Anybody but Tony!

Sheila Copps is standing by her men, as long as they don't go by the name of Tony.

Copps the former Deputy Prime Minister in the Jean Chretien government, has offered assistance to the Conservative candidate in her former riding of Hamilton East-Stony Creek, providing Frank Rukavina and his campaign with advice on how to get out the vote. Interestingly enough though, she's urging residents of the riding to throw their support towards the NDP candidate Wayne Marston.

In fact, it seems that anyone running in the riding is in the running for Copps assistance, as long as they aren't a Liberal or named Tony Valeri. Neither Mr. Marston nor Mr. Rukavina however should expect a long term relationship, comittment may be something not to be taken to seriously for Ms. Copps, her blog site for Copps and Associates has not been updated since March of 2005, when she advised she was about to address a meeting of Green Party members. Have a party, Sheila will travel!

Copps and Valeri had a bitter dispute prior to the last general election, when Valeri effectively booted her not only out of her own riding but out of the government of Paul Martin. Two years later it's apparently payback time for Sheila.

Valeri who only won the riding last time by 972 votes is apparently not concerned about the Copps advisory roles. And he probably hopes she continues to help out both sides of the political road in the campaign. If she convinces enough voters to split their vote, the old Liberal tradition of coming up the middle could work out quite nicely for Valeri.

Courier Plane crashes in Terrace

A courier plane from a company called Nav Air crashed upon take off at the Terrace airport, shortly after 6:30 on Tuesday night. The twin engine charter on a regular run to Vancouver, was apparently in the air for only a minute before it crashed in woods south of the Northwest Regional Airport.

Fire and Rescue officials from Terrace were on the scene quickly, but sadly the two pilots on board both perished in the crash.

Weather in Terrace at the time of the crash was listed as overcast with a visibility of about 15 kilometers.

The Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the incident to determine the cause of the fatal crash.

Rampaging Santa's wreaking havoc!

Tis the season to be Jolly, fa la la la la la $#@% &~#!

The Bad Santa syndrome has struck again as reports of erratic and hostile behaviour make the round of the nightly news.

Pretenders to the throne of the holly jolly head elf continue to make more naughty than nice, running the risk of rather bleak Christmas for some of these over inebriated Claus impostors.

Should this keep up much longer this week it very well could be Coal for everyone!

Blame Canada, again!

The neighbours are at it again. With the chilly Canadian/American relationship playing out from the Ambassadorial level, to the right wing press, it’s no real surprise that the politicians are getting into the act.

Last week it was MSNBC weenie Tucker Carlson crapping all over the Great White North, describing us as a nation of stalkers, likened to a retarded cousin who needs to be patted on the head from time to time.

Now it’s the turn of a rather insignificant United States Senator from Montana to speak his bit, once again trotting out one of the greatest urban legends of current time. Rep. Conrad Burns yesterday uttered the apparently still held belief, that those terrorists that brought down the World Trade Centre and attacked the Pentagon had all gained entry to the United States through Canada.

Senator Burns repeated this bit of bumph while discussing a possible need for a great wall of America across the frozen tundra of the 49th parallel. It seems in addition to a flood of terrorists running through Burns’ mind, there are drug runners and other miscreants of society just waiting to cross the ole Sweetgrass border crossing, something that sends shivers down the uh, (spine?) of the good Senator.

Burns in a hyperbolic display of ignorance claimed that those that brought such misery to America came through the porous borders of the longest undefended border. It’s an old bit of rhetoric that pops up from time to time, despite the facts to the contrary. For the record Burnsy, NOT ONE evil doer snuck across the 49th in the middle of the night to bring terror to America in those fateful days. The terrorists of 9-11 actually all gained legal entry to the United States from other nations, not Canada. But hey, never let the facts get in the way of a good story eh Connie?

Even more disturbing is the revelation that prior to becoming a US Senator, Burns was a journalist and then broadcast executive in Montana. There’s nothing like checking the facts out before getting the story out, not that the US media has shown signs of being a cadre of deep thinkers over the years. The problem is when these people make their statements; it seems it’s considered to be as though Moses himself has transferred the Good word to the tablets.

