Did Martin Get Bushwhacked?

Did Paul Martin get 'Bushwhacked' at W's ranch? Did the Prez trick our guy into signing stuff he shouldn't have, in exchange for a ride in Pick-Up One with George at the wheel?

I'm not joining the little chorus of naysayers who say the PM shouldn't have signed the agreements down in Crawford. What he and the presidents of Mexico and the U.S.of A realize is that we have to make cross-border trade as accessible as possible if we want to maintain our own manufacturing jobs in the competition against the growing European Union.

Across the 'Pond' the members of the EU send their products effortlessly across national borders without even slowing down to wave at the border crossings.

So I give credit to our PM for signing some deals that will help Canadian product get into the States and Mexico.

Where I cannot give thumbs up is on Paul's failure to break through on the softwood lumber and beef problems. We've made some suggestions for relief but the feds are still scratching their heads.
We're pushing them hard to make a decision before our producers have nothing left to scratch.

Last week we also saw the results of the major study on the Fraser River salmon crisis. Bottom line in our view is gross federal mismanagement of our provincial fishery.

I guess we shouldn't be surprised. If they couldn't manage the east coast cod why would we think they could handle West Coast salmon? Hopefully this Report will make them realize they should step back and let local common sense conservation practices take effect.

On the Foreign Affairs front, a few of us (MP's from each party) have pushed hard for the government to ignore China's veto and beg the UN to send a united force to the Sudan to stop the slaughter.

Looks like it may happen, despite China's worry about losing business in Sudan. Saving people from genocide should trump Beijing's angst about losing oil contracts.

And talking about China, get this: Here they are, with a roaring, red hot economy, a giant military, a space program, a bristling missile program, a brand new 100 BILLION dollar deal for oil and gas from Iran and we keep giving them untold millions in aid!

I have been demanding that we stop that silly plan and give those millions where the needs are huge, like to HIV kids in Africa.

On a local note, if you want to check out a good news story you should see what the folks over at the Penticton Cooperative Enterprise Centre are doing. They are working with people who have come through rough times emotionally or mentally and guiding them into effective, productive, unsubsidized work opportunities.

I talked to one determined young man who only a few months ago could only handle the stress of maybe two hours of work a week. Now he's going full time managing a landscaping crew.

Congrats to the unsung heroes in our communities who see the spark of human potential and help people believe in themselves again.

Oh, I almost forgot, there was another important win in Ottawa last week. The annual MP hockey game resulted in the Conservatives whacking the Liberals 5-2. (The sports writers said it was because of our good right wingers)

Actually our big break was the fact that Liberal MP Ken Dryden has not gone back between the pipes since his last game with the Montreal Canadiens.
Without good goal tending even a whole pile of sponsorship funding can't keep a team from getting defeated.

Stockwell Day, MP
Okanagan-Coquihalla