Junior Achievement - Lindsay Duthie

My best friend growing up was Carol Smith.  She was a member of Junior Achievement.  She really enjoyed it and it made a huge impact on her life.  She lost her oldest son in 2022 and her brother Ken, has set up a fund.  I know this time of year we are inundated with contributions, but this one is special.  It's a non-profit organization and you will get a tax receipt.  

The Lindsay Duthie Memorial Fund was created by his family to support Indigenous youth through the JA Company Program, providing them with entrepreneurial and life skills to shape their futures.

Lindsay's Legacy

Lindsay Duthie’s life was a testament to resilience, creativity, and the spirit of adventure. In his memory, the Lindsay Duthie Memorial Fund was established to empower Indigenous youth by giving them the tools and opportunities to succeed in business and life.

Lindsay's Story

Lindsay was born in 1976 in Edmonton, Alberta, to parents from the Slavey tribe, part of the Dene Nation. Unable to raise him at such a young age, his birth mother put Lindsay up for adoption. He was soon welcomed into the Duthie family, where he grew up surrounded by love and opportunity.

From an early age, Lindsay showed a zest for life. He traveled internationally with his family, became a big brother, and pursued his passions for sports and cooking. His love for math and hands-on learning led him to a career in the culinary arts, where he worked at restaurants, pubs, and even a fishing lodge on the B.C. coast.

Throughout his life, Lindsay cherished nature, particularly the ocean, finding peace living on the Gulf Islands. He was also an avid Edmonton Oilers fan and a self-taught musician who loved playing guitar.

Lindsay passed away at the age of 46, but his memory continues to inspire. 

Make a Gift to Honour Lindsay Duthie

By supporting the JA Company Program for Indigenous Learners, you are not only honouring Lindsay’s legacy but also investing in the next generation of Indigenous leaders, helping them realize their potential.

We invite you to join us in making a gift to support youth education in B.C. and to provide Indigenous learners access to a life-changing JA program this school year, free of charge. 

Warmest regards,

The Duthie Family and Uncle Ken!

Pierre Trudeau's walk in the snow

I remember this day in 1984 and wondered how many other Canadians remembered it too?  Do you think Justin will take a walk in the snow?

Near the end of his fourth term in office, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau went for his famous walk in the snow on Feb. 28, 1984 and announced the next day he would not run again. The city had a blizzard that day but whether he actually went for a walk might be questioned. It seemed to be a rhetorical device he often employed.

In his memoirs, Trudeau said he decided to run for the Liberal leadership in 1968 following Lester Pearson’s resignation after going for a walk in the snow during which he “agonized over whether to stand for the leadership of the Liberal Party.” He said his final decision to retire was easier.

Asked by reporters why he would not run again, Trudeau responded: “I had a good day yesterday … and it seemed like a good day to have a last day.” In fact, he would serve four more months.

His most difficult political decision may have been in 1979, after announcing his resignation as party leader on Nov. 29, nearly six months after Joe Clark’s Tories beat his Liberals. The Clark ministry was likely to be short-lived and Trudeau seemed ready to pass the reins to another Liberal so they could be in place in time for the next federal election.

However, Clark’s time in office was shorter than expected (273 days) and there was pressure on Trudeau to stay.

John English reports in Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, that on Dec. 16, the Liberal leader went for “a walk to think about his future” during which he “trod the empty, snow-covered streets of Ottawa.”

Going for a walk in the snow was clearly a trope that Trudeau liked to use. (He also said he went for a walk along the beach in Toronto in November when he decided to announce he would not stay on as leader before reversing himself the next month.)

Pierre Elliot Trudeau was in office for 15 years 1964 days

Justin Trudeau as of today has been in office 9 years 47 days

Anelia

Aniela is my first cousins granddaughter.  He passed away a few years ago and I am sure he would be thrilled with her accomplishments.  What a wonderful honour for a lovely young lady!

Our up and coming young environmentalist and super Mossom volunteer, Aniela Guzikowski, has been awarded the Dr. M. Wosk Environmental Award. Here's the announcement from the Metro Van Regional Parks Foundation newsletter: 

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2024 Dr. M. Wosk Environmental Leadership Award! These incredible students have impressed us with their dedication to academics and their communities, and we’re so proud to celebrate their achievements. This year, we awarded a total of $2,000 to three inspiring young leaders: Aniela Guzikowski, Jade Tao, and Jenna Dong.

