Is there an Oligopoly-gist for BC Hydro?

An oligopoly is a market form in which a market or industry is dominated by a small number of sellers (oligopolists). Oligopolies can result from various forms of collusion which reduce competition and lead to higher prices for consumers.

Under the thumbs of Premier Gordon Campbell and Premier Christy Clark, the British Columbia Utilities Commission has been sitting on it's thumbs while major prices are being paid for dams that the Public doesn't even know if new sources are needed at all.

Once upon W. A. C. Bennett-time, Father of BC Hydro, invented his version of the game of monopoly.  No competition, no price wars, no artificial tinkering by introducing wind, micro damming, requirement to pay higher prices to independent power producers, no collusion, no heritage funding, no debt.


It seems, now, that BC Hydro's Octopus head is fighting against the will of it's eight tentacle supplemental suppliers, IPP, required sources of cleaner energy.


Is Site C the route go even though a new turbine Mica #6 could be added to the existing dam for far less money?

Should the BC Liberal Government stick with the number 6 or go for the alphabet rating system of C?

Are the prices that BC Hydro is paying for the components that go into either Site C or Mica #6 fixed?   Is there collusion?

Collusion is an agreement between two or more parties, sometimes illegal and therefore secretive, to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair market advantage.

 http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3113150?sid=21105524785393&uid=4&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70

 Sultan, Ralph G. M., Pricing in the Electrical Oligopoly, Vol. I: Competition or Collusion, Boston: Harvard University Press, 1974.

 https://www.google.ca/search?q=Sultan,+Ralph+G.+M.,+Pricing+in+the+Electrical+Oligopoly,+Vol.+I:+Competition+or+Collusion,+Boston:+Harvard+University+Press,+1974.&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=AoChVLWgLcqpogSLg4KIDg


 There is a reason why the Courts Prosecutors and Defense Counsel prefer to weed Doctors, Engineers and Journalists out of the Jury pool, too analytical.  Everything has to add up to a logical answer.    MLA Ralph Sultan would seem to be the logical person to be the Minister of Energy for BC Hydro........


Who are the Oligopolists in the Court of Public Opinions regarding the benefits of Site C?


Coincidentally or Fortunately, Ralph G. M. Sultan's first Volume on Oligopoly was reviewed by M. A. Adelman who wrote:

This first of two volumes is in an old and good tradition:  mining or quarrying a voluminous court record to write narrative-analytic economic history.  After a brief industy background, there is a summary account of the notorious electrical apparatus consipiracies on three important types of heavy equipment.  The author then summarizes "NINE BILLION DOLLARS of treble damage suits" and makes a detailed study of one of the biggest,  brought by American Electric Electric Power against Westinghouse and General Electric.  The writer is discontented with the outcome, and takes over the job of dispassionately examining the evidence to suggest what really happened.

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

Not to be confused by Oligopolist, an Apologist is: 

a person who offers an argument in defense of something controversial.

Barriere BC hasn't changed its name, but Where is Stout's Gulch?

In searching old records we often come across names that we don't recognize, like Eburne aka Marpole.   BC Geo is the site that decipher's old names longitude latitude, like Barriere, BC, which had a gold strike in 1861 on the banks of the North Thompson River.

Once upon a time Deer were more prevalent in British Columbia....... so for today's hunters, here are some old time longitude latitudes.

This document has more to do with Stout's Gulch aka Barkerville...... than Barriere, but the 'theory' of W. H. Mathews is the same for both gold sitings just waiting to be rediscovered.

W. H. Mathews

Lode Gold Deposits sometimes has a file name spelled Load Gold Deposits: eg. South Eastern BC, South Western BC, and Vancouver Island BC.  'Load' will generate three more documents than a search for 'Lode'.

"Drain Lake for Gold" label??? it was!!!

 
Page 4 of 17 listing of gold camps   1948  Load Gold Deposits South Eastern British Columbia

....... Course of veins Compared with Placer Diggings.

Page 24 of 60: In my topographical examination of the country, I could not help observing that, without exception, your extremely rich placers lay immediately below the quartz veins; as, for instance, if we start at the Lord Dufferin claim and follow the croppings passing the old Prospine, now called the California, and continuing along the vein in a north-west course, you will find, immediately below, or at the base of the mountain to our left, runs Williams Creek, which has yielded many million of gold, much of it extremely coarse, intermingled with quartz; while to our right, at the base of the same mountain, runs the Conklin Gulch, which also yielded large quantities of gold, as, indeed, both places are yet doing.

Continuing along the course of the vein and crossing Williams Creek at the canon until the summit going towards Lowhee is reached, we find Stout's Gulch lying to the left and below the vein.  All know how extremely rich that gulch has been, while it is, even now, being hydrauliced far up the mountain side towards the vein.   Following the vein over the summit dividing Stout's Gulch from Lowhee Creek, we find the latter has been rich; and within a very few days samples of heavy gold have been pounded out of quartz found while sluicing.

In the vicinity of the Pinkerton claim the vein crosses Lowhee Creek and pierces the mountain, continuing towards the Jack of Clubs Lake, taking in the Enterprise, now called the "Senator Jones", and extension, "Governor Perkins".