Burns is apparently in a spot of trouble in his district, so ganging up on Canada makes good copy on the Northern Plains. He’s been in the forefront of the keep Canadian cattle out of America campaign, when he’s not busy getting into trouble over improper campaign contributions.

The worrisome thing is that it seems despite the truth, many Americans seem to buy this blarney that Canada is constantly sending squadrons of trouble makers through the border to wreak havoc.

The idea of a huge wall of America is something that the Canadian government really has no interest in, preferring to let the free passage of goods and people continue on as it has over the last hundred years or so. With that thought prevalent in Ottawa, we are urging for saner heads to prevail in the USA, only problem is, one is beginning to wonder if such a thing exists in those corridors of power below the 49th!

Pictures of Podunk: Breakers Pub

Taken from the water side of the pub in Cow Bay, this is Breakers Pub. The entertainment hot spot of the Cow Bay area. The popular watering hole features one of the nicest views in the city, with the yacht Club below and to the right and the Cruise Ship terminal just steps away to the West.

Come Sing a Song of Joy?

Gather round the family hearth and join in on these songs of the season, no not the Christmas season but the political season. The CBC website has asked it's readers and the networks viewers to offer up their take on some of the old time Christmas classics, given a political makeover!

If you can top these samples, send them your creation.

Canada's Hockey Mom passes away!

Sad news out of Brantford, Ontario as Phyllis Gretzky lost her battle with lung cancer on Monday evening. Mrs. Gretzky, 64, had been sick for the last number of years, diagnosed with the disease in 2004. Being the mother of a high profile Canadian, her situation certainly received much more attention than the average family might expect. Such was the importance of her to her family and by extension to the nation.

Wayne Gretzky had flown back to Brantford over the weekend, which became a signal to many that time was short for his mother. Questions of his participation in the Team Canada process were left for a different day, as many hoped for a turn around in her condition. A turn around that sadly never came to pass.

Anyone who has played minor hockey, knows the importance of parents to a young hockey players life. They rise early to get them to practice, drive long distances to make games or tournaments, hold the fundraisers, take second jobs to pay for equipment, it's very much a family commitment in many cases. Phyllis Gretzky was no exception, Wayne has recounted how she would drive him to the early morning practices and while she seemed to stay very much in the background, "she was glue that held it all together".

We offer our condolences to the Gretzky family, while their loss is very much a private matter it's also in a way a national loss. It will bring back for many the sacrifices of parents the nation over to pursue our national sport, losing one of your biggest backers is a hard thing to try to understand.

Lets hope that the Gretzky's feel the support of an entire nation who truly understand as they face their time of sadness.

The above posting first appeared on my HockeyNation blog, for more items about hockey check it out!

And then there are those that just don't get it!

Well that was a quick expression of humanity at its best. In a previous posting, I recounted the glad tidings of joy exhibited by a guy named Tom Hedican of North Bay, a fellow that exhibited all that's best in people.

The digital bits had barely been circulated to the Blogger home site before another story made the rounds that makes you realize we still have a long road ahead of us.

Hockey fans in Chicoutimi presented their worst face over the weekend as Ted Nolan coach of the Moncton Wildcats brought his squad into Chicoutimi for a Quebec junior league match. Nolan who is of First Nation's descent was shocked and dismayed by the recpetion that greeted him as he coached his squad through the game.

The Chicoutimi crowd exhibited some reprehensible behaviour by uttering racial ephithets and making obscene gestures and racist gestures to the Moncton coach. Nolan, a former NHL coach of the year with Buffalo has seen a lot in his career, but nothing prepared him for the outright racism that he faced in Chicoutimi.

The folks there have more than embarrased themselves, they've shown a side of their culture that is not a pretty sight and should give them all a cause to ponder exactly their place in a modern society.

