May.

The escalating labour troubles, much of them inherited by the Premier from past contract disputes with the Gordon Campbell era Liberals, seem to be dominating the political agenda of late, hijacking any of the new Liberal leaders plans, seemingly leaving her unsure as how to proceed and leaving her base constituency concerned over her ability to reign in the growing discord both external and internal.

To that end, Vancouver Sun political columnist Vaughn Palmer keeping watch over that internal drama of  events in Victoria of the last few weeks, quite correctly observes that the number of days for the Premier to learn the ropes of governance and to get a handle on her political files are growing low.

As the Premier is learning rather quickly, governing is a tough thing.

It's a calling that requires the balance of tough decisions with the visual impression that you are up for the challenge of the job.

As the problems mount and the Premier becomes less visible, the messages lines are starting to blur in both categories.

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, When I'm 64, When I'm 65, er 67?

The talking points from Thursday's Federal Budget as delivered by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty seem to be focused on the rise in the age of retirement benefits from 65 to 67 and the looming extinction of the penny.

Among all the financial prognostications, modifications and promises of fiscal salvation, those two items tended to bookend the main coverage of the financial statement of the Conservative Government.

The prospect of an extended time on the employment lines won't really have a major impact until 2023, giving those Canadians nearing their retirement age a chance to plan accordingly, those after the 2023 date of course best start saving their pennies today for that day when we leave the workforce.

Oh wait, forget that, the penny won't be hear by then, actually it probably won't be around by the end of the year, that as the Conservatives outlined how the cost of producing the penny isn't exactly the wisest use of copper.

Canadians of course may miss the penny, but are no doubt resigned to the idea of its absence, though we imagine most of us fully expect that merchants will round up, as opposed to rounding down when it comes to tabulating our purchases.

So, unless you are a coin collector and feel that there's an upside to hoarding a collection of one cent pieces, the time is apparently nigh to start rolling your pennies and turning them into the bank.

Perhaps to use your windfall to do a little cross border shopping, that's one other item of note for your average Canadian, at least those close to the US-Canada border, the amount of goods we can bring back home duty free increased a fair bit on Thursday, as the Conservatives redrew the duties on goods allowing for more bang for the Canadian buck for the folks of Bellingham, Minot, Buffalo, Watertown, Plattsburgh and Portland, Maine to name a few of the more popular shopping destinations.

There were job cuts in this budget, but not near as many as supporters would have hoped for, or opponents feared.  The CBC wasn't gutted as some thought, instead they will have to work with 10 per cent less as they bring us their brand of Canadian programming.

Opponents of the Governments environmental and industrial plans will find quarrel with the streamlining of the required reviews of those major projects, the first one up for streamlining seemingly to be the Northern Gateway debate.

And on the International front,  foreign aid officials and the diplomatic corps as well as the Department of National Defence, will have to make do with less in the upcoming years.

Needless to say, the Opposition parties both found cause for concern with the Conservative agenda as delivered in Flaherty's financial blue print, Thomas Mulcair took the point on the attack lines out of the gate strangely, providing separate messages for his Quebec base and the rest of Canada.

He was followed shortly after by the Liberal's Bob Rae, both taking the time to make sure that their own party lines were delivered in the frame of the Flaherty document.

Many other items were up for review and examination after Mr. Flaherty sat down in the House of Commons, some of the divining of the Conservative plan can be found below.

National Post-- This is the terminus of Tory radicalism
National Post-- Federal budget kills the penny, cuts CBC spending
National Post-- Breaking down Canada's 2012 budget into bite-size pieces
National Post-- A grand vision of still-big government
National Post-- Budget 2012 good news for Canada's oil sands, but environmentalists cry foul
National Post-- Ottawa to toughen CMHC oversight
National Post-- CBC takes a 10% federal funding cut in Canada's 2012 budget
National Post-- Canadian penny fell victim to changing times
Globe and Mail-- Ministers tout 'modest' Tory plan to slash spending, shrink public service
Globe and Mail-- A worthy budget, lacking in vision
Globe and Mail-- Penny drops, Tory government balks
Globe and Mail-- A prudent, conservative budget from Harper and Flaherty
Globe and Mail-- Love it or hate it: Provinces react to federal budget
Globe and Mail-- From Harper's Tories, a budget that dials back the role of government
Globe and Mail-- PM delivers his vision: Less government for all
Globe and Mail-- Foreign aid, diplomacy targeted for deep cuts in federal budget
Globe and Mail-- Federal budget 2012: What you should know
Toronto Star-- Tories pinch penny, slash spending in fiscal overhaul
Toronto Star-- Budget aims to remake Canada in Stephen Harper's image
Toronto Star-- Tories kill renowned volunteer program Katimavik
Toronto Star-- Federal budget 2012: Stephen Harper's bark is worse than his bite
Toronto Star-- The bombshell budget freeze that wasn't
Toronto Star-- Jim Flaherty plays down impact of budget cuts
Toronto Sun-- Feds pull the penny
Toronto Sun-- Hardly a budget
Toronto Sun-- Tories opt for small change
Toronto Sun-- Tories trim CBC budget
Toronto Sun-- Historic changes in budget
Toronto Sun-- 'Stealth' budget cuts in defence
Vancouver Province-- Brilliant stick handling by Tories
Vancouver Sun-- B. C. Finance Minister calls it a responsible show of fiscal restraint

