Impressionist Jim Meskimen Does Shakespeare in Celebrity Voices

My Favorite Band

CJOB Will Prevail

It is being reported that TSN has completed an agreement for Winnipeg Jets broadcasts. This would include TV and radio broadcasts and push CJOB for only the second time in its history out Winnipeg Jets broadcasting. Three years after the Jets got into the NHL in 1979, CKY won the broadcast rights and Curt Keilback and Ken (The Friar) Nicolson were allowed to leave from one broadcaster to go the other. They would make the return trip a number of years later when CJOB regained the broadcast rights. 

I still can't remember the exact dates they moved back and forth nor can I remember about the TV broadcasting. I re-call the CKY years for local Jets broadcasts but the WHA had CKND broadcasts. Any help here would be appreciated. CJOB has been the broadcaster of the Manitoba Moose the last 15 years. No one has done hockey more than they over the last years.

If CFRW had not converted over to sports radio broadcasting in the last year, CJOB might have been a shoe in. However, Sports Radio 1290 with the backing of Bell and the TSN sport network had the one-two punch of TV and radio broadcasts under one roof. Something that CJOB just didn't have.

CJOB's parent company Corus Entertainment does not have a national sports broadcaster for TV. Well, at least nothing that does hockey broadcasts. For Manitoba Moose broadcasts, this was not a big impediment but in today's NHL where every game is televised, it is. Unlike in the past when CJOB wrested the broadcasts back to their station, it seems the loss of hockey will be permanent unless Corus acquires a sports broadcaster or if some sort of partnership is formed with another TV network.

I have no idea how long the Blue Bombers radio contract is tied up but CJOB is no doubt going to find they face the same problem of a radio/TV connection. TSN already does CFL football. Is it really a stretch to think that 1290 Sports Radio might eventually buy the radio rights too?

CJOB will prevail. However, the loss of hockey broadcasts is huge. One wonders if this the event that knocks the station out of first place in the radio ratings.

Tuxedo Business Park

Tuxedo Business Park Present and Future Plans

I have worked in the Tuxedo Business Park since 2008. Last year was the first years new construction didn't happen save for the Tim Horton's. I have found it a great place to work although (and this is a big although) there are no sidewalks or bikepaths to get there. I drive to work every day. There is a bus loop into the business park but the buses don't come odd hours that I work.

Lost in all the discussion about Kenaston traffic and the coming of Ikea and development of the Kapyong Barracks is how ever greater business development and housing is happening yearly along the corridor.

Each year I have worked at my company, there has been new building in the business park. And now the Free Press reports that a large new buildings is going up. The Composites Innovation Centre is relocating from the University of Manitoba to Tuxedo. Leaping from 6000 square feet to 21,000 square feet, it represents a major investment in the community. The developer Terracon will use CIC to anchor the 45,000 square foot new building. I have little doubt they will be fully leased in the next months.

A further 24,000 square foot business park office complex is in the works for next year. The big surprise is the possible addition of a hotel right next to the IKEA site and in front of the cement plant.

Yes, a hotel along Kenaston. Who'd thunk? With IKEA right next door, a couple of hotels could do okay.

It ain't going to be easy squeezing everyone down Commerce Drive. My guess is that three lanes all the way down to Kenaston Common and turning lanes and better traffic signals will needed in short order.



The front of the Tuxedo Business Park Includes GoodLife Fitness and Tim Horton's.





The future hotel site:

IKEA Expands

The Biggest IKEA in the World in Sweden.

The biggest IKEA in the world is in Sweden. Naturally. It is where the company started. At 594,000 square feet, the store south of Stockholm is massive.

The Free Press reported that IKEA has submitted a revised building footprint for their Kenaston and Sterling Lyon location.

Once planned as a massive 350,000 square foot monstrosity, it will now be larger by 12% and come in at 395,000 square feet. According to IKEA, the expansion will accommodate further warehouse space. This will make it the second largest in Canada as it will be overshadowed by the re-building of Ottawa's store to 430,000 square feet.

