All posts by James W. Breckenridge

Federal

Threats of federal election issued.

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It was not necessary for Mr. Harper and his Conservatives to run a series of advertisements to highlight their ignorance of Canada and what it is to be Canadian.

Through his actions and behaviours Stephen Harper has demonstrated that he does not get, does not understand Canada and what it is to be Canadian.

I am of course referring to the Dion does not get BC radio ads.

Having lived the first twenty years of my life in southern Ontario and the last twenty years in Abbotsford BC with stops in Saskatoon and Edmonton in-between I know that the only way to understand a city or province is through years of living there.

This is why we elect local citizens to be our MP’s and represent us in Ottawa; so they can make sure our needs, thoughts and wants are made clear to the party leader, other members of the caucus and to parliament.

Unfortunately parliament appears to have become a dictatorship run out of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Perhaps this tyranny explains why local MP Ed Fast gives you the address of who you need to write to as opposed to forcefully and loudly carrying the flag for Abbotsford and his constituents.

With municipal elections scheduled across BC this fall one would expect all BC MP’s to be demanding Stephen Harper not call an unnecessary election, an election Canadians don’t want, that would interfere with the debate of important local issues and the local election process. All we hear is silence.

With all the federal (and provincial) responsibilities downloaded onto cities without funds to pay for them; with the federal government abandoning issues such as homelessness and affordable housing, leaving the cities to deal with the fallout and costs; with the federal Conservative government insisting on seeing what it wants to see and ignoring reality on so many social issues, the municipal elections are of vital importance to local citizens (and their pocketbooks).

Local elections take place on a fixed schedule. Calling an unneeded federal election that will interfere with these local elections for no better reason than political and personal self-aggrandizement shows disrespect and disdain for the citizens of BC.

It would seem that if anyone does not get BC, does not get Canada and what it means to be Canadian, it is Stephen Harper.

Municipal

A Mad Hatter’s tea party Garden

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I love to read and my curiosity is always driving me to look up information, so it should come as no surprise that the Clearbrook library has been my favourite civic building in Abbotsford.

I say has been because of the appearance of the billboard sized sign touting Councillor John Smith’s million dollar garden.

Parents and other citizens know first hand of the playing fields, parks and green spaces that are overgrown and unusable because Parks and Recreation says it does not have the money for maintenance.

A recent study highlighted the fact Abbotsford does not have a single playground accessible to handicapped and disabled children or to permit disabled parents to take their children to a playground. Not one. A proposal was made to council to spend $50,000 to make one playground accessible, but council said NO, stating the city has no money.

But building a councillor’s million dollar garden? That’s a go.

In a City with proper priorities, if Councillor John Smith wanted a garden, the City’s reply and only contribution would be to hand Councillor Smith a shovel.

Municipal

Why is Abbotsford anti high-tech business?

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What is it that Abbotsford City Hall has against attracting high paying jobs to the city?

One can only conclude that the city has, for some unfathomable reason, an aversion to attracting high paying jobs to our area in light of their behaviour towards Mr. Raymond Szabada.

I thought it an excellent idea when, over a year ago, I read in the paper that Mr. Szabada had proposed to council the creation of an association to attract high paying high tech sector jobs to Abbotsford – adding significantly to the tax base and lessening the burden on homeowners.

Outside of a supportive statement from Moe Gill council’s reaction was, from news reports, Yawn. A man with solid experience and connections in high tech has a vision of attracting this industry to Abbotsford and councils reaction is Yawn?

Fortunately for the future of Abbotsford and its citizens pocketbooks Mr. Szabada, in the same manner as any citizen with brains, vision and wishing to better Abbotsford doesn’t listen to city hall’s can’t do that attitude, did not let city hall’s negativity stop him. He founded the Sumas Regional Consortium for High Tech and put together the plans to develop and attract business to a high tech business park.

He recently returned to council seeking their support in turning Abbotsford into a high tech haven with the high paying jobs and other benefits that flow from that. He had done all the leg work, made all the contacts, lined up his dominos and came to council simply for their verbal support.

And Abbotsford City Hall’s response was once again, Yawn. Apparently even verbal support is too much effort for City Hall to make to attract a plum industry and jobs such as high tech.

Leaving one wondering what Abbotsford council and staff have against attracting high paying jobs to the city?



What is it that Abbotsford City Hall has against attracting high paying jobs to the city?

One can only conclude that the city has, for some unfathomable reason, an aversion to attracting high paying jobs to our area in light of their behaviour towards Mr. Raymond Szabada.

I thought it an excellent idea when, over a year ago, I read in the paper that Mr. Szabada had proposed to council the creation of an association to attract high paying high tech sector jobs to Abbotsford – adding significantly to the tax base and lessening the burden on homeowners.

Outside of a supportive statement from Moe Gill council’s reaction was, from news reports, Yawn. A man with solid experience and connections in high tech has a vision of attracting this industry to Abbotsford and councils reaction is Yawn?

