The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is noting the Carbon tax seems to be more unpopular the further away you get from Metro Vancouver.

BC Director Jordan Bateman says the legislative committee charged with gathering input on next spring's budget seems to be getting an earful in rural BC.
 
"It is amazing you read the notes from people in Kelowna, Kamloops, Fort St John, Cranbrook, all over the province they are saying this is killing them business wise, killing them competitively, and hurting them just financially personally but meanhwile in Vancouver it was like sunshine and roses and the Carbon Tax was the greatest thing ever so complete disconnect between Vancouver and the rest of British Columbia on this."

Bateman however still advocates scrapping the tax instead of just adjusting it to meet the urban rural divide.

"The best thing to do is get rid of the carbon tax get rid of all the revenue neutrality tools except for the personal income tax cut that is about 228 million of the overall one point two billion dollar take but you see that percentage has shrunk when it was first brought out we used to get about 30-percent back in personal income tax now we get about 12 or 15 percent back in personal income tax cuts."

The Ministry of Finance is reviewing the Carbon tax after spending August gathering feedback.

The Ministry says the Carbon tax has led to significant business and income tax reductions.

The NDP's Public Safety critic wants to know how a new policing deal was signed with Ottawa without addressing the costs of the new RCMP headquarters.

Kathy Corrigan says there is plenty of blame to split between the province and the federal government.

"The Feds moved ahead with a Billion dollar plus building without having an agreement in place at a time when negotiations were taking place about policing in British Columbia so yeah I have huge concerns they built the building before doing the negotiating and I blame both the Provincial government and the Federal government for not getting it worked out."

Corrigan says as the province and local governments wait to negotiate the bill it will be taxpayers who will ultimately have to pay.

"We pay federal taxes we pay provincial taxes and we pay local taxes so one way or another the people of the lower mainland are going to be on the hook for the building that is going to cost one point two billion dollars and for which we have committments over the next generation yeah I got real concerns about it we are on the hook and we don't even know how much we are on the hook for."

She says despite the new RCMP deal it is the same old formula with Ottawa dictating to the province and local governments.

As mounties get set to move into their new $1.2 billion headquarters in Surrey both provincial and local governments remain in the dark about how much of the bill they will foot.

Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender says the cost sharing between Ottawa, the province, and municipalities was supposed to be settled in negotiations.

But with four months to go until the mounties move in, Fassbender says there have been absolutely no talks at all.

"No there have been no substantive discussions on all of the issues surrounding Green Timbers between the province and the federal government and of course the province has asked for municipal representatives to participate in those discussions they have not happened yet at all."

Fassbender puts the blame on the federal government.

"I think the whole process has been frustrating with the lack of information and the inability to really drill down into what the real facts are it speaks about the inability for the feds to really engage in an active way and that has been a lot of the pressure on a number of fronts and we are going to continue to push for that."

The negotiations will be between the feds and the province but the cost will also be split with municipalities.   

The Mayor of Port Coquitlam says the cost of the new Surrey RCMP headquarters needs to be laid out for local governments sooner rather than later.

Greg Moore says the unknown cost is crucial for city budgets.

"We are concerned and it could have a financial impact on us and it is something that we really need to know as soon as we can not only is the building going to be ready for occupancy soon but most of us as local governments are going through our budget for next year and so we would like to be able to put in the right numbers there to ensure we have the money to pay for our portion."

Moore says local governments are still being hung out to dry despite the new RCMP deal.

"You know I think when we signed this new contract we talked about open communciations and being proactively notified about cost drivers and you know I think this is just another example of how nothing has changed."

Moore says with no negotiations yet the buck, in his mind, stops with the provincial government.

"My understanding is the provincial government negotiating with the federal government on the space that is required for E-division and so it's not the RCMP negotiating it, it's not local government negotiating it, it is the provincial government so we will just have to wait and see where they are at with that."

In the wake of a 15-year-old Maple Ridge girl taking her own life because she had been bullied, the mother of another teen who killed himself is speaking out.

Nasima Nastoh's son, Hamed, jumped off the Patullo bridge when he was 14 because he had been bullied.

As school officials say they will continue to raise awareness about bullying after teen Amanda Todd killed herself this week, Nastoh has bigger ideas.

Speaking with CKNW’s Phillip Till, the Surrey mother says some kids don't know that what they're doing is wrong.

"The bullies need more education, information and sensitivity. We should make a program at school, every morning for one hour."

Tributes continue to flood social media sites for Amanda, who posted a video about being bullied on YouTube. 

Another young man accused in last year's Stanley Cup riot has pleaded guilty.

Sukhjiwan Grewal from Surrey was originally charged with participating in a riot and two counts of mischief.

The 18-year-old will next appear in court Jan. 13, 2013 – likely to set a date for sentencing.

Vancouver police have so far delivered charges against 275 suspected rioters.

More than 50 have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

One man is in hospital after a shooting in Surrey this morning.

