Extinguishments of $6 million debt deal for Basi and Virk was done by whom to kill the BC Rail trial?

I can't remember, was it the Attorney General of British Columbia who forgave Dave Basi and Bobby Virk's legal fees debt to the Province of British Columbia, or was it a couple of  Deputy Ministers who did it?

Highlighting in BOLD is mine:

"7.3.13 Extinguishments   (Under Revenue Management- second folder of three)
1. The responsible minister must authorize all submissions for extinguishment. Proposals must be forwarded for review to the Minister of Finance, through the Financial Management Branch, OCG, prior to submission to the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
2. The Minister or the Deputy Minister of Finance, or the Assistant Deputy Minister, Provincial Treasury, pursuant to BC Regulation 269/92, can conclude a settlement agreement or compromise settlement to forgive some or all of a debt or obligation not exceeding $100,000. In addition, the following CLMB officers have authority to conclude a settlement agreement to forgive some or all of a debt or obligation (principal plus interest) to the following limits:
the director – $40,000;
a manager – $20,000;
a collection officer – $10,000.
3. A ministry may accept a compromise settlement of a debt only after approval by Legal Services, Ministry of Attorney General. A portion of the original debt can be extinguished under the terms of an agreement.
4. Annually, ministries must submit statements of debts extinguished during the fiscal year, together with supporting documentation, to Financial Reporting and Advisory Services, OCG, for Public Accounts reporting purposes."

 The maximum amount of debt is One Hundred Thousand Dollars and it looks like this:
                                                   $   100,000
Six million dollars looks like this:   $6,000,000, so where's the Regulation that covers $6 million.



The pecking order of who gets to do what when it comes to Extinguishments goes something like this:

Responsible Minister - Attorney General

Forwarded through - Financial Management Branch, OCG

Forwarded to Lieutenant Governor in Council (Cabinet)

Forwarded to - Minister of Finance

However "a settlement agreement or compromise settlement to forgive some or all of a debt or obligation not exceeding $100,000" can be done if it is pursuant to BC Regulation 269/92 (which dead ends because the hidden link to the Regulation reads like this http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/reg/f/finadmin/269_92.htm but you end up here http://www.bclaws.ca/default.html) shifty bast....   But in the paragraph it lists off who can execute BC Regulation 269/92 and they are "The Minister or the Deputy Minister of Finance, or the Assistant  Deputy Minister, Provincial Secretary".   Not a hint of the Deputy Minister to the Attorney General and yet it was the Deputy Minister of Finance and the Deputy Minister of the Attorney General that stopped the trial in its tracks.

And if you're wondering what the "Financial Management Branch, OCG" is the OCG stands for its the Office of the Comptroller General.

All these people within the various departments of the BC Liberal Government, while the BC Rail trial was being heard by a jury, suddenly up and decides that it was in the best interests of ... taxpayers... to stop the trial.    Hmmmmmm.

Choke points on BC Highways next to have Shadow tickets issued without a sign of the police

"March 10, 2010
NDP Wants to Resurrect Failed Photo Radar Plan"

“Only the NDP would want to resurrect a plan to use police as tax collectors rather than having them on the street fighting crime and targeting problem drivers.”  Solicitor General  Kash Heed

 

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/trafficData/tradas/mainmap.asp

If you go to this map link, noted above, you can click on any of the Traffic Data points that interest you in the Province of British Columbia. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Map Link above broken, intentionally.

Updated: 2024-03-04

2011 Traffic Volumes:  https://web.archive.org/web/20110408152024/http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/trafficData/tradas/mainmap.asp

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/trafficData/tradas/inset2.asp

I've selected the Southern Interior Traffic Data Program above.

Traffic Data Program

Traffic Data For: Coquihalla - P-17-8NS - N

ROUTE 5, 12.0 KM NORTH OF ROUTE 3, NORTH OF HOPE     

 The data above includes the Posted Speed Limit and the number of vehicles that have exceeded the limit.

110.10 ---> 115       2,727    Motor vehicles
120.10 ---> 130       3,299    Motor vehicles
130.10 ---> 150          920    Motor vehicles

Posted Speed 110 kph

Red light camera ticketing will soon be here.

There's nothing to stop the BC Government from starting the mail-out for speeding on any highway of BC where these devices are embedded in the roads.  The only things that are missing, is the camera, the 35 year Concessionaire contract and Canada Post.


An informed public will know where to avoid the tickets and by that learning process hopefully their driving habits will be applied evenly throughout the Province.

