NDP North Coast race stands at two heading towards December

Back to back announcements came out this week, setting the stage for a competitive race for the North Coast New Democratic Party nomination.

The winner of which will no doubt hope to turn into electoral success in the Spring and the chance to claim the seat at the British Columbia Legislature of departing NDP MLA Gary Coons.

That race grew to two on Thursday, as City of Prince Rupert Councillor Jennifer Rice officially announced her candidacy for the nomination, making official, what had been hinted at since September around the city.

She joins Prince Rupert District Teachers Union President Joanna Larson, who announced her bid for the nomination on Wednesday.

As we reviewed in the blog at that time, the two candidates will offer up much to the competition, but perhaps will require the delegates to the nomination process to decide which stream is more to the riding's liking. While both clearly endorse much of the NDP agenda and seem to share many similar thoughts on man issues, they appear to be approaching the nomination from different wings of the party if you will.

Ms. Larson from that of the union movement  and Ms. Rice from the environmental side.

It also could be a nomination race that plays out to a degree over social media, both candidates have in the past made use of an online presence.

Councillor Rice in her most recent successful bid for Municipal office in Prince Rupert and Ms. Larson in her successful quest for elected office with the BCTF.

A prospect that could make for a fairly informative race and a most interesting two months leading up to the January 26th nomination convention.

Some of the media previews of the pending race for the nomination can be found below.

The Northern View-- Individuals seeking NDP nomination revealed
CFTK TV-- NDP Nomination race set on the North Coast

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Walkin' it back with Justin Trudeau

As the week closes, it has provided a most valuable lesson for would be Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, best to remember what you said and who you said it about, before you begin a quest for the leadership of a National Party.
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 Trudeau, the perceived front runner for the Liberal leadership after just a few months on the trail, ran into a wee bit of trouble on that rocky path to mountain top, as it seems that when it comes to politics few ever forget, especially when the candidate, relying on a bit of charisma, is presented with his own words to chew over.

The issue of course is Justin Trudeau's off handed characterization of Canadian governance these days, apparently in his minds eye under the yoke of a cabal of Albertan's, who it seems just don't get the rest of the country.

The irony of course being that he issued his thoughts on a Quebec based television program, which played heavily to the theme that Canada would be a much better governed place if some Quebecois participants had their hands on the levers of power again.

The Sun Media Group, was more than happy to provide the video clip, much to the delight it is said of Conservative Members of Parliament who as the twitter verse discovered, were quickly learning of the Trudeau faux pas while the House of Commons was in session.

Originally, the candidate from Papineau took to the usual standard of response when these kind of embarrassing moments come to light, the ever popular "I was misquoted" statement was issued, which apparently only had a shelf life of believability of less than 24 hours.

Friday, Trudeau swallowed that bitter pill of reality and took ownership of the statement, though talking it back with the thought that he perhaps worded things wrong, in the quest for his true intention.

That being that it's the Conservatives and not Albertan's that are apparently ruining the country, which will perhaps help soothe some of the Alberta Liberal party's internal feelings, but really, won't do much to suggest that it's not what may truly be his belief, that the province as a whole is a square peg  in the Trudeau concept of Canada's round hole.

The resuscitation of his past observations come after a week which featured some pro-energy and investment thoughts for the province, a few of which raised a few eyes seemingly to be at odds at his previous observations on the environment, our industrial impact on it  and the need to do more to protect it.

It remains to be seen if his Alberta beef comes to haunt his leadership prospects, it probably played well in Quebec and maybe Ontario, which will most likely make the difference in the leadership campaign and he'll then have no shortage of time to try and reinvent his Alberta image (and views) by the time another election campaign comes around.

The problem with his comments, beyond the obvious damage that they do to the Liberals rebuilding efforts in the west, are that they reinforce the belief of many Canadians that Quebeckers believe that they have some claim of ownership on the running of the country.

The review of his television appearance of two years ago, also gives many a chance to review some other controversial ruminations of the candidate. Last year Trudeau observed that he disagreed so much with the Conservative agenda of Stephen Harper that even he might consider the options of Quebec becoming a country.

