(Pictured above, from left to right....Bob Rennie..Pamela Martin(Trillion dollars LNG tweeter) Cynical Christy Clark and the now disgraced and resigned Harry Bloy..)
Start by watching above question period video.
Written by Grant G
(and friends)
Graft, corruption, thy name is Christy Clark, leader of the scofflaw gang known as BC Liberals...
That's not an actual quote by Christy Clark, but it should be......
Cynical and IMO corrupt....Christy Clark in 2002 as Education Minister brought in illegal legislation stripping teachers of basic working rights, Clark's draconian legislation also stripped resources from children...in 2016 the Supreme Court of Canada rebuked Christy Clark and ordered a return to the original contract language.....15 years and 10's of millions of taxpayer dollars spent by BC Liberals and Christy Clark only to ultimately lose.....the cost, although substantial it pales to the damage done to our neediest children, those with special needs, those requiring specialized training and tutoring...The weakest and neediest children among us left to fall through the cracks for 15 years...
That cost can't be measured in dollars and cents, parents, families and peers paid that ultimate price with buckets of tears..
The title of this post, what does the education file have to do with corruption and real estate? everything....after Gordon Campbell was elected in 2001 and reneged on most of his 2001 election promises(I won't tear up contracts...I won;t sell BC Rail...etc etc etc) the BC Liberals heading into election 2005 were not assured victory, the promises made by the party of cynical were thick, and, as almost always, went unfulfilled... promise any and everything to get elected...
Christy Clark as education minister in 2002 to 2004(and deputy premier) promised much..including a school, a new school for Burke Mountain in Coquitlam...but, BC Liberals don't build schools, they shutter schools, close schools, the only time BC Liberals build schools or promise to build schools is when unbearable conditions exist and or it is politically important to do so, such as when a electoral riding could be lost, or not won without appeasing the community with visions of happy children attending a newly built school...
However, breaking school funding announcements is old school tactics for Christy Clark Liberals.
In 2002 Christy Clark promised her government would build a new Burke Mountain school, and as of 2015 there was still no new Burke Mountain school built, or under construction...but the school is coming, getting built for real this time...so what changed, why the imperative now for new Burke Mountain schools?
Cynical Christy Clark, real estate expert, deal maker, BC Liberal party fund raiser extraordinaire..
Christy Clark Liberals use real estate and real estate deals in two distinct ways....BC Liberal Government sold off provincial real estate assets to help them balance the budget, in this case, the 2013/2014 going into the last provincial election budget....The second way Christy Clark Liberals use real estate is to generate vast amounts of cash that goes directly to the party, including money to pay for Christy Clark's $60 thousand dollar cash stipend she received from the donor money going to the BC Liberal Party.....$millions of dollars flowing to Christy Clark's political party, $millions of dollars given to the BC Liberals by real estate developers, construction companies and mega builders...$millions and $millions..
Here is what Lindsay Kine of the Times Colonist wrote back in April 2015...
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Senior bureaucrats were under intense pressure in 2013 to quickly sell off Crown properties in Victoria and elsewhere in order to balance the B.C. Liberals’ election-year budget, government emails show.
The NDP said the documents, obtained under the freedom of information law, explain why the government rushed the sale of 14 properties on Burke Mountain in Coquitlam for $43 million below appraised value.
“The memos show clearly that staff within the various ministries were under pressure to get assets sold — land sold — so they can have the revenues in by the end of the fiscal year,” said NDP house leader Mike Farnworth.
One memo, dated May 17, 2013, states that “asset sales is a key initiative for the government to balance the budget in fiscal 2013-14.”
In another, dated June 20, 2013, a senior official stresses the urgency to sell Crown land in Victoria.
“To be part of the sale and development of over eight acres in Victoria’s beautiful Inner Harbour area is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. An opportunity that normally would warrant years of planning and preparation,” the memo states.