Problem is, where the public saw the NDP and their Radar Camera Vans as an infringement on their rights and the BC Liberals promising to rid the Province of these devices and were elected in a landslide victory........... its taken ten years for us to come full circle, and the Cameras are back in full force.

Red light cameras are coming to British Columbia intersections, but how much will we be paying?

             UPDATE    

--------------------------------------------------------

"PHOENIX, AZ—April 30, 2010—Redflex Traffic Systems (Canada) Ltd (“Redflex”) announced its first ever Canadian contract in British Columbia. Redflex and Redflex Traffic Systems, the largest provider of road safety cameras in the U.S., are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Redflex Holdings

Redflex has contracted with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) to supply, install and maintain 140 intersection safety camera systems and provide the Image and Infringement Processing System (IIPS).

ICBC is a Crown Corporation that provides automobile insurance and is also responsible for driver licensing, vehicle licensing and registration for over three million drivers across the Province of British Columbia. The Intersection Safety Camera program is an integral road safety initiative operated by the police in BC in partnership with ICBC to reduce the frequency of crashes associated with running a red light in various communities across the Province. The contract is for an initial term of six years with two additional two-year extension options. Redflex was selected after a rigorous assessment process that included a Proof of Performance phase that required Redflex to install and operate six intersection safety systems that were closely evaluated by ICBC.
According to the ICBC 2007 report, on average a fatality occurred every 21 hours on British Columbia’s roads. Canada’s Road Safety Vision 2010 calls for a 20% decrease in the number killed or seriously injured in speed or intersection-related crashes."

 ======================================

Redflex signed the contract back on April 30, 2010;

BC Liberals quietly rewrite the Motor Vehicle Act to include Redflex cameras as being legally recognized devices by the Courts by law enforcement officers, on December 6, 2010;

Attorney General Mike de Jong steps down to run for Premier offering a "dialogue with British Columbians"

Macquarie pursues purchase of ........ Redflex, after having suddenly dumped the Sea to Sky Highway Project

 =============================================

Division 41 — Speed Monitoring and Traffic Light Safety

Devices prescribed

41.01 (1)  Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 162/2001.]

(2)  For the purpose of prescribing a traffic light safety device under section 83.1 (8) (b) of the Act, the following are prescribed:

(a) the Gatso Red Light Camera type 36mST-MC-3LG;

(b) the Gatso Red Light Camera type 36mST-MC-3LGA;

(c) the REDFLEXred-MK4-HDX-200-1100-RLC.

[en. B.C. Reg. 215/99, App. 1, s. 3; am. B.C. Regs. 238/99; 162/2001; 353/2010, Sch. s. 1 (a).]

=====================================

=========================================

Vancouver Sun News Alert for Wednesday January 12th, 2011:
ICBC launched a major expansion of its red-light camera program Tuesday with more locations, better equipment and a much greater chance of getting caught. The $20-million expansion will see the total number of intersection cameras in the province rise from 120 to 140.

The Concessionaire agreement can't be too far behind

===============================================

For those that have read this blog before you might have skipped over a previous post called:

Are we paying too much of a Shadow Toll to drive the Sea to Sky Highway?

 Down near the bottom of the Post I had included this: 

"Macquarie isn't a small company, here's a link to show just how large they are, and what they are involved with under various subsidiaries, starting on page 3 to 22."

Since I wrote the above Post, Macquarie has now sold its interest in the Sea To Sky Highway Improvement Project complete with the hidden Shadow Tolls, which allows it to move on to other "projects" to make more money for its shareholders.  The point is, the reason why I was able to find the list on the internet was because Macquarie was considering purchasing a company called the RedFlex Group.

RedFlex Group specialty in North America is providing solutions for traffic via Red Light Cameras, capturing not only the license plates of those that run red lights, but the dramatic, sometimes deadly results of those who run red lights.

Using "BC red light camera Macquarie" to search Google, the first hit that comes up is with ICBC, the second one is BCSportsBike.com, the third one is with CBC News and all the rest have to do with Macquarie and Redflex Group buying and selling.

For those astute at using their GPS, and to save yourselves from having to pay for running a red light, or for paying for not doing the posted speed limits in School and Playground zones there's always the POI (Points of Interests) for Dummies that can be created.


These Red Light Cameras will not come cheaply, the capital costs will be borne by taxpayers, but the maintenance and administration of the ticketing will in all likelihood be done via another one of those long term Concessionaire agreements with an added touch, I'd bet, of a cut of the "revenue" going to the government.