The endless construction by Fairweather Properties prepping the roads around the area is enough to make your teeth grate. Many times it is simply dangerous in there moving around. At $26.5 million and with three traffic lights, the cash for IKEA is being fronted by the company but they will be eventually get back all of it minus $4.5 million.

Hopefully, someone inspects the roads after to avoid the Cinema City zoning fiasco.

There are a lot more development announcements happening on Kenaston. Traffic outcry is only going to increase.

Still, I regards the IKEA expansion as good. I don't blame them for the traffic woes. Quite honestly, there isn't a place in the province where someone would not have a traffic concern. Had they gone downtown there would have been complains, Headingley complaints, Regent complaints.

Hope that someone is not asleep at the wheel when it comes to explosion of growth coming on Kenaston. Welcome IKEA but will the city let you down about your decision by bottle-necking the area 24 hours a day?

Grant Park Shopping Mall 2

Old commercial for Grant Park Shopping Mall.

I wrote back several weeks that something was afoot at Grant Park Shopping Mall.

I speculated initially some of the store closures and moves might be as a result of Target taking over Zellers spot.

The mall made some changes when Walmart took over in 1994 with McNally Robinson and the movie theatres all expanding. Other major anchors moved or were renovated such as the Liquor Mart and Safeway.

It was easy to see say that a few changes might be coming as a result of the Zellers re-branding. Alas though, it the Liquor Mart that is responsible for some of the shuffling going on.

Once the flagship of the Manitoba Liquor Mart chain of stores, the Grant Park location although largest is now second highest in volume after the Dakota location.

The Liquor Mart plans a 1500 square renovation which will see 6 stores moved from the western to central area of the mall. This will result in some closures of some month to month renters. The overall change should help Grant Park reclaim unchallenged leadership as flagship store.

It is heady times for the Liquor Marts. They are are expanding in two locations in the south now after chasing Salisbury House out of the Tuxedo Park Mall. In addition, Manitoba government changes to the liquor laws will make it possible for kiosks of the Liquor Mart to open in stores. This is quite the expansion of the MLCC's reach.

It is an election year and for the NDP government, it is probably looking to kill two birds with one stone: Expand a unionized workplace to further areas and to loosen liquor laws. The greater discussion of liquor laws in general and whether to allow other private vendors in or to sell off or end the Liquor Mart remains to be had.

The government is fairly risk adverse and probably hopes this will be enough to get kudos.

The Liquor Marts do a good job at what they do. However, the question has to be asked if a government needs to own the retailer anymore. Further, a discussion of liquor laws on a wider scale should be undertaken to provide responsible Manitobans with choices and to ensure that issues related to crime, zoning, noise, addiction, FASD, advertising, police enforcement and things as simple as tailgate parties all are discussed.

For Grant Park Shopping Centre, the trick will be to try and keep Target in the mall and not have them decamp like Walmart did before. To do this, it may be necessary for the store to push westward even more so that the location can be larger. However, even that might not suffice given the size of a Super Target.

Lots of changes in the face of Canadian retailing none more-so than how Target transforms the landscape. The importance of smaller regional malls in adapting will be a large factor. Even smaller malls such as the Charleswood Mall opted to ditch the enclosed route and go for box strip mall to great success. Grant Park could find this is the way to go but the presence of so many offices in the mall as well as the movie theatres has probably kept them from going forward thus far.

Cinema City McGillivray

Cinema City McGillivray

By the way, would you stand at that bus stop in front of the theatre? You'd likely get picked off by a wide vehicle or fall into the ditch behind.






Meadowbank Road. Take a look at the theatre wall behind and the "landscaping" of evergreens between the theatre and back yards of the housing.

Back on June 9, the Assiniboia Community Committee approved a plan for Cinema City McGillivary to reduce the landscape buffer between the theatre from 20 feet to 16 feet. The lowest picture shows the mature evergreens which are the only buffer to the back wall of the theatre complex.