Parachute packing time for the BC Liberals?

To say these have been some challenging weeks for Premier Christy Clark would be an understatement.

Over the course of the last month, the Premier has faced the prospect of growing unrest in the education system as the province's Public School Teachers went out on strike for three days in protest over the introduction of the back to work legislation of Bill 22.

Spring break seems to have cooled down that particular bit of heated rhetoric though it would seem the whole issue is set to revisited in mid April, all while the BCFT and the Ministry of Education meet under the watchful and hopefully helpful eyes of mediator Charles Jago, former President of the University of Northern British Columbia.

Still the education problems are just one of many facing the Premier at the moment, she inadvertently  put her foot in things over the issue of funding for Translink, the Lower Mainlands transportation agency calling for an audit of finances while seemingly not being aware that the issue she was championing at the moment wasn't particularly relevant to the financials of the agency.

Then of course came the revelation that the province has been rather negligent in collecting unpaid fare tickets issued by the Translink Secuirty forces, leaving some 7 million dollars in potential revenue uncollected.

There's been the BC Place naming rights mess, where the province with little explanation has left some 40 million dollars at the table in a spat with Telus, a head shaking moment for a province that continues to suggest that money is tight, while at the same time finding new ways not to collect cash that is seemingly there for the taking.

This week, the Premier was in the spotlight as a former member of her caucus walked out of the party, heading towards the rising Conservatives, now the loss of John van Dongen itself probably isn't the end of the world for the Liberals, van Dongen has been kind of a lightning rod in the past what with his lead foot and traffic ticket travails, yet he certainly showed no hurry to leave the party upon the arrival of Ms. Clark a leader he clearly had little use for.  In fact, for a guy that likes to speed, his slow departure brings to mind the old axiom that revenge is best served cold.

His departure has roiled the rumour mill waters of Victoria, a place where it doesn't take much to get a rumour percolating, whispers that more Liberals may cross the floor were making the rounds on Monday, seemingly cooling down by Wednesday, the Liberals to a degree coming together in support of their leader.

Still, the Liberals who at the moment are in a bit of a free fall in polling, can't seem to help themselves, while they may not cross the floor, a number of high profile members of the Clark caucus are thinking aloud as to their political future in the short term, with both Kevin Falcon the Finance Minister and Education Minister George Abbot suggesting they may seeking to take some personal time by the time the next election comes around.

All of which has Victoria's media corps wondering if the foundation of Ms. Clarks leadership isn't getting just a little wobbly as she tries to gain some traction with a public that seems to be watching the political implosion with more than just a little curiosity.

To that theme, Vaughn Palmer of the Vancouver Sun took to his twitter feed today to throw open the theory of an eventual merger of the Liberal and Conservative forces under a made in BC name, which of course is what most British Columbians believe the Liberals were all about anyways.  An amalgam of the old Social Credit brand and the perceived hijacking of the old more middle of the road Liberal moniker of the Gordon Wilson era.

Regardless, considering the growing sense of doom that seems to be invading the current Liberal mindset, one wonders if any merger would have room for Ms. Clark, who at the moment is taking much of the political lighting strikes of the day and so far suggesting that her hold on power is fine.

Time as they say, will prove that perception as either true, false or blindly hopeful.

Mitt Romney Diamond Sales leader for March

As the month of March wanders towards its end, the folks at Ohio Art are anticipating that the month will provide a pretty nice financial reward.

