There is so much yapping about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not keeping his promises, blah blah blah, I found this item on the Internet an interesting change.
When UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon visited Ottawa recently, among other events he attended a reception and dinner hosted by the PM at the Grand Hall of the Museum of History. Nothing unusual about that, but along with the invited Ottawa big wigs were young people, Aboriginal people, representatives from environment, international development, mental health organizations and other “people” groups from all across Canada.
Diane Beckett, representing the Sierra Club, reported on the event on the Internet.
She said everyone mixed and mingled and it was a non-stop “cascade of learning and networking, as well as laughing and fun.” It was the first time many of the civil society representatives had ever attended an event like this, and she said “there was an unmistakable sense that the format was about inclusiveness and breaking down barriers.”
“The PM is saying that we’re all in this together. Many of the people in the room had never before heard that message from a federal leader.” About time?
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Our society has commercialized every holiday and special day: how come Feb. 29 got missed? It only comes every four years, you’d think there would be more of a fuss about it.
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Premier Christy Clark is blathering on about the “no” people, the environmental and other rag tag groups that, she believes, want to stop all development. Baloney. Maybe she should actually listen to what these people are saying. Few are against development. They simply want mines and pipelines, etc. to be built as safely as possible and operated without seriously damaging the land. Given the history, there is reason to doubt all developers will do this or that governments will make them. Unfortunately the good guys get blamed for the bad guys.
There is another element in the mix these days. Some British Columbians worry about the growing number of foreign investors who may not share our concerns for the future generations.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.