The management of the Sagueneens have been quick to get a press release out saying how disgusted they are at the behaviour of a number of their fans, but their disgust seems rather hollow. Nolan reported that the security guards at the rink were laughing at the comments and did nothing to expel those that were the worst offenders.

Management claim Nolan may have misunderstood some of the actions of the fans as racist, when they were apparently doing a tomahawk chop to celebrate a goal by one of their own players, Francois Verreault-Paul who is of aboriginal heriitgae. Now perhaps that is correct, know one really knows for sure but it certainly doesn't excuse the other actions by their fans, Nolan probably knows racism when he comes across it and it seems he feels that he has seen it and didn't like what he saw this weekend. The Sagueneens management may be talking the good talk about ridding sport of racism, but frankly they're nowhere near walking any kind of walk.

Nolan deserves much more than just an apology, but one wonders if the folks of Chicoutimi really get it anyways. They claim that the behaviour of their fans is not indicative of the beliefs of the people of their community, but you would have a hard time persuading Nolan of that at the moment.

Someone who gets it!

There's an interesting story out of North Bay, Ontario about a guy that actually gets this helping mankind thing about Christmas.

Tom Hedican, who works as a professional hockey coach in Europe is home in North Bay for Christmas. He came up with what seems like a terrific idea to help out the North Bay Food Bank while at the same time getting the young people of North Bay involved in helping those less fortunate.

Since his arrival back in Canada for the Christmas break, Hedican has been running hockey practices for the youth of North Bay, the only stipulation is that they must bring a donation for the North Bay Food Bank. He's volunteered his knowledge, while the kids bring the goods.

And so far it's been a major success. All of Hedican's planned sessions have been booked solid and his truck has been filled to the top with donations for the Food Bank. Hedican credits his respect for Bruce Springsteen for the idea, Springsteen regularly donates to Food Banks wherever he tours, his donations to the Toronto Food Bank the Daily Bread have been regular and apparently quite generous over the years. For Hedican it seemed a natural fit to combine his love of hockey with his need to help out.

It's something that seems so simple one, wonders if others have attempted it before. It makes everyone a winner in a season when far too many get left behind. You get the feeling that those kids that are learning the skills on the ice are probably taking a heck of a lot more than hockey lessons home with them this Christmas!

Smile, are we still on Candid Camera!

With all the discussion of domestic surveillance in the US this weekend, you would think that it was a practice that has just commenced. But in reality this isn't really a ground breaking announcement. In fact, considering all the excitement of the last 48 hours, it seems timely to look back at a Sixty Minutes transcript from March of 2000, pre 9-11 and how even back then, we routinely could find our correspondences investigated for troublesome behavior.

Back then they had an interesting look at the process of eavesdropping and how Canada was providing services to the USA's NSA in its quest for terrorists, criminals and other ne'er do wells.

The only problem is a lot of other folks are finding their correspondences routinely screened and information compiled regarding their everyday communications. The Top Secret (well I guess until the Sixty Minutes report aired back then) program was (and most likely still is) called Echelon and is used by the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia to process details of e mails, phone calls, data transfers and even baby monitors for possible illegal activity. (How many babies planning trouble before those terrible three's, is no doubt a topic of much discussion in the land of electronic surveillance, but one pities the poor operative given that thankless job )

The main subject of the segment was information provided by a former employee of Canada's CSE, who explained how Canada's monitoring agency worked and what they were looking for. He recounted how the computer programs picked up a conversation between a mother and her friend critiquing her sons performance in a school play, she apparently said that he "bombed" that night and bingo, her conversation was flagged for further analysis. In this season of Christmas concerts be careful how you describe your young ones night of stardom (or your drinking habits for that matter), lest you find yourself on an open file in Ottawa!

He also explained how the Canadian agency in the past, spied on citizens of the United Kingdom at the behest of Margaret Thatcher. It seems that Madam Thatcher was suspicious of two of her cabinet ministers and asked the CSE to check them out. They did, reported back but gave her a cloak of anonymity as in this case the United Kingdom was not actively spying on its own citizens but the required information was provided as requested.