Ohio Art, which probably wasn't much on anyone's radar two weeks ago, is the maker of the Etch a Sketch, the iconic device of many of our youth that suddenly shot to stardom again, thanks to the throw away line of a senior aide to Mitt Romney.

Thanks to the help of Eric Fehrnstrom, Mr. Romney's aide, the folks at Ohio Art watched as sales soared 1,556 percent above normal levels on Amazon.com within 24 hours of the etch a sketch reference going mainstream and viral.

And it's not just units of the drawing contraption that are shooting upwards, shares of the company itself more than tripled by the end of last week, closing on Thursday at $9.95 a share.

While the gaffe probably reinforced an image of flip flops for the Republican front runner, he could turn the whole situation to his advantage, clearly as far as Ohio Art is concerned, Mitt Romney is good for the American economy.

I'm not sure how Ohio Art rewards those employees that help its business grow, but somewhere on a wall in the lunchroom there surely is space for a portrait of Mitt Romney, Diamond Sales Master for March.

Not the best way to run an urban railroad

The trials and tribulations of Greater Vancouver's Translink continue to gain attention.

Mostly of late owing to issues about fare collection, or more to the point the lack of such.

Over the weekend NDP opposition leader Adrian Dix was facing the prospect of much in the way of questioning and raised eyebrows over his apparent moment of fare evasion, having according to Mr. Dix himself misplaced his SkyTrain pass before heading out to ride the urban rails.

As things turned out for Dix, fate intervened in the political hay machine.

First off, as they seem to be able to do of late, the Liberals and their leader provided a handy deflection for the NDP leader, what with the defection of John van Dongen, who propelled the Liberals and their leader off to the top of the news cycle, leaving Dix free and clear to ride as he wishes, paid or not it seems.

Even if he does feel the urge to buy a day pass however, he may wish to join the seemingly growing numbers of those that ride Translink for free, as CKNW discovered this week, just because the Translink police give you a fare evasion ticket (173 dollars should you be inclined) there's no actual need it seems for you to pay for it. 

According to the Chairman of Translink, once the Transit Police write up that ticket it's up to the province to pursue the payment, something which it seems the Province of BC hasn't been particularly good at, much to the surprise of Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom, who now of course vows for more vigilance and enforcement.

The Translink Follies arrived after the Premier herself mis-spoke on a funding issue for the transportation agency, another mis-step along the learning curve it seems of running the government.

Still, one thing you would think the Liberals would be able to get a handle on would be the collection of the money they at least anticipate receiving.

By letting as much money slip out of the treasury, as seems gone from past fare evasion cases (some 7.7 million in one year), it seems to make the Premier's claims that Translink can't manage its money a little rich.

Translink might like to point towards the government itself, where it seems the left hand doesn't quite know what the right hand is doing from time to time.

Nor it seems, which hand is holding the cash at the end of the day.

Monster, Chiller, Horror Theatre, with your host Rick Santorum.

We're not even through the primary season and we're getting a preview of what the fall may bring in the upcoming US Presidential elections.

Rick Santorum, currently seeking to sideline front runner Mitt Romney has been busy priming the pump that brings forward the theme that a Romney nomination will more or less secure the Presidency for Barack Obama, a fate which the fine film makers over at Santorum Productions foresee as almost apocalyptic in nature.

With a Rod Serling like narrator and a Twilight Zone theme of the horrific of the unknown, it tis but one of the strangest ole political ads in recent times and if anything we've learned that the strange is the domain of the American political cycle.



The ad clearly plays to the Tea Party base of the Republican party, the folks that seem to be fuelling the fanciful thoughts of Mr. Santorum as he continues his quest to back the moving vans up to 1600 Pennsylvania.

Of course, when you provide a bit of a media sideshow with such a foreboding theme, you are kind of painting yourself as a rather gloomy ole candidate, thoughts that more than a few commentators and observers have shared since the political ad first surfaced.

National Post-- Santorum's campaign shows dark side with 'Obamaville' apocalypse advert
Washington Times-- "Welcome to Obamaville" is Rick Santorum's "Hunger Games"
Reuters-- As pressure builds, Santorum shows a dark side
Rolling Stone-- Rick Santorum's Obamaville': It's Mourning in America
Politico-- Santorum preps grimm 'Obamaville' video
New York -- New Santorum Ad Superimposes Faces of Obama, Ahmadinejad
The Atlantic Wire-- Rick Santorum's Horror Movie Attack Ad Steals from the Best
Gawker-- Let Rick Santorum Try to Scare the Shit out of You
NPR-- Dissecting Santorum's Ominous 'Obamaville' Ad

And of course an ad that is so over the top as this one is, just couldn't slip by the attention of Jon Stewart, who provided some commentary and satire into his review of the Santorum production.