The zoning department enforcement people dropped the ball in 1989 when the theatre was built and instead of a 20 foot buffer there was only a 16 foot buffer. How this can happen is anyone's guess and City Clerk's office merely shrugs their shoulders and says it happened for "reasons unknown."

So why is it important now? Well, the Cinema City McGillivary owners wish to build a large Shopper's Drug Mart west of the theatre and any further development would require the 20 foot buffer required under zoning.

On June 9, the city committee approved a proposal to amend the variance to affirm the actual 16 foot buffer existing on the south side and to also make the setback from that buffer 10 feet instead of 50 feet on the west side. As a sop to the changes which would have cost the developer even more to comply with, a proposal of further landscaping in the parking lot out front was promised.

In case anyone is wondering just how busy that area is, right across from the theatre is Costco.

There is so much clean up left after all the zoning and building changes in 1989 that it defies description. In the last city election many people sang the praises of the work of the late councillor Bill Clement. His service is undeniable but it is also the work of his committee that did not put in service roads or drop the hammer on developers who violated their approved zoning.

There is a mess on Route 90 and a lot of it is in this area. Let's hope that the new councllor and committee won't say for "reasons unknown" that zoning here was laughed at by developers later on.

The Return of The Jets

The Golden Jet Bobby Hull

It is heady times in Winnipeg. For years fans have been mocked, teased and dismissed about the Winnipeg Jets ever returning to the city. The NHL returning after fifteen years ago in Phoenix seemed against all odds despite

I have refrained from saying anything in the months prior on the NHL coming back because I believed that the real announcement would only come from one group: The True North ownership.

The last I wrote on this subject was in 2009 when I said:

Winnipeg should be patient. It has an arena, an ownership group and a reputation for hockey. At some point the league might be coming to it because of problems with a franchise.

This is pretty much what happened. Atlanta Thrashers ownership and the NHL just couldn't make inroads in Georgia. Even when the economy was bubbling along in the U.S, Atlanta was a tough sell. It became tougher with a recession.

Meanwhile in Winnipeg, the owners of the Manitoba Moose stuck to their knitting, expressed interest in the NHL but otherwise kept quiet and showed that they had what it took to have an NHL team return. They did this by running a stable, profitable and competitive AHL franchise in one of the most utilized arenas in North America.

Gary Bettman has used Winnipeg for a long time as a hammer on weaker ownership and cities reticent in not offering supports for their NHL team. Phoenix and Atlanta have been the main whipping boys but a few others have also faced the spectre of losing a team. And Winnipeg's name has always been present.

The loss of Winnipeg's NHL was one of a series of blows the city took to its self confidence over a few decades. The city is not out of the woods yet but it has weathered things better, built on a few successes but has had a hard time coalescing things. It is possible that a Blue Bomber victory in the Grey Cup could have been a rallying point for a victory party at Portage and Main. Certainly on the face of it, the Bombers have more fans than the Jets did or do.

However, would a spontaneous pick up game of the 30 on 30 have happened downtown and The Forks. No.

The Jets was about thumbing our nose at the NHL when it started, it was about acceptance when we got in and it was our utter defeat when the team was lost to Phoenix.

The True North people had no real choice when it came to choosing the name Jets again. It has been an open wound for so long and while some said a fresh approach was equally valid, it seemed the wrong step to take in light of the fandom.

I'll be writing more in the next days about the coming changes around the MTS Centre. Some of those changes have been in the works for a while but there is no doubt that the return of the Jets has hastened some of that.

There was criticism of the MTS Centre over the years for a variety of things. Where it was built, how it was financed and what it would do for the downtown have always been an issue. I was entirely not satisfied with some of the financing of the MTS Centre. I certainly was not very happy with Crocus putting $5 million into the project. It lacked transparency going in and out. However, I never blamed the True North owners for what happened with MTS Centre and actually agreed about it going downtown.

In the end, it seems likely that the work to rehabilitate the Eaton's building would have required even more government help for what seemed an uncertain outcome.