CIBC Historical Effective Prime Rate, another nail in the coffin of the BC Rail trial

 

 https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/government-finances/historical-effective-prime-rate.pdf

Link Verified for Update: March 31, 2024

++++++++++++

Link Updated: July 13, 2023

October 24, 2023 7.20% 

 ++++++++++++++++++

  June 8, 2023:   6.95%

 ++++++++++++++++

 current prime rate 6.70% as of January 28, 2023

 +++++++++++++++++++

April 14, 2022  3.20%

 

*************************

-----------------------

March 17, 2020  2.95%

********************

Update Prime Interest Rate for CIBC: Current prime rate   3.45% as of  January 18, 2018


View Historical Effective Prime Rates

During what is known as the Basi, Virk, Basi trial, a question was posed by Kevin McCullough, the lawyer for Bobby Virk, to Crown Witness Brian G. Kenning, on what was the going interest rate on an indemnity ($255 million), to which the reply came back that he had no idea, besides, the Board of Directors for BC Rail didn't put that into the agreement when it came to clinching the deal on the sale of BC Rail to CN Rail.   Who did?   The government of Gordon Campbell, of course.

For a layperson to go looking for the going prime rate, whether it be on the internet or even going so far as to ask a bank for such historical data, the first method is FREE, the second..... well I'm quite sure there would be a price tag attached, especially during the trial.


Election BC to the rescue, not that I was looking for that particular data last night, a month and a half after the $6 million payoff, I just found it at their wonderful website while doing some Dry reading where every once in awhile something makes you go WOW!!!!.   The reason I was looking for this particular information was because I wanted to know how Elections BC counted political donations.  I've kindly highlighted in Bold below, "Prime Interest Rates".

http://www.elections.bc.ca/docs/fin/407.pdf    Prime Interest Rates

"Prime Interest Rates

If a loan to a political party, constituency association, candidate, leadership contestant or a nomination contestant is made at an interest rate less than the prime rate of the principal banker to the Province of British Columbia at the time the interest rate is fixed, the benefit derived is a political contribution. The interest rates that should be used when completing the Loans and Guarantees Received (S-L1) form to calculate the amount of interest payable at the prime rate are located at the following sites:

Historical interest rates – http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/PT/bcm/histrates.shtml
Current interest rate – http://cibc.com/ca/rates/index.html

If you have any questions, please contact the Electoral Finance program area at
Elections BC."

 I clicked on the Historical interest rates without realizing there was "fin" in the link which took me to this page's contents:

"The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is considered to be the Province’s principal banker for interest rate reference purposes. As the need to determine the prime rate of the Province’s banker arises under various enactments and instruments across government, the historical record of CIBC’s prime lending rate can be referenced below. The rates are listed from 1974 and will be updated on a periodic basis. Please refer to CIBC's Web site for the most recent rate.
View the Historical Effective Prime Rate table."

I went Hmmmmmm.   Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and wondered aloud as to whether CIBC World Markets was related to CIBC.   Would you make the same observation?   Would you be tempted to take the next step in the link to View the Historical Effective Prime Rate Table that goes back to 1974 and is updated on a periodic basis.   I did.

On page 2 of the document, top right corner... April 14, 2004, the going interest rate was 3.75%!!!!!

The indemnity that the Executive Council (Cabinet) signed off on the sale of BC Rail to CN Rail was a whopping 9%, and the really interesting thing is that the numbers show that the Prime Rate peaked on July 11, 2007 at 6.25%, and went into a steady decline, all through 2008, till September 9, 2010 at 3.00%.

So could you tell me this again, Premier Gordon Campbell, and Finance Minister Colin Hansen, and all those who are currently in the running to be the next Premier, via the BC Liberal Party, just when did you decide to implement the Harmonized Sales Tax?   Just when did the Deputy Minister of Finance become alerted to the need to Harmonize with the rest of Canada?

The government has plenty of graphs, plenty of GDP to compare to various streams of information, but just looking at the Prime Rate is good enough for me.

For more information on the background  on how the public was hosed:

http://pacificgazette.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-legitimate-exactly-is-railgate.html  The Gazetteer

http://therealstory.ca/2010-09-21/bc-liberals/bc-rail-how-badly-were-we-hosed  The Real Story