We're not sure that the approach is going to secure the nomination for Mr. Santorum, he has appeared of late to let his anger and frustration get the better of him, the Obamaville ad, while creative certainly doesn't change the tone of American politics which just seems to get nastier and nastier with each passing election cycle.

Somewhere in America we imagine is a great collection of voters and citizens wandering the nation looking for the middle ground, the common ground if you will, somehow I don't think that seemingly utopian location is located anywhere near what Santorum fears in his video presentation.

Pierre Poutine, in the computer room with a server?

The NDP's leadership vote counting travails are taking on the spectre of a Tom Clancy thriller, as we await further details on just what happened on convention Saturday as the NDP's online voting system struggled to say the least.

Whether an internal failure of Scytl Canada and its Spanish provided voting system (uh, optically we're not sure going off shore plays to the NDP's labour and more nationalist orientated base) or a nefarious plot by non NDP members seeking to wreak havoc on the proceedings, the simple fact is that electronic voting would seem to have a few bugs to work out before it's tested out on the general population.

Eventually the NDP tabulated the tallies and gave us Thomas Mulcair, either would be NDP voters gave up or somehow found the patience to Tommy Douglas to carry on and try and try again leading to deliverance at the electronic ballot box.

So now we wait, hopeful that the NDP will provide us all with details of the investigation into what went wrong and who was responsible.

Until then, perhaps the most secure employees in the nation on Monday belonged to the folks at Elections Canada, with their quaint little paper ballots and cardboard ballot boxes, old tech as they are, at the moment they still seem perhaps the most reliable approach to ensuring the democratic way continues on...

Globe and Mail-- Well over 10,000 computers used in attack on NDP leadership vote
Globe and Mail-- NDP hunts for source of cyber-attack on electronic voting system
Toronto Star-- Official mum about source of cyber-attack meant to disrupt online voting
Winnipeg Free Press-- Attack on NDP voting massive
Ottawa Citizen-- Cyber attack not behind low turnout for NDP leadership vote party says
CBC-- NDP voting disruption deliberate, hard to track
iPolitics-- Cyberattack hurt Cullen's chances: campaign manager
Canada.com-- NDP technical difficulties result of cyber-attack
CTV-- NDP determined to find source of cyber attack

Mr. Mulcair takes to his stage

The NDP convention finally came to a conclusion on Saturday night and its exhausted participants made their travel plans to return from whence they came, some to their individual ridings, the main players to their assorted tasks at the national office or on Parliament Hill.

Monday was Thomas Mulcair's first day on the job as leader of the NDP,  a rather friendly introduction to his new role, slightly less venomous than the original talking points from the Conservative Party post convention.

On Saturday, Mr. Mulcair claimed the title once held by Jack and stretching back to Tommy Douglas, though NDP purists probably don't see much in common between the new leader and the man who helped found the party, but that's a debate for another day.

The weekend convention as we have observed had its strange moments, from Friday's speeches which ranged from earnest (Nathan Cullen's one man in the spotlight show) to the bizarre situation of one of their top candidates effectively getting a hook from the sidelines as the music played her off the stage, through to Thomas Mulcair speed reading his speech to fit into the allotted time, from it all the term well oiled machine just didn't spring to mind.

And that was before the marathon of voting owing to computer issues whether in house or from a concerted attack from forces yet identified, making Saturday a day of much tedium wrapped up momentarily in a bit of political excitement.  An event so captivating that even the NDP's own faithful it seems didn't quite see the need to become totally involved.

The NDP ended up banished to the various news networks by 6:30 the CBC no doubt aware that their switchboard operators were not deserving of the outburst of anger any delay to Hockey Night in Canada might provide for.

And as the day droned on into night, we imagine even the executives at the News networks might have been looking for an escape hatch, the CBC no doubt looking over the schedule at Bold and wondering if anyone would notice if they shifted convention coverage further down the digital dial.

Finally however, that burden of decision making was removed as the final ballot came along and Mr. Mulcair and all the NDP apostles took to the stage to set the course ahead.

A road that should provide for many twists and turns along the way, they believe they have shored up the NDP presence in Quebec with the arrival of Mr. Mulcair to the national stage, the test now will be if they can hold their ground in Ontario and recapture the imagination of those supporters in the West, a part of the nation that suddenly seems very under represented along the NDP benches in Ottawa.