Fortunately for the future of Abbotsford and its citizens pocketbooks Mr. Szabada, in the same manner as any citizen with brains, vision and wishing to better Abbotsford doesn’t listen to city hall’s can’t do that attitude, did not let city hall’s negativity stop him. He founded the Sumas Regional Consortium for High Tech and put together the plans to develop and attract business to a high tech business park.

He recently returned to council seeking their support in turning Abbotsford into a high tech haven with the high paying jobs and other benefits that flow from that. He had done all the leg work, made all the contacts, lined up his dominos and came to council simply for their verbal support.

And Abbotsford City Hall’s response was once again, Yawn. Apparently even verbal support is too much effort for City Hall to make to attract a plum industry and jobs such as high tech.

Leaving one wondering what Abbotsford council and staff have against attracting high paying jobs to the city?

Consider, Municipal

Community is about sharing, participation and fellowship

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Community is about Sharing, participation, and Fellowship.

Reading the letters to the editor from Andrea Mikulan and others over recent weeks serves to explain the city’s tagline “city in the country” as these letters underline the fact that while Abbotsford is a city, it is not a community.

A quick check of a dictionary shows that community is not just about a group of people having common interests it also involves/requires sharing, participation, and fellowship.

Sharing, participation and fellowship. Community is not about every citizen having an account and all these accounts balancing out so that what you put in is exactly what you get out. Trying to achieve such a balance is not only unrealistic, it is impossible.

Community is about compromise, about meeting the important needs of people or groups of people within the community. Sharing, participation and fellowship.

Are our Sikh citizens an important part of the community of Abbotsford? Is this crematorium important to that Sikh sub-community? Is there a reason they are seeking to build in/on cemetery Land? (My understanding is that a tenet of their faith requires that such a crematorium be built on cemetery land.)

If you (we) answer yes to these questions, then as a Community Abbotsford must facilitate the process of bringing the crematorium into being and not get bogged down in beguiling, irrelevant arguments.

What do I mean by beguiling, irrelevant arguments? Arguments such as:

“… and have never expected any public funds to meet our private needs.” is an erroneous statement. One of the reasons to get together in a city is to spend public funds on meeting private needs for roads, water and sewage systems, swimming pools, schools etc.

Or perhaps Ms. Mikulan’s point is that with only 20% (Sikh) vs. 80% (non-Sikh) there is not a large enough private need, enough people with a private need for a crematorium for this private need to be become or be considered a public need?

Now there is a dangerous precedent since that logic leads to a quagmire. Following that train of thought since I voted No to Plan A, actively campaigned against Plan A and will never use any of the Plan A facilities I should be exempt from any tax levy to pay for Plan A. Then there are the schools I have never used, the baseball and soccer fields I have never used, the Friendship Garden I will never use and so on and so on and so on ….

“… would negate the principle of separation of church and state, …” I had not realized that this proposal would make the Sikh faith the official religion of Abbotsford and that our laws would now be based on the Sikh faith. The principle or separation refers to preserving the secularity of government and freedom of religious exercise, not to forbidding transactions between government and religious institutions.

Following the logic behind Ms Mikulan’s separation of church and state argument all the churches in Abbotsford would have to relocate in some other jurisdiction since transactions such as property taxes, water and sewage fees etc. would be prohibited. While an interesting concept it is an irrelevant argument.

“… compete head to head with the private funerary businesses …” Yes, so what? We have long, proud tradition in Canada of forming co-operatives to deliver services at reasonable rates. I draw the reader’s attention to our Health Care system, particularly what happened with the private health facility that was opened last year in Vancouver.

“… attract private enterprise …” This is really reaching for straws. Faced with the reputation and behaviours of Abbotsford city hall and council I have grave doubts that the fact the city transferred a piece of the only current property in Abbotsford upon which the crematorium could be built to the Sikh community to build on would ever be a consideration on which a decision would be made on whether or not to locate in Abbotsford would be made.

“ … purchase suitably zoned land, raise the funds and build it.” We are running out of burial plots because of a lack of any other “suitably zoned land”. Perhaps we should suggest they purchase a magic lamp and use the genie to solve this dilemma?

The Sikh community has raised the money to build the crematorium and as I understand it have changed the original proposal so that they will now form a society to be responsible for operations and any losses.

The Abbotsford Ratepayers have suggested that the Sikh community purchase land and have the city turn it into a cemetery. Now assuming that this could (at least in theory) be done in an acceptable time frame this seems pretty reasonable … except for the “…city turn it into a cemetery.” requirement.

As those who have dealt with city hall and council without benefit of friends in the right place can tell you the words reasonable and reasonable time frames have little or nothing to do with city hall and council. If you have any doubts about this I refer you to the people attempting to build a Sandman Inn in Abbotsford.

I can well understand why the Sikh community would prefer the “bird in hand” land of the existing cemetery rather than chance dealing with city hall and council on rezoning and creation of a new cemetery.

This reluctance to rely on the mayor or councillors is made even more understandable by their failure to provide what is most needed on what has become a divisive matter in our city – leadership. Although this lack is not a surprise given the lack of leadership on poverty, hunger, homelessness, mentally illness, addiction and other pressing issues in Abbotsford by council. Indeed the mayor and council’s main goal in dealing with the crematorium issue appears to be to avoid having to stand up and be counted.