The vein, extending up and through the mountain, no doubt supplied Lowhee Creek with the coarse gold mentioned above; and as the vein crosses through the mountain, the gold found on teh banks of the lake perhaps came from the same source.

I think I shall warn venturesome spirits from attempting to pump the lake out in their anxiety to find gold.

In continuing my survey, I find no source from which the rich diggings of Mosquito Creek derived their gold except from the large, well -defined, and continuous vein and cross veins passing through Island Mountain.  Returning to Lord Dufferin, I was not surprised to find that Grouse Creek could not possibly have received its bounteous supply of gold fro any other source than from the Bonanza vein, where it crosses Grouse Creek as it passes from the California claim and continues through to Lord Dufferin ground towards Antler Creek; and surely no one will question the source whence that creek derived its gold, when not a dollar is being mined above where the vein crosses either the Grouse or Antler Creeks.

I find it impossible to embrace the Burns Mountain in this report; but from observation and information obtained from P. C. Dunlevy, of Soda Creek --- a disinterested person, I think --- I am led to think that the Burns Mountain veins supplied millions mined from Lightning Creek, no gold being found above a point where Mr. Dunlevy supposed the veins crossed the creek.

While I may seem to have been somewhat exhaustive in my report of the above veins, I will say I have been shown samples of ore from what, at present, may be termed outside veins -- notably the Steadman, Sergeant Lindsay, and other veins reaching so far away as Sugar Creek -- and they, without exception, show well-defined walls, and invariably prospect well in gold.  Those on Sugar Creek, however, carry a higher percentage of silver than gold; and beyond doubt, many veins exist not yet discovered.  The country is thickly covered with wees and moss, which makes prospect in or following veins somewhat difficult; but the day is not far distant, in my judgement, when many prospectors will be found busily engaged in uncovering good paying veins.  Some will meet with success, while the dreams of wealth of others will, unhappily, never be realized.  Such is too often the fate of the prospector, which can, in a measure, be palliated by the Government, as I will explain further on.  (See Mineral Survey.)

I must not neglect to account for supposed veins carrying free gold, in some cases lying higher up the mountains than the true veins, which have but little free gold; notably one which was discovered high up -- in fact, on the summit of the mountain above the B. C. mines.

During the glacial period all was chaos.  The irresistible force did not always choose its course and destroy the tops of veins and carry them down to creeks below.  On the contrary, portions of a vein were in some cases detached and carried many miles and landed on some mountain top hundreds of feet height than its original bed, as in the case mentioned.   Instead of being ground and crumbled sufficiently fine to admit of being gradually washed to the creeks below, it was carried in the case of a jam or drift of timber in a swollen stream, where trees may be seen piled up many feet, and beyond the line of the jam.  In such cases the elements have but little effect on the supposed vein, and it lies there undisturbed, while thousands of tons broken ground fine have at the same time been washed to the creeks below. ...................

Annual Report Minister of Mines   1886

Mining operation for Gold, Coal, Company

Google Search Criteria for around Barriere
'Open pit, on the northern slopes of Samatosum Mountain, 25 kilometres east of Barriere and 60 kilometres north of Kamloops (Friesen, 1990).

 *****************

And, if you're the least bit curious about that there deserted road bed which appears to be a dead end, whether you're there in person, or looking on a map, or in Google Earth, or BC Geo, just pop the longitude latitude coordinates into the programs to find what's nearby, 5, 10, 15 kilometer radius,
from this here novice starter spreadsheet:

Excel Table of Historic Mines

eg.  Drilling Resumes on the Mucho Oro Zone - Barkerville Gold ... Stouts Gulch

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

This document shows Iceflow routes throughout BC.... which if it's true that GOLD deposits have been hopping from a low hill to the top an adjacent mountain then why not build a database on where that's happened eh.... to find another Barkerville 

Soil Landscapes of British Columbia Page 49 of 196

Kootenay Lake is REALLY deep which means the Mount Polley dam busters deposits will go DEEP too.

Criminal Code 217.1 was a result of Westray Mine's 26 deaths. Why didn't 217.1 protect Roderick MacIsaac from Christy Clark's 'heavy-handed' Caucus?

Firings of eight BC health ministry workers and contractors Report released to the Public on Friday?


How much money have BC taxpayers been charged with so that Premier Christy Clark and Minister of Health Terry Lake could be coached on how to use the phrase 'heavy-handed and we apologize for that' in the Legislature during Question Period?   

In 2012, did the BC Government Cabinet, and their OIC Appointees, skip the course on the impropriety of suspending employee without pay, then outright firing them before finding conclusive evidence?  Did the Cabinet do all of this without requesting that the RCMP do an investigation, instead they led the workers, and the Public, to believe that the RCMP were in the loop?

The immediate result of this fiasco has been that workers & contractors have taken their concerns of unlawful dismissal to legal Counsels where some cases have been settled out of Court already therefore the results, the awards, have not been made public, never will be, because the BC Liberals consider all legal fees used for the protection of the Crown are subject to Privilege.

Three cases are still outstanding.

One will never be resolved, but  his death shouldn't be forgotten, swept under a carpet, nor should it be covered by a heavy-handed apology.   There is a Law.


