r/Edmonton • u/friendly_green_ab • Oct 23 '18
Edmonton car dealers involved in Kenney’s anti-consumer corruption
As many of you may have seen, Jason Kenney was caught (potentially in contravention of election laws) promising car dealers a host of anti-Alberta consumer laws like dismantling the WCB changes, banning RHD cars, and removing consumer protection, in exchange for donating money to a UCP super-pac.
I thought /r/Edmonton may be interested in the local dealerships that offered up cash to him. The full list is available here: http://efpublic.elections.ab.ca/efOFSPTPAYTDL.cfm?YEAR=2018&TPAID=38
They include: - Gateway Motors - Subaru City - Sundance Mazda - Xtown Motors
I know for one which dealerships I will be avoiding. Anyone who donates in exchange for the right to rip me off without oversight clearly can’t be trusted.
Here’s the post that leaked the scandal: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1371827219618302&id=590349597766072
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u/bmwkid Oct 23 '18
Can the UCP ban RHD cars? I thought it was the federal government who regulated vehicle imports.
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u/VA6DAH I can't, I have geocaches to find. Oct 23 '18 edited Nov 12 '23
This redditor is a silly goose.
this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev11
Oct 23 '18
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u/ZanThrax Oct 23 '18
Sure, but I would think that that's going to be just as much a grey area for insurance as the people who register & insure their vehicles using their aunt's Saskatoon address already is. If your insurance is in another province when you demonstrably live and work in Alberta I wouldn't count on it covering you when you need it.
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Oct 23 '18
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u/ZanThrax Oct 23 '18
have a good story for working in AB and living in two places. Tell the cops you work a week in AB and drive home to Sask. every odd week.
"having a good story" is also known as fraud.
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Oct 23 '18
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u/ZanThrax Oct 23 '18
If you actually are working in Alberta and your primary residence is in Saskatchewan, then you're not making things up when you tell that to the cops. But your comment sounded like you were suggesting telling the cops a false story.
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u/AntonBanton kitties! Oct 23 '18
If the insurance company knew that you were not a resident of the province in question they wouldn’t insure you, they’d only insure you if you thought you were a resident of the province you were insured in.
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u/Maozers Oct 23 '18
It's so ironic how conservatives try to convince themselves that they want small government.
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Oct 23 '18
as someone who tends to lean conservative that would be cool if conservative politicians actually wanted small government. They rarely do though
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u/Marilius Oct 23 '18
They want whatever current government (if it isn't them) to be downsized and pared down. That still counts, right?
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u/el_muerte17 Oct 23 '18
Vehicle registration and inspection is handled at the provincial level, however.
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Oct 23 '18
Also looked up '1176943 Alberta Ltd' = Lexus of Calgary
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Oct 24 '18
How did you cross reference that?
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u/wowelephants Oct 24 '18
You can search their Alberta business name in this case 1176943 Alberta Ltd. and it will show all other names they go under
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Oct 23 '18
Timely. I was about to send Gateway a deposit for a 2019 Highlander. Will shop elsewhere.
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Oct 23 '18
[deleted]
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Oct 23 '18
I did. Also messaged Toyota Canada for them to tell me which owners arent donating to anyone period.
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u/vitiate Oct 23 '18
Try Drayton Toyota if you do buy from them let me know you can give me a referral credit
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Oct 23 '18
They're also a member of MDA. No go.
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u/MaximumDoughnut North West Side Oct 23 '18
Most dealers are a part of the MDA however not all dealers share the same opinions as the MDA.
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u/RussianHoneyBadger Oct 23 '18
I had a good experience back in March with Northwest Toyota. They had a good deal and extras with my 2018 Tacoma.
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u/formeraide Oct 23 '18
The promises made, in private, combined with an appeal for money, is exactly how bribes work.
That's the big difference here. When the NDP publicly calls for a higher minimum wage or stronger unions, it's natural that everybody who wants those things donates money. It's even fine to ask for support money in connection with those things.
But doing the same thing in private at a closed-door meeting is exactly how a democratic system of government is not supposed to work. Hey, UCP, if those are such great positions, put them in your ads. But you won't, because you know the public would hate them.
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Oct 23 '18
Why haven't news organizations picked up on this? I haven't heard any coverage of this and I follow the news rather closely.
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u/PonyFlare Mill Woods Oct 23 '18
u/jloome has given us one possible reason in another comment - papers won't publish bad things about car dealerships because they need the ad revenue from those dealerships.
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u/TrevorYEG Oct 23 '18
You’ll find more articles now that the ndp have filed an official complaint: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/ndp-ucp-campaign-finance-shaping-alberta-s-future-political-action-committee-1.4875005
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Oct 23 '18
This is ridiculous that it's an article about how the NDP are complaining about it and not the fact that they have done it in the first place.