I cannot deny the appeal of having the Jets back. I was brokenhearted when they left and didn't pay nearly as close attention to the NHL when they left. I have been following the Phoenix fiasco for years now but is all always seemed the odds were against us for getting this team or any other back.

I expect that a lot of pride will reside with the team and that with steady hands over years, something might be built that will make it possible for the downtown once again to be filled with celebrations.

Still in Charleswood

I apologize for the lack of posts since the beginning of the the year. I have written when I could but it has been a tough number of months. I have been going through the process of a divorce. While there has not been any rancour, it has been deeply saddening and I have struggled with trying to stay focused on work and on how and where I will be living.

I thought most certainly I would leaving my beloved Charleswood as it seemed a difficult prospect to find a home in this market in the same area.

I was first started life in the downtown area about as close to Portage and Main as you could get residentially. My family bounced around from apartments to houses until I was just about to start Kindergarten. At that time, our family bought a house in River Heights. It was where I grew up through the many years.

When it came time to buy my first home, I looked in River Heights but found even then it was hyper-competitive to find a place. I looked farther afield in south Winnipeg until coming upon old Charleswood just past the west entrance to Assiniboine Park.

It is here that I have called home the last several years and it is where I have found a place again.

I am settling in and hope to continue to write more about the neighbourhood and about the city and province in general. As I said, it has been a tough time but I am finding a rhythm and getting back to it.

Grant Park Shopping Mall

First it was Hanger's Fashion Warehouse closing and now it is Boutique la Femme closing. Lorenza Fashion is moving within the mall.

Is this all to accommodate Target as it takes over Zellers there?

The possible announcement of a movie theatre chain opening on the Ikea site could affect the Empire Theatre at Grant Park.

Speaking of theatres, the news nationally that IMAX will be building a digital system to be able to show 3D films. It remains to be seen how this affects the downtown Portage Place Imax Theatre.

In terms of the Grant Park Mall, the issue of remaining an enclosed mall will have to be looked at. It has some strong anchor tenants in McNally Robinson, Safeway and Target.

However, Target is certainly going to want a bigger location and the mall could certainly accommodate that but it might mean getting rid of the enclosed mall, theatre and restaurants.

Can this formula work? Well, it did for the Charleswood Centre Shopping Plaza. When Zellers left the mall to move ito Walmart's old location at Grant Park, the mall owners decided to do a stripmall box store format. They landed some good anchor stores and the last vacancy in the mall filled up in the last months. H&R Block opened in the space between Blockbuster and Sushi Park.

One development seems obvious and that is Grant Park is less likely to pull national and international retailers with its present set up of an enclosed mall. Now it seems that they are having a hard time holding on to local ones as well.

Coach Store Coming to Winnipeg

This was passed on from OMC who found the information.

Coach store will be opening in Polo Park in September of 2011.

Coach is a U.S. based store specializing in leather goods. Handbags, wallets, luggage and accessories are some of the products sold at this sought out retailer.

For some people, this will be another check in their list of retailers that they wanted to see in Winnipeg.

The Flood Part 3

An aerial view of the Assiniboine River and the Brandon flood zone.

Even with the grave warnings about the flooding that might happen this year, the Selinger government can't seem to get proper information to people about where flooding might happen and how people can protect their homes.

The NDP knew that they would probably be judged on how they fought the flooding this year and they have been pulling out all the stops. Thankfully, after the 1997 flood, the U.S. and Canadian governments put together a thoughtful approach and directly confronted the challenges. With the information derived from that report and consultations between the Liberal and NDP government, plans were drawn up for combat the 1 in 700 year flood that could lay waste to the bulk of the land along the Red River Valley.

In 2005 work began and the the final touches ended just recently.

The Red River Valley has always included all the rivers, streams and tributaries that flow into the Red. Some columnists in some newspapers have praised the sober discussion taking place now. That might be all well and good but the truth of the matter is that western Manitoba was an afterthought in flood preparations this year.