“Unfortunately we don’t have unlimited time — our goal is to have For Sale signs up by October 31st with sales proceeds in the bank by March 31.”
Indeed, the province announced in early 2014 that about six acres of Crown land behind the B.C. legislature, most of a large city block, would be sold and developed into government office buildings, housing, retail and commercial space.
NDP Leader John Horgan said the memos put the lie to the government’s claims that the Burke Mountain sale had nothing to do with balancing the 2013-14 budget, which was introduced just prior to the provincial election in May 2013.
“You have two levels of government — senior officials … writing back and forth to each other saying, ‘Giddy up. We gotta get this done by March 31.’ If that’s not rushing a land sale, I don’t know what is.”
Horgan noted that the province marketed the Burke Mountain properties during the slow season over Christmas and ignored the appraisers’ advice to leave the land on the market for six to nine months.
Instead, they were unloaded in three months for $85 million to Wesbild Holdings Ltd. despite being valued at $128 million.
Wesbild issued a statement Wednesday saying it purchased the Burke Mountain parcels through a public tender process. “We paid fair market value and fully stand by the integrity of this transaction,” the statement said.
Premier Christy Clark also said the province got fair value for the properties because Wesbild was one of six competitive bidders. She denied the deal was accelerated to balance the budget.
“We had a $350-million surplus, so that money just wasn’t necessary to ensure that it was balanced,” she said. “There would have been no rush for that reason.”
The government, however, did not know in advance that it would have a $350-million surplus.
As late as Nov. 27, 2013, shortly before the Burke Mountain properties went on the market, Finance Minister Mike de Jong was projecting a surplus of $165 million.
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I know what you're thinking, where is the evidence the BC Liberal Party benefited from this land giveaway on Burke Mountain(sold for nearly $50 million below assessed value)?
Let's look at what Dirk Meissner wrote in the Globe n Mail on April 14th 2015...
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NDP justice critic Mike Farnworth said British Columbians were “hosed” when the government sold about 150 hectares of property in Coquitlam for $85-million when the land was appraised at $128-million........
Wesbild Holdings Ltd., founded by businessman Hassan Khosrowshahi, paid $43-million less than the appraisal price for 14 pieces of property on Burke Mountain, east of Vancouver.
The NDP said Mr. Khosrowshahi donated $228,500 to the Liberals individually and through his companies since the sale, and $934,664 since 2000.
Wesbild and Mr. Khosrowshahi could not be immediately reached for comment.
“We got hosed,” said Mr. Farnworth, adding the sale didn’t make sense.
A Metro Vancouver homeowner would never sell their home at such a drastic price drop, Mr. Farnworth said.......
NDP Leader John Horgan said one lot was appraised at $5.6-million, but sold for $100,000, a price unheard of in Metro Vancouver.
He also said taxpayers may have to buy back two lots so the government can build schools
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Back to those long decade plus delayed BC Liberal promises of building new school(s) for Burke Mountain community....There was no incentive to build a new school...until now..Wesbild, a giant among BC Liberal Party donors was building 800 plus units of family oriented detached housing on Burke Mountain...
Well, a family oriented housing community need schools in order to...in order to sell at a premium, families with kids need schools, building school(s) in this new development was not only a must, it also made(makes) selling of said units easier and....more profitable, for without schools what family would spend a fortune to live in an area where they have to bus their kids elsewhere...?
Problem solved, eer, I mean favor returned.....Shovels are in the ground, a new school is being built on Burke Mountain..
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Smiling Creek elementary school to open on Burke Mountain in 2018
Long-awaited announcement by provincial government and School District 43 means new elementary school in northeast Coquitlam will open in September 2018
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The progress in getting the land for schools was made possible through agreements and negotiations between the district, the City of Coquitlam, the provincial government and Wesbild, the developer on Burke Mountain.........
While officials at the meeting were suggesting the announcement on Tuesday was a cause for celebration, it wasn’t quite the view for some parents.