Last Update: January 13, 2014 still no change since September 9, 2010

CIBC Current prime rate 2.70% as of July 16, 2015  

April 16, 1974	10.50%
May 13, 1974	11.00%
July 24, 1974	11.50%
November 21, 1974	11.00%
January 15, 1975	11.50%
February 1, 1975	9.75%
February 26, 1975	9.00%
September 5, 1975	9.75%
March 10, 1976	10.25%
November 23, 1976	9.75%
December 24, 1976	9.25%
February 1, 1977	8.75%
June l, 1977	8.25%
March 15, 1978	8.75%
April 5, 1978	9.25%
August 1, 1978	9.75%
September 15, 1978	10.25%
October 18, 1978	11.00%
November 7, 1978	11.50%
January 5, 1979	12.00%
July 25, 1979	12.50%
September 10, 1979	13.00%
October 10, 1979	13.75%
October 26, 1979	14.75%
November 2, 1979	15.00%
March 17, 1980	15.75%
March 28, 1980	16.50%
April 3, 1980	17.50%
April 21, 1980	17.25%
April 28, 1980	16.75%
May 5, 1980	16.50%
May 12, 1980	15.75%
May 15, 1980	14.75%
May 26, 1980	13.75%
June 23, 1980	13.25%
July 21, 1980	12.75%
July 25, 1980	12.50%
August 5, 1980	12.25%
October 3, 1980	13.00%
October 10, 1980	12.75%
November 3, 1980	13.25%
November 18, 1980	13.75%
November 28, 1980	14.50%
December 5, 1980	15.50%
December 12, 1980	17.00%
December 19, 1980	18.25%
March 23, 1981	17.75%
April 20, 1981	18.00%
April 20, 1981	18.50%
May 1, 1981	19.50%
June 5, 1981	20.00%
July 24, 1981	21.00%
July 31, 1981	21.75%
August 7, 1981	22.75%
September 8, 1981	22.25%
September 14,1981	21.75%
September 21, 1981	21.25%
October 9, 1981	20.75%
October 19, 1981	20.00%
November 9, 1981	19.50%
November 16, 1981	18.00%
November 23, 1981	17.25%
January 4, 1982	16.50%
March 26, 1982	17.00%
June 4, 1982	17.50%
June 18, 1982	18.25%
July 16, 1982	17.75%
July 23, 1982	17.25%
August 6, 1982	17.00%
August 20, 1982	16.00%
September 3, 1982	15.50%
September 24, 1982	15.00%
October 8, 1982	14.50%
October 15, 1982	13.75%
November 12, 1982	13.00%
December 17, 1982	12.50%
January 7, 1983	12.00%
February 18, 1983	11.50%
April 19, 1983	11.00%
March 23, 1984	11.50%
May 9, 1984	12.00%
June 25, 1984	12.50%
June 29, 1984	13.00%
July 6, 1984	13.50%
August 10, 1984	13.00%
October 26, 1984	12.50%
November 20, 1984	12.00%
December 7, 1984	11.75%
December 21, 1984	11.25%
November 11, 1985	11.00%
February 22, 1985	11.50%
March 8, 1985	11.75%
March 29, 1985	11.25%
April 12, 1985	11.00%
April 19, 1985	10.75%
May 22, 1985	10.50%
August 23, 1985	10.25%
October 7, 1985	10.00%
January 7, 1986	10.50%
January 14, 1986	11.00%
January 31, 1986	11.50%
February 7, 1986	12.25%
February 14, 1986	13.00%
March 14, 1986	12.50%
March 21, 1986	12.00%
April 7, 1986	11.50%
April 11, 1986	11.25%
May 2, 1986	10.50%
May 16, 1986	10.25%
July 18, 1986	9.75%
January 23, 1987	9.25%
March 13, 1987	8.75%
April 24, 1987	9.25%
May 22, 1987	9.50%
July 31, 1987	10.00%
October 9, 1987	10.25%
October 23, 1987	9.75%
April 23, 1988	10.25%
June 3, 1988	10.75%
August 26, 1988	11.25%
September 16, 1988	11.75%
December 9, 1988	12.25%
February 17, 1989	12.75%
March 23, 1989	13.50%
February 15, 1989	14.25%
April 23, 1990	14.75%
August 17, 1990	14.25%
September 21, 1990	13.75%
November 3,1990	13.25%
December 21, 1990	12.75%
January 18, 1991	12.25%