There has certainly been millions spent on raising dikes from Portage la Prairie to Headingley but it has always been geared to 1976 levels which was a much lower threshold than the work done on the Red River Floodway.

There will be grief and anger as the torrents of water will be released in the next hours. The government will be judged in three ways: What they did to prepare, what they did to manage things as it happened and what they are prepared to do afterward.

The NDP government is likely terrified that the flood could very well be in people's minds next October when the provincial vote happens. After more than a decade in power, it will be hard to blame others if things are perceived to be handled poorly.

One thing is quite clear: While western Manitoba has rural and conservative roots and a can do spirit, they have been looking for guidance from government. In fact, they have been begging for direction, information and a plan. So far it has been hard to watch people desperate for help not know what is happening and not sure what to do.

My thoughts are with the people in western Manitoba. Let's hope that the region overcomes the challenges in the days and weeks ahead.

Ultimate Dog Tease

Blockbuster Video

We recently saw Blockbuster Video in the Osborne Village close down. It has been something happening across North America although at a slower pace in Canada than the U.S.

Now, we hear that Blockbuster in Canada is being forced into bankruptcy due to missed payments from the parent company. The Canadian operations were used to help finance the U.S. ones. We have seen this type of issue before where Canada's operations were doing better and then the U.S. went under and took the Canadian part of the company down too. Linens and Things Canada was profitable but the U.S. closed the while company including in Canada rather than spin off the division.

I have mentioned the problems for Blockbuster here before. However, their situation in Canada has not been as dire. This is in part due to our slower Internet and that companies such as Rogers and Shaw who are determined to make companies like Netflix super expensive by extra billing if you download high def Titanic from them.

Shaw, Rogers and the other Internet providers are acting in their self interest by pricing their video on demand services at the forefront and pricing everyone else's out of reach.

The advent of video kiosks also has had an impact on Blockbuster. Safeway stores in Winnipeg have them. However, I have found they don't carry a large selection and not as convenient to return since you actually have to enter the store to put the video back in the kiosk. Perhaps if there were a lot more and a large selection, this would be a good option. As it is, it isn't as an attractive option for people who shop once a week at the store.

In recent months, the greed of the Internet providers and the inconvenience and lack of selection of the kiosks has made me appreciate Blockbuster a lot more.

It remains to be seen what the chosen delivery system for entertainment will be. The Internet providers want it to be video on demand but their ever greater gouging turns people off and makes stores like Blockbuster a good option.

It is funny how I think my options for watching a movie at home have become more limited rather the other way around.

Hangers Fashion Warehouse Closing After 22 Years

Hangers Fashion Warehouse Location at Grant Park Shopping Mall

After 22 years in business, Hangers Fashion Warehouse is closing their four remaining locations in the city of Winnipeg and Steinbach.

They are:

Portage Place
Northgate Shopping Centre
Grant Park Shopping Mall

And in Steinbach:

Clearspring Shopping Centre

The owner of the company is retiring and it looks like no one was left to take over.

The Grant Park Mall location of the store only opened in July of 2010.

I never shopped there personally but recall a joke that could only be told in Winnipeg:

My mother applied for a job at Hooters. They gave her a job application for Hangers.

Sorry to see a long time Winnipeg store close.

One wonders what Portage Place and Grant Park Shopping Mall will find to replace these stores.

Aeropostale Opening in Winnipeg

For those doing their regular shopping at the Children's Hospital Book Sale, you will notice at St. Vital Shopping Centre that construction is well underway on Winnipeg's first Aeropostale store.

The popular clothing store has been on the wish list for many shoppers for a few years.

Election Aftermath

My predictions were off aside from a close guess what the Liberals would end up with in Quebec. I really couldn't tell how Quebec would end up aside from the fact the damage would be done to the Bloc. I believe that even Quebecers must be a little shocked that the BQ has fallen below official party status.

