Pierre Poilievre for Prime Minister

January 17, 2023February 26, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ 2 Comments

Since Pierre Poilievre won the Conservative leadership race last year, he is proving he would make a great Prime Minister here in Canada. Actually, long before he won the leadership race. For five years prior, Poilievre served within the Conservative government (opposition) as the shadow minister for finance. In this role, he quickly became known for his bulldog-like perseverance in attempting to get answers. I loved (still do) listening to him grill, talk, argue, and explain things to voters, especially regarding wrong-doings featuring the Liberal government and our current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

No Longer an Affluent Country

Unless you are a high-paid member of the Liberal party, whose spending habits defy reason and transparency, it could be argued that Canada is no longer an affluent country. Perhaps compared to other countries around the world we appear to be but things have changed. Yes, we have our share of millionaires and a few billionaires in our midst, but the average family or citizen is penny-pinching, even struggling to make ends meet. High interest, mortgage, inflation rates, and taxes mean our earned dollars don’t go as far as they used to. Pension plans are not adjusted for inflation and investments have tanked, so many seniors who thought they could retire comfortably are now scratching their heads. More money is going out than is coming in; a basic accounting issue that continues to plague us. Couples are choosing to have fewer if any, children because of the astronomical cost of living.

These are just a few of the headlines:

In Q3 of last year, the Bank of Canada lost money for the first time in its history. Those losses are set to continue.
According to a new report, the Bank of Canada is set to lose up to $8.8 billion over the next 2-3 years.
Trudeau Campaigning Against Alberta Demonstrates His Unfitness For National Leadership
‘World Stage Trudeau’ Bears No Resemblance To The Trudeau Who Governs Canada
More Canadians Leaving Big Cities As Affordability Crisis Continues
Bank of Canada has to pay interest too on bonds held resulting in shortfall
Growing spending on consultants by ballooning public service is the real scandal

Many are putting their hopes in Pierre Poilievre to change this.

The following recent video shows Poilievre talking about the dire straits many Canadians are facing. He then gets into grilling Trudeau for numerous inappropriate contracts awarded to global consulting firm McKinsey over the years:

Support from Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper, former Canadian Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party supports Poilievre too and would like to see Trudeau ousted from his position.

I have watched with great concern as the Trudeau Liberals – in partnership with their NDP allies – have weakened our country through rampant inflation, slow growth, billions in new debt, lost job opportunities, an out-of-control housing market, and refusing to fix the institutions that have been failing Canadian families

I’ve seen Pierre in action. He served as my Parliamentary Secretary and was a strong Minister in my government. In recent years, he has been our Party’s most vocal and effective critic of the Trudeau Liberals.

Pierre is winning the support of Canadians because he’s talking about the issues – especially the economic issues – that matter to Canadian families. He is proposing sound, Conservative ideas, but ones adapted for the challenges of today. And, critically, he’s bringing a new generation of Canadians into our Party.

THAT is how we win the next election.

But, in the days and weeks to come, we can expect Pierre to face a barrage of attacks and criticisms from the Trudeau Liberals, the NDP, hostile voices in the news media, and left-wing special interests determined to derail his positive message of hope and freedom
Stephen Harper, former PM

Rex Murphy on the Conservatives of the Past

In the National Post, columnist Rex Murphy wonders whether Harper is doing Pierre Poilievre a favour by endorsing him or alienating and scaring off on-the-fence voters. This is due to Harper’s unpopularity when he was voted out. I for one like(d), respect(ed), and most importantly, trust(ed) the average-looking, non-flashy, down-to-earth, intelligent, qualified-for-the-job Stephen Harper and the fact that (in the words of Murphy) “he thinks, thinks well and deeply before he acts.” What a concept!

Unfortunately, things have changed drastically since Harper and the Conservatives were voted out:

Protests took place that didn’t bring down the Emergencies Act. When trying to stamp out bigotry, it was the custom not to fund bigots in the fight against it. The administration and distribution of public money in amounts close to a billion dollars to charity-entrepreneurs was not known, and finally, perhaps most extraordinary, Alberta’s oil industry was regarded as a national benefit.
Rex Murphy

Immigration Policies

Harper though had several policies that sunk him, especially his hard stance on immigration, a point Liberals were quick to capitalize on. Liberals plan to increase the arrival of immigrants to 500,000 per year by 2025. Does anyone else feel this is super-excessive, especially in such turbulent times? Poilievre recognizes Harper’s prior unpopularity in immigrant-rich communities like Toronto, so has adopted a promise:

We will maintain the same engagements and commitment for continuous discussions around immigration [including] immigration that is based on family reunification, the recognition of foreign certificates, the scrapping of the English test, as well as the removal of bottlenecks to improving the immigration process,”
current Conservative agenda

The problem is, as I see it anyway, that increased immigration and an economic crisis don’t meld well together. Higher cost of living, inflation rate, and housing costs are a nightmare for current citizens, how will immigrants fare? Canadian cities are already packed to the hilt. Although we do have lots of jobs available that immigrants might be more willing to fill than unemployed Canadians.