 - Bob Mackin:

Investigation into Health Ministry data breach "flawed from the outset"    - Nobody named or shamed in report that describes a bullying culture in one of the biggest B.C. ministries

 
 -  Justine Hunter - Globe and Mail

“The investigation was not conducted with a suitably open mind,” she wrote. The fact that the employees were suspended without pay hindered the investigation and created a climate of fear in the ministry that hampered productivity.

Ms. McNeil was particularly critical of the way the workers were interviewed, saying they were not given a chance to fully respond to the allegations, and that questions were posed in an aggressive and “intimidating” way.   

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

The real concern that the Public, and workers & Contractors should be aware of  ....was nothing learned from the Westray Mine Disaster with the loss of 26 lives?

Apparently the BC Liberal Government hasn't accepted any advise from within Caucus, nor have they sought outside via legal channels in regards to  217.1 of the Canadian Criminal Code (2004).  217.1 hasn't even been mentioned in the Burns Lake and Prince George Sawmill disasters, lives lost there too.    217.1 has two other titles:  Bill-C45 and Westray Mine Disaster.

- Teamster Rails pushed for Bill-C45, from 1992 to 2004:

217.1
This Criminal Code affects all organizations and individuals who direct the work of others, anywhere in Canada. These organizations include federal, provincial and municipal governments, corporations, private companies, charities and non-governmental organizations.......  

 and

......."the criminal law must be reserved for the most serious offences, those that involve grave moral faults... the Government does not intend to use the federal criminal law power to supplant or interfere with the provincial regulatory role in workplace health and safety"

What, the Provincial regulatory role holders, WorkSafeBC that couldn't gather enough evidence together that was acceptable to the Attorney General Deputy Minister to be able to prosecute the Sawmill companies?

Duty of persons directing work

217.1 Every one who undertakes, or has the authority, to direct how another person does work or performs a task is under a legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm to that person, or any other person, arising from that work or task. 

Persons that do have the authority to deal with internal matters:

The Premier who handled an in-house 'incident of concern' did so by not writing anything down, no notes, no FOI possible, private email Channels were used, shredded everything, and finally verbally dealt with while on a plane flying out to Asia on a Trade Mission;

Minister;

Deputy Minister; Chief of Staff.



- Department of Justice:   Corporate Liability

The Government (Federal) is aware of the frustration felt by the families of the Westray victims over the apparent inability of the criminal justice system to deal with what appears to have been serious corporate wrongdoing. However, the failure of the Westray prosecutions was the result, in part, of a series of prosecutorial decisions which were themselves the subject of a review by provincial authorities. Indeed, it appears that prosecutors believed there was a reasonable possibility of conviction of both the corporation and two of its officers, under current Canadian law governing corporate criminal liability, until one of three prosecution experts developed doubts as to the cause of the explosion. As a result, the question whether the actions of Curragh Inc., the owner and operator of the Westray mine, and some of its officers and directors amounted to criminal negligence causing death or manslaughter never came to trial.

..... Unlike workplace safety and health legislation that can mandate certain practices, the criminal law, by its very nature, is reactive. It does not prescribe how an activity should be carried out. Instead, it sanctions harm that has been caused by a flagrant disregard of the norms of society.  ....

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

Hansard:

Hon. T. Lake: The members opposite seem to want to pick and choose which public servants deserve to be treated fairly. The members opposite accuse the government of rushing to judgment. And we have said that in some cases, the treatment of some individuals….

Interjections.

Madame Speaker: Order.

Hon. T. Lake: We have said that in some cases, some individuals were treated in a heavy-handed manner, and we apologize for that. That is why we have set up a review by an independent person to look at the HR policies that were carried out, to ensure that public servants are treated fairly with the HR processes that are in place.

Unlike the members opposite, we want to find out a better road to manage human resources in the public sector, and that's what Ms. McNeil's report will do. We look forward to seeing it on December 19.

 Heavy-Handed 

1. Clumsy; awkward.

2. Tactless; indiscreet.

3. Oppressive; harsh.

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

There is one person who currently sits at the BC Liberal Caucus table who had the opportunity to inform fellow Cabinet ministers on the perils of ignoring 217.1:

2014 Bio

Between 1980 and 2000, Ralph held senior officer and director positions in a variety of financial, mining, forestry and technology sector companies, and owned and operated his own investment company. In the mining sector, he was Executive Vice President of Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, a subsidiary of Anglo American Corporation, and was Vice-Chair of Curragh Resources in the Yukon, and held other executive positions.

2004   217.1 came into existence    No mention of Curragh Resources in a 2001 Bio.

2001 Bio

Between 1980 and 2000, he held senior officer and director positions in avariety of financial, mining, forestry and technology sector companies, and owned and operated his own investment company. In the 1990's, after returning home to British Columbia, Ralph served as President of a joint venture with a major American corporation, engaged in the development of a fibreboard mill.

Strategic Thoughts  October 11, 2001

Both BC Liberal website and the legislative biography page fail to mention Sultan's role as a Director of Curragh Resources Inc. The North Shore News, May 16, 2001, reported "A government commission struck to investigate the causes of the explosion shortly after the tragedy found parent company Curragh Resources Inc. and provincial mining inspectors negligent in their approach to worker safety at the mine." That mine is Westray where 26 miners were killed on May 9, 1992.

