What will you trade for power?

The Bloc, NDP and Liberals could be the government in a week's time if enough horse trading occurs. Burnaby MPs seem to have a bit of a trade policy divide with their soon to be Liberal friends.

Peter Julian and Bill Siksay have both been critical of the Liberal position on trade. This spring, Siksay said of trade with China, an issue that Liberals including former Prime Minister Jean Chretien have championed for years, "We can’t fall into the trap of holding back our concerns about human rights because we worry that it might have economic ramifications, given China’s growing economic and political power. We must be prepared to call China to account for its human rights record." Peter Julian has been critical of NAFTA and the FTAA, deals which Liberal governments helped implement and encouraged.

The Liberals have something to say about the NDP's economic record as well. In the Burnaby Now on September 24th, Stephane Dion dismissed the possibility of an alliance with the NDP saying, "We cannot have a coalition with a party that has a platform that would be damaging to the economy."

This should make for an interesting week in Parliament.

R.I.P. Ray Perrault

Former one-term Burnaby MP Ray Perrault passed away at 82.

Perrault spent three decades in the Senate and at one point was B.C.'s voice at the cabinet table. His early political career put him in the role of BC Liberal Party leader.

Perrault represented Burnaby-Seymour from 1968 to 1972, defeating Tommy Douglas in the Trudeaumania election.

Torched

Burnaby, which will not play host to the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, will host the Olympic torch relay one day before the cauldron at BC Place Stadium is lit for the world.

The original Olympic plan was to put the speedskating oval, now in Richmond, on Burnaby Mountain at Simon Fraser University. With the relocation of that venue, Burnaby will be an observer rather than a participant, likely at huge cost savings to the city. However, Burnaby will have its day on February 11, 2010, as one of the last stops on the 45,000km journey that will visit communities across the country in the lead up to the Olympics.

Sweep

It wasn't even close. Burnaby Citizens everywhere.

Remember

Today is the 90th anniversary of the Great War Armistice.

Vote Early

Early voting is popular in this year's civic race. Through the first two days of voting, the Now reports turnout being nearly as high as the entire advance voting period in 2005. There was also advanced polling on Thursday. Voters wishing to beat the rush or unavailable on November 15 can vote on Wednesday at the Shadbolt Centre.

Even advance voting has caused some conflict between TEAM's Lee Rankin and the BCA's Richard Chang who was accused of campaigning too close to a voting location.

Don't get no respect

TEAM Burnaby cannot catch a break.

They have been through numerous campaign managers. They have had Stanley Jung quit on them and then withdraw entirely. The greatest slight, however, may be the Vancouver Sun saying Derek Corrigan has a cake-walk back to the mayor's chair.

In an article profiling four cities, the Sun groups Mayor Corrigan with two North Vancouver mayors who are being acclaimed and Richmond's Malcolm Brodie who has two fringe upstarts to defeat. Andrew Chisholm may be the mayoral candidate of a dysfunctional political slate and have run a hopeless council campaign in 2005 but he is not to be entirely discounted. Chisholm has made some valid arguments on crime during the campaign and has learned much about running for office since his 2005 council run.

The main point against Chisholm is TEAM. A sixteen-person slate is a challenge on its own. TEAM is more than just a challenge. A candidate dropping from the slate, several campaign manager changes, a lawsuit from a past candidate, and no success in finding a campaign theme have hurt TEAM but Chisholm being brave enough to run as an independent and only winning a handful of votes last time is not the reason Derek Corrigan is headed back into office.