World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland

The WEF is happening right now. Don’t know about the WEF? Check out this information for specifics. Members of the Canadian Liberals love to attend, Conservatives not so much. That’s because of the controversy WEF is tainted with:

It began when an opinion article published in 2016 on the WEF’s website — entitled “Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better” and intended, its author says, as “a discussion about some of the pros and cons of the current technological development” — started getting attention in 2020, after WEF founder and chairman Klaus Schwab wrote his own opinion piece arguing for something he called “the great reset.”…..The “great reset” has since morphed into a conspiracy theory claiming that a cabal of global elites is planning to remake society to eliminate private property and impose an authoritarian global government…..Last week, Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre told a crowd of applauding supporters that, as prime minister, he would ban cabinet ministers from attending “that big fancy conference of billionaires with the World Economic Forum” and vowed to remove them from cabinet should they attend.
CBC

Notable Canadians attending WEF in 2023 include Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, International Trade Minister Mary Ng, and former Bank of Canada and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney.

Tipping the Scale

The problem with politics and politicians is that no one party or member can possibly tick all the boxes for voters, although Poilievre comes close. The current dismal economic state of our country, as well as repeated scandals from Liberals, with Justin Trudeau leading the way, are weighing him down.

My scales are tipped, and heavy is not good.

Prince Harry, his Life is an Open Book

January 10, 2023March 9, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ 3 Comments

Every time I read about the way Prince Harry and his brother Prince William were expected to behave after their beloved mother died, I feel sick. And my heart breaks all over again, especially for those boys. They were only 12 and 15, respectively, at the time. The expectations of the monarchy, and their father in particular, border on child abuse in my humble opinion. Obviously, Prince Harry’s pain is still raw, bottled up for so many years, now exploding in the form of tell-all documentaries and memoirs.

I was fascinated by Princess Diana. Her natural beauty, vivacious personality, and even her vulnerability were so magnetic and refreshing. One couldn’t help but feel though, that she was a sacrificial lamb led to slaughter by the monarchy. Once her role of producing an heir and a spare was completed, she was discarded. Like the rest of the world, I was shocked by her untimely death and the circumstances around it.

Fast forward twenty-five years. Many are quick to disparage the (no privacy here) format in which Prince Harry is airing his feelings and memories AKA dirty laundry. I can’t get past the pain I hear. After the ordeal he went through, how can his life not be affected? Through the years I’ve always preferred Harry to William but in all fairness, the stress and protocol of being the British heir must be soooo tough. Harry, as the spare, was able to break the rules more. He also seems to be more like his mother in personality. Her charisma, ease with people, sense of humor, and more shine through Harry. Although William looks more like his mom, I believe his personality (again dictated by his role) seems to be stuffier, more like Charles.

Most of the information here is from direct quotes from Harry’s memoir, titled “Spare,” for sale today but leaked in Spain last week. The things some people do for money! Now that all the “scoops” are out in all forms of social media, sales of the book cannot help but be affected.

Princes Harry and William Greeting the Mourners

go into detail about how strange it was and how actually there was some guilt that I felt — and I think William felt as well — by walking around the outside of Kensington Palace,” he said. “Fifty-thousand bouquets of flowers to our mother and there we were shaking people’s hands, smiling. I’ve seen the videos, right? I’ve looked back over it all. And the wet hands that we were shaking — we couldn’t understand why their hands were wet, but it was all the tears they were wiping away. Everyone thought and felt like they knew our mum. And the two closest people to her, the two most loved people by her, were unable to show any emotion in that moment.
Prince Harry, talking about the days after his Mom’s tragic accident

Walking Behind the Coffin at the Funeral

This has bothered me for years. I could not understand it at the time and still cannot.

…it was decided that Princess Diana’s two sons — Prince Harry and Prince William — would walk behind her coffin in the procession through London at her funeral. And there’s absolutely no way that I would let him do that by himself, and there’s absolutely no way that he would let me do that by myself.

Prince Harry, talking about the days after his Mom’s tragic accident

This past September when I saw Prince Charles and his sister Anne wiping tears away as they walked behind their mother’s coffin I was sickened. Yes, the Queen was beloved for many more years than Princess Diana, but the Queen also lived a long, accomplished life. Her children left behind were adults (senior ones at that) while Princes Harry and William were mere children! Yet, they were expected to show no emotion.

