PM on the world stage
Apr 6, 2009 / 5:00 am
Did you see what the international media was saying about the Prime Minister? It was pretty good stuff. The meeting in London of the G-20 countries (the twenty largest economies) was aimed at solutions to the present global downturn. The BBC awarded Canada the unofficial title of "Country best...
Discount crime, two for one
Mar 30, 2009 / 10:50 am
What do they mean when they say ‘discount crime’? It goes like this. A guy gets charged for, let's say, breaking and entering and robbery. He pleads 'not guilty' (of course) and winds up in a remand centre waiting for his trial. His lawyer takes a lot of time preparing the defence and...
Afghanistan: pain, but gain
Mar 23, 2009 / 9:51 am
As the Chair of the Government Task Force on Afghanistan I was in that country (as I reported in my previous column) last week. Along with the Minister of Foreign Affairs we spent time in meetings in Kabul and Kandahar. For me personally, the highlight was the three days I spent with our troops...
Past, present and future
Mar 2, 2009 / 1:14 pm
No jobs in sight, real estate not moving, banks tight on credit and people being laid off. That was the situation 100 years ago in 1909 when the Town of Peachland was officially founded. We celebrated that event last Saturday in Peachland’s Museum. Chris Scowen and the others on the Centennial...
And the winners are...
Feb 23, 2009 / 10:22 am
And the winners are...for Best Supporting Role...President Barack Obama! Yes, his visit to Ottawa was a true show stopper. He thrilled the crowds, dazzled the onlookers and even caused the supposedly professional media to gush and go ga-ga. What was almost missed in all the awe and aura was...
Olympic jobs in downturn
Feb 16, 2009 / 11:08 am
Who knew? Back in 2003 many British Columbians were cheering, but some were doubting. Was being awarded the Winter Olympics really going to be good for the economy? Those were the days when it seemed like everybody was working, everyone's property values were going up and every indicator showed...
Nurses to go!
Feb 9, 2009 / 11:59 am
Thought that headline might get your attention. Read on and you'll see what I'm getting at. Friday night, after a week in Parliament and a day of meetings in Vancouver I landed in Kelowna at 5:30, and hit the ground running. I was trying not to be late for an evening event scheduled for 6 pm. ...
The budget and you
Feb 2, 2009 / 10:30 am
Some people can comprehend what a Million Dollars really means and a few can even get their heads around a Billion. But when the Trillions start ringing up on the global cash registers it's easy to start glazing over. The problem is the synchronized financial downturn that has swept the planet is...
Week of sweeping contrasts
Jan 26, 2009 / 10:39 am
First, let's talk budget. By now you've seen our approach to dealing with the most challenging financial era that most of us have seen in our lifetime. Those of you 80 or so years old have told me you've seen worse times and many of you gave me advice on how the federal budget should handle a...
New Prez mirrors old Prez
Jan 19, 2009 / 11:35 am
President Obama continues to rock his world (and ours) just by showing up. But make no mistake, he does more than just show up. When he speaks, people listen. And so they should. Not only does his oratory inspire, it instructs. One of the reasons for that is the source from which he draws. That...
City of angels
Jan 12, 2009 / 1:00 pm
Aka (also known as) Los Angeles. It's not the capital of California, but it is one of the important “capitals of capital” in the world. Angels. Two meanings. Most commonly used to describe those supernatural beings who have all kinds of power and float around wanting to do nice things for us...
Colder weather, warmer markets
Jan 5, 2009 / 11:18 am
I'm back in Ottawa until the weekend. It's chilly here, politically as well as environmentally. However, even though minus twenty in the Okanagan and Nicola Valleys feels brutal I still prefer it over the wet nasty blowing cold of the Ottawa Valley. One guy stopped me on the street to complain...
Happy New Year
Jan 1, 2009 / 12:01 am
Need Money? Call Me. Can't get that car loan you need? Mortgage brokers or bankers refusing to deal with you? Hold on a minute. I really can't get you any money and I can't co-sign that loan for you either. So why am I asking? I keep hearing on the 24/7 non-stop doom and gloom newscasts that all...
The fear factor
Dec 22, 2008 / 1:00 pm
"We have nothing to fear but fear itself." Remember who said that? It was then President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Remember when he said it? Right smack in the middle of the Great Depression. Remember why he said it? He realized that as bad as the economic climate was, it was being made...
Local gossip
Dec 15, 2008 / 10:11 am
This week I have been getting caught up on a backlog of local meetings and events before heading back to Ottawa for meetings there. Thought you might be interested in some bits and bytes of things I've been hearing and seeing around the constituency. Let me say from the start that there is no...
The Separatists' finest hour
Dec 2, 2008 / 9:49 am
I wasn't kidding when I told the crowd of a few thousand people on Friday night that I was delighted to be at the Annual Christmas Light Up in Summerland for two reasons. Number one, because it was Summerland and number two, because it wasn't Ottawa. The antics of last week, rank as possibly the...
Let's make a deal
Nov 25, 2008 / 8:49 am
“Let’s Make a Deal!” That's basically my mantra to other countries as your Minister of International Trade. If we really want to protect Canadian jobs (and we do!) then we need to open as many opportunities as possible for our workers to sell their products and skills. That is especially...
Elections amid crises
Nov 17, 2008 / 1:11 pm
Nobody doubts for a second the enormity of the challenges facing the President-elect of the United States. In good times the demands on that position are excruciating. In these difficult times they will push the man to the limits. Having said that, the way some media report it you would think...
How 'nice' are we?
Nov 10, 2008 / 12:13 pm
Door knocking during the recent election right here in our gorgeous constituency of Okanagan-Coquihalla, I heard about more than just the economy. Not infrequently people raised the issue of decorum in the House of Commons and by that they weren't referring to the colour of the drapes clashing with...
Crime and cabinet
Nov 3, 2008 / 1:00 pm
"If I was a carpenter…" are words of a well known song. I wish I had taken carpentry or woodworking in school. I've always admired the skill of those who can build neat stuff with their hands, whether it's an entire house or a simple piece of furniture. I also admire cabinet makers. Now that...
The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet.
Castanet presents its columns "as is" and does not warrant the contents.
this page.(Click for RSS instructions.)
