Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

ROTHENBURGER -- With his ever-increasing spending announcements, one wonders how many more of his briefings we can afford



Used with permission – originally posted in CFJC Today

 

PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU has been working very hard since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Time for him to take a break.

 

Almost every day around 8 a.m. or so, Trudeau steps out between the potted fir trees at his house and takes to the lectern to talk about the pandemic. It’s safe to say no prime minister in history has talked to Canadians directly as often as Trudeau now has.

 

Ever since he announced an $82 billion stimulus package and a ban on non-essential Canada-U.S. travel in his very first driveway chats way back in March, he’s rarely missed a daily update. When he does, that in itself becomes national news.

 

At times, Trudeau has shown true leadership as he delivers a mini-sermon along with some new grant programs. At others, such as when he worried about people “speaking moistly” on each other, it’s been cringe-worthy.

 

With his ever-increasing spending announcements — which are now around $150 billion for COVID-19 — one wonders how many more of his briefings we can afford.

 

What started out as must-see TV has become a lot of white noise in the background of the pandemic. Viewership must surely have fallen off dramatically over recent weeks, and the same goes for Dr. Theresa Tam, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and a whole host of health officials and politicians across the country.

 

It’s still important for us to be kept up to speed on COVID-19, and our leaders still need to talk to us, but maybe not every day of the week. We salute them for their work ethic, but their message is getting lost as we have settled into acceptance of the pandemic reality.

 

As the song goes, we need a little less conversation and more focus on action.

 


Even the daily numbers reported, of new cases and latest deaths, are becoming a blur.

 

Time to change gears in the public-information bandwagon, and the person best positioned to make the first move is the prime minister.

 

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

 

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and former newspaper editor. He publishes the Armchair Mayor opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FORSETH -- Given the noted infractions of this agreement with OneBC leader Dallas Brodie, I request the Party immediate suspend the leadership campaign of Yuri Fulmer

I have personally emailed the following to the Board and Administration of the Conservative Party of BC:   TODAY (03/30) Yuri Fulmer, a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of BC, made a pact with ONEBC leader Dallas Broldie, that if he is elected will commit the Conservative Party to the following. Specifically, the pact states : This Memorandum of Understanding outlines the definitive electoral and governing alliance that will be executed upon Yuri Fulmer’s election as Leader of the Conservative Party of British Columbia OneBC Party commits to not nominating or authorizing candidates in 88 of British Columbia’s 93 electoral districts. In exchange, the Conservative Party of BC, under the leadership of Yuri Fulmer, commits to not nominating or authorizing candidates in five (5) specific electoral districts . OneBC will be the sole standard-bearer for the right in those five districts. The specific ridings will be determined through mutual negotiation and fin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Delays to the replacement of the Red Bridge? Kamloops North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer says they are, “Totally Unacceptable.”

I think it’s totally unacceptable that on one hand the Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MoTT) is saying they’re going to be responsible for putting together multiple replacement options with public engagement, and then in the same breath they're saying, ‘Oh, and by the way, we're going to start our geotechnical environmental and archaeological site assessments on both sides of the river, possibly beginning this summer.’ According to Stamer, that should already have been done. “Obviously, we're pretty sure it will be in the same location because there's really no other place to put it. So, if you're going to put in a bridge, you think that at least you'd be doing the archaeological assessments first off”, stated Stamer.   “If it's determined it has to be a free-span bridge, and it can't have anything or very minimal impact in the riverbed, they should already be determining that. It would help in the design, wouldn't it?” Stamer indicated...
Post a Comment
Read more

Your government has a gambling problem (Troy Media)

Provinces call it “revenue,” but it looks a lot like exploitation of the marginalized The odds of winning Lotto Max are about 1 in 33 million. You’re statistically more likely to be struck by lightning than to win it. But your government is betting that statistics won’t hold you back; they’re counting on it. Across Canada, provincial governments not only regulate gambling, they also maintain a monopoly on lottery and gaming by owning and operating the entire legal market. That means every scratch card is government-issued, gambling odds are government-set, casino ads are government-funded and lottery billboards are government-paid. And these are not incidental government activities. They generate significant revenues that governments have powerful incentives to expand, not constrain. It would be one thing for our governments to encourage us to engage in healthy activities. We can quibble about whether the government should be trying to convince us to be more active or eat more vegetabl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more