1993 Financial Post  September 21st

An Ontario Court yesterday placed more of Curragh Inc.'s assets in receivership after chairman Cliff Frame returned from Europe without a financial backer. Under a 14-day court order, Deloitte & Touche Inc. will act as interim receiver of Curragh's Faro zinc mine in the Yukon, allowing creditors more time to negotiate. Curragh's Westray coal mine in Nova Scotia remains under the protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act, pending talks between creditors and the Nova Scotia government.

 ********************************

No firings, no death

Further Reading:

Canadian Centre of Occupational Health and Safety  Bill C-45 Overview

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 - Cindy E. Harnett - Times Colonist

Fired researcher’s sister seeks answers in report due today
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Andrew MacLeod, The Tyee

Conflicted Agency Retains Responsibility for Health Ministry Firings Review    Officials involved in debacle to handle release of report after all.

- Andrew MacLeod, The Tyee
What we should know so far about the Health Ministry Firings


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Hon. Donald Downe, Minister of Transportation and Public Works speaking on the floor of the Nova Scotia Legislature, 1 December 1997

-   I make this pledge to the families.  Westray will not be some vague memory of a tragic accident.  It will be a living, active presence in workplaces across Nova Scotia.  Your husbands, your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your friends, will never be forgotten.  Every time someone wants to cut a corner or bend a rule, we will remind them there can never be another Westray and this government will not allow it.


Westray Coal Mine Disaster, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, At 5:18am on 9 May 1992 the Westray coal mine exploded killing 26 miners

As of March 1992, the directors of Curragh Inc. were:
• Clifford H. Frame, Director, Chairman & C.E.O., Toronto, Ontario
• Ralph G.M. Sultan, Director, Toronto, Ontario
• Walter M. Bowen, Director, Toronto, Ontario
• James A. Hunt, Director, Pleasant Valley, New York
• John B. Mitchell, Director, Mississauga, Ontario
     (Listed here in the order that appears in the RJSC database.)
—  Source: #1926487, Registry of Joint Stock Companies of Nova Scotia 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- CBC

Westray Remembered

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note:  Not a whisper of and excuse of       Heavy-handed

Eifel Tower Panorama

http://www.gillesvidal.com/blogpano/paris.htm

http://www.gillesvidal.com/

The Fix is In: Edgewater Casino camera operators are reading your Cards, and Text messages

Harvey Oberfeld  Supreme Court Gets it Right ... maybe

......... the Supreme Court, is really quite limited: police will be able to search, without warrant,  the content of people’s cell phones …but ONLY IF they have been arrested on a particular charge.  And the ONLY INFORMATION they can gather MUST be related to those charges.

In other words, the police will NOT be able to just stop anyone in the street and, on suspicion or just a hunch, demand a look or search of anyone’s cell phone.

The Supreme Court Decision: R v. Fearon

Note: The birth of this Post started November 10th, and then put on the backburner, until we read Harvey Oberfeld's Post this morning and we went Ahhhh Haaa!

The Vancouver Police Department was caught red-handed using Edgewater Casino security cameras to read over-the-shoulder-text-messages to capture criminals planning their next act, the moving of illegal weapons.  A Judge shot that method down as an invasion of privacy covered by the Charter.

The lesson learned will be that the next time any police force uses over-the-shoulder-text-messages reading they'll not be entering the collection methods to the Courts, fact is they'll deny the evidence ever existed because charges were based on solid,  hard work, due diligence, investigative police work.   Which is fine so long as their new method doesn't include you and me, the law abiding folks, who are merely typing in our passwords to buy some gas while that overhead camera... for the protection and security of the Oil Industry property .... at their gas pumps ...... from perps.

Has there been a Report on over-the-shoulder 'shooting' thefts on Credit/Debit Cards?

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

The November Post-to-be-Now

Who's checking up on Edgewater Casino camera operators when the police aren't looking over 'their' shoulders who are using the technology to catch the gun toting bad guys?

Vancouver Sun:

Judge raps police for using casino cameras to read suspect's texts     By Lori Culbert, Vancouver Sun November 11, 2014

........In his ruling, Bowden said casinos rely on high levels of security to detect cheating, money laundering, and other public safety threats. "The Crown's position is that there can be no expectation of privacy in a casino in British Columbia," he wrote.

The casino camera operators could zoom in on Wiwchar's cellphone and read both messages he was sending out, and incoming messages from others. This would be no different, the Crown argued, than someone looking over his shoulder while he was typing.

Bowden, however, sided with defence lawyer Simon Buck, who argued his client had a reasonable expectation of privacy when sending and receiving texts on his phone, even if he was doing this inside a camera-ladened casino.

"There is no evidence to suggest that a person standing close to the applicant could have read the messages," the judge added.

Instead of photographing the text messages, police should have used the more traditional method of obtaining copies from his cellphone service provider, Bowden concluded. ......

Edgewater Casino Poker Room:
 Think you’ve got what it takes to be a great poker player? Earn your right to boast when you play against the best in BC! Edgewater Casino offers a variety of Limit and No-Limit Texas Hold’em games

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

 The Edgewater Casino, located adjacent to BC Place in downtown Vancouver, BC was converted from the original Expo 86 Ontario Pavilion in 2005. ATB supplied many of the architectural components in addition to forming and fabricating the steel components for the Joel Berman Feature Glass chandelier located in the uppermost roof peak. For the casino, we formed and fabricated the stainless steel handrails and the gaming table canopies that both supply an architectural flare and allow the mounting of security cameras in an unobtrusive way.