It happened about 5:30 near 60 Avenue and 130 Street.

RCMP responded after a 911 call was made from an area home.

Staff Sgt. Bob Pinkewcyz says the victim, whose age is not being released, took a bullet to an extremity.

He's now in stable condition.

When asked what the man was doing when he was shot, he says there are “several conflicting stories.”

Pinkewycz adds police are familiar with the victim, but won't say how.

No one is in custody.

Officials at the Maple Ridge school district want to assure parents they have several programs in place to prevent bullying, but they also need their help.

This, after a 15-year-old girl killed herself this week after repeated taunts and threats from her peers.

District spokeswoman Irena Pochop reiterates what we've heard from school officials: there were supports in place for Amanda Todd.
 
"This is not a child who slipped through the cracks. We did have significant school and community supports in place. But we do need more community involvement and more parent support."

Pochop lists some initiatives: a forum on cyberbullying, handing out the principal's and vice-principal's phone numbers so kids can report problems, and holding assemblies on how students must respect each other.

And they take immediate action on any bullying case that gets reported. 

But she says they would really like to see more parent involvement to help build safety and respect.

While refusing to take questions on other matters, BC's premier is making herself available to comment on anti-bullying, one of her pet causes.

Christy Clark addressed the issue again during a live interview on CBC Newsworld this morning in Vancouver,  saying education is the key.

"If I ever get a chance or I ever get back into government, one of the things that I'm going to do is that I'm going to go out and I'm going to do whatever we can to combat bullying. So, we've just begun. We are beginning to educate 15-thousand educators around the province --give them that tool box. Next month, we'll have the online reporting tool up and it will be available to parents and to students. We are going to devote at least one professional development day for every teacher, every year, to dealing with bullying."

Clark says she hasn't spoken yet with Amanda Todd's family, but she's pleased the 15-year old girl's mother wants the video she posted last month to stay online.

In it, Amanda explains the torture she suffered from other teenagers... both online and in person.
 

Surrey RCMP say he did the right thing.

A 19-year-old Surrey resident turned himself in to police this morning and his vehicle has been seized.

That vehicle hit an 11-year-old boy yesterday afternoon 82nd Avenue and 154-A Street.

The boy had just gotten off a school bus and the bus' lights were flashing and the stop sign was deployed.

A car pulled out and struck the boy who was crossing the street in front of the bus.

The victim is being released from hospital today with no significant injuries.

* 1 800 SUICIDE (1 800 784-2433) 

* Youth in BC: 1 866 661-3311 (toll-Free). Youth in BC is an online 

crisis service, where you can chat 1-on-1 with a trained volunteer 24 

hours a day. 

* Aboriginal People Crisis Line: 1 800 588-8717 

* Native Youth Crisis Hotline: 1 877 209-1266 

* Suicide Prevention Lifeline: A free 24 hour hotline in Canada or the 

U.S. 1 800 273-8255 

* Kids Help Phone: 1 800 668-6868. The Kids Help Line is a national 

organization offering bilingual, 24-hour toll-free confidential phone 

counseling, referral and Internet services for children and youth or 

their parents in English and French. 

Burnaby soccer hero Christine Sinclair has been suspended for four matches and fined for comments she made after Team Canada lost to the U-S-A in a hard fought semi-final game in the summer Olympics.

The punishment is handed down from FIFA, and the Canadian Soccer Association is now asking for the reasons behind that judgement.

Sinclair blasted the referee after the game, saying she handed the win to the Americans.

Life in prison with no chance of freedom for 14 years.

That's the sentence for a Coquitlam man who murdered the mother of his two sons last year.

James Mou has been sentenced following a two-day hearing in New Westminster's BC Supreme Court.

Earlier this week, the 36 year old, originally charged with first degree murder, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second degree murder.

It's believed he beat and strangled his estranged wife Lancy Hu in July of 2011.

The 27-year old mother's body was found more than a month later in a suitcase pulled from the Fraser River near Steveston by fishermen.

The couple had been fighting over custody of their children, who are now three and four years old.

Mou confessed when he was arrested in September of last year.

A Vancouver City Councillor is shaking his head after local conservative MP Alice Wong invited media to watch her slurp up some shark fin soup.

Kerry Jang says even worse, Wong appears to have excluded all major media outlets and instead focused on just one ethnic group.

"You know I can't speak for her, but certainly you know it is very odd to me to simply be holding a Chinese or Asian only press conference.  Clearly it seems to me Alice Wong is not representing all of her constituents and she is simply pandering to a very small special interest group."

Wong also told Asian media shark fins are purchased and imported legally, something Jang takes issue with.

He says it is very clear shark fins acquired under an illegal "fining" technique are making their way into Canada to be used in the Asian delicacy.

Meanwhile, when asked why all media were not made aware of Thursday's press conference, Wong said she's read lots about the issue in Asian media and received lots of calls from people in the Chinese community requesting she clarify where the government stands.

