Politics

The HST was shot down today by British Columbians as the Referendum result rolled in. Vander Zalm and his cronies are rejoicing while businesses are shaking their heads. It will be interesting to see what service cuts and increases in taxes are made to cover the estimated $3 billion shortfall by this result.

A few weekends ago the developer Holburn (which has been eerily inactive since the demise of their twisting tower proposal aka Ritz Carlton) presented plans for the Vancouver’s Little Mountain neighbourhood.

Many who came to the first of two scheduled open houses at Riley Park  wondered how many thousands would move in to their neighbourhood if the developer’s plans to rezone the Little Mountain property are approved by the city. If the developer, Holborn Properties, gets its way, buildings as high as 19 storeys could be built. I think it’ll end up being more like 12 floors at the tallest.

Premier Christy Clark sure works fast as she announced today that B.C.’s minimum wage will be going up. Ultimately by May 2012 the minimum wage will be $10.25. Expect an incremental hike of $0.75 to come this May. This will put us on par with Ontario.

Vancity Buzz is openly supporting Christy Clark in today’s vote. We strongly feel she gives the best chance for the BC Liberal party to remain in power. It also finally gives a woman’s voice to lead this province, giving us a new perspective.

The BC Liberal government came out with the latest budget yesterday and it entails the “status quo”. The most interesting part of the budget is a spare $600 million contingency fund and $350 million forecast allowance. Now what could that be used for?

This week started off on such a sad and infuriating note as we found out that Outdoor Adventures Whistler (a company that should be boycotted by everyone!) pretty much ordered the killing of 100 sled dogs last year.