 ******************

Casinos have struggled to remove problem gamblers for some time. They have tried facial recognition software to keep problem gamblers out, but they admit it just doesn't work. They've had more success using licence plate recognition software, but that leaves out everyone entering on foot.

 *********************

Edgewater’s top criminal-incident ranking, Paragon Gaming Corp. spokeswoman Tamara Hicks said the casino has a safe environment, a product of its advanced security and surveillance system and highly trained staff.

“Our security systems are very comparable, if not stronger, than a bank,” she said. “We track everything. The cameras are there. You can’t go to the bathroom without being watched.”

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

.... relocated Edgewater Casino will have 1,500 surveillance cameras and 150 security staff monitored by trained staff 24‐hours a day.

 *******************************

Seventeen BC Casinos Amigos

 Don't let your Thrills go south

It’s always thrilling to play in BC. Why? Let’s start with millions in tax-free jackpot winnings given away every month. And when you earn ENCORE Rewards points you can use them at any BC Casino and Chances. Plus, with Classic Reel slots you’ll get the full slot experience in your own backyard. There’s no reason to go anywhere else. 

There is a Note on BC Casinos Security but it's all On-Line software stuff, not a whisper is stated by BC Lottery Corporation when it comes to camera surveillance violating your Charter rights to Privacy.

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

 No mention of who in the BC Liberal Government doles out the $134 million as was the case for Premier Christy Clark spoon feeding it to municipalities for oversea trips....

 .......  The spring season marks another intake period for organizations to apply for community gaming grants and grants from the BC Arts Council. The BC Arts Council awards $24 million in grants to artists and art organizations, while $134 million in community gaming grants support the work of thousands of community organizations. Grants support efforts of organizations and individuals who are enriching our culture, and making a positive difference in the lives of B.C. families.

I look forward to connecting with you again soon in this space.

Sincerely,

Honourable Coralee Oakes
MLA for Cariboo North and
Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
Minister’s bio

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

The Winner is: Premier Bill Bennett. The Loser is (we had a tip): Premier Christy Clark

Back in our February 18, 2013 Post we knew then that Premier Christy Clark's Election promise of Debt Freedom 50 years based on a Trillion Dollars LNG industry, would fail, fail because of the past experience of the Socred Party's promise by Premier Bill Bennett's BCRIC.

We knew from the get go that Premier Clark's would be in a dead heat race to the bottom as to whether or not jockey Sir Bennett riding on  BCRIC One would win out over jockey Dam Clark riding on BCRIC II (aka $50 Billion Prosperity).

Come on Prosperity!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we cheered, and then tore up our shares for we betted on the wrong horse.



Premier Christy Clark's Gold BCRIC Version II .... The Prosperity Fund

Second Place First

First Place Second

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Premier Christy Clark promised a new industry of LNG and there's nothing happening.  Million of taxpayers dollars have been spent promoting Government programs, Government officials ..... and all that the BC Liberals can harp back as a defense is to point to the failure of the BC NDP Fast Cat Ferries as a bench mark.

The difference is that the Dippers followed through with job experience building those vessels.  Those apprentices became trade persons who are now contributing to the economy of the province and paying income taxes to the BC Treasury.  Where are the jobs today?

When is Premier Christy Clark going to 'walk the talk' on Prosperity, Debt Freedom ..... is a bust!

There is an out for BC voters, lawsuits.

December 11, 2014

Vancouver Sun

 Hard Copy/Home delivery

Page D4: Business

Mining Law

Miners face suits over foreign allegations

CRACK IN THE DOOR

Canadian parent companies on hot seat

By Drew Hasselback

Vancouver Sun borrowed this story from The Star Phoenix, which is bizarre since the case is before a British Columbia Court......

..... suing the Canadian parents (company) for negligence and other traditional torts on the grounds that management hasn't lived up to the standards outlined in its public pronouncements.

"Realize that when you're making these statements, you're creating a situation in which you'd better ensure that your subs and employees are properly trained, and that there are no incidents which could give rise to liability," Mr. Sarabia says.

The implications are simple. Canadian companies must be prepared to defend themselves in Canadian courts based on Canadian principles, lawyers say. These cases involving the activities of foreign subsidiaries are landing in Canadian courts based on traditional and recognized Canadian legal principles.  .....

Veterans' 100 years: Canada 'promises made to the ear are being broken to the hope'

 In the Province newspaper this morning there was an article providing a step forward on behalf of our armed forces personnel and then in a blink of an eye, the newspaper inserted an abbreviated typeset, lower case, lack of Ink, or a column's width ....   "Vets need .......".

Veterans need!

In a 2008 CBC 'Hockey Night in Canada' broadcast, Don Cherry laid into a fellow journalist for shortening Memorial to simply Mem.

(Cherry's family history: One grandfather was a Mountie who had to defend against Whiskey traders, and another fought at Vimy Ridge in the World War I.  Explains a bit about how he ALWAYS mentions soldiers and chastises those who say "Mem" Cup instead of Memorial Cup.)