During a question period portion, district officials were grilled over the timelines presented for the schools, and what would be done in the meantime to deal with issues like the lack of bus service for kids.
Nicole Jones is a parent and has lived in the Smiling Creek area of Burke Mountain for seven years.
Her daughter is five years old, and based on the timeline presented, she may only get a couple years in the new elementary school, but will likely miss out on the middle and high school.
“It’s not good timing,” Jones told the Tri-Cities NOW at the meeting.
While the mom is glad to see progress, she questions why the district took so long to get to this point.
Lesley Lee and her family also live on Burke Mountain and helped organize the group that pushed for the meeting with the district.
She too is concerned with the timelines, and feels there are still more questions that need to be answered.
Lee is also hoping for a solution to the bus issue in the meantime while the schools are being built.
SD43 officials noted there would be no school bus service to Burke Mountain for the next school year, but beyond 2016 the issue would be considered on an annual basis.
“I find that hard to accept,” Lee said.
SD43 Board chair Judy Shirra hailed the agreements and the securing of land as “unprecedented,” adding it now allows the district to expedite the process to build the new schools.
“Securing the land puts us on the fast track to actually get them [the schools] built,” she said.
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I can answer Nicole Jones' question, why it took so long?.....It took a BC Liberal Party donor in need of adding value to his steal of deal land he was developing into family housing, schools were a must to add maximum value to his great investment...money talks, party donations talk loudest, don't they Christy?
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The developers behind Vancouver’s Trump Tower, the Holborn Group, donated $25,000 to the BC Liberals last year and its sister company, TA Management, gave $25,000. Both companies are part of Malaysian-based TA Global.
Since 2005, property developers have donated more than $10.7 million to the BC Liberals (including $1.55 million in personal donations), or roughly 10% of the party’s total $107.8-million haul.
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Full Stop.......
The Vancouver and surrounding areas...Real Estate is out of control, has been for years, regular workers in greater Vancouver face a housing crisis, $million dollar teardown's, housing has reached a crisis for average workers...The Vancouver area market is fine for wealthy Chinese investors(money launderers, Chinese Communist Government embezzlers)...The criminal element lives in the GVRD real estate market, ...Real estate companies, real estate agents, flaunting toothless disclosure rules, double dealing, shadow flipping, ...An unregulated BC Real Estate market led by Bob Rennie filled their boots with money, money laundered ..no income sources disclosed, shadow buyers, numbered companies..Under Christy Clark and Bob Rennie BC's city housing market reached levels of the absurd...for years it raged on, unregulated, applauded by the Christy Clark BC Liberal Government, and what was not to applaud on the BC Liberal Government and Party end....BC Guv was filling their coffers with $billions in property transfer taxes...while the BC Liberal Party was raking in ten's of millions of dollars from developers and real estate insiders...
The Vancouver market raged out of control...crimes were(are being committed by both individuals and now, it appears the BC Government was complicit in crimes, even using taxpayer money to commit those crimes..)
Ok....Maybe Christy Clark was too stupid to know what she was doing, not realizing she was fueling a BC Real Estate nightmare....not, oh indeed she knew...for when the public started to rage over skyrocketing real estate prices, seeing any dream of meaningful home ownership evaporate before their eyes, what did Christy do on an advertised LNG trade mission to Asia?...Christy Clark brought representatives from many of BC's most corrupt(?) complicit real estate companies with her..
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Christy Clark downplays real estate ties to her latest Asia trade junket
Real estate company representatives on trip, but premier says trade mission not promoting B.C.’s residential real estate
Premier Christy Clark is on the defensive after public criticism over leading a trade mission to Asia that included executives from Vancouver’s red-hot real estate industry.
A list obtained by Business in Vancouver from the International Trade ministry (see below for documents) shows Nu Stream Realty’s commercial division president Mercedes Wong and Sutton WestCoast Realty’s real estate team leader Tennyson Wong were part of the May 23-30 junket to Seoul, Tokyo and Manila.......