To review some of the events from Toronto, a few items of note from the convention weekend can be found below.

Globe and Mail-- NDP on verge of brave new world under brash Thomas Mulcair
Globe and Mail-- Mulcair victorious on fourth ballot
Globe and Mail-- Thomas Mulcair replaces Jack Layton as leader of the NDP
Globe and Mail-- NDP opts for a power broker over a protest leader
Globe and Mail-- 'Well over 10,000' computers used in attack on NDP leadership vote
Globe and Mail-- NDP hunts for source of cyber-attack on electronic voting system
National Post-- Thomas Mulcair must be hard on the outside, soft on the inside
National Post-- In the struggle for power, Mulcair's winning attitude better last
National Post-- When Thomas Mulcair runs into Western public opinion there will be blood
National Post-- If Mulcair can't hold the NDP's gains, the merger whispers will begin
National Post-- Was this any way to pick a new NDP leader
National Post-- Thomas Mulcair's challenge is to prove he is no political opportunist
Toronto Star-- NDP leader Thomas Muclair returns to a tougher neighbourhood
Toronto Star-- Thomas Mulcair off to a good start - with good timing
Toronto Star-- Officials mum about source of cyber-attack meant to disrupt online voting
Toronto Star-- NDP makes the right bet by making Thomas Mulcair its leader
Toronto Star-- New Democrats take the safe road with Thomas Mulcair
Toronto Star-- How Thomas Mulcair won the NDP leadership
Toronto Sun-- Former Quebec Liberal new NDP leader
Toronto Sun-- Mulcair Harper with whiskers
CBC-- Thomas Mulcair builds on his Quebec base
CBC-- Mulcair, Harper allies in plotting Liberals' demise 
CBC-- New NDP Leader Mulcair touts party unity

Olympic Revenge for the colonies is best served cold...

Ah, remember those days of 2010, back when the British media trashed everything and anything about the Vancouver Olympics?

Those early moments of our Olympic experience where the British media found something wrong at every turn of a corner in Vancouver, a collection of complaints and whines that certainly did more to  push forward the prospect of Canada turning into a Republic than anything else the British could throw down to the old colony.

Well as we all know from Gordon Pinsent's observations from  those now very frequent CTV/TSN commercials, the Olympic games are coming to London this summer.






So Canada, in memory of those early days of the 2010 Olympics and our friends from the British media, as they say at CTV/TSN "do you believe?"

If so, let's all get a head start on London shall we...

Mr Romney's etch a sketch

For a fellow that has developed a bit of a political reputation for being a flip-flopper, having one of your top political aides suggest that going forward, your campaign is going to be kind of like an etch a sketch is perhaps not the best visual.

With a big victory in Illinois under his belt and the opposition falling behind, you would think that Wednesday would have been Mitt Romney's day.

Yet, here we are, Good Ole Mitt Romney once again finding himself the subject of all sorts of humour, suggesting that his campaign is going to be providing much more merriment and employment for comedians for the foreseeable future.

The etch a sketch moment of course won't be lost on the Obama campaign, no doubt hoping against hope and change that ole Mitt secures the nomination, so much to work with they must be thinking over at the Democratic campaign headquarters.

At any rate, some political ads clearly write themselves, as can be seen here as the Romney etch a sketch meme went viral within hours of the talking point being delivered.



We're pretty sure we'll be seeing much more of the same in the months to come.

While Mr. Romney's reputation may have taken a wee bit of a hit yesterday, the reputation of the etch a sketch has probably gained a boost in the last 24 hours, not to mention to prospect of increased sales as comedians and ad writers alike all seek out their own personal etch a sketch to create their own works of political art.

Fortune-- Etch a Sketch maker responds

Hopefully for Mr. Romney (not so much so for the comedians), the folks handling the Romney campaign give a little more thought next time they think aloud, then again, there are still the Lite Brite possibilities should they be so inclined..

National Post-- Etch a Sketch controversy overshadows GOP frontrunner's momentum
Chicago Tribune-- Etch a Sketch moment could haunt Mitt Romney in the fall
Time-- Mitt Romney's Etch-a-Disaster
Washington Post-- Etch a Sketch comment creates new doubts about Romney
Washington Post-- Etch a Sketch politics: How small things become big things
New York Times-- Shaking it up with a popular Low-Tech Toy
New York Times-- For Romney's Trusted Adviser, "Etch a Sketch" comment is a rare misstep
Christian Science Monitor-- Etch a Sketch: Can Mitt Romney shake off his aide's Mr. Potato Head gaffe
Toronto Sun-- Romney can't shake Etch a Sketch

Safe to say for Thomas Mulcair, he won't declare!

