The usual labour union shenanigans are going on in Victoria, with current mayor Dean Fortin picking up an endorsement and campaign cash. No word if he had to cut the same deal with CUPE as his Vancouver counterpart...

But I shake my head at Coun. Lisa Helps, who Big Labour jilted to endorse Fortin, for  silly comment in today’s Times Colonist:

Helps agrees there’s a problem with increasing taxes but doesn’t believe that’s necessarily tied to an increase in wages.

“Are salaries too high? I don’t know. Are taxes going up too high year after year? Yes and that’s where we need to focus. If it’s through salaries, fine, but my suspicion is we find cost savings elsewhere just by the nature of doing the business we do,” she said.

How can a sitting councillor, running for mayor, be this naïve? Labour is a city’s number one cost. If you’re going to hold the line on taxes, you absolutely have to deal with labour costs – just reference any of our reports, the Ernst and Young compensation report, the Fraser Institute’s work, the CFIB’s reports – even your own annual financial statements. Why pretend otherwise? You’ve already lost Big Labour’s endorsement – double down on giving out real facts to voters.

Candidates these days! Leaves one shaking their head…