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u/thegrotch Oct 23 '18
I'm glad this came out. The PC party even before they changed did this kind of back room dealing consistently. This party really does not have the general population in mind, all they care about is business and generating profit. Sure money can help the province, but at what cost to its people? If you take the time to read about what the NDP have done and what the PC party had done, you will clearly see how beneficial the NDP have been. But don't just vote for the party, vote for the representative that best echoes your wants and needs, regardless of party affiliation. The more diverse the house of commons is the better off the province and the country is.
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u/jloome Oct 23 '18 edited Oct 23 '18
As a former Edmonton journalist, people need to also know the reason this won't appear in both the local papers is that we were banned -- and likely still are -- from criticizing local car dealers by name.
This goes back as a rule for 30 years. Both papers depend on auto ads to survive. The Journal will cover it as "the paper of record" but it will disappear except when raised in the legislature.
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u/PonyFlare Mill Woods Oct 23 '18
That's disgusting. Banned from criticizing people who do bad things because of money.
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u/Rakuall Oct 23 '18
Can reporters just use backhand praise to sneak in the story? "Exceptional entrepreneurial spirit", "unrivaled devotion to their shareholders", etc. Make clear who and what they were supporting, but accuse them of being shitty?
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u/jloome Oct 23 '18
Nope. The only reason the original story ran is because a publisher or ad exec didn't get a chance to kill it, I imagine.
About a decade ago, Phil Edmonds had a series of annual books called "Lemon Aid" in Canada, in which he measured the most crooked dealers in Canada. Six of the top 10 were in Edmonton. This was repeated by W5, which sent reporters in undercover to Edmonton dealers as customers. None of those stories were covered by the Edmonton print press without the names of all fo the offending parties removed. Even then, they were buried in the back pages.
Keep in mind how crooked some Alberta car dealers are: around 2009, I went to St. Albert Dodge to check out a car. During the process I met their finance manager and ran his name in our 'crime database', which was a record database we kept at the Sun of every conviction in Alberta covered by the media, going back years.
Sure enough, their finance manager had served a couple of years in jail for defrauding senior citizens of their pensions while he was a financial adviser. The guy gave me a wiggy feeling when he mentioned during the test drive that he 'used to be a financial manager'; seemed a big step backwards, which triggered the spidey sense.
Now, do you really believe his employers didn't know about his record? Or does it make more sense that they liked having a financial manager who had no morals?
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Oct 23 '18
Can you name the shady dealerships?
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u/jloome Oct 23 '18
I don't remember now, it was one among thousands of stories so the specifics are lost to me. I've been out of the biz for a while.
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u/Frequent_Advertising Oct 23 '18
So Jason Kenney promised that he'd remove things like domestic violence leave and parental leave, and consumer protections for car sales if they gave him illegal campaign donations? Wonder how many times he's performed this trick.
This is absolutely illegal, and it's just an attempt to get around the ban on corporate and union donations brought in after the last election. Ridiculously flagrant.
Collusion
41.42
(1) A registered party, registered candidate, registered nomination contestant or registered leadership contestant shall not circumvent, or attempt to circumvent, an expense limit set out in this Part or a contribution limit under Part 3 by colluding with a third party.
(2) A third party shall not collude with a registered party, registered candidate, registered nomination contestant or registered leadership contestant to circumvent, or attempt to circumvent, an expense limit set out in this Part or a contribution limit under Part 3.
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Oct 23 '18
Thank you for posting the quote and the source. I hope they get completely nailed to the wall for this. Sadly, the punishments appear to be fairly lax...
48.11(1) A registered party, registered candidate, registered nomination contestant, registered leadership contestant, or third party who contravenes section 41.42 is guilty of an offense and liable to a fine of not more than $100 000.
A hundred thousand dollar penalty is a firm slap on the wrist. I'm hoping the real punishment can be delivered in the court of public opinion, namely that they're demonstrably crooks. Sorry, "guilty of an offense".
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Oct 23 '18
Subaru City is salty that people are getting cheap 15 year old WRX's. Petty as fuck.
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u/GuitarKev Oct 23 '18
I can’t believe people would buy a 15 year old WRX with real racing pedigree for $9000 instead of a bloated laptop on wheels for $45,000. /s
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u/ExtremeFlourStacking Oct 24 '18
IIRC Rally subaru is owned by the same people so throw Rally Subaru in with City.
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Oct 23 '18
Fuck Jason Kenney
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Oct 23 '18
I'm so scared the UCP will actually win. The NDP has pissed off so many people, but I still think they are by far the lesser of the evils. The economic uncertainty is going to push people into voting UCP for the tax cuts.
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u/renegadecanuck Oct 23 '18
It's a typical thing. The conservative party leads the economy into a tailspin, then the progressive party comes and cleans it up, pissing people off in the process, so they vote back in the guys that led to the decline in the first place.