"But we don't exclude the others cause I'm speaking to you, I've spoken to my local media already, I'm now speaking to you and we've already given our lines to CTV.  So whoever wants to talk to me can approach my communications officer, then I'm always available when I'm available."

When asked whether she intended Chinese media to hear her thoughts before other media, Wong said "it just happened that way."

Angus Reid has released its latest litmus test of the BC political scene, and once again it doesn't have much good news for the BC Liberals.

If an election was held tomorrow, the Angus Reid numbers say forty nine percent would vote NDP, twenty six percent would go Liberal.

The BC Conservatives sit at sixteen percent after a rough month of internal bickering.

While the Green Party brings up the rear at seven percent.

The NDP are still dominating with female voters at a fifty three percent approval rating.

That’s compared to eighteen percent for the Liberals.

When it comes to who would make the best Premier, Adrian Dix improved two points from last month to thirty percent.

Premier Christy Clark’s ratings fell one point to 14 percent.

The NDP says the BC Liberals have only themselves to blame for the lack of skilled miners in the province.

Mining critic Doug Donaldson reacting to news hundreds of temporary workers from china will be brought in to work in a new coal mine in North East BC:

"It's not the companies at fault and it's not the Chinese workers at fault but you know this is a legitimate role for a Provincial Government to train up the workforce so local people in the regions can get the jobs that are coming open.  It's a colossal failure in my opinion."

Donaldson says the NDP would invest 100 million dollars in grants for post-secondary and skills training.

Ridge-Meadows RCMP say 11-year old Asia Kashino has been found safe and in good health.

Mounties issued an appeal for help from the public last night.

In the wake of the tragic suicide of 15 year old bullied student Amanda Todd, the President of the BC Teachers Federation says it's not good enough  to simply intervene when there is a bullying problem.

Susan Lambert says bullying needs to be stopped from happening altogether.

"It's not a matter of trying to identify bullies.  What we have to do is stop the creation or the permission for that kind of behavior to develop."

Lambert says she'd like the province's E.R.A.S.E. Bullying program to focus on eradicating the problem by looking at the causes, rather than stop it once it starts.

E.R.A.S.E. stands for "expect respect and a safe education."

It includes training for educators on identifying and dealing with bullying.

BC's latest civil forfeiture claim involves a woman accused of purchasing property in Kelowna, Vancouver and Richmond... with money linked to crime.

The province is looking to seize properties located on Burrard Street in Vancouver and Marin Crescent in Kelowna, as well as two others in Richmond.... along Gilbert Road and Granville Avenue.

Another luxury item on the list -- a 2006 Bentley Continental.

They're all currently owned by Shunting Lin... a woman also known by several other names.

Lawyers with the Civil Forfeiture Office claim the properties were acquired by unlawful means before May of last year. 

The allegations -- which must still be proven in court -- include money laundering, drug trafficking and illegal tobacco sales.

It was an opposition blackout as supporters of the Kitsilano Coast Guard station rallied outside a gathering of federal conservatives.

While the dozen or so demonstrators carried signs and held placards outside, those inside the Richmond Sheraton Hotel would hardly have noticed.

That's because a makeshift barrier was set up at an entrance with a black curtain, blocking their view of the protest.

"They've dropped the curtain on the Conservative Party and on seeing any protest, and I think their job as members of parliament and the members of the party who support them should be to say okay, someone has a difference of opinion with us, let's talk about it."

That's organizer, Bill Tieleman.

While the group insists closing Kits will cost lives, the federal government is moving ahead with the planned closure next year.

The company at the centre of Canada's largest food recall -- is temporarily laying off more than 2,000 workers.

XL Foods made the announcement this morning.

The employees are all based at the company's facility in Brooks, Alberta.

The RCMP say more than 400 tips have been received in connection with the death of Amanda Todd.

The 15-year old took her own life this week -- after years of bullying -- much of it online.

But even in death -- Amanda is still the target of heartless online abuse.

From online trollers posting hurtful messages and images on pages dedicated to Amanda's memory.

RCMP Sergeant Peter Thiessen says those people run the risk of being criminally charged.

"The family, the police, the community in general are really quite outraged by the conduct of many on social media."

More than 20 full-time investigators are assigned to the file.

Thiessen says tips have been coming in from all over the world -- although he couldn't speculate on reports from Amanda's mother -- that Amanda may have been the online target of an American pedophile.

Meanwhile, Premier Christy Clark says parents need to have a bigger focus on watching their children on social media.

"We have to educate parents about how important it is that they 'friend' their kids on Facebook. You need to be a part of their online life! You need to be dropping into their e-mail every now and then, particularly when they're younger and they'll let you... I recognize that's harder as they get older... but you need to be engaged in your child's online life."

Clark was speaking with Sean Leslie on CKNW's The World Today Weekend.