CONTROVERSIAL MOVIEMAKER URGES CANADIANS TO KEEP THEIR 'SOCIAL SAFETY NET' BY NOT VOTING CONSERVATIVE
Friday, June 25, 2004 
By Jay Stone
CanWest News Service

TORONTO - Controversial American filmmaker Michael Moore -- whose new movie, Fahrenheit 9/11 is a diatribe against George W. Bush and the Bush family connections to Saudi Arabia -- has a message for Canada: Don't try to become Americans.

"Your election comes before ours, and it will be such a blow to those of us trying to get rid of Bush" if Canada elects the Conservative Party of Stephen Harper, Moore told a Toronto audience at a special premiere of Fahrenheit 9/11.

"I've spent a lot of time trying to convince Americans that Canadians are smart people, and you're going to make me look really bad. I really need you to make sure that Mr. Harper does not take over.

"Why you want to be like us?"

Moore said Harper "has a big pair of scissors in his hands and wants to snip away at the social safety net that distinguishes you from us. The primary difference between Canadians and Americans is that you have a general basic ethic that says, 'We're all Canadians. We're all in the same boat, and if one of us doesn't have health care, we all suffer as a result of that. If one of us isn't helped when we hit upon hard times, then we all hurt as a result of that.' "

The American ethic, he said, is "every man for himself. Me me me me me. To let people in your country to have that ethic take over and destroy that thing that makes you wonderfully Canadian is something that must be resisted on [election day] June 28."

"Kennedy Stewart of the NDP and Liberal Kwangyul Peck are two of the most cerebral candidates in this election." - Georgia Straight

Peck is a very cerebral economic consultant who speaks English, French, and Korean, as well as some Cantonese, Mandarin, Japanese, and German.

At a June 14 all-candidates meeting, Peck claimed that if Conservative leader Stephen Harper keeps all of his election promises, Canadian interest rates will rise and some people will lose their homes. Later, in a telephone interview with the Georgia Straight, Peck cited economic research from the Washington-based Brookings Institution to back up his claim that the Conservatives' 25-percent tax cut will sharply reduce government revenues.

Peck doesn't use weasel words when discussing same-sex marriage. He simply says he supports it.

Incumbent Conservative MP James Moore is not as kooky as some of his peers. He has pressed for federal relief for owners of leaky condos. Moore also told the Straight that he will not vote to invoke the Constitution's notwithstanding clause to override court rulings on same-sex marriage. However, the Straight is not endorsing Moore because he voted to uphold the traditional definition of marriage and because he voted for a motion endorsing the U.S.-led attack on Iraq.

"I supported Canada politically supporting the engagement, yes, but not sending troops, because frankly we didn't have troops to send," Moore told the Straight.

As the Conservative transport critic, Moore never criticized the Richmond/Airport/Vancouver Rapid Transit project, even though Coquitlam residents were supposed to be first in line for rapid transit.

None of the other candidates were as effective as Peck at demolishing the Conservative party platform in debates.

Conservative MP James Moore's false endorsements:
June 24, 2004

COQUITLAM ? At an ¡®All Candidates¡¯ Meeting¡¯ held at the Islamic Community Centre in Port Coquitlam, by the Tri-Cities Muslim community on June 23, 2004, Conservative MP James Moore was confronted regarding an advertisement in which he claimed endorsement by the Muslim community. 

The Tri-Cities Muslim community informed James Moore at the meeting that the Canadian Islamic Congress, the foremost Muslim organization in Canada, gave Moore a failing ¡°F¡± rating during its evaluation of federal politicians.  The actual evaluation of James Moore by the Canadian Islamic Congress can be viewed on their website (www.canadianislamiccongress.com).  The Canadian Islamic Congress does not endorse any political parties or individual candidates. 

This is now the third controversial endorsement asserted by Conservative MP James Moore.  The first disagreement arose due to the advertisement of an endorsement that was never given by the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce.  The second incident occurred when Nova Scotia NDP MP Peter Stoffer unequivocally denied ever giving any such endorsement to James Moore.  The quote was taken from a committee meeting where Stoffer had merely thanked Moore for voting for one of his motions.

Kwangyul Peck, Liberal Party candidate for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, is disappointed by the Conservative MP¡¯s continued use of false endorsements in his campaign material.  Any false or unauthorized use of statements in respect of public or private support is highly misleading and should not be tolerated.

Prime Minister Paul Martin comes to Tri-Cities:
June 22, 2004

COQUITLAM ? Prime Minister Paul Martin came to Coquitlam this morning, and stated unequivocally that the Liberal Government will protect public health care and continue to balance the budget.

