'Open Letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper'; Feb 5th '12 Posted in North Shore News, BC

From North Shore News

MPs' pension protected, not OAS
BY PAMELA BEST, NORTH SHORE NEWS FEBRUARY 5, 2012
Open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper:

Given how little time MPs have to wait to be eligible for their disgusting tax-payer funded pensions, I think your proposal to increase eligibility for OAS (and I assume the attendant CPP and GIS) to 67 years is a travesty.

Let us begin with MP pensions. I give credence to the following contribution information. Obviously you choose to ignore it, or expect us to believe you're worth the cost to each and every taxpayer.

Do you know how the pension funds of members of Parliament did during the 2008 recession and market meltdown? Incredibly they grew by 10.4 per cent. Was this thanks to masterful investment strategy? No. In fact, MP pension funds are not invested at all. They are notional accounts that are guaranteed, by law, to grow by 10.4 per cent a year, every year. The "interest" is paid into these accounts by taxpayers.

In fact, while we once thought taxpayers were chipping in $5.80 for every $1 contributed by an MP into their pension accounts, thanks to these phony interest earnings, taxpayers are actually kicking in $23.30 for every $1 paid in by an MP.

What this means is that on average, taxpayers are putting more money into an MP's pension account each year ($248,000) than we're paying them in salary ($157,000 base pay) and way, way more than MPs themselves are contributing to their own pensions ($10,990 minimum).

A recent C.D. Institute report pegs the unfunded liability in federal government employee pension plans at $227 billion. That's a debt (in addition to our nearly $580 billion federal debt) of over $6,500 for every man, woman and child in Canada, just to cover the shortfalls in bureaucrat pensions.

As if that isn't revolting enough, the age extension for eligibility is reprehensible, not only for persons who have worked/struggled all their lives and who still enjoy good health (no thanks to our deteriorating federal health funding), but for persons who must struggle to survive on disability pensions. Most have worked much of their lives and have no control over the development of deteriorating health conditions. They count down the days to reaching age 65 and increasing their income by a third or more so that they can once again live with a little dignity. These people must look forward to two more years of dismal existence which for many is almost a death sentence.

It is increasingly apparent that the aim and agenda of your Conservative party is to ensure corporations are given every financial subsidy and tax break possible and that the financial woes of the country must be downloaded on the Canadian taxpayer.

I am a pensioner, formerly on a disability pension for the last four years before being eligible for the poverty line OAS, CPP and GIS. For four years previously, I worked at a minimum wage job on weekends, the only employment I could get because of my medical situation. I currently must live in subsidized housing.

I speak from experience. I am not alone.

Pamela Best, West Vancouver

© Copyright (c) North Shore News
Forwarded by Compliments of info@whiterockreporter.com

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Penny Power introduces the Digital Youth Academy

MONDAY, 30 JANUARY 2012
What has the Mayor been doing?

The Mayors Report on January 23, 2012 stated:

January 11 - I attended a seminar on the RCMP contract sponsored by the UBCM

January 13 - met with Peggy Hunt and Shirley Samush from Translink.

January 13 - discussed an idea for a Tour BC cycling ride to raise money for cancer. Organizers are in the preliminary stages of planning but are thinking they'd like to start and end the ride in White Rock possibly in July or August.

January 17 - Council held an all-day Planning Session with members of Senior Management. Good exchange of information and priorities to form a base as we begin to formulate the plans for the coming year and the next three years.

January 18 -attended a meeting of Translink's Mayor's Council on Regional Transportation. Richard Walton, Mayor of North Vancouver, was elected Chair of this Council, with Peter Fassbender, Mayor of Langley, the Vice-Chair.

January 19 - received an interesting suggestion from a White Rock resident to develop relations with a twin-or sister-city, in China.

January 19 - met with Brian Atkins, District Manager, Transportation for the Lower Mainland. He has agreed with our staff and Tourism White Rock to add "Service" and "Attraction" signage on the highway - signage will refer to waterfront, tourist accomodation and restaurants in White Rock.
He also agreed to determine plans for the expansion of the Park and Ride at King George Boulevard and Highway 99.

January 23 - attended a meeting of the Fraser Health Municipal Government Advisory Council. There are now surgical wait lists on the Fraser Health website that the public can access.

Just received word today that Cliff Annable will be taking over later this week from Doug Hart as Executive Director for the South Surrey Chamber of Commerce. We wish Cliff and the Chamber good luck for the coming year and thank them for the services they provide to White Rock and local businesses.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone Happy Chinese New Year today or Gung Hei Fat Choi.

Today is the first day of 2012 in China's Lunar Calendar. The year 2012 is the 4,709th Chinese year and 2012 is the year of the Dragon.
Mayor Wayne Baldwin White Rock Matters
-end-

Courtesy of www.whiterockreporter.com

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Mayor Dianne Watts of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada is quoted as saying 'What makes sense' in the school System of Surrey.

Not long ago [last year 2011] I had the pleasure and opportunity to meet with Dianne Watts, the Mayor of Surrey in British Columbia Canada. Ref. made to the audio interview as posted on http://www.WhiteRockReporter.com I would like to forward a quote made from the said interview with Mrs. Dianne Watt, the Surrey Mayor. What she said and acclaimed made a profound impact on me as 'newcomer' to Canada [1988]. If effectiveness and practicalities count for anything I believe that what the Mayor is saying makes sense and should be put into an 'over-all plan' and embrace every school district. The districts planning from human resources to fiscal and budgetary means etc., and funds saved placed in the envelopes and pockets of the most efficient and performance willing teachers and this to be part of an enhancement program which would benefit the students, the teachers and the society as a whole. Here is the quote: Dianne Watts, Mayor of Surrey: "local matters which affect Surrey residents are Mrs. Watts’ top priority.

She sees two fundamental areas in which Surrey can modernize in order to make life better for everyone: education and environmental consciousness.

Schooling is one of the most important factors in growing a successful city, maintaining a vibrant and thriving economy, and developing talent native to the area in order to benefit as much as possible.
Mayor Watts’ stance on the public school system is a bit forward and, at some times, controversial. She feels that the traditional school infrastructure (big, costly brick buildings that cannot expand or contract to fit population and budgetary needs) are outdated. Instead, Watts envisions a modular education system as the backbone of the Surrey of the future. By using modular school units (what some wrongly label “trailer schools”) the city can not only provide plenty of learning space to all of the students and teachers but it can do so cost-effectively. Mobile units are able to quickly relocate if the population of an area increases and the demand for classrooms follows. Conversely, if the population of an area declines, there’s no sense in having a massive brick building sucking up city funds when a modular school design could be minimized to fit the student body.

By spending less on the infrastructure of the school system Surrey could spend more on the quality of education, thus meeting and exceeding the needs of the students while maintaining a budget everyone is comfortable with"' End of Quote For the entire audio interview and transcript go to the Audio/Interview Blog on the page: http://www.whiterockreporter.com Best regards, Johan Sandstrom, BComm. 'Video & Audio Content Communication Services Provider to Professionals' EM: johanpublisher@gmail.com http://www.YouTube.com/WhiteRockReporter