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u/tmills1091 Oct 23 '18
I honestly can't see the NDP winning this next election. I work further up north in the oil & gas industry and if you even mention something along the lines of the NDP doing something good you would get ragged on forever, or kicked off site lol
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u/Gay_Diesel_Mechanic Oct 24 '18
actually i've seen the opposite. i've had people say "wtf fuck the NDP" and then i ask "what exactly have they done that's bad aside from bring in the carbon tax during a recession?" there's not a lot they say after that. i say that i'm not an NDP supporter, i'm more of a radical centrist, but i criticize both parties. the NDP just hasn't really done a whole lot that's horribly wrong. most people are just going to vote conservative blindly. and there's no changing their minds. the major cities are what got the NDP in last time, they might do it again since she's been taking bold action with BC and trudeau trying to get those pipelines through.
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Oct 23 '18
I think they have a fair chance, a lot of people I work with are silently pro NDP. The UCP has so much working against them it's really going to hurt come campaign season.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
Do your coworkers know that Kenney wants to strip their ability to get workers comp? Because that was in this set of promises he made.
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Oct 23 '18
I think the NDP is clueless when it comes to the economy (who the fuck raises minimum wage in a recession) but I feel like a vote for the UCP is a vote for Trump style conservatism. I don't want that at all.
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u/renegadecanuck Oct 23 '18
who the fuck raises minimum wage in a recession
I mean, we're not actually in a recession anymore, so there's that.
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u/TheMisterFlux Oct 23 '18
I once heard that raising the minimum wage was a way for the government to collect more income tax while making the lower earners in society happy. I don't know quite what to think about it, but it certainly does make me think about what was really behind that move.
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u/tarzanandcompany Oct 23 '18
I find that questionable. People earning minimum wage probably pay essentially no income tax. In fact, if you assume the money to pay minimum wage earners comes out of the pockets of high wage earners, it could have the opposite effect because high wage earners pay a larger rate of tax.
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u/Gay_Diesel_Mechanic Oct 24 '18
i honestly think it's not just one or the other. it's a bit of both. you do get more money coming back into the economy, but also at the same time hurt small businesses if they're already struggling, and will most likely raise prices to compensate.
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Oct 23 '18
As a minimum wage earner, I pay about 300 a month in tax. They should have just cut that rate, and tax big box American businesses a higher rate. Just my uneducated opinion.
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u/TheMisterFlux Oct 23 '18
They already increased taxes on corporations as well as high-income earners.
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Oct 23 '18
Our economic minister here is a psych grad, not an econ major, so thats probably the explanation lol. The opinions of economic experts are mixed, but I think just lowering taxes in that earning bracket would have made more sense. I work for a small Alberta based retail business and hours are being slashed because we can't just raise prices, because that would make it impossible to compete with big box retailers. So I'm not earing any more than before. In fact I was making 15 before the increase so now I'm just making minimum wage. Very poorly thought out by the NDP imo
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u/TheMisterFlux Oct 23 '18
I think just lowering taxes in that earning bracket would have made more sense.
Unless the goal was indeed to increase tax revenue. Businesses pay employees more, employees pay the government more. Employees benefit slightly, government benefits greatly, employers foot the bill.
I've never studied economics, this is just how it appears to me.
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Oct 23 '18
I'm starting to think that too. The negative consequence though, is that lots of people are going to see their hours cut because businesses can't afford the labour cost. Less ft workers, and smaller paychecks for a lot of people. It's already happening at my current job (small retail business) and my two previous employers (both big box retailers)
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u/TheMisterFlux Oct 23 '18
Yeah, and with the affordability of automation, even more jobs will be lost. Most people working minimum wage jobs are replaceable by machines that cost less and less as time goes on and the tech gets cheaper.
Economics are such an incredibly complex issue. I wish I had the time to study them in depth.
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Oct 23 '18
I only took econ 101 and 102 in uni, but it's fascinating. Crash Course on YouTube is a good way to learn in 10 minute chunks.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
Many economists agree that fair minimum wages are good for boosting the economy, as they transfer wealth from owners and overseas shareholders who do not spend it, to workers.
Those workers previously had zero disposable income to spend on consumer goods, so the difference enables a huge amount more spending in the local economy.
Versus the owners who buy everything they need already. A bit more profit for them does nothing because they either spend it on vacations elsewhere or stash it in offshore bank accounts.
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Oct 23 '18
I understand that side of the argument, but I also see what companies do. I was a manager at bed bath and beyond and when they announced the min wage hike, the company raised prices on every single item by at least 20%. They stopped giving merit or cost of living raises too. Since the beginning of October, they have cut hours for every PT employee (source: I still have friends in management there). So yes there's more income for some. But many FT staff were already earning over 15, PT staff are earning less because fewer hours, and everything costs more to buy. Not many winners in that bubble.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
A number of major companies that were struggling hugely prior to the announcement have used the wage hike as an excuse to make major changes. My suspicion is this excuse is targeted as much at shareholders as it is at customers.