Kwangyul Peck, Liberal Party candidate for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, who served as an economic advisor to Paul Martin during his tenure as the Minister of Finance of Canada stood by the Prime Minister as he delivered this important message.

In selecting the Tri-Cities to make such a profound statement, the Prime Minister gives a clear indication that he places great importance on the role of the Tri-Cities and its candidates in this election and in the new Liberal Government.

Straight Talk Straight Talk Archives
Grit Says Harper's Plan Hurts Homeowners
By Charlie Smith
Publish Date: June 17, 2004

A federal Liberal candidate has claimed that some Coquitlam residents will lose their homes if Conservative leader Stephen Harper is elected prime minister and keeps his election promises.

Economic consultant Kwangyul Peck, the Liberal candidate in Port Moody­Westwood­Port Coquitlam, said at a June 14 all-candidates meeting that Harper's fiscal policies will inevitably lead to higher interest rates.

Peck, an economic advisor to Paul Martin when Martin was finance minister, made the claim at Summit Middle School on the Westwood Plateau, an area with many expensive homes.

"The average house price in this neighbourhood is $500,000, $600,000, $700,000," Peck said. "Some of us will end up losing homes."

The Conservative candidate, MP James Moore, started laughing at the Liberal candidate's remarks. Peck generated a loud applause after he said, "It's not funny, James."

Moore later told the Straight that the claim was "another layer of the national Liberal fear-and-smear campaign".

"Our economic platform is moderate; it's thoughtful; it's affordable," Moore said. "If Kwangyul Peck has that kind of clairvoyance that he can predict interest rates, then he is in the wrong game."

Prior to claiming that people would lose their homes, Peck told the audience that Harper plans to cut taxes by 25 percent. Peck noted that Harper has also promised to increase military expenditures by $33 billion [over five years] and boost health-care spending.

Canada's gross national product is approximately $1.3 trillion, Peck said, and the federal budget is approximately $200 billion.

To illustrate his point, Peck asked everyone in the room to imagine that Canada's GNP was $100, and the tax rate was 20 percent.

"Harper says he is going to cut the tax rate by 25 percent, and revenue will be neutral," Peck said. "In other words, when he reduces taxes from 20 to 15 percent, the revenue will be the same as before."

Then he asked the audience to consider how much revenue would be necessary to raise $20 with a 15-percent tax rate. Before anyone could do the arithmetic, Peck answered his own question by saying $138.

"In other words, the Canadian economy would have to grow in the order of 38 percent per annum for Harper to fulfill his promise," he claimed.

Peck declared that he didn't believe the Canadian economy would grow by 38 percent per year, which meant there would be huge revenue shortages under Harper's fiscal plan.

"The minute Harper gets into power and starts borrowing money, the interest rate will go up," Peck predicted.

He explained that a Harper-led government, like the one headed by Brian Mulroney, would be competing with other borrowers, which would force interest rates higher.

"The minute people in New York start realizing what Harper is up to, they start dumping Canadian dollars," Peck predicted. "What does the Bank of Canada have to do? They have to defend the Canadian dollar by again zapping up interest rates. You're going to get double, triple [the] interest rates...if Harper keeps his promises. What is this going to do [to] you in terms of your mortgage?"

On June 15, Peck told the Straight that economic research from the Washington, D.C.­based Brookings Institution demonstrated that the only people who work more after a tax-rate decrease are middle-aged female executives. "If you cut the tax rate by 25 percent, your revenue goes down 25 percent," Peck said. "This is very well-known among economists."

Moore said that tax cuts may lead to higher revenues, depending on when they're made during the business cycle.

"All of our economic forecasts show that the tax relief we're offering will create economic growth," Moore said. "But we're not depending on that in order to balance our budgets."

'All Candidates Meeting' Schedule:
June 16, 2004

COQUITLAM ? Kwangyul Peck, Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam, will not be attending the ¡°All Candidates Debate¡± on June 19, 2004 due to a prior obligation.   The organizing party was already made aware of this scheduling conflict.

Kwangyul Peck will be speaking at the ¡°All Candidates Meeting¡± on June 20, 2004 at Old Orchard Hall, which begins at 7:30pm, and on June 24, 2004 at Douglas College in Coquitlam, at 12pm.

Cancellation of 'All Candidates Meeting':
June 7, 2004

COQUITLAM - Kwangyul Peck, Port Moody - Westwood - Port Coquitlam, regrets to announce that he will not be attending the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce 'All Candidates Meeting' to be held tonight (June 7, 2004).

The fairness of this 'All Candidates Meeting' was initially called into question when legitimate candidates, such as Richard Voigt of the Green Party, were excluded.