A special shoutout to our first-place winner, Aniela Guzikowski, whose accomplishments are nothing short of extraordinary. Since 2018, Aniela has been a dedicated volunteer at Mossom Creek Hatchery, spent three summers with Metro Vancouver Beachkeepers, and launched a public awareness campaign to combat cigarette butt pollution in 2019. She even took the stage as a TEDx Bear Creek Park speaker in 2020.

That same year, Aniela earned the Port Moody Environmental Award and was recognized as a Salish Sea Hero by the SeaDoc Society. She’s also a peer tutor, a former student council member, and someone who consistently finds ways to improve her community and environment.

Canada Post was ordered back to work

The Canadian Industrial Relations Board ordered the Canadian Union of Postal Workers back to work on Tuesday.  In Vancouver other unions put up a "community picket line" protesting the move.  It was removed yesterday and finally the mail is moving.  Nothing has been resolved and it may all happen again in May.  

The volunteers haven't heard anything about Santa letters, but there is no way we will get many done.  Even if we did reply, the backlog is huge and they wouldn't receive replies before Christmas.

This was posted last night on the City News website:

While many are unhappy with the return to work order issued for Canada Post, those who wrote letters to Santa are pleased to learn they will arrive.

Canada Post operations reopened on Tuesday and workers have said as operations ramp up, letters to Santa will be handled with special care.

“The scanners in our plants are set up to locate Santa letters, which are identified by the H0H 0H0 postal code,” Canada Post said in a statement. “This allows us to deliver these letters straight to the North Pole. We will be doing this for all Santa letters mailed by Dec. 23.”

Canada Post has promised that Santa is eager to see what is on childrens wish lists but does state that this year Santa will not have time to respond.

The Santa letter program brings some joy to the bargaining situation which culminated in a nearly month-long strike.

“We are so privileged to be able to connect children and Santa over the holidays through our Santa letter program,” Canada Post said. “We wish everyone from coast to coast to coast a merry and joyous Christmas.”

Obituary

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes to the belly. Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin with the gravesite piled high with many flours.

Numerous celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, the California Raisins, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch.

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded.

Born in 1965 and bread in Minnesota, Poppin’ Fresh rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was never considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half baked schemes.

A little flaky, he was known as crusty man, but still considered a positive “roll” model to millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough; three children – John Dough, Jane Dough, and Dosey Dough…plus, they had a bun in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly uncle, Pop-Tart. The funeral was held at 3:50 for about 15 minutes.

Cloverdale - Langley City By-Election

 I live in the Electoral district of Cloverdale - Langley City.  Our member of parliament was John Aldag.  He resigned to run for the New Democratic Party in our last provincial election.  He lost.  

The Federal Government picked December 16th to be our voting day.  With Canada Post on strike, we never got any information.  No one received a voting card.  Our snowbird neighbours could not vote by mail.  I did not get a call or door knock from any political party.  I do my best to keep informed and told everyone in our district where to vote in the advance polls and also on election day.

Not a surprise the Conservative candidate was elected with a huge majority.  Confidence in our present government is at an all time low.

With a voter turnout of  16.27% of registered voters, this was a complete waste of tax payer dollars!  There will be an election on or before October 25, 2025.  With what happened yesterday, it could be called today!

Cloverdale—Langley City

Party	Candidate	Votes	Percentof Votes
Conservative	Tamara Jansen	9,931	66.3 %
Liberal	Madison Fleischer	2,401	16.0 %
NDP-New Democratic Party	Vanessa Sharma	1,875	12.5 %
Green Party	Patrick McCutcheon	580	3.9 %
People's Party - PPC	Ian Kennedy	133	0.9 %
Libertarian	Alex Joehl	59	0.4 %
Total number of valid votes:		14,979

Polls Reporting: 122 of 122 (100 %)

Voter Turnout: 14,979 of 92,061 registered electors (16.27 %) -- does not include electors who registered on election day.

Population: 130,665

Number of electors on list: 92,061

Having a bad day?