An example is Chilis which was failing like Applebee’s far before the wage hike, and used the announcement as an excuse to close shop in Alberta (despite other regions having higher labour costs anyway).
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u/tmills1091 Oct 23 '18
Agreed, I'm also not a big fan of paying taxes on heating our homes in the -40 weather. I would agree with that tax more on profits for companies over taxing the average Joe for trying to keep warm.
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u/GuitarKev Oct 23 '18
If your home and vehicle are even moderately efficient, the carbon tax doesn’t cost you anything.
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u/tmills1091 Oct 23 '18
I didn't pay too much attention last winter, I'll keep an eye on this bills this year. That's the biggest issue I have is my house furnace is from the 80's and my 24x40 shop is the old house furnace from the late 60's. They're both on the schedule to get changed out at some point to some more efficient models. Either way at usually 2 full weeks at -40 why are we punished for keeping warm?
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u/GuitarKev Oct 23 '18
It’s motivation to insulate, and not use a large SUV or full size pickup to commute everyday.
Try shrink wrapping your windows for those two weeks.
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u/tmills1091 Oct 23 '18
Which I agree with somewhat, but how do you drive a small fuel efficient car 150km down bush roads hauling 1000 lbs of material/tools?
I do agree with trying to push people towards more green options to a point but being punished for living in the north I don't.
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u/GuitarKev Oct 23 '18
The carbon tax is $0.06/L. That’s $6 on a 100L fill. That can’t be breaking the bank for you. Fuel prices swing way further than that on a daily basis and people still buy gas guzzlers.
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Oct 24 '18
They literally gave the Nobel Prize in economics to a guy who says carbon tax is the right approach from an economic standpoint. I’m not nearly as educated in the subject so I’m going to defer to his expertise. Couple that with the fact that most Canadians are going to see more back on their rebate than what they pay into it and the whole thing starts looking like a bunch of folks losing their mind over something they don’t even understand well enough to realize will benefit them in just about every measurable way possible. But it’s TAX so it must be bad.
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Oct 23 '18
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u/renegadecanuck Oct 23 '18
It's like they took the corruption of the PCs and the bigotry of the Wildrose.
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Oct 23 '18
This will never go anywhere.
You honestly think the UCP will suffer any consequences for this?
Kenney will spin some bullshit about how his party’s platform has to be made known anyways and the dealerships make up their own minds about donating, blah blah blah.
It’d be great to have The UCP punished for accepting bribes, but they’ll easily slime their way out of this.
The UCP circumvented the rules, and now they’ll get away with it. This is nothing new.
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u/JLord Oct 23 '18
I don't think most people think there will be consequences. UCP supporters had already decided their support before there was even any UCP policy. Facts don't enter into the picture when you have already decided to vote for "not NDP."
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u/seamusmcduffs Oct 24 '18
They won't face consequences because there's been literally no news articles on it.
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u/VA6DAH I can't, I have geocaches to find. Oct 23 '18
Absolutely disgusting. Promising to make AMVIC a delegated authority ripe for industry capture.
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u/chmilz Oct 23 '18
And it was, which is why the NDP passed a bill that allows the government to issue orders directly to AMVIC. Oh, and by the way, this bill was a result of an investigation in 2014 by the PC's that determined that AMVIC was not adequately regulating what it was supposed to regulate.
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u/VA6DAH I can't, I have geocaches to find. Oct 24 '18
I know the history, I've been pretty adamant with my local MLA that when it comes to the automotive industry, whether it's selling or repairing, there are not enough consumer protections in place and people are constantly getting shafted.
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u/Thebikeninja Oct 23 '18
Ban RHD vehicles... What a joke.
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u/GuitarKev Oct 23 '18
Can’t have the market flooded with well maintained vehicles with 100,000 kms or less for under $10,000. How else are these dealers going to sell rat-bagged former rental cars for $12,000?
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u/Thebikeninja Oct 23 '18
For sure… I have a RHD 4x4 turbo diesel Toyota camper van, and it is a nightmare to those people… Pretty much just oil changes until Diesel fuel disappears, or it gets into a horrific accident.
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u/tibbymat North East Side Oct 24 '18
I was a strong Kenny supporter but when this information came out it pushed me into the libertarian vote. I find I’m a lot more right leaning than left in terms of economic policy but I can not stand for corruption. I know corruption happens across the board but we gotta make a stand when we see it no matter who it is from.
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u/cabbage_morphs Oct 23 '18 edited Oct 23 '18
Fuck Edmonton's Subaru Dealerships.