January 31, 1991	11.75%
February 19, 1991	11.25%
April 3, 1991	10.75%
April 25, 1991	10.25%
May 22, 1991	9.75%
September 13, 1991	9.50%
October 21, 1991	9.00%
October 25, 1991	8.75%
November 7, 1991	8.50%
December 6, 1991	8.00%
January 24, 1992	7.50%
March 6, 1992	8.25%
April 10, 1992	8.00%
April 16, 1992	7.75%
April 16, 1992	7.50%
June 5, 1992	7.25%
June 19, 1992	7.00%
July 24, 1992	6.75%
August 6, 1992	6.50%
Septembers, 1992	6.25%
October 1, 1992	8.25%
October 28, 1992	7.75%
November 3, 1992	7.50%
November 17, 1992	8.25%
November 20, 1992	9.00%
December 8, 1992	8.75%
December 15, 1992	8.50%
December 15, 1992	8.25%
December 18, 1992	8.00%
December 21, 1992	7.75%
December 22, 1992	7.50%
December 23, 1992	7.25%
January 12, 1993	7.00%
January 15, 1993	6.75%
February 27, 1993	6.50%
March 4, 1993	6.25%
March 22, 1993	6.00%
July 12, 1993	5.75%
August 25, 1993	6.00%
September 16, 1993	5.75%
November 9, 1993	5.50%
March 28, 1994	6.25%
April 1, 1994	6.50%
April 4, 1994	6.75%
June 22, 1994	8.00%
July 13, 1994	7.75%
July 19, 1994	7.50%
Augusts, 1994	7.25%
September 14, 1994	7.00%
Decembers, 1994	7.50%
December 14, 1994	8.00%
January 13, 1995	8.50%
January 18, 1995	9.25%
February 21, 1995	9.50%
March 1, 1995	9.25%
March 8, 1995	9.75%
May8, 1995	9.25%
June 5, 1995	9.00%
June 14, 1995	8.75%
July 7, 1995	8.50%
July 12, 1995	8.25%
August 29, 1995	8.00%
November 1, 1995	7.75%
November 1 , 1 995	7.75%
December 20, 1995	7.50%
January 29, 1996	7.25%
February 1, 1996	7.00%
March 25, 1996	6.75%
April 19, 1996	6.50%
July 26, 1996	6.25%
August 12, 1996	6.00%
August 23, 1996	5.75%
Octobers, 1996	5.50%
October 17, 1996	5.25%
October 29, 1996	5.00%
November 12, 1996	4.75%
October 2, 1997	5.25%
November 26, 1997	5.50%
December 15, 1997	6.00%
February 2, 1998	6.50%
August 28, 1998	7.50%
September 30, 1998	7.25%
October 19, 1998	7.00%
November 19, 1998	6.75%
April 1, 1999	6.50%
May 5, 1999	6.25%
November 18, 1999	6.50%
February 4, 2000	6.75%
March 23, 2000	7.00%
May 18, 2000	7.50%
January 21, 2001	7.25%
March 7, 2001	6.75%
April 18,2001	6.50%
May 30, 2001	6.25%
July 18, 2001	6.00%
August 29, 2001	5.75%
September 18, 2001	5.25%
October 24, 2001	4.50%
November 28, 2001	4.00%
January 16, 2002	3.75%
April 17, 2002	4.00%
June 5, 2002	4.25%
July 17, 2002	4.50%
March 5, 2003	4.75%
April 16, 2003	5.00%
July 16, 2003	4.75%
September 4, 2003	4.50%
January 21, 2004	4.25%
March 3, 2004	4.00%
April 14, 2004	3.75%
September 9, 2004	4.00%
October 20, 2004	4.25%
September 8, 2005	4.50%
October 19, 2005	4.75%
December 7, 2005	5.00%
January 25, 2006	5.25%
March 8, 2006	5.50%
April 26, 2006	5.75%
May 25, 2006	6.00%
July 11,2007	6.25%
December 5, 2007	6.00%
January 23, 2008	5.75%
March 5, 2008	5.25%
April 23, 2008	4.75%
October 9, 2008	4.50%
October 14, 2008	4.35%
October 22, 2008	4.00%
December 10, 2008	3.50%
January 21, 2009	3.00%
March 4, 2009	2.50%
April 22, 2009	2.25%
June 2, 2010	2.50%
July 21, 2010	2.75%
September 9, 2010	3.00%
January 21, 2015	2.85%
July 15, 2015	2.70%
July 13, 2017	2.95%
September 7, 2017	3.20%
January 18, 2018	3.45%
October --, ----	??.45%