Add that, onto his less than steady handling of the Alberta outburst and it's not hard to see how perhaps Liberals might want to consider a full vetting of his campaign, along with all others as to which ones actually reflect a "national" vision for the third place party.

One thing is certain, he didn't do any favours for Liberal candidate Harvey Locke, who is in a tough race, with the Conservative candidate, possibly a Liberal breakthrough moment in Calgary Centre's by election on Monday.

With less than 72 hours til the polls open, Locke is probably hoping that Justin doesn't drop in to help him do some main streeting...

Vancouver Province-- Justin Trudeau apologizes for  2010 video interview (video)
Canada.com-- Trudeau slam at Alberta typical of Canadian politics
National Post-- "I'm sorry": Trudeau apologizes for controversial anti-Alberta remarks
National Post-- McGuinty and Trudeau give Albertans new cause to be wary of Liberals...
Toronto Star-- Justin Trudeau faces uproar for alleged anti-Alberta comments in 2010 interview
Toronto Sun-- Trudeau says sorry for anti-Alberta comment
CBC-- Trudeau 'sorry' for Alberta comments he says were aimed at Harper
CBC-- At Issue panel: Justin Trudeau, the Liberals and Alberta (video)
CTV-- Trudeau apologizes for anti-Alberta remarks (video)
Huffington Post-- Justin Trudeau Alberta Comments could Derail Liberal Star's Momentum

C is for candidate, which Ms. Larson will be

The race to perhaps take Gary Coon's seat at the Legislature in the Spring now has a new name offered up for consideration, as Prince Rupert and District Teacher's Union head Joanna Larson put forward her name as a potential standard bearer for the NDP on the North Coast.

Ms. Larson announced her candidacy on Tuesday, outlining her 20 years of service in both the labour movement and the community as the foundation for her bid for the NDP nomination.

She is currently on her fourth term as PRDTU President and is in her second term on the executive of the BC Teacher's Federation.

Hers is the first official candidacy for the departing Mr. Coons position at the Legislature, City Councillor Jennifer Rice had previously been tagged as a potential candidate, but so far no official announcement has been made by the Councillor as to her future political ambitions.

If she does make the leap from municipal to provincial politics, it will offer up an interesting debate within the local NDP.

Ms. Rice being more from the environmental side of the NDP ledger, while Ms. Larson has already gained her bona fides in the labour movement on the local scene.

With Mr. Coons retiring from provincial politics after two terms in office, the nomination on the North Coast may be a much coveted thing, for the most part the North Coast has traditionally been a relatively safe seat for the NDP.

The Liberal Party of BC and other provincial parties have yet to announce any candidates for the North Coast riding for the election in the Spring of 2013.

For those looking for more information on possible platform positions for the potential candidate, Ms. Larson maintains a twitter page, which offers up a bit of a glimpse in her political thoughts.

Some background on the NDP developments can be found below.

The Northern View-- Head of Prince Rupert teacher's union seeking NDP nomination
The Northern View-- Jennifer Rice picked by NDP as possible candidate for next election
CFTK TV 7-- MLA Gary Coons Won't Run Again
The Northern View-- North Coast MLA Gary Coons not seeking re-election in 2013
The Northern View-- MLA expected to announce intentions for 2013 election this week

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Alaska to Alberta rail option could have an impact on Port of Prince Rupert

The ongoing debate over the Northern Gateway pipeline may in the end see the project put back on the shelf, but the fallout from that prospect could also have an important impact on other aspects of the transportation grid in and out of the Port of Prince Rupert.

With the Northern Gateway panel hearing much in the way of opposition to the planned pipeline to Kitimat, a possible alternative plan to ship Alberta's bitumen to Asia's hungry energy markets is starting to take shape.

A rail pipeline if you will, 2400 kilometres across from the Fort McMurray extractors, to a port terminal at Valdez, Alaska.

Making use of rail cars to transport Alberta's product to world markets.

The proponents of the project known as the Unifying Nations RailCo Initiative is the latest plan of the G7G, Generating for Seven Generations, and according to their most recent press release, the proposed project has  apparently secured the approval of Alaska First Nations, as well as the initial support of First Nations across northern BC, the Yukon and into Alberta.

