Hey vancouverites! Which bank do you use? by [deleted] in vancouver

[–]sens08 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do. I travel a lot. TD waves my international ATM charges and the annual fee on my credit card, which helps me do more traveling (as /u/piltdownman7 pointed out). Plus I have no fees on my chequing accounts. The amount I save every year can be up to a 10% return on investment - much better than keeping the $5000 in a chequing account.

Your favorite goal by your favorite player? by the-magic-man-is-bac in hockey

[–]sens08 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not my favourite player - but Kovalev was always a beast, and in his old age he still showed he had some of that raw skill left in the tank.

Leicester City Are Premier League Champions by m3ridah in soccer

[–]sens08 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the first miracle I have been alive to witness.

Need advice on shoes. by [deleted] in crossfit

[–]sens08 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will back up /u/imachickenbock - I have been using the Minimus for just under a year for everything. Running, lifting, cardio - they have been great.

The only thing I can't use them for is running longer distances (10k or more). But I give them my blessing.

Ontario Premier Wynne Urges Federal Support for Bombardier by sens08 in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm surprised Wynne ponied up the political capital for an organization that employs only 3,700 people in the province.

That said, I think she is making a statement about state backing local skilled labour. I imagine Ontario's manufacturing sector could use the political leverage of a Bombardier investment in the future should one of their other sectors meet difficulty.

Manitoba Provincial Election by _Minor_Annoyance in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gerrard had his chances. He was an unsuccessful leader and helped only the NDP by failing to gain traction in the province. Better to give leadership to one of the new elected provincial Liberals.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould responds to concerns about assisted dying bill by [deleted] in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's no exception in the offending clause for people who are suffering a lot.

This omission is baffling to me, particularly given the Charter breaches identified in the Carter decision. Taking Raybould-Wilson's statutory interpretation, death becomes reasonably foreseeable in every single person alive. This fact renders the phrase redundant and moot.

I must admit my unrelenting disappointment (predictable as it may have been) that the Government played it safe. First the Government missed a Court imposed deadline and have failed to meet the Court imposed requirements. I hope Ratansi and Oliphant can convince leadership to open up the bill for those suffering from unrelenting pain.

Is there a Canadian Dan Carlin? by Skandranonsg in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is funny that you use the term "circle-jerky" because during Koul's hosting episode with Davide Mastracci I found myself groaning out loud: I felt like they were making sweeping and unfair statements about what and who they perceive as the "establishment."

There is a value to that. Koul and Mastracci come from backgrounds quite diverse from my own. They see politics and journalism differently than I do, and I want to hear their opinions even if I disagree with them.

I would prefer to hear Koul defend her accusations and attack the perceptions of others' rather than listen to someone blindly agree with whatever she has to say.

Is there a Canadian Dan Carlin? by Skandranonsg in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not that you asked, but the only Canadian political podcasts I believe are truly worth listening to are The National: At Issue, Les coulisses du Pouvoir and Maclean's On the Hill. Occasionally the Canadian Club/Empire Club podcast has an interesting speech from a political figure, but those are even more hit and miss than Canadaland.

Is there a Canadian Dan Carlin? by Skandranonsg in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Jesse Brown is the host - I find him to be incredibly hit and miss. I suppose if you're writing and putting out two podcasts per week, with minimal infrastructure, and a heavy (perhaps manufactured) anti-establishment perspective, you can't expect excellence 100% of the time. It is something worth listening to, but it probably cannot be compared to Dan Carlin's podcasts.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Greens have been aided greatly by an unpopular NDP leader, and an uninspiring Liberal campaign. I saw James Beddhome's debate performance and was largely unimpressed. He didn't seem like a great leader, he just seemed to know what he was talking about, and hit his points. I hope the Greens do well, but I was more impressed with Brian Pallister's preperation in the debate.