The I'll scratch your back, if you'll scratch mine system provides each country with a veil of deniability should anyone begin to question the optics of spying on your own people. Though in the post 9/11 world that really isn't much of an impediment to the cause of total information surveillance.

The increasing frequency of regularly examining even our most mundane correspondences is a worrisome trend for our civil liberties and one that should be addressed more publicly for us. Somehow we think that the mother discussing her child's play should not be tagged as a potential terrorist. The sense of accountability is lacking currently, with innocent people finding their names flagged for future examination. A watch list if you will.

Criminals and terrorists are obviously fair game for the likes of the Echelon program, but keeping a steady hand on the reins of the program should be the guiding principle for the government. It would be worth knowing if Canada is still heavily involved in the program and if we continue to regularly log our citizens conversations, what the process is for seeking that information and what the government does with it should the target be of no national threat. Those babies on the monitor are now heading into their seventh year, how many of them should we be worried about for future wrong doing?

The world today is an even more troubled place than it was on the broadcast day for this segment. There is a need for information about those that wish us ill will, but there's just as much a need, if not more of a need, for the protection of our civil rights.

Awaiting glad tidings from Beijing

The saga of the Watson Island pulp mill will now play out in the offices of the Chinese People’s Government, as the local consultants on the sale to China Paper Group sign off on their end of the documentation.

The decision is in the hands of the company now, is the hopeful word from those involved locally, in over a year of file clearing regarding all the outstanding issues of the old Skeena Cel site.

China Paper’s subsidiary Sun Wave kicked the tires in February and purchased the assets of the old/new Skeena and put an offer on the table in May for the land on Watson Island. Since then it’s been meeting after meeting as the folks at Sun Wave have conducted their due diligence on the feasibility of running the mill locally as opposed to the initial fears of carting off every salvageable piece of equipment off to China.

The long winding road of Skeena Cel has been in the forefront of Podunk history for years and seen more than one extension in its day, so it’s probably not surprising to see that yet another bit of time will pass before some kind of definitive word on the plan will come down.

What’s at stake for China Paper is the realization that it will probably take an investment of more than 100 million dollars to rejuvenate the mothballed mill and get it back in operating order. That in an economic climate that has seen numerous pulp mills shut down across the country.

At stake for the Northwest is the viability of its forest sector and even more importantly, the rebuilding of an employment and tax base for a rather devastated part of the province.

Mayor Herb Pond had been hoping for a Christmas present for Podunk with an announcement from China Paper about its intentions on the mill, but perhaps we’ll just all have to wait for Chinese New Year and a shot a good fortune for 2006. The Year of the Dog enters on January 29th, bringing with it a year that promises to root for the underdog, of which there surely can be no bigger underdog than the long troubled course of Skeena Cel. On the upside one of the traits of a Dog year is that it makes for an excellent business person.

Hopefully it’s a year that also brings an end to the uncertainty that hangs over Watson Island and the Northwest.

Pictures of Podunk: The Atlin Terminal

The showpiece of the new Prince Rupert waterfront. The Atlin Terminal is the focal point of redevelopment in the Cow Bay area. A shopping area, art gallery and offices for the Port Corporation, Customs Department and the Visitors Bureau, it has been the long awaited first step in developing a cruise ship industry in Prince Rupert.

A Big Brother named George, or is he a King?

Has the Administration of George Bush made one step too many in its fight against terror? The latest revelations that the President authorized the internal spying on tens of thousands of American citizens, has many wondering if their democratic rights are no longer guaranteed under the US constitution.

Using warrant less eavesdropping, the current US government has conducted an information collecting binge unseen in current times. Telephone calls and e mails have been examined by the NSA without notice to the federal court, as has been required since 1978. Anyone perceived as a danger to the American state and by association its government, finds themselves subject to investigation and added to a data base.