Something that Enbridge has had more than a few problems in securing, in the prelude to the Northern Gateway development.

It's not the first time that a rail pipeline has been suggested, in fact CN offered up the solution a few years back in 2009, with the terminal at the time suggested for the Port of Prince Rupert.

Not much has been heard of that plan in the noise over the Northern Gateway debate, but one imagines it could be a workable plan B for Alberta, which is determined to get its resources to world markets. The prospect of an oil by rail plan, on the back burner while the Northern Gateway discussion moved forward.

National Post-- CN idea a winner for oil sands
Sun News-- Crude oil rides the rails as pipeline projects flounder
CBC-- Shipping crude by rail needs no regulatory approval, PM told
Vancouver Sun-- Pipeline protests spur companies to consider shipping oilsands crude by rail

Railroads already use rail cars to transport bitumen to destinations other than British Columbia. So the project it seems is a workable solution with CN currently working on plans to double its oil shipments for next year.

There are of course detractors to the pipeline by rail project, including a few observers of  the oil industry itself.

Still, the main stumbling block for the CN option whether it be crude or bitumen, is that it would require terminal development at Prince Rupert.

And at the moment the prospect of bitumen shipments on the north coast is still very much a hot issue for local opponents, whether it be out of Kitimat or Prince Rupert.

The G7G proposal seems to count on that backlash to continue, using it as well as an ownership stake for First Nations, as their main discussion points in pushing their rail plan forward.

The rail plan to Valdez would of course remove that opposition, good for Alberta, not so much perhaps for the Port of Prince Rupert or the for the region and its growing reliance on the Port for economic development.

A key part of the Alberta to Alaska proposal is this little addition to the prospectus, which clearly has goals much larger than just shipping bitumen.

If the railway was double-tracked Canadian potash, grains, lumber, metals, minerals and other exports could be taken to port for shipment around the world. 

 The rail line could return from Valdez bringing equipment, supplies and water from the coast to the oil patch, at lower costs compared with current modes and distances.

Indeed, opening up Valdez as a viable port for Alberta's raw resources could have a rather large impact on shipments of any number of other bulk goods out of Ridley Terminals, the Grain Elevator and the resource shipment plans for the proposed Watson Island project.

Fairview Terminals most likely would not feel the impact of such a second rail line across Northern BC, the infrastructure required for container service is costly and the future of the container service at the Port of Prince Rupert it would seem is fairly secure at the moment.

But when it comes to the shipment of bulk goods, a second northern route could be a major competitor to the offerings through Prince Rupert.

The National Post provided a helpful review of the potential for the second rail option to the north, it no doubt will make for interesting reading for any number of stakeholders.

Some other reviews of the G7G plans can be found below.

PRWeb-- A Railway from Canada to Alaksa: Ready to Be Built in Six Years

Mining.com-- A Northern Gateway workaround that could ship a lot more oil to the coast

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

At ease General, Pat's got your back

While President Obama wonders where all that good afterglow from just a week ago went, he no doubt will soon have to address the many fascinating (titillating for many) developments out of the ranks of his Generals these days.

With the Generals clearly finding themselves with just a little too much time on their hands it seems,  it reminds us that when it comes to war, the enlisted life seems a little less entitled than those up on Officer row.

What with the grunts on the ground doing all the heavy lifting, while their Officers fight the good fight on the email front and other less dangerous locales.

The talking point that has dominated the US media cycle for the last few days has been the announcement that CIA director General David Petraeus had resigned, caught up in an extra-marital affair that not only has brought his career to a halt, but now seems destined to spin off into any number of directions and topics.

We're not sure if this is good news for the General or not (I suspect Mrs. Petraeus isn't buying it) but someone is on the Generals' side of it all, as Pat Robertson is on board with his apparent infidelity… 

A friend in need is a friend indeed, though considering the recent observations of the televangelist, it's possible that his "help" isn't really going to resonate all that much.