The NDP swept through Quebec. Even Tory cabinet ministers went down in defeat the NDP. I had thought as little as a few weeks ago that the Tories might win a few more seats in Quebec based on vote splits. However, as the Bloc went down so did the Liberals. The NDP benefited strongly and took seats that even they must be shocked about. The NDP even won with a candidate who may have never even visited the riding she won in. Yes, that's right. There is no evidence she has even been to her riding. Add to that, a handful of university students and a 19 year old.

It doesn't have to be bad for the NDP because of that but it probably means a huge learning curve. The newcomer MPs will find that it is a bit overwhelming coming to Ottawa, hiring staff, getting offices in both the riding and on The Hill and getting up to speed on job responsibilities.

The record on making huge gains in an election and not having them stick has some notable examples in Canadian history. The most recent is the ADQ in Quebec where Mario Dumont made a splash in the 2007 election only to be routed in 2008. The next best example is Bob Rae and the NDP majority government in Ontario from 1990 to 1995. The NDP is still hurting from those years. Last is the Liberals of Manitoba vaulting to Official Opposition in 1988. That status lasted two years as NDP targeted their ridings and regained second party status.

So...a majority Conservative government and an NDP Official Opposition, a very weak third party of Liberals, a handful of Bloc who don't qualify as a party and a breakthrough for Green Party leader Elizabeth May.

I expect the Tories will move to get some of their wish list completed early on in their mandate so that they can deliver more palatable and election-ready policies later on. The gun registry, crime legislation, Canadian Wheat Board, election financing laws and the like are all probably front and center. What comes after that is anyone's guess. The deficit can't be ignored forever and with four years till the next election, the Harper government will be watched carefully on that front.

Now, since I am a Liberal and identify with the center, I have to ask what the future of the party is now that the party has been crushed and the leader, Michael Ignatieff, has resigned.

Some say it is time to unite the left. One wonders if the NDP are thinking that now. At the moment, they are probably thinking of solidifying what they have now and taking another crack at it four years from now. Listening to some NDPers like Ed Broadbent, you get the feeling that they believe those people who voted Liberal will gravitate towards the NDP and the Tories. No need to court the Liberal party as an organization if the party simply dies and you pick up the supporters.

In any event, the first meeting of Liberal MPs and senators should be about two things. The first is: An interim leader. The second is: slow down.

In terms of the first, an interim leader should be selected for the House of Commons and who will not be running for the leadership of the party. I believe Ralph Goodale is that person if he decides to not run. If he does decide to run, the selection could be possibly two or three others including Justin Trudeau, who is rumoured not to be looking at a leadership run this time.

I am nervous about Trudeau being the interim leader but is guaranteed to draw lots of attention. One thing is certain, a major effort is needed to re-build Quebec and Trudeau has to be part of that equation.

In terms of the second thing that needs to be done in first meeting of Liberal MPs and senator is: Slow down.

Aside from the interim leader, the remaining issues should be slowed down so that people can absorb them, chew over them and then make rational choices later on.

In keeping with this idea of slowing down, I think a leadership convention should be put off till at least till 2012, maybe even 2013. The next federal election is October 19, 2015. Unless Harper decides to call a snap election before that date (and nothing really prevents him from doing so if he is prepared to take heat for it and he didn't the last time he did) then the Liberals have time to pay some debts and wait till after some provincial elections have past in Ontario and Manitoba.

The Liberal constitution says that a leadership convention must be held five months after a leader resigns and when an interim leader is announced. That would be in September give or take if the decision was made this coming week. I have no idea if there is provisions within the constitution to make a change. It would appear that national directors will have to assess if there is any room to move in this area.

I think they must if they don't want candidates to simply not stand due to lack of finances.

****

Aside from the two things mentioned above, the Liberals over the next four years have to work strongly on these items.

1. Party head office. The election results, change in leader and smaller budget means leaner. Find some good people to work and volunteer. It may be worthwhile to set up a non-governmental organization that has no financing restrictions to be the brain trust of the party on provincial and federal Liberal matters. It could be where party polling is done, policy research and establishing future leaders. It would be arm's length from the party.