Financial records, employment histories and any other pertinent information has been assembled and traded among different US government agencies since the days of September 11th, 2001. A reversal of a former safeguard order to destroy all files after an investigation has been closed, causes even more concern for those looking to guarantee their liberties. Now a file can float around from agency to agency for years, long after the subject has ceased to be a person of interest. Making matters even more intriguing is the revelation that in the most part many of these people were never suspected of any actual wrongdoing in the first place. Why they would have their entire lives put under a microscope is a question that screams out for an answer.

The Pentagon has compiled a database of peace protestors and other activists, “internal enemies” in the eyes of the government, an ever growing data base of those that don’t quite see eye to eye with the Bush Administration’s direction. The Iraq war has become more controversial as the years go by, but the basic touchstone of the American fabric has been the ability of the people to express their displeasure over government policy. Questioning the wisdom of a war or the need to send American sons and daughters into harms way should not be the thing of covert internal action.

The revelations of the internal spying of the last four years has many worrying about a return to the days of McCarthyism and of the tumult of the sixties, an era that very nearly tore a great Republic apart.

The president has stated that these measures are required to battle the terrorist threat to America that has manifested itself since 9/11. Many however suggest that five years after the fact, the need to intrude on the most private conversations and correspondence of American citizens is a step far removed from what is really needed.

One can understand the need for credible information in these post 9/11 days, but going beyond the rule of law and in fact creating the rules as you go along, is not solidifying the concept of Democracy in the land that likes to ring that clarion bell frequently.

The President by issuing these edicts by rite of office, is coming dangerously close to moving beyond the role of an elected official and more towards the demagoguery of Royalty.

The last time the American people were subject to rules by imperial edict a revolution broke out in thirteen colonies. The King at that time was a fellow named George and he lost his empire. A current George may best take note of history and seek out a way to avoid having it repeat itself. His Imperial tones are starting to gain notice among his subjects and the opposition to his secretive ways is gaining momentum.

It’s obvious that the events of 9/11 were a watershed moment in the history of the United States; the terrorist attacks on the United States were a wake up call that the US Government needed to get a better handle on those that would seek to destroy all that America has built for itself. One can almost understand the state of mind that has taken the United States down this path, fear is a dangerous thing and can make people do things they normally would never consider possible in more sensible times.

However, by turning American against American and creating a culture of continual fear in its very own nation, the American Government is destroying a much more valuable concept. That dream of a land of the free, with a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Freedom does not come in the form of secret files and a network of internal spies. It does not resonate in a land that believes in democracy, but yet sees a government make monumental changes to its way of life, without debate of those elected by the people.

There surely must be a better way to protect the people without eroding their rights and freedoms on a daily basis. Once you have lost the trust of the people, you really have lost all that you purport to stand for

Bad Santa!

Perhaps it was one too many kids on the lap, the rising cost of reindeer fuel or far too many letters all about me, me, me but Santa's in New Zealand have run amok!

Like a live version of the Billy Bob Thornton movie, Imposter Santa's took liberties with store stocks and exhibited most Un-Santa like behavior in their rampage through the streets of Auckland.

Here's one group that the real Santa won't have any problems discerning from naughty or nice!

A peek over the fence

With the American Ambassador asking us to keep the US government out of our election, it’s interesting to note that some in the great bloggerland to the south, are actually keeping an eye on our little traveling road show. Suddenly it seems Canada is on not only the governmental radar but on the blogging radar as well.

The blog Captain’s Quarters which is of the conservative bent, has featured not one but two articles on Canada Friday. The first one was a thorough look at our burgeoning income trust scandal, and a suggestion that no one might take this latest financial trouble seriously until the Security Exchange Commission decides to take a look at what the neighbors are up to. The blog entry focused a lot of attention over the trading patterns on those stocks tied into the trusts and how they exploded in volume just before the Goodale announcement was made.

The second blog entry is about the leader’s debate of Thursday night and what impact the four horsemen of the political apocalypse had in their first head to head discussion. The author found some good points for Stephen Harper and as would be expected for a conservative blog had little kind to say about the performance of the Prime Minister.

