Brian Pallister: rich, deceitful - and absent

[are Manitoba voters dumb?]

They would have to be if this is the kind of MLA they've had representing them - from Costa Rica. Did he lose his health care coverage for his lengthy absence?

I'd sure be asking for a refund if I had contributed to his campaign.

I wonder too, if he's related to George W Bush . . . . see photo:
http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/img/mla/pallister.jpg
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Pallister on the defensive after Costa Rican newspaper reveals foreign assets

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/provincial-election/ksdfhksfdjghl-375969101.html
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The Costa Rica Star - April 16, 2016


Records reveal Brian Pallister’s assets in Costa Rica

A public records search of Costa Rica’s Registro Nacional reveals that Brian Pallister, the conservative Canadian politician who opinion polls suggest is leading the Manitoba election but who recently has come under fire for spending nearly 20 percent of his time in the legislature away at his vacation home in Costa Rica, owns three properties in Costa Rica through a Costa Rican holding company of which he is president.

The Costa Rica Star conducted the public records search after numerous requests from Canadian media.

Public records reveal that Pallister is the president of Finca Deneter Doce S.A., which in turn owns three pieces of real estate in the highly sought-after coastal district of Tamarindo, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste.

One property is registered as measuring 2.26 acres, with a taxable value of ¢62.8 million Costa Rican colones, or about $118,000 USD; a second property of 5.6 acres with a taxable value of ¢3.3 million, or about $6,000 USD; and a third property of about 5.4 acres with a taxable value of ¢5.3 million, or about $10,000 USD.

It should be noted that in Costa Rica, the “taxable value,” or valor fiscal, is oftentimes only a fraction – sometimes 10 cents on the dollar – of the market value of a property, in the case of real estate.

Pallister also controls a second Costa Rican holding company in which is registered a 2007 Toyota Landcruiser Prado with a taxable value of ¢16.4 million (about $31,000 USD) and a 2007 Honda TRX680 All-Terrain Vehicle, with a current taxable value of ¢2.2 million (about $4,000 USD).

In Costa Rica, it is common practice for foreign nationals to place real estate and vehicles in holding companies.

Both of Pallister’s holding companies are up-to-date on their Costa Rican tax obligations, and no mortgages or other encumbrances appear against any of the property held by the companies.


Too much ‘Pura Vida’

Pallister was facing tough criticism this week for spending too much time in Costa Rica since being elected to Manitoba’s Legislative Assembly in 2012.

Citing public records, Pallister, Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative (PC) leader, has spent nearly one out of every five days, or about 240 days, of his time since being
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elected in Costa Rica, rather than in his province, according to the CBC.
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According to the CBC, Pallister has travelled to Costa Rica 15 times since being elected to the legislature in September 2012, spending 18.2 percent of his total time in the land of “Pura Vida.”

His latest trip here was from January 31st to February 10th, according to the CBC, which cites public records.

Apparently, the candidate for premier even spent two weeks in Costa Rica in 2014 during the height of a devastating flood of the Assiniboine River, forcing the province to declare a state of emergency and deploy the military. The flood caused some $4 billion in economic damage, according to the CBC and the Winnipeg Sun.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯


At the time, Pallister told the media that he was at a family wedding in Alberta and made no mention of the fact he was in Costa Rica.

The leader of Manitoba’s Liberal Party, Rana Bokhari, warned that Pallister could become a “part-time premier” if he wins the election, apparently due to his fondness of Costa Rica.

“240 days is a lot of days to not be in your province. Frankly, I think it’s insulting,” the CBC quoted Bokhari, who according to a Liberal Party spokesperson has spent just 9 days on vacation since becoming the Liberal leader in October 2013.

“If you have the honor of being in that legislature and to not value that when you already have it, you don’t have the right to be the premier,” Bokhari said.

Conservative party leaders, however, are defending Pallister’s frequent time in Costa Rica, describing the trips as “working vacations.”

“Mr. Pallister, like all members of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly, works incredibly hard for the people of Manitoba,” said PC spokesperson Olivia Billson in an emailed statement to the CBC. “Mr. Pallister’s working vacations took place outside of legislative assembly sessions.”

None of Pallister’s Costa Rica trips occurred when the legislature was sitting, according to the CBC.

Pallister has proactively disclosed that he owns a vacation property in Costa Rica and has a bank account here. “The account in Costa Rica and the property have always been reported on my tax return, which is confidential,” Pallister told reporters.

Manitoba’s elections are on Tuesday.
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