The Memorial Cup was proposed by Captain James T. Sutherland during World War I, who wanted to create a trophy as a memorial to remember the OHA's players who died during the war. When the trophy was created, it was dedicated in honour of the soldiers who died fighting for Canada in the war. It was rededicated during the 2010 tournament to honour all soldiers who died fighting for Canada in any conflict.

The Province's headline punch of   VET   brought me up to attention thinking that Health Minister Terry Lake was about to have the riot act read out to him in regards to the firings of the health researchers in 2012.   Terry Lake, if you are unaware, is a certified Veterinarian, a 'Vet' without front line duties. 


2014  The Province:

Wounded war vets need special rights in the same way as aboriginals

Veterans deserve special treatment under the constitution in the same way aboriginals are guaranteed unique rights, a lawyer for six soldiers injured in Afghanistan has told British Columbia's top court.

The federal government is obligated to make good on nearly century-old promises to care for the only citizens it orders into possible death while fighting to make "our country possible," Don Sorochan told a trio of judges as he disputed that aboriginals are the only extraordinary case.

"The politicians acknowledge this. They stand by the cenotaphs," Sorochan said Thursday in the B.C. Court of Appeal.

"And yet we have an argument raised here ... that veterans are only entitled to whatever benefits the Parliament of the day may deem to be necessary. ........"

  - Tamsyn Burgmann - Canadian Press

 *****************************

RETURN

Of Copies of Resolution Presented to the Premier and Members of the Executive by a Large Gathering of War Veterans, Patriotic and other Associations at the Parliament Buildings, April 10th, 1918.

Premier's Office,

11th April, 1918.

John Oliver,

Premier

Inasmuch as the delegates of the returned soldiers who went to Ottawa recently to confer with Sir Robert Borden and his colleagues in matters of vital importance in this crucial time of the Empire's history have come a way from that conference in several instances disappointed men.

Their disappointment will be shared by many and the feeling is widespread that promises made to the ear are being broken to the hope. It was known to the Government that the returned men had considered questions with regard to "enemy aliens," with respect to the conscription of men of alien races, and other matters of equal importance. The Government recognized the fact that the War Veterans were men who would debate these questions with tact, judgment, and experience, and, more than that, their sufferings and their sacrifices would give them a status for the expression of opinion which could not be ignored, but deserved and demanded consideration, and the Government, as was to be expected, very rightly asked the War Veterans to bring the result of their deliberations before them.

This has been done, and the result has been that for the present, at any rate, the War Veterans must bear the disappointment that "the Government is unable to accept their proposals."

There is not a returned man who is not alive to the difficulties and clangers of the complicated questions which now confront the Governments in all parts of the Empire.  However, it was decided at a meeting of all returned men, held in this city on April 6th, that a public demonstration is necessary, and that all bodies interested in the enemy alien question should be asked to take part in the demonstration, and also to adopt the resolution as set forth. .....................

 Is the government paying bonuses to VAC officials to cut services?

Fri, Dec 5: There was a contentious point raised in Question Period Friday as opposition MPs claimed the government has been paying Veterans Affairs Canada officials to cut jobs and services.

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

December 9, 2014

Pete McMartin: Disabled veterans’ rights a matter of law, or justice?

The federal government risks political backlash by treating injured vets like liabilities>

...... “When members of the Canadian Forces put on the uniform of their country,” the suit’s statement of claim argued, “they make an extraordinary personal commitment to place the welfare of others ahead of their personal interests, to serve Canada before self and to put themselves at risk, as required, in the interests of the nation. A veteran, whether regular or reserve, active or retired, is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank cheque made payable to ‘the Government of Canada,’ for an mount of ‘up to and including their life.’ This commitment to make the ultimate sacrifice reflects their honour in the service of their country.”

As proof of an existing covenant, the statement of claim cited a 1917 speech by Prime Minister Robert Borden during the First World War: “The government and the country will consider it their first duty,” Borden said, “to see that a proper appreciation of your effort and of your courage is brought to the notice of people at home that no man, whether he goes back or whether he remains in Flanders, will have just cause to reproach the government for having broken faith with the men who won and the men who died.” .......

Snip

But here is the thing:

It’s a shame this case had to go to court in the first place. There are things worth keeping in the New Veterans Charter, but appraising the trauma of disabled veterans as you might an insurance claim — in which payouts are prorated according to the severity of a veteran’s wounds, as if losing a leg was akin to fender bender — is not one of them. Veterans are not liabilities on an actuarial table. The government should either have upped the amount of the lump sum payments substantially, as other countries have, or scrapped them altogether in favour of lifetime pensions.

The judgment in the BC Court of Appeal isn’t expected until some time in the new year.
If the government does win its case in court, I’d suggest it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

pmcmartin@vancouversun.com

Vancouver (BC) View Cones: Google Streetview - GET THE CAR past the Barriers

View Corridor KML file from City of Vancouver

http://data.vancouver.ca/datacatalogue/#v

Have you ever asked yourself where oh where are the accessible handicapped FREE parking street spaces in Vancouver? (other municipalities could/should follow suit)   Here's a screenshot from City Hall's Data Catalogue that lists off that kind of information that works well with Google Earth.