The NDP leadership wobbles towards its finish line next weekend, the delegates making their choices through the week through a variety of electoral options, all leading up to the NDP convention in Toronto on Saturday.

This last week of the delegate head count featured the rather unusual spectacle of angst over the potential future of the party delivered by the wrath of Ed, with Ed Broadbent taking on the task of providing for the social conscience of the party and channelling the past of Douglas and Lewis, as he puts up what he calls the "warning signals" about current front runner Thomas Mulcair.

In Mr. Broadbent's opinion the ascent of Mr. Mulcair to the leadership would put the party's future in peril, taking it away from it's Social Democratic roots and beliefs, owing it seems to Mr. Muclair's past political efforts, a journey he took while not always within the NDP boat.

Considered by many to be more of an outsider/interloper than holder of the true faith, the party's old guard is rallying around Brian Topp, a long time party strategist who it seems is more in lock step with the past glories of the NDP.  More of the days  of perpetual conscience of Parliament, as opposed to those that real political power is within the party's grasp.

One would think that the NDP would have done all its vetting during the lengthy round of leadership debates (a spectacle that culled fewer and fewer viewers the longer the process went on), if Mulcair's candidacy was to be scorched it should have been done in before the final week.

The outburst by Mr. Broadbent seems more of a desperation move by the party's establishment, who suddenly it seems have become aware that the NDP post Jack Layton's days is a rather different collective than the party that they had prior to the last election's results.

The last battles for the soul of the party it seems will be played out through this week leading up to the vote count of Saturday.

Mulcair, the front runner today faces one last week of the old game of King of the Mountain, seeking to keep his spot atop the NDP's popularity table, while the other candidates seek to knock the blocks out from under him.

Mr. Topp and Mr. Cullen, the MP for Skeena Bulkley Valley the most likely recipients of any movement that declares anyone but Mulcair by Saturday.

While it may be a tad traumatic for the NDP's rank and file these next few days, the events of the last few days at least should guarantee that the public finally takes notice of the NDP's leadership campaign, something which up until Mr. Broadbent injected himself into, wasn't exactly resonating with those outside of the NDP tent.


National Post-- Broadbent attack on Mulcair about keeping NDP a niche party on the left
National Post--  Mulcair and the separatists, a love story
National Post-- Ed Broadbent defends his criticism of NDP frontrunner...
National Post-- Thomas Mulcair, the centrist warrior
Globe and Mail-- Mulcair almost certain to be NDP leader - maybe
Globe and Mail-- Broadbent blasts Mulcair, warns against pushing NDP toward centre
Globe and Mail-- New Democrats aren't just debating ideology in leadership race
Macleans-- Broadbent vs Mulcair

A tough week for Mrs. Palin

This hasn't been a great week for one time Vice Presidential candidate and renowned hockey Mom Sarah Palin.

First there was the Game Change docu-film on HBO, which didn't exactly portray her as member of the  Ready for Prime Time Players Club and now, courtesy of Pundit Kitchen a subtle reminder that even in the world of satirical television her star isn't shining quite as bright as a few years back.

Pundit Kitchen picked up a cast change at Saturday Night Live, where Ms. Palin is no longer the domain of  one time cast member and occasional visitor Tina Fey it seems.

Fumbling Liberals feeling the fire over BC Place name game

One thing is certain, she may be the quarterback of Team Liberal, but Christy Clark is no Travis Lulay when it comes to play calling.

Considering the events of the last few days on the BC Place file, mixed signals, occasional fumbles and confusion on the political field seems to have the Liberals game plan in a serious bit of disarray, a situation that seems to start at the top and work its way down the Liberal's starting line up.

Had the Lions fumbled the Grey Cup game as badly as the Liberals are fumbling the name game for BC Place, it's pretty safe to say Lulay wouldn't have been holding the Grey Cup high last November.

In a dizzying number of reports over the last few days, the whole unravelling of the naming of BC Place for Telus is looking to be carrying some significant political damage for the Liberals and their leader.