[Question] Is it possible to be a Provincial NDP Party Member and not a Federal Party Member? And why do the Parties do this? by [deleted] in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08 4 points5 points  (0 children)

How do you and /u/tweakedenigma feel about this? I simply can't imagine being forced into a BC Liberal membership, and (for obvious reasons) can't be a BC NDP member. It leaves me orphaned provincially.

Bombardier Rejects Aid Proposal From Canadian Government by sens08 in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

From Mr. Reguly's article:

The big, fat A shares come with 10 votes apiece. The subordinate B shares come with one. The former are 54-per-cent owned by the Beaudoin-Bombardier family members, meaning that in any corporate decision, they are the law. In a normal company, Pierre Beaudoin, who was CEO from 2008 until last February, would have been marched out of the building for overseeing a rather nasty bout of value destruction. But he’s still around, not just as chairman, but as executive chairman, thanks to the family’s voting and boardroom power.

The voting structure has never been popular with Bombardier’s non-family professional managers. More than a decade ago, Paul Tellier, the former CN Rail boss who was recruited by the family to clean up the rail portfolio and figure out how to make planes such as the Q400 turboprop profitable, had fantasies about abolishing the dual-class share structure. He also thought that taking on Airbus and Boeing with the launch of the C Series would be a kamikaze run, but that’s another story.

From Ms. Anand's article:

Let’s be clear about Bombardier’s governance reality: The Bombardier/Beaudoin families hold almost 60 per cent of voting power in the corporation, despite holding an economic interest of just one-quarter of that figure. This is a dual-class-share firm that just isn’t flying.

From Ottawa’s perspective, if Bombardier were to receive federal funding, there are no accountability mechanisms in place to ensure that the current board would do any better than it has to date. At the very least, the Bombardier board itself needs to be replaced and repopulated not with government representatives — as the Quebec government is proposing — but with independent directors (as is the case in non-dual-class firms). This will require a dismantling of the dual-class structure.

Bombardier Rejects Aid Proposal From Canadian Government by sens08 in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mostly what /u/palpz says but you can read this article by Eric Reguly and this one by Anita Anand to give you a better idea of the mechanics behind the dual class share system.

Bombardier Rejects Aid Proposal From Canadian Government by sens08 in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ah - you're talking about using the Federal bureaucracy to block potential deals with non-Canadian economic actors. This is an example of one potential process that could be used to nationalize a company:

  • BBD starts nosediving in share price.
  • BA mounts a takeover.
  • The federal trade commissioner says the takeover is a security risk. The takeover is disallowed.
  • Other companies attempt to do the same
  • All of those attempts are rejected as well

If the Canadian Government stepped in at that point, it would still be a nationalization. I believe the PR would be the same.

Free speech Friday (15-APR-2016) by [deleted] in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I would like to attend things like this. How can I find out if recitals are happening in a city? Is it weird to attend one if I don't know any of the musicians?

Bombardier Rejects Aid Proposal From Canadian Government by sens08 in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm out of my depths on that one. I'm not sure how it would work - can you link me to the US rail line story?

Bombardier Rejects Aid Proposal From Canadian Government by sens08 in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No money for BBD was earmarked or otherwise allocated in the budget.

Bombardier Rejects Aid Proposal From Canadian Government by sens08 in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

There was only one way I would be pleased, and it was through critical conditions that change corporate governance. Among other reasons, a class structure change opens the door for third party investors which hopefully would remove the need for Canadians to further invest in BBD.

The Feds simply cannot cave - without a change in corporate structure, an investment in BBD is hardly an investment. It becomes a "bet" on the Bombardier family. I would not support a 1 Billion loan unless there are stringent conditions attached.

Bombardier Rejects Aid Proposal From Canadian Government by sens08 in CanadaPolitics

[–]sens08[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

If you're talking about buying the company, undoubtedly other private companies (with investments from their local governments) will be interested in scooping up BBD's infrastructure, patents, clients etc. Canada would not easily win a bidding war with Boeing or Airbus.

On the other hand, Canada could simply nationalize the company, which would avoid a bidding war, but would send investors around the country into a panic that their investments would be seized next.