DWG   KML   SHP  G    b

Vancouver Tourism officials should ASK,   nicely, that Google Earth technicians drive up to that cliff for spectacular cone of silence views.   Google's streetview does:

Just a Yellow Curb

Almost there in Google but not Earth

Everything is Blurry - for Privacy

Bubble Changer Hardware

Do you think that the people who are buying into Vancouver are searching for the ideal view corridors? and driving up the price of surrounding properties....

Stephen Brown: PR damage control after Simushir's left USA docks for Haida Gwaii's rocks

Not a peep, not a whimper from The Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia during the Simushir loss of propulsion, and then once the vessel is towed and repaired at Prince Rupert, she leaves Canadian waters.   The Vancouver Sun allows an opinion column that should have been labeled in bold letters: "Advertorial - Do Not Pay Attention"

Stephen Brown

Opinion: More inconvenient tanker truths           Shipping: Marine rescue response to disabled Russian freighter worked as it should have   By Stephen Brown, Special to The Vancouver Sun November 2, 2014

We checked out those who he represents, their website:

Sailing distances to British Columbia's ports can be up to 68 hours shorter than calls to US west coast ports.  Efficient rail service connect customers to major urban centres in Canada and US mid-west.

The Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia represents vessel owners, operators and shipping agencies engaged in international trade through Canada's Pacific gateway.  The association fosters the development of collaborative solutions and promotes the development of effective and responsive legislation that continues to support a robust and sound shipping industry.

Efficient rail service eh?  Every RED dot is a 'pinch point', a 'bottle neck' for the BNSF railway company.  One red dot is the Surrey Thornton Yard, not to be confused with the Thornton Tunnel which links Vancouver/Burnaby to the North Shore of Burrard Inlet, at the Second Narrows.

Page 605 of 964

Keywords to look for are Pinch Points, Bottlenecks

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

Thornton Tunnel is the Next Post, and it will be labeled Fair Incendiary Comment.

Someone should create a blog called that, simply because Transportation Canada doesn't have a Tip Line......

Pssssst!  Warning.  Attention Danger

CN Radio Possessors: Hikers, Strollers (baby buggy type with Grandparents), cyclists, Dog Walkers

298-3348???? is that a Direct Line like Bell or Telus or is there a 517,   604   778  missing

CORRECTION:Chevron - Fuel Your School is a rip off. One DOLLAR donation per min 30 Litres or more (not pro-rated)

Is Vancouver's Non-Partisan Association (NPA) so desperate to win this election that LaPointe has called in a favour from his former employer, PostMedia, to write an editorial on the eve of voting?

Desperation?  They might just as well say that there's going to be a Head Tax, a Death Tax .....

Chevron funded program would benefit Vancouver schools - Vancouver Sun ....... Under the program designed for Vancouver, Chevron would donate $1 for every 30 litres of gas bought at local stations, up to $475,000, to My Class Needs, which is responsible for disbursing the money for projects the charity deems eligible without Chevron’s involvement in the selection.

CORRECT To:   "$1 donation per min 30 Litres or more ....."    

INCORRECT version:     "$1 for every 30 litres of gas ....."

eg.

Hyundai Touring Elantra   48 litres    $1
Mitsubishi Lancer              60 litres   $1,  not $2 by Vancouver Sun's reckoning

  2014 Fuel Consumption Guide 
If only Chevron Gas is purchased ........

Motor Vehicle; 

Cost Per Year; Fuel (litres) per year;  Max/ Min / once a month                   

Rolls-Royce  Ghost         $4033     2840 Litres      $94 / $47 /  $12

Porsche Panamera GTS   $3152     2220 Litres      $74 / $37 /  $12
Lexus  LS 460 AWD       $3238     2280 Litres      $76 / $38 /  $12
GMC Sierra                     $2740     2080 Litres      $69 / $34 /  $12
BMW X6 M                    $4033     2840 Litres      $94 / $47 /  $12

There's no way that the public may respond via a Letter to the Editor pleading for a retraction of the Error for it will come well after the election of School Trustees.

The ideologically-driven decision to reject Chevron’s Fuel Your School program denies Vancouver students resources they could have had to improve their learning experience. We hope a newly-elected school board will quickly reverse it.  - Vancouver Sun  - Editor-in-Chief Harold Munro, issues & ideas editor Harvey Enchin, columnists and editorial writers Stephen Hume and Barbara Yaffe

 
North Vancouver is a participant in Chevron's Fuel Your School

2

28 cash STRAPPED schools stretching across North America:

Five Schools in British Columbia endorsed by Christy Crunch's Finance Minister de Jong

Let's see:

In North Vancouver (City/District) there are NINE Chevron Gas Stations.  How much gas is pumped from those nine from November 1st to the 30th that will generate enough funding that will make a difference to the education of our children?   Does Chevron state on their Customers printed gas receipts the ONE DOLLAR generosity?

Pink Sheet Fine Print Conditions:  Motorist must buy 30 OR more litres at a PARTICIPATING Chevron station and Chevron will donate ONE DOLLAR up to $565,000.   There is no list of Chevron gas stations who are participating. 

One Dollar

Then of course there's the Administration Fees on that ONE Dollar.  Is the money in a Trust account with all interest earned being rolled in, not out?

Teachers requesting funding for projects MUST be FULL TIME Employees

Eligible NOT Eligible

Eligibility Guidelines

School Eligibility Guidelines

Schools must be K-12 schools located in the participating School Districts of Burnaby (SD 41), Coquitlam (SD 43), North Vancouver (SD 44), West Vancouver (SD45) and Surrey (SD 36) and must receive majority of their operational funding from public sources to be eligible to participate.

