Brexit: Should The UK and the EU Part Ways

Europe just won't be the same without it, but maybe the UK has always wanted to be out on it's own.

Tomorrow The UK will vote whether to say in the European Union (Remain) or to go it alone (Leave).  The result of the vote will have an impact on financial markets, the Pound, and individuals both inside and outside the UK.  Should Britain vote to Remain in the EU it will continue to enjoy access to the common market, freedom of movement, and the power of a common government to negotiate on it's behalf.  Should Britain vote to Leave the EU it will have the freedom to make it's own choices and negotiate it's own trade deals without interference from Brussels.
A Remain vote will likely mean little will change in the UK's relationship with the EU and things will carry on much as they have before, with the UK being a major player in a large but sometimes unwieldy economic system.
The issue that I found for a Leave vote is that there really isn't any clear idea of exactly what will happen.
Should the UK leave the EU entirely it would have to negotiate a new trade deal with Europe to trade goods back and forth with the common market.  It's entirely possible that the EU won't be in a great mood and will seek to prevent other countries from leaving by stalling negotiations or giving the UK unfavorable terms.  Should tariff barriers come up between the two the UK will see increases in prices of imported goods simply because of new taxes on the imports.  However the UK could use that money from the duties/tariff's to improve public services, so there may be an up and down side to that argument.
Also there is the issue of free movement of workers, which currently allows workers to live and work in any EU country including the UK.  Would those workers now have to return to their countries of origin? both UK citizens in say Germany and French citizens in the UK?  Various sources I consulted suggested that there were around 1 million British citizens living in other EU countries and a similar number of EU citizens living in the UK.  Mass deportations are unlikely however they are favoured by some groups, they would likely be part of future negotiations on the status of the EU-UK relationship as the separation progresses, however moving millions of people would be at best a logistical nightmare.

In the end it's up to the citizens of the UK to decide what they want and hopefully whatever decision they make will work out best for everyone.  But with polls running neck and neck on the final day it seems likely that many people in the UK will not be happy with the outcome.

EPCOR and the Grab for Drainage

EPCOR, The wholly owned subsidiary of the City of Edmonton, which currently runs power and water in the Edmonton area is now seeking to further tighten it's grip on the city's infrastructure by taking over it's drainage department.  The city has recently agreed to allow EPCOR to pay a consultant to determine if the transfer of the drainage department to EPCOR would be a good idea.  From the information provided at the council meeting it seems that the city would get a $20 million boost in the dividend it receives from EPCOR and also benefit from EPCOR taking over the drainage departments debt.  What is odd is that in all the documentation I could find on this idea there seemed to be no direct benefit to EPCOR other than having more city infrastructure under it's thumb.  The thing about the earlier mentioned study is that while council wasn't totally happy with the idea, they figured since EPCOR was paying for the study there wasn't any harm in letting it go ahead.  Something to think about is where is that $200,000 coming from to fund the study?  Since money doesn't come from nowhere, it'll be paid for by ratepayers in their water and power rates, pennies on the dollar to be sure but it'll be there somewhere.  It's too bad that the councilors voted to let EPCOR study the issue, if they reject the study the money will already be spent, and they didn't seem too happy with the idea of turning over drainage anyways.

EPCOR News Release

Slow and Steady Wins the Transit Race?

In the wake of the very, very delayed Metro Line LRT project, We have now learned that the newer and grander Edmonton Transit Valley Line, Will travel as slow as 30 Km/hr, (Global News Story about slow LRT).  It feels like every time Edmonton tries to get more people to use transit, or provides a new way for people to get around that they just can't quite deliver.  This project was supposed to be a shining beacon of great P3 (public, private, partnership) transit and a great way to get from Millwoods into the heart of downtown.  Now I wonder if anyone will take it if it has to go so slow.....  Hopefully the City of Edmonton can find a solution to this otherwise..  the train may look more like this....

Anyways, I'm a big believer is good transit, and especially fond of LRT and train service.  I just hope that city council can see their way to making sure this isn't the Turtle Train and ensure that it is actually a rapid transit solution that will get people out of their cars and using transit.

It's been a long time....

I'm going to try to restart my blog and try to publish a short musing every week.  We'll see what I come up with.  I hope to restart next week, spend the summer blogging and see where it goes from there.  My plan is to publish at least every Saturday starting from right now. Items of local interest, and photos, hopefully it will be interesting to you too.

The world isn't really imploding. Currently it's only Europe

As Greece prepares for another day of a general strike and massive protests, One wonders, Is taking the day off work and causing millions of dollars in damage to infrastructure and public buildings really a good way to show that your serious about solving a debt problem that really is created by the people.  Also is it really a good move to just go out and take a break when the government is considering massive public sector layoffs.  If you're not coming to work it may just make that job a whole lot easier.  It's strange to see people suggesting that the "Government" is making the cuts and bowing to pressure, especially when the people are the ones that put the very very spendy governments in place to begin with.  It's hard to imagine too that Greece and other European governments got to this point all of a sudden, cause the world of trouble they find themselves in doesn't really come about overnight. Sure 5 years ago creative solutions like job sharing and adjusting benefit shares could have been done but at this point there's no time for that and it's not like the public sector unions would listen anyways.  Oh yeah and Italy's next so hold on to your Riot Shields it's going to be a bumpy few years.

Jack Layton

I remember watching the winding down of the last election and seeing the camera on CBC of the inside of Jack Layton's Hotel room headquarters where he was watching the numbers roll in. Some time after it had become clear that he would gain a respectable second place the phone rang and he answered it with something to the effect of, Her Majesties Loyal Opposition. It was a candid and funny moment that characterized how many Canadians felt about Jack. They felt he was the kind of person they could sit down with, have a joke or chat with and he would listen and do something for their concerns. Jack Layton was a man who stood for his principles and stood for what he believed in, a quality often lost on politicians. It is a true shame that he never really got his chance to steer the course of the country, to lead us to a fairer and better Canada. He will be missed.