Searching for Closure

Another excerpt from Prince Harry’s memoir details how he requested to drive through the tunnel in which his mother’s car crashed:

While attending the 2007 Rugby World Cup semifinal in Paris, a then 23-year-old Harry drove through the same tunnel where his mother died 10 years prior. In his new book, he recounts the intense pain he felt in his attempt to find closure.

After the driver took him through at the same speed that his mother’s car was driving, Harry wrote, “I’d always imagined the tunnel as some treacherous passageway, inherently dangerous, but it was just a short, simple, no-frills tunnel.”

Prince Harry also confessed to believing (or wanting to believe) that his mother faked her death to escape the media-filled attention her life still ……. long after divorcing Prince (at the time) Charles. For that reason, he requested to see pictures of the crash, even though they were in a secret government file. He was grateful the more graphic ones were excluded from those he was permitted to see:

I saw the photographs of the reflection of all the paparazzi in the window at the same time. I saw the back of her blonde hair, you know, slumped on the back of the seat. I was looking for evidence that it was true”
Prince Harry

Don’t Believe the Media

I admit to believing much of what I read and see on TV, including many of the “leaked” excerpts from Prince Harry’s book. According to his (hilarious) visit to Stephen Colbert’s Late Night Show recently, many of these excerpts were taken completely out of context. And then plastered all over social media and the news, everywhere, for gullible people (like me) to believe. The story of his military time in Afghanistan was the worst. Watch the video of Prince Harry setting the record straight.

Healthy Soul Cleansing or TMI?

How do you feel about “Spare” and related Netflix airings? Is his soul-bearing justified or TMI? Maybe I am naïve but I hope the ensuing discussions will be productive and healing for both him and his brother. King Charles or Camilla I don’t much care about.

I wasn’t going to read “Spare” after hearing all the juicy excerpts for free but now I’ve heard his version of the truth, I may just purchase and read it.

Happy Birthday Dad!

September 19, 2022September 20, 2022 ~ Loreeebee ~ 2 Comments

Today, September 19th, would have been my Dad’s 94th birthday. Although he left us sixteen years ago already, I think of him in some context daily. Happy Birthday Dad!

These pictures were taken on Dad’s surprise (sort of) 75th birthday where he was celebrated by his family and friends.

A Broken Heart Took Him Too Early

After my mom died in 1994 at the age of 65, dad’s love of life and will to live seemed to diminish. He was only 66 at the time, and the quality of his life deteriorated quickly after her death. He used his advancing age as an excuse to prevent him from enjoying his golden years, but we all knew it was the void in his heart that was the culprit.

Happy birthday Dad, we are all thinking of you today and hope you are celebrating with Mom and others that left us too soon.

Memories That Make me Smile

A few years ago I woke up to frost on the rooftops and lawns on this date, an early appearance even here in Ottawa, but somehow appropriate for Dad’s birthday. As I looked out the window at the whiteness, I could hear his voice saying “HAH, frost in September!”

The really cool thing is that many of his unique expressions and habits live on in my children and grandchildren. His premature white hair lives on in moi. As my three brothers age, I see many of Dad’s personality traits in them too. Here are just a few memories and the things that evoke them:

his affectionate phrase “dum dum” when someone did something silly, often used on his children and grandchildren. I must admit to using it in my own household too, softened with a giggle, just like he used to.
his use of the expression “HAH” as used above, meaning “who would have thunk it?” or “I don’t think so” (when he didn’t want to do something) or when he found something funny or ridiculous.
his ride-on lawnmower that his six children purchased for him on his 75th birthday. It currently resides at my cottage where the lawns are big enough to need a ride-on mower.

when I am out “puttering” in a garden as he used to love to do. In his latter days he would have a list of things for me to do in his garden each visit. As a youngster, I remember my mom picking out the plants, but Dad was always the one planting and looking after them. I know he would be proud and not the least bit surprised about my new profession, Gardens4U.
when one of my sons (or me) yell at the TV during a hockey game.
one of his sweaters that I found in his closet when cleaning out his house, barely (if at all) used, that I now use as garden apparel on cool days.
his use of an accelerant to start the campfire at the cottage, especially after a week of rain when everything is damp. My husband calls it “grandpa’s firestarter.”
wandering around my gardens in sandals (Dad often wore his slippers to do this, much to my Mom’s dismay) with a cup of tea in hand, stopping here and there to pull a weed or two, or to “stop and smell the roses.”
My youngest grandson was named after you, although he is still too young to realize it. He will though, I will make sure he does.
his goofy grin, that fortunately (for me) lives on in my middle son and also my oldest grandson.

The list goes on and on….

Happy Birthday Dad, I miss you! Oh, how I wish you were still here to visit with my sons and my contribution to the great-grandchildren in your family tree.