We are deeply disappointed that the fairness of the 'All Candidates Meeting' is further eroded by the endorsement of a particular candidate by the President of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce.  This endorsement appears in campaign material of that candidate.

We find it unfortunate that the impartiality and reputation of such a prominent local non-political association has now been called into question.

As a result, it is only appropriate that we withdraw from the proposed 'All Candidates Meeting'.

Kwangyul Peck will be attending the meeting scheduled on June 14, 2004 at Summit Middle School.  We hope that all candidates will be invited to speak at that time and we certainly welcome the opportunity to field questions from constituents in a neutral public forum.

Campaign Kick-off:
May 25, 2004

The Campaign Kick-off Party for the Kwangyul Peck's Liberal Campaign will be held on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 from 7:00pm ? 9:00pm, at campaign headquarters located as follows:

Unit #40, 2710 Barnet Hwy
Coquitlam , BC V3B 1B8

The First Signs Go Up:
May 23, 2004 

The first 4'x4' lawn signs were erected today May 23, 2004, for the Liberal Party candidate, Kwangyul Peck, of Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam. He was the first of the candidates in this riding to put up his signs.

Peck Takes on Campbell , and Wins:
May 20, 2004

To update an ongoing story, local businessman Kwangyul Peck was successful in his challenge to the provincial government's attempt to change the regulations pertaining to private liquor store licensing. Peck, who is also the Liberal Party candidate for Port Moody ? Westwood ? Port Coquitlam , sought to protect the interests of small, neighbourhood grocery store owners who would be harmed by the province's amendments to the Liquor Control and Licensing Act .

In a brief recap, the provincial government planned to allow beer-and-wine stores to expand in size and sell more than just liquor. In January 16, 2003 article, Dorothy Woodend of the Georgia Straight summarized the changes: ¡°Thanks to recent changes to the provincial Liquor Control and Licensing Act , beer-and-wine store operators can double their floor space to 2,000 square feet. It used to be that people bought liquor at the liquor store and then dropped by the corner store for cigarettes, chips, and mixers, but now they can get those things at the same place they purchase booze.¡±

The detrimental impact on small businesses would have been immense because small, family-run corner stores would not be allowed to apply for business licences to sell beer and wine . Rather, only pub and hotel owners were allowed to apply for such licences to operate the new which were allowed to carry hard liquor in addition to beer and wine .

This unequal treatment did not sit well with Kwangyul Peck, who ¡°¡¦as spokesperson for the Burnaby-based B.C. Korean Business Cooperative Association [K.B.C.A.], represents some 1,400 members, about 500 of whom own and operate corner stores.¡± ( Georgia Straight ) The owners were ¡°faced with increasing competition from late-night supermarkets and convenience-store chains like 7-Eleven, corner grocers throughout the city [were] closing, and the latest threat to their existence¡¦¡± profoundly endangered their survival. (Georgia Straight)

A n October 15, 2002 Vancouver Sun editorial denounced Campbell 's provincial government, criticizing its decision as ¡°...a matter of noise, power, influence and connection¡± rather than one in favour of public interest.

The store owners , ¡°¡¦who account for about a third of [corner grocery] merchants in B.C., finally said, ¡®Enough.'¡± ( Vancouver Sun) And Peck was prepared to act.

In response to the proposed amendments, the K.B.C.A. presented two petitions to Gordon Campbell's office. With about 7,000 signatures, they demanded ¡°¡¦an explanation from the p rovincial government as to how and why Beer and Wine stores are being favoured over neighbourhood grocery stores and as to how the Liberal promise of a free market is being met by carrying out such discrepant policies, favouring a certain group of shops over another.¡±

Peck's challenge to Campbell was firmly supported by the public. As reported in the Georgia Straight , ¡°Vancouverites appear to be on Peck's side. In an Ipsos-Reid Group poll released last September, the majority of British Columbians ¡®supported the sale of beer and wine in select, regulated and licensed corner grocery stores.'¡±

After several months of tenacious advocating by Peck on behalf of the K.B.C.A., Campbell 's government backed away form their plans to privatise liquor stores.

It seemed that Premier Campbell had not counted on such a coordinated, focussed response from small business owners. As reported in the Georgia Straight : ¡°¡®If Campbell and his cronies think we just got off the boat,' Peck continues, ¡®he's got another thing coming. Our combined sales are over 800 million (dollars), and we generate about 5,000 jobs.'¡±

The positive result for small grocery merchants was well-received, and Peck continues to volunteer his services as spokesperson and chief economist for the Korean Business Cooperative Association.

Copyright © by Kwangyul Peck All Right Reserved.

Published on: 2004-05-21 (2078 reads)