A Granny brag. Two family members did well in the sports department last weekend in completely different events.
Grandson-in-law Brock distinguished himself on his Yamaha (YZ250F) at the Canadian Arenacross Championship series in Chilliwack. The sports pages will explain better than I can, but he finished second, fourth, third, and a spectacular first in the competitions.
In a very different field of endeavour, granddaughter-in-law Jen participated in the third annual Vancouver Historic Half Marathon (Seawall and a bit of Stanley Park), running 21.1 km in less than two hours. Whew!
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Received an e-mail the other day from Shaw.ca advising me the system had been upgraded and to reply to verify my account. It didn’t feel right, so I called Shaw. It wasn’t right. It was a scam. Shaw never asks for a direct reply, so beware.
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Canada’s founding fathers had the right idea in establishing the senate, but it does need fixing. The length of senators’ terms in office is problematical, but the big issue is that politics can get in the way of common sense when it comes to appointments, and Prime Minister Harper really did pick a few lulus. Mr. Harper promised to bring a “New era of accountability” to government, and Canadians believed him. So what happened? It’s his watch, he appointed both the troublesome trio and the PMO staff who tried to fix things.
According to a story in the Vancouver Sun, Mr. Harper once assured reporters there was no danger of a Conservative government having absolute power because it would be kept in check by senators, judges and civil servants appointed by Liberal governments. Since then, Mr. Harper has dispensed with hundreds of civil servants (e.g. scientists) whose advice he didn’t like, and has appointed his own senators and judges. We know what’s happened with the senate. That leaves the courts.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.
