Really, what will Joe and Justin have to talk about?

ANTONIUK REAL ESTATE LTD.

BY JOHN MATHER

So U.S. president Sleepy Joe Biden will be navigated to Ottawa this week to meet with our very own illustrious sock boy Justin Trudeau.

I have it on authority from the very top, there will be no convoy to greet Biden as his own little entourage convoy drives the city streets which in itself no doubt will distress the inhabitants of our national burg.

After all the slightest change to their daily routines seems to upset them.

So what’s on the agenda for this meeting of the minds between Biden and Trudeau? What are they likely to find common ground on?

And what should they be talking about?

It is advertised they will continue working closely together to strengthen trade ties, create good jobs, grow the middle class, and drive economic growth that benefits everyone on both sides of the border. They will also continue to increase collaboration on defence and security, climate action, and immigration.

Well from what we’ve seen in glimpses of the “just transition” policy there’s no growth in middle class planned for the west. The elimination of our oil and gas sector economy won’t strengthen our middle class.

So let’s look at this security question.

The U.S. recently entered into an agreement with England and Australia to have Australia acquire a conventionallyarmed, nuclear submarine capability through the AustraliaUnited Kingdom United States enhanced security partnership.

Experts are warning that, as the U.S., Britain and Australia move ahead on an expanded military pact, Canada’s omission from that group suggests a larger problem with how this country is perceived by its friends.

Canada’s exclusion is seen by some as further evidence that its allies do not believe Ottawa is serious about pushing back against Chinese ambitions, despite the release of a new Indo-Pacific strategy late last year.

And that is only reinforced by Trudeau’s staff totally ignoring CSIS reports of Chinese interference into Canadian affairs including two elections. Trudeau won’t agree to a public inquiry to get to the bottom of the matter.

Instead he appointed former Governor General David Johnston as the “special rapporteur”

Now everyone agrees, Johnston is an honourable man. His credentials seem to be impeccable.

Bu, and it’s a big but, he’s a member of the Pierre Trudeau Foundation which has received major funding from Chinese sources. And he has travelled extensively in China.

CONTINUED

So he’s very familiar in a friendly way with the country he’s supposed to investigate and a personal friend of the Trudeau family.

Will it actually be a neutral, totally objective investigation?

I’ll leave that to you to figure out.

Next, Trudeau will want to chat with Biden about green industry development along with just transitions.

Biden has just recently angered American environmentalists by signing off on drilling agreements in Alaska representing an $8 billion investment to extract 600 million barrels of oil from a project known as “Willow” being developed by Conoco Phillips.

Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican and one of the chief advocates for Willow, which is projected to generate 2,500 jobs and millions in revenue for her state, said the president was inclined to oppose it and “needed to really be brought around.”

Environmental activists had also openly warned that

Biden’s climate record, which includes making landmark investments in clean energy, would be undermined if he approved Willow, and that young voters in particular could turn against him.

Some analysts said Biden’s decision could ultimately help him with moderates and independents, given elevated gas prices amid an energy crisis created by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Republican attacks that Democratic climate policies are jeopardizing American energy independence.

So in response to this will Trudeau ask to have the Keystone XL project resurrected in the U.S. That project would benefit both countries.

Will Trudeau argue for a definite decision on Line 5, which Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wants to shut down?

I doubt it.

Trudeau sees “no business case” for the LNG industry, even though Germany sees that very differently.

No this will be a meeting of the minds that will be won by the U.S, Canada, right now, doesn’t have a leader who can take a firm stand on policies that affect the world.

Rather than listening to CN Tower swingers like Stephen Guilbeault or world respected scholars such as Greta Thunberg, Trudeau should look at the economics of the world’s need for oil, gas and coal and allow Canada move ahead not only in developing this industry, but in reaping the rewards of attracting world markets to our shores in response to the worldwide need for these commodities.

That’s not to say we won’t eventually need to find alternative sources of energy. We, and the world will, but not for the next 50 to 100 years. At least not in an economical sense.