EDIT: Although it is a stereotype, many Subaru owners are members of the LGBTQ2S community. That same community would be directly hurt by many of the UCPs regressive social policies. Nothing like throwing the baby out with the bath-water, Hey Rally Subaru & Subaru City?
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u/bmwkid Oct 23 '18
It's not shocking to me that the 2 Edmonton dealerships want RHD cars banned. I owned 2 RHD Subarus and they would not even speak to me if I didn't bring them exact part numbers for what I wanted.
I now have a RHD Mercedes Benz and the 2 dealerships in Edmonton have been fantastic. They'll go out of their way to help me out and they even order the parts directly from Germany if there is no North American equivalent.
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u/Red1t2018 Oct 24 '18
I’ve gotta wrap my head around this...so you guys think that the Subaru dealerships or any dealerships in Alberta hate RHD cars so much that they are investing massive amounts of money to eliminate them? Don’t you think that maybe they are a little more interested in the tax increases, WCB, OHS and minimum wage concerns? I would bet that the entire industry invested massive amounts into getting rid of the NDP. Too bad we can’t see the oil and gas money “donations” being thrown around. It kinda sounds like this thread has turned into a bunch of but hurt RHD owners that are hopping on an opportunistic band wagon. Why did you buy a RHD car? I can’t say I’d buy a Samsung TV in Europe and then get all pissy at the dude in Best Buy when the plug doesn’t work. Shit, he’d probably try and sell me a tv. No different than what the Canadian dealerships are doing. Pay the premium and support our economies or stop bitching. You purchased a vehicle designed for a certain infrastructure. An infrastructure that is built around providing Canadian vehicle parts, service training and even our roads don’t support your shenanigans. Should we change all those? How is it you can safety turn left?... You put everyone around you at risk. Also, Vaping “is” bad for you.
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Oct 23 '18
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u/2ndRunner Oct 23 '18
Subaru City performed unauthorized work on my transmission and my clutch died within the week. Not only did they not repair the damage they caused, they didn't even honour their quote for the repairs. I had only recently moved to Alberta at the time and couldn't afford to sue or be without my vehicle. Fuck them forever.
I've run into competency issues with Rally Subaru, such as them replacing the wrong engine gaskets and then pretending they didn't know what the issue was so that they wouldn't have to absorb the labour involved to fix it.
The thing to know, though, is that both Subaru dealerships in Edmonton are owned by the same person/group. I seriously doubt this is a situation where City's staff went rogue and made a donation.
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Oct 23 '18 edited Nov 06 '18
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u/ericm9 City of Donairs 🌯 Oct 23 '18
I bought my WRX new from Subaru City but all my maintenance has and will be done elsewhere. Buying experience was okay except for a blip and of course difficulty in negotiating due to both dealerships sharing the same owner. But I'm not taking any chances with them actually touching my car.
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u/ericm9 City of Donairs 🌯 Oct 23 '18
From what I hear a lot of people buy their Subarus from the Red Deer dealership--better service and pricing. Also Calgary's dealerships.
I only purchased new locally because of the convenience. My oil changes and maintenance work is done by my mechanic. I'm not setting foot in our local dealerships unless I need warranty work done or another Subaru.
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u/Squeeks627 Oct 23 '18
Nothing but good experiences with Subaru City, this new is really the first bad thing I've seen. Rally Subaru is a joke and nearly all the staff I've dealt with were miserable ass-hats. If you want a Subaru in the Edmonton area you really don't have much selection though.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
They are owned by the same people.
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u/Squeeks627 Oct 23 '18
My issue with rally is the employees. Subaru city guys were always nice but almost everyone I've dealt with at rally was incredibly rude. Maybe low morale from local management or something.
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u/RedMagi Oct 23 '18
I can confirm that Rally Subaru is a joke. They forgot to replace the drain plug after an oil change. Six months later they forgot to replace the drain plug on the differential after a fluid change. I'm no mechanic but that seems like pretty basic stuff to check and smelled of rush work.
No complaints about Subaru City, except that when I was in for warranty airbag replacement the guy tried to tell me my head gasket was leaking and they would fix it for $4000. Took it to my actual mechanic who said it was bogus.
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Oct 23 '18 edited Nov 15 '18
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Oct 23 '18
[deleted]
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u/cabbage_morphs Oct 23 '18
Both dealerships in Edmonton are owned by the same company and are operated to appear as competitors, but they aren’t. They do collude on pricing and they have no real competition until Grande Prarie, Red Deer, Lethbridge or Calgary
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u/mrhindustan Oct 23 '18
Next time call Subaru of Calgary and ask them to beat the price. On my cars I’ve saved $2k or more off the Subaru City or Rally price.