This includes Long Term Provincial Resource Programs (PRP) and Alternate Programs, but does not include Independent Schools.

Which means, of course, that gas purchases that generates the $1 donation in one School District/Municipality may be used in another area.......

Since its launch in 2013, My Class Needs has helped over 200 classrooms across Canada fund their unique projects.

Chevron, an American corporate based company, should communicate with their subsidiary Chevron Canada who would have pointed out that the Five Named participant school districts are based solely in the province of British Columbia.  Metro Vancouver to be precise.

Across Canada?

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

Chevron Press Releases

Chevron Publications


eg.

Chevron 2013 Corporate Responsibility Report

Download PDF (1.3 MB)

Kitimat Project Overview

Download PDF (1.0 MB)

Kitimat Industrial Site Project

Download PDF (1.0 MB)

Pacific Trail Pipeline EAO Amendments

Download PDF (0.4 MB)

"Producing Natural Gas safely"
    the file is actually titled HYDRAULIC-FRACTURING FACTSHEET

And, Chevron has bailed out on Apache Partnership Kitimat Project, eh 

 Producing Natural Gas Safely

Download PDF (0.6 MB)

Pacific Trail Pipeline Infographic

Download PDf (7.7 MB)

Clio Bay Project

Download PDF (0.4 MB)

Kitimat LNG Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment Program

Download PDF

Gordon Shrum's disciples: Coleman and Bond sipping LNG laced drinks in the BC Legislature Precinct

 July 16, 1970
BC Hydro boss .........Gordon Shrum says pesticides safe and drinks glass of diluted 2,4,5-T on TV. “ Our chemists told me the only problem I had was getting the taste out of my mouth. It was like dirty crankcase oil, but I found that vodka was good for rinsing out my mouth. In any case the exercise was good publicity for combating SPEC - that’s the Society for Promoting Environmental Crap- propaganda.  -  Blog Borg Collective Post  May 24, 2012

There ought to be a law that says neither bombs, nor bombers, nor grandstanding politicians be allowed to take an explosive material into the BC Legislative Precinct.   The RCMP did allow two bombers with their pressure cookers intact (but disarmed??) onto the grounds on July 1, 2013.

Then there was the Budget speech by Finance Minister Kevin Falcon where a brethren BC Liberal invited Jaspal Atwal, a convicted terrorist, into the Precinct.   The 'guest' was removed once his status within the community was brought to the attention of the Sargent at Arms.


If you happen to have missed Rich Coleman and Shirley Bond mixing Natural Gas with a source of ignition inside the Legislature .....

The Victoria's 'Sick Culture' 'science lab-legislature' video shows one small vial, nowhere near the potential of this 'baby':

The BC Liberal Photo Op experiment is nowhere near reality.  The leaking contents of one pipeline between two compressor stations (Alberta/BC) or one rail car tanker in amongst 71 other tankers in one train, nor one LNG tanker on the high seas or in Douglas Channel or docked at Kitimat nor the Encana field leak (Rich Coleman Farts).

 22 November 2009 Failure of Piping at EnCana Swan Wellsite A5-7-77-14 L W6M

...... Resident (3) returns to area via Klemmer Road and observes gas cloud and detects strong odours. Advises inhabitants at nearby residence to evacuate.  Resident (3) drives through the gas cloud and heads East on Merrick Road and sees the gas coming off the wellsite and parks his pick-up about 300 metres cross wind on Merrick Road.....

What the BC Liberals (& scientists) leave out in their promotions of the safe handling of LNG and LPG and Natural Gas is that large volume of "gases may displace air causing a decrease in Oxygen concentration.  When this occurs asphyxiation is possible.  If you become lightheaded, dizzy, or nauseous, due to release of LNG or LPG please leave the area immediately."  

The author of the information are the extractors of the petroleum products via their safety brochures.  They may be doing it so that the whims of insurance companies/regulators may rest easy ..... the public has been forewarned, it's on their heads.

Unitil

Here's what NOT to do if your suspect a gas pipeline leak:
Do NOT remain in the area
Do NOT use open flames
Do Not bring Cell Phones, Flashlights, motor vehicles, electric or cordless tools, etc
Do not attempt to operate pipeline valves.


Both LNG and LPG may displace air causing a decrease in oxygen concentration. When this occurs asphyxiation is possible. If you become lightheaded, dizzy, or nauseous, due to release of LNG or LPG please leave the area immediately and call 911.


Gosh!   Why would the heavy BC Liberals hitters, Shirley Bond, Jane Thornthwaite, Naomi Yamamoto, and Christy Clark approve taking LNG inside the BC Legislature building just to show that they can drink water purified with LNG?


laced teacup full of NG video

Source

Kinder Morgan Pg 2

If the politicians are risking their lives, and ours, on the presence of mercaptan, that rotten egg smell, please note that it is ADDED afterwards, only when the gas is being shipped to consumers directly?

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

Tweets about #LNGinBC is the title of the experiment in communication with the public, but the 'Gods' are using Natural GAS without the BC Hydro/IPP ingredient: massive amounts of electricity.