Beyond the embarrassment of the last minute cancellation plans, there are concerns over ongoing costs at the stadium which could add on to the bill at the stadium, not to mention the fact that somehow in the midst of all this, we imagine the lawyers are going to become involved, perhaps as Telus seeks to recoup money already spent on the project.

As it stands at the moment, the lawyers may be the only ones coming out ahead on this one.

For the Liberals, the BC Place mess is just the latest mis-step in public, sending signals that a tired government, even one with a new leader, one who was supposed to rejuvenate and rebuild the brand is seemingly floundering at the moment, something that we are sure won't be reassuring the rank and file.

In fact, with the apparent resignation of BC Place Board member Peter Brown and this item from a Vancouver based blog the suggestion is that confidence in the Liberal leadership at the moment may not be particularly high.

We wonder if Travis Lulay is looking for a career after football, at the moment, he seems to be the only one that is in control when it comes BC Place...


Vancouver Sun-- With BC Place costs through the roof, Liberals drop the ball on how to pay for them
Vancouver Sun-- Whitecaps, Bell red-carded by B. C. Pavillion Corp
Vancouver Sun-- Telus won't be reimbursed for BC Place signs after failed renaming deal
Vancouver Sun-- Roof grease leak fix may hit $1 million
Vancouver Sun-- Nixing BC Place deal looks like a blunder
Vancouver Sun-- Fun with numbers: Liberals drop the ball on BC Place
vancouver Sun-- Scrapped $40 million Telus deal for BC Place raises lots of questions
Vancouver Sun-- B. C. cancels multimillion-dollar deal with Telus to rename BC Place
Vancouver Province-- No time for Liberals to kiss off $35 million
Vancouver Province-- Telus 'disappointed' by B. C. Place naming snub
Victoria Times Colonist-- Telus, dear Liberals, what's in a naming right?
Globe and Mail-- BC Place: What's in a name? I'd rename my kids for $2 million a year
Globe and Mail-- Rejection of Teuls naming rights for BC Place nonsensical, sports marketer says
Globe and Mail-- B. C. government rejects deal with Telus to rename BC Place
Global BC-- Telus invested in advertising ahead of BC Place naming rights deal falling through
Global BC-- No Deal: BC Place
24 Hours-- Telus loses battle to rename BC Place
Bill Tieleman-- BC government even manages to screw up $40 million deal with Telus...

Previously on Darcy: Wait, what? The BC Liberals are flush with cash?

Romney's getting tough... on bugs

We've had the Governator, now we seemingly have the Exterminator..

Sure, sure, President Obama may have gotten Bin Laden, but Romney is taking care of the common terror in the homeland.

Well, terror such as it is when an unfortunate bug wanders into a Romney town hall meeting...

M is for mixed, as in messages we get

With both sides in British Columbia's Education war taking to their bunkers this weekend, parents and students (the one's we're told everyone is concerned about) are left to ponder a couple of interesting mixed messages that have popped up today.

Item Number One: A proposal to pay teachers more money should their class size exceed 30 students. Now we're not against that concept as a benchmark, but really, if we're all concerned about the learning curve and what's best for students, increasingly larger and larger classroom sizes is probably not the best solution to the educational requirements of students.

Any such proposal has the potential to be land mine for both sides in this dispute, should the teachers' sign off on the plan. then it sends the message that perhaps the dispute is about money after all.

As for the government, increasing classroom sizes clearly suggests that when it comes to the list of priorities at the Ministry of Education, workable classroom conditions certainly isn't high on the agenda.

Item Number Two: The rather strange suggestion that a net zero edict while not good for teachers, is somehow good for those that work for the BCTF.  While any item composed by Jon Ferry tends to set the hair on fire at the BCTF, he does raise an interesting point, highlighting the dysfunction of the current labour climate within the BCTF itself.

While the union counters the argument of hypocrisy with any number of caveats, the simple fact that they are refusing the Provincial Government's net zero mandate, while at the same time using it in their own internal labour problems does raise a few eyebrows we would think.

The latest flash point between the two sides, the suggestion by Education Minister George Abbot that parents, having gone without report cards since September will receive back issues of their child's progress thus far, something that the BCTF President Susan Lambert says isn't going to happen.  A theory backed up by more than a  few labour observers who say that Abbot's proposal won't fly.

Of course there are many other strange twists and turns in this dispute, all of which we are sure will play out over the next few weeks, though not next week we imagine, what with a large number of BC schools closed for Spring Break and BCTF members gathering the week after in conclave at their Annual General Meeting March 17- 20.