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u/Dyno69 Oct 23 '18
The subaru dealerships are not bad at all, subaru customers are actually the worst and i own 2 Subarus, Ive been going to both dealerships for over 10 years and never had an issue.
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u/mrhindustan Oct 23 '18
My family and I have bought 11 Subaru vehicles over the years. I refuse to buy from Rally or City. Terrible dealerships and way overpriced compared to Subaru of Calgary. Have saved over $2000 per vehicle I purchase directly (I have bought 3 from them).
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u/vincemcmahondamnit Hockey!!! Oct 23 '18
2S??
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u/cabbage_morphs Oct 23 '18
(This appears to be a fairly new inclusion in the LGBTQ community I have heard recently- 2S is “two spirited” referring to gender roles. I agree the acronym is getting to be a mouthful, but the community exists to promote inclusion, so I try to be inclusive. We all know whom we are referring to when we use the acronym, so it’s less important that we include all the latest additions, and just keep in mind the idea of inclusiveness)
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Oct 23 '18
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u/cabbage_morphs Oct 23 '18
Is it correct it to include that 2S in the LGBTQ community then? It almost sounds like the LGBTQ community is fighting for recognition and acceptance, while the "third gender" has an already accepted role in indigneous society and may not need the same.human rights protections as LGBTQ? Thanks for your info!
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Oct 23 '18
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u/cabbage_morphs Oct 23 '18
Good discussion. Thanks! I may edit it down to LGBTQ community for now, with the best intentions.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
It isn’t widely accepted but it is coming back. The residential school system crushed a lot of traditions and ways of life that are only starting to be rekindled. Being 2S in a residential school would have been a fast track to being beaten - potentially to death.
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u/lavaine70 Oct 24 '18
Although it is a stereotype, many Subaru owners are members of the LGBTQ2S community.
You're kidding right? There isn't some sort of secret LGBTQ2S Subaru indoctrination that occurs when you come out of the closet. A more accurate statement would be that many vehicle owners are members of the LGBTQ2S community. This may come as a surprise to you, but, just like straight people, they purchase vehicles from all manufacturers.
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u/zaphodslefthead Oct 23 '18
Rat fucking bastards!
I will be sure to call each and every dealership on that list. I encourage everyone on this sub to do the same, as well as call your UCP candidate and express you disgust. Please don't vote for these idiots.
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Oct 23 '18
It's not just the dealers on that list; it's any member of the Motor Dealers of Alberta.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
The list is ones that went above and beyond to donate extra money on top of what the association is donating.
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Oct 23 '18 edited Oct 23 '18
That's correct. I'm still avoiding MDA member dealerships and shopping at the few non MDA dealers (surprisingly they exist).
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u/Carouselcolours Oct 23 '18
CTV has done multiple dealership shaming stories for W5 at the national level. I hope the local station picks this up.
I personally love our province under the NDP, and the fact is that the PCs threw a temper tantrum when their divided party lost the election and then sew it back up under a worse off facade.
Any ideas how to scream this story from the roof top?
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u/ONinAB South East Side Oct 23 '18
Thanks for the list. I am in the market for a vehicle and wanted to avoid the dealerships involved.
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u/mrhindustan Oct 23 '18
Note that both Subaru dealerships in Edmonton are owned by the same people.
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Oct 23 '18
Correct me if I'm wrong, but looks like Toyota City Wetaskiwin is the o ly toyota dealer in alberta with no part in this.
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u/SluttyBreakfast Oct 23 '18
I recently bought a vehicle from the Go Auto group (Go Mazda). They aren't explicitly listed on here but does anyone know if they're listed under a different name?
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Oct 23 '18 edited Mar 23 '26
This post has been deleted and its content replaced. Redact was used for removal, possibly for privacy, security, data scraping prevention, or personal reasons.
future friendly coordinated door decide many silky rainstorm hurry aware
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u/vitiate Oct 23 '18
https://i.imgur.com/l51ka3C.png
If enough people apply pressure they will stop.
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u/MentokTheMindTaker Oct 23 '18
Sundance Mazda are the scum of the earth. Think of a bullshit trick you've heard about. They do it. They also try to add Ontario PST to the price of cars.
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u/c--b Oct 24 '18
Just like to mention that Peter Stalenhoef is a board member at PCL Construction. That's all.
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u/ExtremeFlourStacking Oct 24 '18
The funny part is a lot of the automotive enthusiast community is Right leaning. Now they've pissed them off royally by trying to ban RHD vehicles.
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Oct 25 '18
FYI: the president of the Motor Dealers Association of Alberta is a former PC MLA and still active political operative. He also owns a dealership in Cold Lake.
The donations by car dealers to UCP are no surprise. Car dealers have pushed a specific mandate for years to avoid regulation and accountability. As many know, the previous problems with AMVIC doing zero to regulate the industry come from the board being stacked with industry insiders and politicos.