Clark’s delegation also included AyalaLand Development (Canada) Inc. director Josh Ferrer. AyalaLand partnered with Rize Alliance to develop a controversial Mount Pleasant condo tower called The Independent.
Last fall’s Clark-led mission to China included representatives of Royal LePage, Macdonald Real Estate Group, Viceroy Homes Ltd., Big Grizzly Construction, SSC Properties and Shanghailandmark Investment (Canada) Ltd......
Courtney Carne, spokeswoman for B.C.’s International Trade ministry, refused to name the individuals on the China junket, because she claimed they did not give permission.
Clark’s entourage included two deputy ministers, Clark Roberts (International Trade) and Dave Nikolejsin (Natural Gas Development), three Asia trade agents, communications director Ben Chin, events manager Anish Dwivedi, aide Andrew Ives and videographer Kyle Surovy.
The government did not release the trip’s budget. It spent $961,175 on 17 missions and investor trips in 2015.
Clark’s trip to China last fall was the most expensive at $289,191. It included $60,056 for the premier’s entourage travel costs. The biggest item was $176,101 for meetings and functions.
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I am aware that the above information filtered out over the last 2 years...great work I might add....however, no one has pieced the bigger puzzle together....Real Estate corruption involving the highest level of the BC Liberal Government, Premier Christy Clark, Deputy Premier Rich Coleman and the BC. Ministry of Housing....Including a starring role for Christy Clark's chief 2013 election fundraiser, no other than multi-millionaire Bob Rennie...
Breaking News...This group/society ran across the damning criminal information and they wanted to get it out there...it cuts through to the top of the BC Liberal Government..
Let's go back to ...
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It was back on April 26th, 2012, when BC Deputy Premier / BC Housing Minister Rich Coleman, appointed Mr.Bob Rennie to the BC Housing Board of Directors for a two year term. Mr.Rennie became chair of the Capital Review Committee. The Board shares the responsibility of deciding all loans over $25 million dollars. Shortly before the first of two loans was approved, Michael Flanagan, Director of real estate services at the City of Vancouver was hired at BC Housing where he continued his involvement in this plan which he had helped structure while at the City. http://vanparks.ca/?attachment_id=666
RENNIE IS APPOINTED TO BC HOUSING BY DEPUTY PREMIER Rich Coleman...
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Collusion, corruption, interest free loans made by the BC Government under the purview of BC Ministry of Housing...BC Ministry has a mandate over social housing, not sponsoring at taxpayer's expense the loaning of free capital for the sole purpose of benefiting select developers and Bob Rennie who donate large sums of money to the BC Liberal Party...
The scam perpetrated as best I can understand goes thusly....
Rich Coleman appoints Bob Rennie(for profit Real Estate marketer and multi millionaire) to the Chair of the Ministry of Housing...Chairperson(s) decide the fate of non-profits seeking low interest loans to develop social housing...Chairpersons decide the fate of loans over $25 million dollars..
What happened next...BC Housing, along with former city of Vancouver employee in the real estate division Michael Flanagan, Bob Rennie, hatch a deal where BC Housing lends a builder ...$36.2 million for a property which might have social housing at 1077 and 1099 Richards Street in Vancouver....This money lent by BC Housing allowed the builder to get that property exclusively, no competition...
What happened next, ?..It's shocking...The initial loan secured the property, also in the initial loan agreement was a provision that the loan would require no repayment for over a year...Then this..
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On August 12, 2016, the 2014 $36.2 million social housing loan was terminated and a new $39 million loan issued by the BC Housing Board on a different property site. The new 2016 loan was approved in early 2014 with some unique wording. The new loan was granted to finance the market condo “pre-sale” of 508 Helmcken, which would later be marketed by Liberal fundraising chair Bob Rennie. There is no social housing at 508 Helmcken. The 2016 mortgage was issued only to finance the luxury tower known as “8X8 ON THE PARK”. This is a development with only market housing. The 2014 loan feature set in place the pre-approval for a new mortgage elsewhere at the market only site. Brenhill executed the original loan on March 17, 2014. Financing disclosures have been misleading by BC Housing and the City of Vancouver who together arranged the financing for the luxury condos. The multi million dollar real estate listing for these condos was then exclusively contracted to one company by the new owner. That company is controlled by Bob Rennie who has been a chief fundraiser of both the BC Liberals and Vancouver Vision.
