View From the Legislature

Each election has its own dynamic, and it is unwise to try to draw out too many comparisons between different jurisdictions.

Just a couple of weeks away from Halloween and the Manitoba NDP government used some slight of hand recently to change government policy that, when looked at closely, will feel a lot more like a trick than a treat to Manitobans.

On October 19th there will be a referendum vote in Alberta that asks residents of that province a number of questions, the most prominent being whether they wish to begin a process of negotiating separation from Canada.

Wednesday was the third anniversary of the horrific attack in Israel that killed at least 1,200 Israelis.

The appearance of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the recent investment summit in Toronto likely upset a few federal Conservatives and federal Liberals.

The transition from summer to fall in Manitoba brings with it a number of familiar routines. Vacations, summer festivals and time at the lake start to be in the rear-view mirror and the focus shifts to families adjusting to school and regular work schedules.

For many years I had the honour of serving as the Canadian co-chair of the Midwest Canada- U.S. Relations Committee.

It would be easy to assume, by just watching the daily news, that there are no longer places where elected officials of different political parties cooperate.

It naturally doesn’t get the attention it did when inflation was running at seven or eight percent and interest rates were increasing seemingly every month, but Manitoba continues to record among the highest inflation rates in the country month after month.

The vast majority of Manitobans would have been unaware that for past quarter of a century, in an office high above the iconic Portage and Main intersection, was a United States diplomatic office.