April 16, 1974

10.50%

May 13, 1974

11.00%

July 24, 1974

11.50%

November 21, 1974

11.00%

January 15, 1975

11.50%

February 1, 1975

9.75%

February 26, 1975

9.00%

September 5, 1975

9.75%

March 10, 1976

10.25%

November 23, 1976

9.75%

December 24, 1976

9.25%

February 1, 1977

8.75%

June l, 1977

8.25%

March 15, 1978

8.75%

April 5, 1978

9.25%

August 1, 1978

9.75%

September 15, 1978

10.25%

October 18, 1978

11.00%

November 7, 1978

11.50%

January 5, 1979

12.00%

July 25, 1979

12.50%

September 10, 1979

13.00%

October 10, 1979

13.75%

October 26, 1979

14.75%

November 2, 1979

15.00%

March 17, 1980

15.75%

March 28, 1980

16.50%

April 3, 1980

17.50%

April 21, 1980

17.25%

April 28, 1980

16.75%

May 5, 1980

16.50%

May 12, 1980

15.75%

May 15, 1980

14.75%

May 26, 1980

13.75%

June 23, 1980

13.25%

July 21, 1980

12.75%

July 25, 1980

12.50%

August 5, 1980

12.25%

October 3, 1980

13.00%

October 10, 1980

12.75%

November 3, 1980

13.25%

November 18, 1980

13.75%

November 28, 1980

14.50%

December 5, 1980

15.50%

December 12, 1980

17.00%

December 19, 1980

18.25%

March 23, 1981

17.75%

April 20, 1981

18.00%

April 20, 1981

18.50%

May 1, 1981

19.50%

June 5, 1981

20.00%

July 24, 1981

21.00%

July 31, 1981

21.75%

August 7, 1981

22.75%

September 8, 1981

22.25%

September 14,1981

21.75%

September 21, 1981

21.25%

October 9, 1981

20.75%

October 19, 1981

20.00%

November 9, 1981

19.50%

November 16, 1981

18.00%

November 23, 1981

17.25%

January 4, 1982

16.50%

March 26, 1982

17.00%

June 4, 1982

17.50%

June 18, 1982

18.25%

July 16, 1982

17.75%

July 23, 1982

17.25%

August 6, 1982

17.00%

August 20, 1982

16.00%

September 3, 1982

15.50%

September 24, 1982

15.00%

October 8, 1982

14.50%

October 15, 1982

13.75%

November 12, 1982

13.00%

December 17, 1982

12.50%

January 7, 1983

12.00%

February 18, 1983

11.50%

April 19, 1983

11.00%

March 23, 1984

11.50%

May 9, 1984

12.00%

June 25, 1984

12.50%

June 29, 1984

13.00%

July 6, 1984

13.50%

August 10, 1984

13.00%

October 26, 1984

12.50%

November 20, 1984

12.00%

December 7, 1984

11.75%

December 21, 1984

11.25%

November 11, 1985

11.00%

February 22, 1985

11.50%

March 8, 1985

11.75%

March 29, 1985

11.25%

April 12, 1985

11.00%

April 19, 1985

10.75%

May 22, 1985

10.50%

August 23, 1985

10.25%

October 7, 1985

10.00%

January 7, 1986

10.50%

January 14, 1986

11.00%

January 31, 1986

11.50%

February 7, 1986

12.25%

February 14, 1986

13.00%

March 14, 1986

12.50%

 March 21, 1986

12.00%

April 7, 1986

11.50%

April 11, 1986

11.25%

 May 2, 1986

10.50%

May 16, 1986

10.25%

July 18, 1986

9.75%

January 23, 1987

9.25%

March 13, 1987

8.75%

April 24, 1987

9.25%

May 22, 1987

9.50%

July 31, 1987

10.00%

October 9, 1987

10.25%

October 23, 1987

9.75%

April 23, 1988

10.25%

June 3, 1988

10.75%

August 26, 1988

11.25%

September 16, 1988

11.75%

December 9, 1988

12.25%

February 17, 1989

12.75%

March 23, 1989

13.50%

February 15, 1989

14.25%

April 23, 1990

14.75%

August 17, 1990

14.25%

September 21, 1990

13.75%

November 3,1990

13.25%

December 21, 1990

12.75%

January 18, 1991

12.25%

January 31, 1991

11.75%

February 19, 1991

11.25%

April 3, 1991

10.75%

April 25, 1991

10.25%

May 22, 1991

9.75%

September 13, 1991

9.50%

October 21, 1991

9.00%

October 25, 1991

8.75%

November 7, 1991

8.50%

 December 6, 1991

8.00%

January 24, 1992

7.50%

 March 6, 1992

8.25%

April 10, 1992

8.00%

April 16, 1992

7.75%

April 16, 1992

7.50%

June 5, 1992

7.25%

June 19, 1992

7.00%

July 24, 1992

6.75%

August 6, 1992

6.50%

 Septembers, 1992

6.25%

October 1, 1992

8.25%

October 28, 1992