We have the commodities to supply the world and build a much better Canada.

What we don’t have is the Federal government to recognize this and move ahead with programs to make our nation successful.

So really, what will Joe and Justin talk about?

BY HAZEL ANAKA

For most of us, the most influential people in our lives are our parents. If we had horrible parents, that doesn’t bode well. If we had extraordinarily wonderful parents, we were blessed. If we had normal flawed parents, in other words, those possessing a mix of good and bad, nutty and wise, nurturing and scarring, we should consider ourselves about average. Par for the course, dodged a bullet, dysfunctionally normal.

And here’s where I add all the disclaimers and extenuating factors. In assessing our parents, it makes a world of difference if we’re toddlers, teens, thirty-somethings, or have one foot in the grave ourselves. Babies and toddlers rely on their parents for their very survival. Teens, out

FROM WHERE I SIT: Harmlessly Cute or Psycho Scary?

of necessity, evaluate everything and find everything wrong so it’s no surprise their parents are judged square, mean, old-fashioned, losers intent on ruining their lives. Using today’s timeline for life’s checkpoints, people in their thirties and forties are probably settled down with a life partner and are either parents themselves or acknowledging that ship has sailed.

And finally, the older adult. This group can go one of two ways: so emotional, sentimental, forgiving, and forgetful you’d be tempted to believe their parents were saints, not real people at all. Or, they continue to stoke the fires of resentment and disappointment at how they were treated compared to their siblings, what they had to do without, how hard they were forced to work, how they were abused physically and emotionally, how they never had a parent tell them they love them.

Unless you believe in reincarnation, this is our one and only life. It’s a fluke of luck or misfortune that we were born the pr s all measur os during the depression, the pandemic, the age of technology, the agricultural age, the permissive years, the age of corporal punishment, with nothing, or with everything. And maybe, that’s why scientists and comedians talk about Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, et cetera because the time of our birth in history leaves indelible marks on us. That factor alone is the current running through us and our lives.

Incidentally, I always try to choose my words carefully when talking about my parents because I am one. I’ve studiously tried to avoid making the mistakes they did but no doubt made some entirely new ones of my own. I try not to be overly critical because I don’t want to be harshly criticized by my own kids and grandkids. I owe my parents a debt of gratitude because without them, I wouldn’t exist. They provided the raw genetic material and the best upbringing they could provide given their own failings, finances, experience, baggage, and effort. Just as you and I do when we ommunities of ors said ed sect became parents. So, why was I thinking about all this? I’ve noticed some stuff. Some of the very things that drove me crazy when I was a teen, young adult I now find myself doing. When I became a new (know-it-all) driver, I was indignant when my dad didn’t signal an upcoming turn so I pointed it out to him. His laid back (smart ass) answer was that he knew where he was going. Guess who now no longer signals her intentions when driving on rural country roads? I thought it strange even embarrassing that he’d put some water into an almost empty jar to rinse out the last of its contents into a recipe. I do it too, especially with pasta sauce. Go figure. My dad was a tinkerer, an inventor, a MacGyver of his generation and always had some project or other on the go. If I caught a glimpse of his glasses, I was horrified at how smudged and dirty they were. I wondered how he saw anything. These days, more often than not, I’m so engrossed in what I'm doing, that the state of my lenses rival his for grossness. My current excuse is some antibiotic eye ointment I need four times a day. Other times I blame a lens cloth that needs laundering. The truth is, it’s a small distraction I’m not prepared to waste time on until I really can’t see anymore. And I even have one of those ultrasonic cleaners. Maybe, it’s time to pull it out and batch clean all my sunglasses and the pair on my nose. This week, let’s all notice how we’re imitating our parents and how our kids are imitating us. Let’s hope it’s more harmlessly cute than psycho scary, from where I sit.

C h u r c h

C a l e n d a r

LAMONT UNITED CHURCH

5306 - 51 Ave., Lamont, AB 780-895-2145

Rev. Deborah Brill