Rain is good

Sure, we feel sorry for our fellow Canadians across the country who have had cold summers (some have been especially hard hit with nasty floods). Almost every time I've had to go back to Ottawa for meetings through the summer it was not pretty. I faced legions of depressed people there as they went through the coldest July on record in the Nation's capital.

Having said all that, most of us here in the Nation's paradise of the Okanagan and Nicola Valleys rejoiced when we finally got that first downpour of the summer in mid-August. Great feeling the next morning waking up to a smoke-free sky and going for an early run without breathing in ash particles from our burning forests.

Having said that, let's not forget the fire fighters across BC who are still battling sweltering heat and awful conditions in many other locations. As I tap out this week's column on my trusty Blackberry I'm flying over Peru. I've been on a five day trade mission to Brazil and Ecuador. I'll be back in Canada by the time most of you are reading this and I'll be looking forward to some 'not so hot' weather.

Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world, so as you can imagine the climate is as varied as Canada's. I was just in the northeast city of Recife to open a new Canadian trade office. I also was involved in trade and economic discussions with the Governor, the Minister of Industry and business people interested in Canada/Brazil investments.

I also met with the authorities of the Port at Recife (Suape) and toured their operations. Impressed would be an understatement to describe how I felt about what I saw. These people are out to make sure they grow Brazil's share of world trade. They're doing it in world class style.

Yes, we compete with them in a healthy way on a number of levels. But we also are identifying dynamic ways of collaborating to advance jobs and prosperity in our two countries which form the ceiling and the floor of the hemisphere of the Americas.

As one means of follow up to this their Secretary of Trade will now be bringing a trade delegation of about 50 people to Canada in late October or early November. They'll be coming to see our ports in Vancouver and Prince Rupert. We'll have meetings there with Canadian shippers, producers, manufacturers and exporters. We'll be looking for more ways to enhance 2-way trade and job creating opportunities. We'll also look at what we can learn from each other in our port operations.

Back on the subject of rain and other things people discuss on elevators, Recife's temperatures get pretty steamy. It's a beautiful city on a fabulous shoreline, but bring the sun-guard if you're planning a trip. I went out at 6 a.m. for a run with some of the federal police security guys and it was already 25 degrees and climbing with a humidex of about a million. I never thought I'd be begging for cold rain from Ontario but believe me, within the first 10 minutes I was.

The security guys thought it was kind of funny that this Canadian couldn't 'take the heat', but I evened the scales by challenging them to a run in Winnipeg, Edmonton or Montreal in January!

Well, in a few minutes I'll be landing in Quito, Ecuador. We have quite a number of Canadian companies working in Ecuador. Therefore that means we have a few trade 'issues' to discuss and hopefully resolve. The relationship is basically a good one. That's why a Canadian group is a major player in building the new Quito International Airport. I'll be touring the progress of that project tomorrow.

We'll also be pushing to grow the levels of our university student exchanges. These are great opportunities for our next generation of leaders as we advance our academic offerings.

I'm back in Ottawa on Tuesday and Wednesday for meetings, then Edmonton on Thursday and Friday morning and hopefully back in Paradise for the weekend. I'll be in meetings in Vancouver on the following Monday then back home in the Okanagan for most of the week where we'll hope for no rain on any local outdoor events.

On a sad note, Ernie Amos, our 100 year old Rotarian passed away this week. Kind sympathies to his family and 'thank you' Ernie. A century well lived has made a better world for all of us.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.