Regardless, this mess is destined to carry on far into the next few months, giving folks much time to weigh in and we would like to think that the Good General will now become part of this wikipedia explanation of Pat Robertson's helpful reference to propinquity

After all, they like to remain current at the wiki, we're pretty sure this would be helpful to the popular culture reference section.

BC Jobs Fair Caravan skips Prince Rupert

While the unemployment rate in Prince Rupert and the North Coast is still among the highest in the province, the opportunity to learn about Job opportunities it seem will require a little travel for local residents.

The Provincial government is in the midst of cross province tour featuring 24 Jobs Fairs in a variety of British Columbia communities, with Terrace next up on the list on the 16th of November, when the BC Jobs Fair sets up at the Terrace Sportsplex.

The list of participants is impressive, offering up information on the paths to follow leading to a number of rewarding employment options.

It's just unfortunate that the last one hundred kilometres or so of Highway 16 couldn't be travelled to deliver all this good news to the North Coast.

You have to wonder exactly what the criteria was, when the destinations were considered for the travelling jobs caravan. A quick glimpse of the roster of participating communities might suggest to the cynical an itinerary of riding's where the governing Liberals are firmly in place, or perhaps believe they may have a shot at capturing in the next provincial election.

The Premier and her Ministers are quick to arrive in the community when they can make the most out of a jobs announcement from the Port or associated development from it. Yet, when it comes to delivering one of the key planks of the Jobs plan that they trumpet endlessly, they can't seem to find the place on a map.

The Premier has made much of that jobs strategy in the last year, so much so, that every Friday night British Columbians can tune into her 90 second weekly update, an infomercial that heralds all the advancements in job creation that the Liberals believe they are delivering.

It is a controversial advertorial campaign that has cost British Columbians some 15 million dollars, subsidized advertising for the Liberal party it would seem, courtesy of the British Columbia taxpayers.

Taxpayers who perhaps, might believe that a better use of that advertising budget would be to take the job opportunities festival to some of those communities that could use it the most.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

Perhaps he said "I'm here in the lobby"?

When Bill Belsey opened up his email a year ago, who knew that his mail would have such long lasting repercussions.

The email that Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Minister Pat Bell forwarded to Bill Belsey one year ago may be long forgotten by the two principles in the exchange, however, it may prove to be yet another problem for Premier Christy Clark.

Mr. Belsey, the current Vice President of the BC Liberal Party and the former MLA for the North Coast  became central to the political spotlight earlier this week, when the Globe and Mail relayed the details of the electronic missive from Minister Bell. 

A correspondence which provided some background information for Mr. Belsey on the Skeena Cellulose file, information that some suggest perhaps should have remained within the realm of official government eyes only.

The imagery of it all is certainly damaging to the Premier and her party. The latest  in bad news days, in what of late seems to be quite a number of less than helpful moments from her ministers.

Vaughn Palmer of the Vancouver Sun observes today that the circumstances of the Bell to Belsey email, when coupled with a few other correspondences and requests in recent times, paints a rather unsavoury picture of how the BC Liberals conduct their business.

The NDP seem set to make much political hay over yet another Liberal politician sending information to a lobbyist, however, if the Tyee's research proves correct, there may be some question as to whether Mr. Belsey is even a registered lobbyist in the province.

From the Tyee: " Belsey's name did not, however, appear in The Tyee's search of the province's registry of lobbyists. Nor does Sun Wave's name appear. The deputy registrar of lobbyists, Mary Carlson, also checked. "There's nothing under his name," she said. "The registry is not producing any report showing his registration either as a consultant lobbyist or an in-house lobbyist."

As the email grabs another day of the news cycle, the Bell correspondence would seem to be providing  the kindling for yet another brush fire for the Premier to put out, raising yet more eyebrows at the Liberal's handling of the day to day affairs of the province.

CBC News-- B. C. Cabinet minister under fire for release of email
Victoria Times Colonist-- NDP questions Bell's email to insider, lobbyist
Globe and Mail-- B. C. Jobs Minister must be investigated after e-mail shared, NDP critic says
Vancouver Sun-- Optics of Bell's email stink: NDP
CTV.ca-- B. C. minister forwarded cabinet email to lobbyist: NDP

Cross posted from the North Coast Review

You can get there from here!