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So, Rich Coleman appoints Christy Clark's chief 2013 election financier Bob Rennie to the Chair of BC Housing....while there Vancouver City employee in the Real Estate division Michael Flanagan and Bob Rennie collude(IMO) to provide a private builder with an initial loan for a project on Richards Street to develop property that may contain some social housing, a no-competition deal....and shortly after Bob Rennie leaves BC Housing the Ministry of BC Housing cancels the initial $36.2 million dollar interest free loan and creates a new loan for $39 million for a property at 508 Helmcken road.......There is no social housing at that site, it's a luxury condo site...
Brenhill Developments Limited is a wealthy company, they didn't need a leg-up, they didn't need a no interest loan....Bob Rennie is very wealthy too...
However, when you save a construction development company $millions in interest charges you are pretty much guaranteed the $$$$ Largess will continue to flow to the abiding Government(also known as BC Liberals)....
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There is no social housing at 508 Helmcken. The 2016 mortgage was issued only to finance the luxury tower known as “8X8 ON THE PARK”. This is a development with only market housing. The 2014 loan feature set in place the pre-approval for a new mortgage elsewhere at the market only site. Brenhill executed the original loan on March 17, 2014. Financing disclosures have been misleading by BC Housing and the City of Vancouver who together arranged the financing for the luxury condos. The multi million dollar real estate listing for these condos was then exclusively contracted to one company by the new owner. That company is controlled by Bob Rennie who has been a chief fundraiser of both the BC Liberals and Vancouver Vision.
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Now.....David Eby and John Horgan are attempting to get to the bottom of this apparent crime...Little chance anything will come of this before the election...
This whole sordid affair is not only unethical, not only was this activity abetted by the BC Government, an illegal activity that was fueling an out of control real estate market....
This is a crime committed, Bob Rennie...Michael Flanagan.....Bob Rennie appointed to a position of trust by Rich Coleman....Bob Rennie, a multi millionaire and Christy Clark's chief fundraiser and personal friend....This crime leads to premier Clark's desk...And Who was in charge of BC Housing Ministry?...Bob Rennie...No, Ministry of Housing is Rich Coleman's Ministry..
Rich Coleman had to know, Christy Clark had to know....The RCMP need to be called in on this BC Liberal Government scandal..
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Questions about BC Housing financing for BC Lib donor
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The whole sordid affair is highlighted here, complete with documents and proof of criminal activity..
http://vanparks.ca/2017/03/09/condopresaleloan/
http://vanparks.ca/2017/03/09/condopresaleloan/
The South Vancouver Parks Society released this information for a reason...To expose thr rampant corruption in BC's real estate market...more shady practises..but more importantly, this round of corruption has been facilitated by a BC Ministry led by Rich Coleman, involving taxpayer's money, a scheme hatched by Christy Clark's personal friend and chief fundraiser....
This is a crime(IMO) and needs to be investigated by the RCMP...
Graft, corruption, thy name is Christy Clark, leader of the scofflaw gang known as BC Liberals...That's not an actual quote by Christy Clark, but it should be......
The Straight Goods
Cheers Eyes Wide Open
Election is coming folks....regardless of how you feel about the NDP....BC Liberals have been in power too long, the corruption and bad governance is blatant...if you reward these BC Liberals another term......it's like giving carte blanche permission to carry on robbing, stealing and governing for the benefit of the wealthy few....
When is it enough...? May9th 2017...go out and vote!