In fact, because of the staggered nature of spring break in BC this year, some schools with two weeks, others with but one, we imagine that the battle lines will remain stationary until school is back in session for all and the provincial governments Bill 22 legislation finally becomes law.

Perhaps allowing both sides in the dispute to return with a more cooperative approach, one which maybe  reduces the rhetoric and increases the communication possibilities, with an eye on what's best for education in British Columbia.

Then again, this is the province, where political optics seems to rule the day, and where anything resembling common sense, never seems to be able to find the intersections named common ground and common good.

Other items of interest from the week on the educational file can be found below.

Vancouver Province-- A little history: B. C. teachers' strikes are so last century
Vancouver Province-- More prep time just begets more prep time
Vancouver Province-- The upside of the teachers' strike? Time for play
Vancouver Province-- B. C. Teachers challenge Premier Clark to join them in the classroom
Vancouver Sun-- Bill 22 a complicated piece of legislation
Vancouver Sun-- Teachers strike -Facts and Fictions
Vancouver Sun-- Accounting firm finds millions for Vancouver schools
Vancouver Sun-- "We've only just begun," says BCTF prez Susan Lambert
Globe and Mail-- Long-running battle over education detention-worthy
Globe and Mail-- Returning B. C. teachers vow to keep up pressure against Bill 22
Globe and Mail-- Teachers' protest tactics have long roots in B. C.
Globe and Mail-- 'Retroactive' report cards latest battle ground
Georgia Straight-- BCTF vice president Glen Hansman shows that not all unions are settling for net-zero contracts
The Tyee-- Teachers delay job action vote
The Tyee-- BC Premier Clark's failure to debate education bill pathetic, says NDP's Horgan
The Tyee-- Picketing government office an act of solidarity: BCTF's Lambert
The Tyee-- School Dispute: Just the Facts, Please

Past items on Darcy about education:

Ms. Clark stays out of the spotlight during teacher's dispute
Educational End game in British Columbia
BC's strange little education job dispute

Wait, what? The BC Liberals are Flush with cash?

The paint by numbers offering that was being coloured in by the BC Liberals on Wednesday is that British Columbians are seemingly so attached to BC Place, that putting a corporate brand on it is just something that won't be accepted, 40 million dollars apparently not enough to win over our love.

OK, now shake your head and read the above again and then ponder this:

The BC Liberals don't want any money?


By some chance is that  solar flare heading our way a harbinger of Armageddon or something?

Tis a Topsy turvy day in the wacky province, when the party supposedly of the capitalist right turns down 40 million big ones, especially when all they have to give up for it is some space on the side of a stadium to throw on the ole Telus brand.

For Telus, the future today was anything but friendly...

Little is being said about what led to the turning down of the Telus cash today, though the non-invitation of Premier Clark at a Telus event of last week suddenly makes a lot more sense now, the word no doubt having already been delivered (perhaps by Telus cel we hope) that their money wasn't good enough any more.

There are rumblings that one of the tenants at the would be Telus Field (oops bad corporate lackey), BC Place, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC weren't thrilled with the plan, or more to the point their main corporate sponsor, Bell, wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of playing at a field branded by the competition.

Perhaps an understandable marketing position, but unless Bell wants to underwrite the now departed 40 million dollars, they really shouldn't have felt too hard done by, they could always take the Whitecaps back out to the old Stadium grounds at Empire and put back together that meccano set look and brand it as their own home field.

The province, which for the last number of months has been proclaiming high and low that we are in a tight financial situation, requiring net zero mandates and other such cutbacks, all of a sudden doesn't want a cash infusion, go figure that one out

Some suggest that perhaps an ever bigger winfall yet awaits the Liberal treasury, that Telus may have been low balling the government, making their hoped for branding exercise the steal of the next twenty years.

Maybe yes, maybe no.

But in an era of financial caution and with any number of battles with public sector workers to come, tossing aside 40 million bucks seems like a strange bit of financial planning.

One for which we're sure British Columbians will anxiously await further details on.

The Province-- B. C. backs out of BC Place $40 million naming contract with Telus
Vancouver Sun-- B.C. puts brakes on $40 million BC Place renaming deal with Telus
Globe and Mail-- B. C. government rejects deal with Telus to rename BC Place
CBC-- BC Place renaming deal with Telus scrapped
24 Hours-- Telus loses battle to rename BC Place
CTV.ca-- Gov't hangs up on Telus over BC Place naming deal
Global BC-- No Deal: BC Place