The two entries make an interesting take on how some Americans are viewing the happenings of that snowbound land of the north. This is not the first time that the Captain has taken an interest in Canada, he recently has commented on the Scott Reid faux pas and the controversy with the US ambassador. His blog was one of the few American sites that followed the Gomery Commission with any regularity and even posted material considered verboten in Canada, causing a rush to the servers as Canadians sought out that of which they were not supposed to know.

There’s even more interesting reading in the comments section where a number of Canadians offer up their take on the Captain’s findings. It’s a worthwhile stop for a few minutes just to see what some of the folks to the south are thinking of when it comes to their Northern flank.

The Nation's Business

After watching a wee portion of last night’s Leaders debate I’m reminded of that old television show from the CBC, back in the early days of the cathode ray.

The Nation’s Business was something like a five or ten minute free time political broadcast, where your average parliamentarian could explain away his or her party’s political policy without the need of any debate.

It had many time spots during its run, but I remember it normally followed the National News if my memory is correct; it was an infomercial before infomercials became the mainstay of late night television. Last night we had back to back infomercials, as Paul, Steve, Gilles and Jack were given the microphone and allowed to run wild with it. The debut of the Leaders on tour turned into nothing more than a two hour version of that venerable old CBC mainstay.

Described by some media pundits as a snore fest this first of four televised debates certainly broke new news, nor did it unearth any new scandals. Even Canadian’s with rudimentary French skills could be excused if they were thankful that they couldn’t parlez vous. In fact trying to follow the translators was more entertaining than following the scripted bromides of the actual participants.

The only interesting note of the night was Stephen Harper’s answer to the if your child was gay what would you say question. His answer was clinical and rather bland, something to the effect that parents always love their children. He once again showed virtually no emotion in his response, a rather robotic reply to a question that probably was designed to provoke outrage in the Conservative leader. He didn’t take the bait, but neither did he exactly wow the audience with his wit. Paul Martin tried to capitalize on the Conservatives plans to reopen the Gay marriage question to parliamentary vote, but it seemed to go nowhere, which is a place that much of this “debate” went.

Gilles Duceppe brought glad tidings of continued confusion suggesting that in thirty years or so we’ll have two separate countries of the Great White North, a Canada and a Quebec. Thirty years? The only thing worse than watching this paint dry is the prospect of thirty more years of the will they stay or will they go dance.

Most commentators scored Duceppe’s proclamation as the winning moment of the night, as the three other leaders failed to really challenge his hyperbole, nor offer up any real defense of a federal system which would include Quebec. The Prime Minister attempted some damage control after the debate in the media scrum, but his moment to take the separatist leader to task passed him by in the debate.

Jack Layton looked earnest, smiled at the right time and in the end didn’t really score any major points either. He gave his standard dark day for democracy spiel over the sponsorship scandal, while conveniently leaving out the fact that he helped support the dark princes of democracy in the last Parliament. For the rest of the debate Jack followed the lead of his fellow leaders with the best policy is no real policy.

This false start campaign continues to stumble out of the gate; most observers feel that the real election campaign won’t get started in earnest until after the last polar bear swim of New Years day is complete.

Now that's an idea! Dumping the four leaders into a pool of freezing cold water might actually make for an interesting kick start to the campaign. If nothing else it would wake everyone up from this walking, talking slumber party

Pictures of Podunk: The Shoe Tree

A curious little local tourist attraction, found just off the side of Highway 16 just before the Oliver Lake turnoff. Many a local grad or visiting tourist has left their soles at this tree, forever marking their stay in Prince Rupert.

They made their list, but didn't check it twice!

Yet another gaffe for Liberal organizers this time the folks in Quebec have caused their leader a bit of a PR nightmare. A supposedly confidential memo destined for Liberal executives inadvertently was sent to the nation's media on Thursday.

The memo which presents a doom and gloom scenario for Liberals in Quebec, found its way across the wired universe and onto to many a reporters Blackberry with tidings of joy if you're a Bloc supporter.