7.75%

November 3, 1992

7.50%

November 17, 1992

8.25%

 November 20, 1992

9.00%

December 8, 1992

8.75%

December 15, 1992

8.50%

December 15, 1992

8.25%

December 18, 1992

8.00%

December 21, 1992

7.75%

December 22, 1992

7.50%

December 23, 1992

7.25%

January 12, 1993

7.00%

January 15, 1993

6.75%

February 27, 1993

6.50%

March 4, 1993

6.25%

March 22, 1993

6.00%

July 12, 1993

5.75%

August 25, 1993

6.00%

September 16, 1993

5.75%

November 9, 1993

5.50%

March 28, 1994

6.25%

April 1, 1994

6.50%

April 4, 1994

6.75%

June 22, 1994

8.00%

July 13, 1994

7.75%

July 19, 1994

7.50%

Augusts, 1994

7.25%

September 14, 1994

7.00%

Decembers, 1994

7.50%

December 14, 1994

8.00%

January 13, 1995

8.50%

January 18, 1995

9.25%

February 21, 1995

9.50%

March 1, 1995

9.25%

March 8, 1995

9.75%

May8, 1995

9.25%

June 5, 1995

9.00%

June 14, 1995

8.75%

July 7, 1995

8.50%

July 12, 1995

8.25%

August 29, 1995

8.00%

November 1, 1995

7.75%

November 1 , 1 995

7.75%

December 20, 1995

7.50%

January 29, 1996

7.25%

February 1, 1996

7.00%

March 25, 1996

6.75%

April 19, 1996

6.50%

July 26, 1996

6.25%

August 12, 1996

6.00%

August 23, 1996

5.75%

Octobers, 1996

5.50%

October 17, 1996

5.25%

October 29, 1996

5.00%

November 12, 1996

4.75%

October 2, 1997

5.25%

November 26, 1997

5.50%

December 15, 1997

6.00%

February 2, 1998

6.50%

August 28, 1998

7.50%

September 30, 1998

7.25%

October 19, 1998

7.00%

November 19, 1998

6.75%

April 1, 1999

6.50%

May 5, 1999

6.25%

November 18, 1999

6.50%

February 4, 2000

6.75%

March 23, 2000

7.00%

May 18, 2000

7.50%

January 21, 2001

7.25%

March 7, 2001

6.75%

April 18,2001

6.50%

May 30, 2001

6.25%

July 18, 2001

6.00%

August 29, 2001

5.75%

September 18, 2001

5.25%

October 24, 2001

4.50%

November 28, 2001

4.00%

January 16, 2002

3.75%

April 17, 2002

4.00%

June 5, 2002

4.25%

July 17, 2002

4.50%

March 5, 2003

4.75%

April 16, 2003

5.00%

July 16, 2003

4.75%

September 4, 2003

4.50%

January 21, 2004

4.25%

March 3, 2004

4.00%

April 14, 2004

3.75%

September 9, 2004

4.00%

October 20, 2004

4.25%

September 8, 2005

4.50%

October 19, 2005

4.75%

December 7, 2005

5.00%

January 25, 2006

5.25%

March 8, 2006

5.50%

April 26, 2006

5.75%

May 25, 2006

6.00%

July 11,2007

6.25%

December 5, 2007

6.00%

January 23, 2008

5.75%

March 5, 2008

5.25%

April 23, 2008

4.75%

October 9, 2008

4.50%

October 14, 2008

4.35%

October 22, 2008

4.00%

December 10, 2008

3.50%

January 21, 2009

3.00%

March 4, 2009

2.50%

April 22, 2009

2.25%

June 2, 2010

2.50%

July 21, 2010

2.75%

September 9, 2010

3.00%

January 21, 2015

2.85%

July 15, 2015

2.70%

July 13, 2017

2.95%

September 7, 2017

3.20%

January 18, 2018

3.45%

October --, ----

??.45%

Cathedral Lake Lodge

Near Keremeos, which is in the valley bottom on the Similkameen River.

The "camp" and Cathedral Lodge is high, high, high up.

You may have heard about Cathedral, obviously you have, why else would you be going.  Its not like the Rockies (Canadian) where 86% of the visitors barely get out of their vehicles to go for a hike.  They just want to drive through the park, and see its wide valleys to get the views.  14%, make the extra effort, ....... planned effort, and head out for places like Sentinel Pass and leave Morraine Lake or Lake Louise far below.

Ah yes, Sentinel Pass, we did that from the Morraine Lake side and then having made the long climb up, decided NOT to return by the same route.   We went down the opposite side, which was much longer, much more enjoyable (fewer people).  All that was needed later was to catch a ride back up to Morraine Lake where we had left our car.