The crematorium is important to the Sikh community; the Sikh community is an important part of the community that is (or at least should be) Abbotsford; therefore the crematorium is (or at least should be) important to the Community of Abbotsford.

For our COMMUNITY we must facilitate bringing into being the crematorium. If the only way to achieve this goal in a timely manner is through the use of land in Hazelwood Cemetery, then that is what should, must be done.

Provincial

The Rai$e$ to $enior BC bureaucrat$.

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It isn’t that the government sought to conceal the obscene pay raises for senior bureaucrats by burying the announcement in not just a Friday press release, but a Friday press release obscured by the opening of the Beijing Olympics that is troubling. Rather it is that the government is so out of touch with the reality of the lives and situations of the vast majority of citizens in the province, that the government thought they could slip past taxpayers a 43% $105,000 increase without it being noticed and the government called to task for the extravagance of the raises.


The government’s rationalization of these inexcusable wages is that they need to pay these ridiculous wage levels to keep or attract the kind of people they need.

To begin evaluating this rationalization of the need for raises that exceed the yearly income of the vast majority of the taxpayers out of whose pockets these raises will be paid, I consulted a dictionary for the definition of bureaucrat and bureaucracy.

Bureaucrat: an official of a bureaucracy (administration characterized by many bureaus, administrators, petty officials, excessive red tape and routine); an official who works by fixed routine without exercising intelligent judgment.; an official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure;

What is it about these individuals that cause them to be so valued by their political masters? What attributes are required by these positions and the people who fill them?

Obviously one needs, at least on paper, to be qualified to hold a position at this level of government service.

Just as obviously one needs to be able to navigate and manipulate the bureaucracy if one is to be able to cause the bureaucracy to carry out their political masters wishes.

An abundant number of people are capable of meeting these requirements. There must be further requirements that drastically reduce the pool of candidates to the select few numbers the government cited as the reason it is necessary to pay and to offer these exorbitant wage levels.

So what attributes do politicians require in the people filling these positions that so limit the talent pool? What sort of factor would be of importance to a politician for an employee in these positions?

Non-competence. It is not that politicians, government and bureaucracy require incompetence. Rather the need is simply for candidates to not be competent.

Competent people tend to focus on accomplishing what the stated purpose or goal is, rather than on pursuing policies that either would not accomplish or are contrary to accomplishing the stated purpose or goal. Within the labyrinth bureaucracy of government competent people would remain hidden until their actions in successfully accomplishing the stated purpose or goal attracted media or other unwanted attention.

Faced with a demonstrated method of actually accomplishing the stated goals the politicians would be forced to abandon their policies in favour of policies that work, even if not in agreement with their ideological world view. Obviously this would be an intolerable position for politicians to find themselves in.

Thus it is that politicians want to avoid having competent people working for government. This desire is strengthened by the fact that competent people tend to drive out incompetence and inspire people around them to aspire to competence. While frustration with the bureaucratic barriers to accomplishing goals would drive many competent people out of government service, a stubborn few would remain until they succeeded.

Then, like a plague, competent people would infect the bureaucracy with competence giving rise to a government service that accomplishes the stated purpose or goals irrespective or in spite of politicians and their ideological faith.

This desire to not have any competent people in government service limits the number of qualified people from which to draw in filling high level positions.

Finally, what is it politicians want to use the government bureaucracy to accomplish? The implementation of the policies derived from and/or dictated by their political ideology – no matter how far this ideological world view is from reality and without consideration of the actual effect these actions will have on citizens who live in the real world.

This dichotomy between the ideological world view and the real world, between what is claimed the outcome will be and the real effect of the policy choices, between the way the politicians choose to view and/or interpret the outcomes of their actions and the actual consequences the outcomes have upon people give rise to a built in conflict between supporting the politicians and their ideological tainted perceptions versus delivering to the politicians the facts that may force politicians to see things as they truly are.

Politicians want bureaucrats that do as they are told and who don’t confuse their political masters by introducing reality into their ideological fantasy world. This need is what has given rise to the political “science” idea of the need for a civil service that unthinkingly, obliviously carries out the dictates of whomever is their political masters, whatever their ideological world view.

The requirement for mindless obedience, providing spin control and ignoring what the actual consequences will be or are serves to narrow the field of possible candidates for these positions down to a select few.

For politicians seeking to preserve their ideology and ideological world views rather than face the real world and deal with the issues and problems in a thoughtful, rational and effective manner this type of bureaucrat is a necessity and worth every penny the politicians must pay as wages.

The CONCLUSION this analysis leads one to draw is that BC’s Liberal government (and by inference all levels of government across Canada) is correct. Given the very limited pool of people who meet the politician’s requirements and that government bodies all across Canada are competing for people from this very limited pool, high and extreme levels of wages are required to hire these bureaucrats.

The QUESTION we should really be asking is whether these are the types of bureaucrats and politicians we want in and running our government(s). Or should we be looking for competence, integrity and residence in the real world from our politicians and bureaucrats.