The Liberals apparently are expecting to lose 45 seats outright, leaving them with only 30 seats that they feel they at least will remain competitive in. Of that thirty, only ten are considered sure bets, the other twenty apparently still very much in play and could potentially go the way of the bloc.

Word of the misdirected memo comes on the day of the Leaders debate in French, which tends to feature mainly Quebec issues debated by the four main leaders. It should put even more of a spring into the step of Gilles Duceppe, the Bloc Quebecois leader has so far been comfortably in the lead in the province and has seeming little to fear from a Liberal renaissance in the short term.

The communications problem is yet another example of Martin's backroom handlers doing their best to torpedo their man's chances at re-election. The negative vibes coming out of Quebec will certainly make any kind of swell of momentum hard to come by as the campaign drags on towards the January 23rd decision day. Martin might be best served by taking away the microphones, blackberries and internet connections of his backroom workers, every time they hit send or make a phone call he spends the rest of the day trying to find a way to spin things in a positive light. As an old shipping baron Martin must surely understand that it's hard to go full steam ahead, when you're frequently bailing the water out of the bottom of the boat.

Geez! Maybe Scott Reid was right!

There was a lot more than pampers, juice, Barney and the Tele-Tubbies at a daycare in Vernon, as RCMP raided the living quarters of an Interior day care centre. Police sent in an undercover operative who purchased a quantity of drugs from a relation of the operator of a local daycare centre. The undercover officer noticed other irregularities in the apartment at the time and the Mounties went and got a search warrant which they executed on Saturday, effectively shutting down the daycare centre on Monday

At the time of the raid they also discovered a number of firearms, cash and other drug paraphernalia scattered around the living quarters. The Northern Interior Health Authority took immediate action to shut down the daycare centre which was adjacent to the living quarters, even though they claim the operator had no knowledge of her boyfriends sideline business operations.

The raid comes hot on the heels of controversial remarks by Prime Minister Martin’s spokesman Scott Reid, over the Conservative party’s daycare policies. At the time Reid said that parents might be inclined to spend any daycare monies provided on popcorn and beer. In Vernon, at one daycare centre that might have been the least of our worries.

And the search goes on.........

Four months on and Podunk still is without a City manager! This bit of news came out Wednesday with word that City Council is preparing to add to the executive headhunting firms’ bank account, by extending the process of seeking out a new civic administrator.

The replacement for the long since departed Victor Kumar, who left his job in August but remained on the payroll until October, has been going on through the fall and apparently not to much success. The firm charged with identifying and recommending a suitable replacement, came up with one candidate who it seems was on the road to Podunk, until the candidates family stepped in and expressed a hesitancy to relocate to our little corner of the rainforest.

To tide the town over until a permanent administrator can be found, City Council is apparently set to announce an interim manager next week, set to guide Podunk into the New Year and maybe beyond.

As for the permanent replacement, it’s apparently back to square one, with 10 to 15,000 dollars reportedly spent already and extra costs expected as the extended search now continues, the meter continues to tick on that particular tab.

It’s curious that the executive search firm couldn’t have provided a short list of at least five or six possibilities to choose from. Thus not requiring an extension until those names had been vetted and those candidates eliminated. Perhaps they did and either the candidates weren't up to snuff, or we left them wanting.

This hesitancy of anyone suitable to show interest in the job is a worrisome development, it would be interesting to know where Podunk is falling short in the world of executive managers. Perhaps the very public problems of Podunk over the last few years have scared off any potential candidates. One wonders if they’re going to have much more success with more time and more names.

With four months lead time; we would have hoped that one candidate would already be in place. It would be a welcome thing for Podunkians to hear word of a reassuring choice; one who would provide good value for our initial 15,000 dollar investment (not to mention the rather generous salary provided).

Instead, it’s more mystery and mixed messages from the folks at 3rd Avenue and Fulton. Leaving many a Podunkian to wonder just what is going on and why despite the challenges offered up, nobody wants to take what should be a pretty good job.