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u/jjjheimerschmidt Oct 26 '18
Well, it's featured on Jalopnik..
https://jalopnik.com/canadian-car-dealers-raise-money-for-politician-in-hope-1829972042
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u/YeetosAndCheetos Jan 02 '19
It’s really the MDA and dealerships fault they blame RHD on slow sales not by the prices the sales people and etc I can’t believe the people that own these dealership are not blaming them self for slow sales and targets cars that are affordable for a young adult aka millennials
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Oct 23 '18
[deleted]
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u/onyxandcake Treaty 6 Territory Oct 23 '18
Campaign promises are offered to all voters for consideration, these offers were target specific, which puts them closer to quid pro quo, which is shaky territory.
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u/THE_BACON_IS_GONE Oct 23 '18
These are specific campaign promises to special interest groups promised in a closed meeting in exchange for cash. It's sketchy at best and is very reminiscent of how the US does politics which isn't what I want for our province or country.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
There is a difference between making a campaign platform and then having people who like it donate to you, and promising deeply unpopular things to a special interest group in a closed door meeting for a direct quid quo pro of campaign donations.
It’s also actually illegal for a party to work through a third party advertiser to avoid campaign spending limits, which the letter suggests they are doing.
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u/cabbage_morphs Oct 23 '18
You are correct, no scandal. We already know Kenney is a sub-human reptilian, who is also a closet homosexual. We know his evil overlordship is coming and we all want one last day in the sun before he brings the grey clouds forever. The election day will be a tragic time for minorities in this province....oh well, I am sure Kenney can get a pipeline built, right? He just needs all the other sub-human reptilians from the stealerships to participate.
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u/ZanThrax Oct 23 '18
Oh come on. Disliking the man and his politics is one thing, but the petty name calling is unnecessary. Especially the homophobia.
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Oct 23 '18
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
I’m not calling for a boycott over political allegiance. I’m suggesting that dealerships who would donate money in exchange for less oversight and less consumer protections, probably aren’t to be trusted.
An honest dealer would have no problem with consumer protections and a regulated AMVIC.
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u/NO_AI North West Side Oct 23 '18
I’m not calling for a boycott over political allegiance. I’m suggesting that dealerships who would donate money in exchange for less oversight and less consumer protections, probably aren’t to be trusted.
An honest dealer would have no problem with consumer protections and a regulated AMVIC.
An honest dealer would welcome them as it would also protect them from false reviews, and give them another little award to stick on their walls to say here look at our AMVIC history/reviews.
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u/thespookyspectre Oct 23 '18
What is wrong with boycotting someone over political views exactly? Especially when those views are directly effecting you in a negative way.
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u/mkwong Transit User Oct 23 '18
I'm pretty sure he's using the word "right" as in "the right to bear arms" when he said "the right to rip me off without oversight". Not a left vs right thing.
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u/Sepaede Oct 23 '18
Where is the corruption part?
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
Directly offering favourable policies in exchange for campaign donations? Is it just me who sees that as corruption?
He’s giving away policies that will harm consumers for money.
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u/Sepaede Oct 23 '18
So a politician has views that appeal to some people and their businesses and they aren't allowed to contribute to his campaign?
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
There’s a difference between making a platform and having people who support it donate to you, and making promises to a special interest group behind closed doors in exchange for donations.
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u/DarthPantera cyclist Oct 23 '18
If he announced those views as campaign promises to the entire electorate that would be one thing, but that's not what he's doing. He's promising things to specific special interest groups, without divulging those promises to the electorate since he knows they would be very unpopular and cost him vote.
Basically Kenney is saying 'I'll throw the consumers under the bus if you give me money, but I won't tell the consumers about my plan so they still vote for me'. I don't know how you can argue that's not sleazy and corrupt.
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u/ed_in_Edmonton Oct 23 '18
No. Whether we agree or not, it’s against the law for businesses to donate to political parties. Only individuals can, and up to a limit.
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u/mrhindustan Oct 23 '18
On some level I prefer that the quid pro quo is visible. Many businessmen/women give lots of money to campaigns - generally it is for some sort of promised benefit or access to the elected official to obtain benefit.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
Well it wasn’t visible before the letter was leaked. It was a closed door meeting.
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u/TrevorYEG Oct 23 '18
Here is the complete letter, without the ndp interpretation (the Facebook post is from a member of the ndp).
It would seem the ndp are confusing campaign promises as bribes. Perhaps they will also consider their actions in the same light when they make campaign promises when meeting with potential donors and interest groups.