2. Policy Convention. The last two Liberal election campaign books have been fought on policies that don't seem to come from the members. While there were some good ideas there in the campaign, they obviously were not enough to win an election.

3. Fundraising. It has to be a priority. There was some progress under Rocco Rossi but that momentum seems to be lost. As mentioned, I think some major functions should be shunted to an NGO think tank.

More ideas to come...

Election Prediction

I think vote splitting will be the rule of the day.

Here is my prediction:

Conservative: 176 seats
NDP: 85 seats
Liberal: 32 seats
Bloc: 13 seats
Green: 1 seat
Independent: 1 seat

Of course, the polling has been somewhat mystifying in its range. It really is hard to hard to sense how Quebec will go but the Bloc is under lots of pressure as are the Liberals.

Both parties might not survive.

Why I am a Liberal

Why am I a Liberal?

Well, I've always been a centrist at heart.

I am someone who has always found the value of both right and left sides of the spectrum. On some matters, mostly on the fiscal side, I have found the prudent course is conservatism. On matters of most social side of things, I have found liberalism to be the best course of action.

Even before thinking about the party system, I identify with the ability to build a private life where you live and work largely free of interference. This doesn't mean the absence of government but a government committed to the idea that you should get out of the way where and when the citizenry can do it themselves. As a Liberal, I believe government is there to keep the peace, provide order and good government.

The Constitutional principles of peace, order and good government appeal to me in a greater way than life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And the reason for that is that is that is if you have the first, the second is more likely to happen.

I believe in business as well as a labour. It isn't an either/or situation. I don't hold to the view that the balance should be tilted in favour of one side over the other as a matter of course.

I believe in justice and rehabilitation. I wants laws that help people settle disputes, protect the vulnerable and incarcerate those that would violate our lives through harm. However, it serves no one's interests if there is no way back from falling afoul of the law. I am an advocate for prevention. This comes from police, public and private social assistance and health initiatives. Imagine if crime could be cut if we just reduced fetal alcohol exposure.

I believe in public health. I believe in private health. This is not two tier. It is the reality of life. For the most part, we maintain our own healthy lifestyles. We do this by being active, having rewarding relationships, eating well, finding meaningful work and resting. We have health plans through work or that we buy independently for pharmacy, ambulance, alternative health needs, dental and vision care. We rely on public health for general medicine and specialized care.

As a Liberal, I think the balance is needed between the private and public to address the real needs of the people. Every person should have access to healthcare and I believe in general, the public system provides that to more people than any other system. However, private healthcare can co-exist and must exist to provide for additional care.

I believe in the supremacy of Parliament. I think the value of the system lies in giving MPs the ability to work in a transparent and effective manner in terms of the direction of the country. I support a professional civil service. I want a strong and independent court system as well as independent public officers in regulatory or oversight positions.

I support the military and believe it should get the resources it needs and the direction it needs. Clarity of mission, rules of engagement and a lasting commitment once service is complete are essential to the peace and security of the country.

I believe in freedom of religion. The state needs to let people worship with respect. Religious adherents need to let the state operate separate from the faith. The danger of faith and state being indistinguishable is that it assumes that everyone shares a single mindthink and the interests of religion and the state are the same. Many times they aren't.

I believe in the multi-party system of parliamentary governance. Although, I have identified with and run as a Liberal, I see the merit of the other parties and often agree with them on a variety of issues.

Why am I a Liberal?

The reason quite simply is that I am a Liberal because I haven't found a way of thinking elsewhere or generally a party that suited me as well.

If my country divided into left and right, I'd still stand in the center. I find that if you have only the two choices, the pull can be away from the center either way. I've said before that if my options were limited to the two choices, I'd support neither. In short, I might not vote. Or if all else failed, would stand up myself to represent that other choice.

Why I am a Liberal?

It is because that is who I am.

IKEA Sign and Construction