14 comments:
What ..no mention of BC Panda bonds?
http://dougdonaldson.ca/victoria/detail/doug_in_qp_re_telkwa_water_tower_and_government_advertising1
Video
"taxpayer-funded propaganda from the B.C. Liberals but not for a water tower for Telkwa"
eby vs clark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml8tgA8PUdM
http://www.bclaws.ca/EPLibraries/bclaws_new/document/ID/freeside/00_96138_01#section44
see 44 9(B)
(9) The Minister of Finance must not, under section 40 or 43 or this section,
(b) make a loan that is not a loan for the purpose of providing a financial benefit to the source of the money for the loan.
Fwd: (BC). Financial Administration Act- Did BC break its own rules for real estate development? see 44 9(B) Financial Administration Act [RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 138
@ anon 5:00 pm....the rules WERE broken, the beneficiaries are Bob Rennie and Brenhill Developments Limited, and the BC Liberal Party..favor for BC Liberal Party donations...
Bob Rennie got the exclusive marketing rights worth a small fortune..Brenhill got free money, of which a portion got funneled back to the BC Liberal Party...
RCMP need to be called in on this..pronto
anon 5:51 PM....I didn't post your comment because....I guess you didn't see the three Question period videos posted in the article..1 from last year and 2 from the last week..
Time for the media and Vaughn Palmers to wake up or....move aside and make space for hungry journalists wanting to actually report the dirt, regardless of who it sticks to ..
Cheers
RCI is leaking? 2014
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/christy-clark-once-served-as-chairwoman-of-b-c-company-that-she-has-promoted-since-becoming-premier
Absolutely sickening! This can happen in a so called civil society? Makes you wonder about the people that allow it to happen. After all, the 1% do not have enough votes to re-elect here - they must have some help.
Great piece! Thanks (ouch, it hurts, but I'd rather know).
Saying BC econony diversified (40% real estate) like saying immigration is diversified.?
http://www.sightline.org/2017/03/14/bcs-wild-west-of-political-cash-fuels-a-fossil-fuel-frenzy/?utm_source=Sightline%20Institute&utm_medium=web-email&utm_campaign=Sightline%20News%20Selections
B.C. Liberals reluctant to protect renters from lucrative loophole
by
Matt Robinson, Vancouver Sun
"It is unconscionable that a loophole has been permitted to remain in the Residential Tenancy Act that undermines half the reason for having such an act in the first place – housing security."
"Here’s how the fixed-term lease loophole tends to work:
A prospective renter finds a suitable home and agrees to sign a one-year lease agreement with their new landlord. Included on the form is a vacate clause, which states: “The tenant must move out on or before the last day of the tenancy.”
However, leading up to that day, the landlord offers their tenants the option to sign an entirely new one-year lease for the exact same unit. Under existing legislation, the rent requested by the landlord for that new lease need not be limited to the maximum annual increase allowed under B.C.’s tenancy act."
Worth a look Grant, On The Money, CBC March 16 2017.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/899968067635
The entire system is rigged against the people. Do we really think that the members of the NDP are incorruptible? They gladly receive donations from corporate donors too.
http://www.corporatemapping.ca/5-2-million-reasons-the-fossil-fuel-industry-has-the-bc-governments-ear/
It's true that the BC Liberals have impressively completely gutted our province in less than 20 years, privatizing all essential services and pricing out more and more BC residents, but it is entirely naive to think that the NDP will come in and fix all of the problems.
We have heard rousing speeches containing all of the right words from left-leaning politicians promising hope and change before. Please do not fall victim to the tired old political two-step, thinking your vote means something because you can vote bums out of office. It is all one gigantic farce and people need to stop playing their games because there has never been a way to win.
“The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps, of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ‘throw the rascals out’ at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy” (Georgetown University Professor Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope, 1966.)
please help out
https://www.gofundme.com/bc-government-advertising-lawsuit?ssid=953519438&pos=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiOGzs4PLGE
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