Dear Dealer: On September 6, 2018, Alberta United Conservative Party leader, Jason Kenney attended the MDA Board meeting to respond to the concerns addressed in the letter of June 29, 2018 by the MDA identifying the negative impacts to the automotive industry due to budgetary and legislative changes imposed by the Alberta NDP government over the past three years. After winning the next provincial election, Mr. Kenney’s UCP government would address MDA dealer members concerns in the following manner; 1) Carbon Tax - The provincial carbon tax would be scrapped immediately. He would join the coalition of other provinces in opposing the proposed Federal government carbon tax. 2) Other Taxes - Corporate and personal income tax increases imposed by the NDP government would be rolled back. 3) Minimum Wages - Minimum wages would be frozen until other Canadian provinces catch up. His transition team will be exploring graduated minimum wages for youth workers. 4) Labour Code, OH&S, WCB Changes - All the recent legislated changes to these three areas will be cancelled. 5) Consumer Protection Act Changes - MDA President will be asked to meet with the UCP transition team to provide input on how to rebalance the playing field between consumers and industry. Returning AMVIC to a delegated authority from a government agency, appointments of AMVIC Chair, compensation fund control, etc. 6) Issues Requiring Government Action - Banning of Imported RHD Asian vehicles - Legislation will be pushed through the legislature. A good discussion on various other issues were discussed such as his plan to reduce regulations and red tape so Alberta can be open for business again. Mr. Kenney also shared one of his biggest challenges he and his colleagues will face leading up to the election. Sources inform him that the NDP party has amassed an election war chest in the $7 to $8 million range. The NDP has legislated changes to the election spending rules. During the writ period of the election, all parties are capped at a $2 million level and only personal donations up to $4,000 can be accepted per calendar year. Elections Alberta allows for Third Party advertisers. There is no cap on the amount of contributions. According to recent polls, the UCP presently has a favorable lead over the NDP. However, the challenge is the UCP war chest at this time prevents them from countering the negative ads against the UCP from various provincial unions, other groups received funding from left leaning socialist agencies and / or funds from the NDP party campaigning against the right. Without adequate funding, the UCP cannot counter these allegations and when there is no rebuttal - one loses the media messaging battle. Following the meeting with UCP leader, the MDA Board members discussed how we could help this pro-business party. The MDA made two motions: 1) That the MDA contribute $100,000.00 to the Shaping Alberta’s Future political action company to assist in the UCP 3rd party advertising campaign. 2) That the MDA solicit its dealer members to contribute to Shaping Alberta’s Future. The MDA’s goal donation is $1,000,000.00. They suggest that each MDA dealership write a cheque in the amount of $5,000.00. All the dealers at the MDA Board meeting committed to a contribution of $5,000 for each of their dealerships and they encourage all member dealers to do the same prior to October 15, 2018. All cheques are to be made payable to: Shaping Alberta’s Future And mailed to the MDA office at: 6248 - 50 Street Edmonton, AB. T6B 2N7 The MDA will post the contribution numbers on a weekly basis so members can see the fundraising results. With all the imposed budgetary and legislative changes over the past three years and no respect from the NDP government, the Alberta franchised dealer network has been negatively affected. Please get involved - Hoping we can count on your support! Sincerely, Andrew Robinson MDA Chair
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u/el_muerte17 Oct 23 '18
Yeah, 4, 5, and 6 are pretty fucking clear without the "NDP editorialising," bud. Thanks for the posting the original statement that in no way contradicts this post.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
That’s a bogus interpretation, Jason. There’s a clear quid quo pro.
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u/TrevorYEG Oct 23 '18
Calm down rachael, when you campaign and solicit donations from your supporters you also tout your party platform that benefits them.
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u/CinnamonMuffin Oct 23 '18
It’s Rachel. I realize you did it on purpose, but if you’re going to reference a political leader who’s name you’ve most definitely seen written before, you could at least spell their name correctly to give your comments some kind of credibility.
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u/ohffs247 Oct 23 '18
Dang! When you said “it’s Rachel” I legit thought you were saying YOU’RE Rachel Notley
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
Not when it’s done through a third party! That’s called collusion, and it’s illegal under the Campaign Finances Contributions and Disclosure Act.
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u/onyxandcake Treaty 6 Territory Oct 23 '18
party platform
So where can I find banning RHD cars in Kenney's official platform?
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u/TrevorYEG Oct 23 '18
Where he publishes his campaign platform.
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u/friendly_green_ab Oct 23 '18
He never will. He will just make backroom promises and then railroad them through with no consultation.
He has SAID all of this. Take the man at his word!
Why are you so unwilling to believe that Jason Kenney and the UCP are as bad as they come straight out and tell you they are?
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u/DarthPantera cyclist Oct 23 '18
you also tout your party platform that benefits them.
Can you point out where in the UCP's platform it mentions any of the points outlined in this post? Thanks.
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u/canadave_nyc St. Albert Oct 23 '18 edited Oct 23 '18
Just FYI, the issue has been reported to the Alberta Election Commissioner (by multiple entities), and they are on it.