Put a pot of coffee on Manitoba, company may be coming!!!

Folks in border areas across the nation may want to make a Costco/Superstore run, stocking up on the Folgers, Maxwell House or for the connoisseurs, some Timmies. Better yet if you wish to make your soon to arrive guests more comfortable, maybe even grab some Starbucks.

With Republicans in full navel gazing mode after Tuesday's electoral defeat for the Presidency, some are giving thought to relocation to above the 49th.

There may not have been a path to the Presidency on Tuesday after all for the GOP, but for the disappointed, there is a path to Canada.

To help with the traffic flow, Jeff Brucculeri, a Tulsa television weatherman at Fox 23 provided this helpful travel guide for how to get there.

You take your Highway 75 NORTHBOUND, through Kansas, watch for 29 at Omaha all the way through the Dakotas and across the border into Winn-ih-peg, though Jeff may have led travellers astray as they seek out the Lord Selkin Highway once they have crossed the line...
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We're not sure that Republicans have perhaps researched this whole northern migration out completely.

Canada has national health care, relatively high taxes by American standards. We're not particularly concerned about gay marriage and of course we're not quite as fond of weaponry, as some of the Republican base might appreciate.

We do however, have some familiar things, a baseball and basketball team on the TV (though they are from Toronto and quickly our new guests will learn that's not always a good thing) and we like football, though Republicans will no doubt be a little confused why teams keep kicking on third down.

Regardless, we're sure the Conservative Party might welcome some new recruits for our electoral cycle, though as to the right of the political spectrum as Stephen Harper may be, in Tea Party eyes, he may still seem a little to LEFT leaning for their liking...

Folks not to seek advice from in your football pools or fantasy hockey drafts

The US Election results have been divined for another four years and with the re-election of President Barack Obama there's more than a few pundits and prognosticators doing some fancy back tracking, walking back their less than sage vision of the electoral count.

The vision of chaos was most complete on Fox News, where Karl Rove began to battle with not only the anchors on the election desk, but with the networks own boiler room of electoral prognosticators.

It all made for great theatre as Rove demanded that Fox return Ohio to Mitt Romney, however,  as events played out Mr. Rove would leave the studios empty handed and off to remedial math class we imagine..


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While the Republicans turn on their own for answers to their electoral defeat (watch your back Chris Christie) the political websites, magazines and other magical portals of politics have weighed in on how their own political class, the pundit class, with a few exceptions got it so wrong.

The Roll call of the failing is as follows, Nate Silver you're dismissed, you had a good night.

Politico
The Atlantic Wire
US News
Slate
Huffington Post
Daily Kos
Tech Crunch
The Daily Caller
Washington Post
National Memo
Crooks and Liars
The Daily Beast

Even Jimmy Fallon's puppy got it wrong.. showing that the entire process has gone to the dogs...

Mediate has compiled a list of the Top 10 of the Wrong, a photographic essay if you will, or a mug shot lineup of the most likely of suspects to get it wrong.

These are the folks not to sit beside when you're making your NFL pool picks this weekend and/or if we ever get hockey back on track and have a fantasy draft in your local pub...

Election Day USA, the Wrath of Homer?

It's time once again for the United States to exercise its democracy, and as we all know exercise is good for you.

However, the actual process of casting that valuable single vote has run into a few snags at the polling stations, in particular one high profile situation which seems to have voters selecting one candidate, only to see their vote recorded for the other one.
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It calls to mind a now legendary episode of The Simpson's, from four years ago, where Springfield's most dedicated voter ran into a wee bit of trouble with his voting machine adventure as well.
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It does leave us a tad confused as considering the importance that Americans attach to their right to vote, leaving the fate up to a machine does seem rather odd.

A piece of paper and a X have worked for hundreds of years in any number of nations (including Canada), time consuming yes, but with checks and balances that at least reduce the odds of trouble, not to mention four years of suspicion as to which candidate "really" won any giving district.

After all, if Homer notices there has been a problem with these machines, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate their contribution to Democracy.