Cathedral is different, thankfully, because its not a Must see Lake Louise tourist destination, yet.

From Keremeos and the Similkameen Valley, Cathedral's hiking area is not visible at all, and once you're up there, all of the nearby valleys look the same.    Closest thing to Cathedral, not in location, but in sheer enjoyment, is Lake O'Hara in Yoho National Park, right on the western side of the Continental Divide.   O'Hara offers the same two options of getting into the hiking area, by School Bus or hiking, and like Cathedral, stay off of the Road, walk on the hiking trail (which is more difficult and delays, delays, delays....).  My advice, don't waste your time by hiking.  You're going to need every ounce of stamina, and strength, to enjoy the day(s) ahead of you, with of course, relaxing at night as well.


Cathedral:

Everyone starts from the same location, the parking lot.   We took the Private four-wheel-drive method, rough ride, not paved, its four wheel territory.  Keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle, the trees are that close to the "road".   And you will get to know your neighbour on the seats!

Still thinking of hiking?   Stay on the trail, don't even think about using the "road".............. and if one or two of your group IS taking the trucks, give them the heavier packs!

Accommodations and Brochures

The Lodge and the Cabins;   electricity (generated on site), beds, wood stoves if needed, FOOD cooked by someone else, sandwiches too for the day hike.  Canoe on THE Lake ..... which is NOT called "Cathedral", its higher up.  Quiniscoe Lake is where the "accommodation" areas are.    The Lodge and the Cabins, along with the Public tenting area, are on Quiniscoe Lake.... and once there, don't forget to ask where the helicopter landing areas are.... NO!!!!  they're not to be used as a short cut In and Out (unless.......)

Don't even think you can buy a flight in or out.   The helicopters are only brought in in an emergency, like forest fire or some other disaster.    There is a "However Clause".

With the exception of winter helicopter and/or snowmobile access to the Resort, and the summer transport service, there will be no mechanized support allowed for commercial recreation use of the Park.  (Page 51)

In 2008, there was a working hot tub, in the Lodge......   its 2012, and hot tub is working just fine and you can thank the Pine Beetle for that luxury.  NB: 2014: no mention of the hot tub, but here are the going Rates....          Contact        &   Mail Too


The Map   at the top of this POST.

Yellow solid line is the Canada - USA border

Yellow PINS are on Hiking trails, it's difficult to say where it really becomes steeper, therefore I didn't mark it on my GPS, but from before #59, its definitely steeper, like in a forty-five degree angle with left and right sides of the spine dropping off steeper than forty-five degrees.  Plenty of rocks to stop you from tumbling.    Breathe......breathe..... the hike is well worth the effort, and if the weather holds, the view is Fantastic, it was for us in September of 2008.

Cathedral Lake Lodge is within Cathedral Park Provincial Park

Here are the Trails and the then "current" conditions for September 18, 2008

Not all trails go straight up, some go DOWN first then STRAIGHT up...... just remember that when planning your return hike.   Typically we saw more people at the Lodge at Supper time than we saw on the trail, which might sound right, but there's a lot of campers at the Lake too.  30 campsites

Sections of the Quiniscoe Lake Campground will be closed for re-construction in 2012, please check back to this website for updated closure information. Lake of the Woods campground will be used as the alternate location for camping when campsites at Quiniscoe Lake are not available.  SOURCE

Once 2012 is over and done with, and left time to Vote in the Provincial Election:

Quiniscoe Lake has 30 sites designated by number posts. The sites are spread out along the southern shore of the lake amongst Engelmann spruce, Lyall's larch and Sub-alpine fir. Boulders and rock outcroppings are strewn about the area, evidence of the area's glacial history. The sites feature framed earth tent pads to minimize the impacts of camping by keeping people in designated areas. The sites are grouped together in clusters of three or four in order to share the 12 picnic tables and 13 fire rings. There are four pit toilets in the campground, one is near the lodge access road, a second is behind the ranger cabin between sites 4 and 7 and the other two are further along the lake beside the trail to sites 21-25. A firewood corral is located near the lodge access road approximately 100m from the campsites. Campers are reminded to conserve firewood. There are four wire mesh food caches on the ground to protect supplies from rodents and birds. They are not bear proof.  SOURCE

The information above, and a map of the area, I photographed to have IN my camera, for use later on.  And yes I have several Back up Batteries as well.
 

*************************

"They", those at the Lodge, said that you wouldn't even have to stand on your tiptoes to see Mount Baker from Scout Mountain, which was true, however, I found that once home, with the use of Google Earth,  I did manage to plant a pole on top of the American focal point.