We’re having an old fashioned winter at the moment. Will we have an old fashioned spring, summer and fall too?
I wouldn’t count on it, but one thing for certain there will be a new President for the U.S. come fall. Former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once said: ”Living next to the USA is like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”
If Donald Trump becomes president we can expect some hefty twitches and grunts.
Another sure thing. Our cost of living will go up. The price of imported fruits and veggies (80 per cent overall) will soar because of the low loonie and we’ll pay more for hydro, ICBC and medical service premiums.
We all have hopes for the new year. Here are some of mine.
On the local scene:
• That the city and regional district politicians forget their turf wars and try to be good neighbours for the benefit of all their constituents. Maybe it’s time for another try some kind of amalgamation between the two. It must be at least 20 years since the last one.
On the provincial scene:
• I hope the Clark government will take some time off wooing LNG companies to take care of stuff at home, like telling the public why e-mails recording government business were erased, and giving us the lowdown on who was responsible for the wrongful dismissal of those eight Health Ministry staff. Premier Clark might also scare up adequate funds so the Ministry of Children and Family Development can function properly. As for Child Advocate Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, will she be punished for doing her job and doing it well?
On the federal scene:
• Our new prime minister will have his hands full keeping his promises, but he must have a second look at the noxious Bill C51, and a really, really hard look at the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Then there is the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Busy times.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.
