King Charles III visit to the USA April 27 - 30

 

When I first heard that this visit might actually happen, I was genuinely appalled. After all the harsh things the U.S. President has said about Britain, the idea of a state visit felt jarring and deeply disappointing. It didn’t sit right with me at all.

Then I learned something important: this wasn’t the King’s decision. The request came from the UK Parliament. That shifted my perspective. It made me pause, step back, and think about what might really be happening behind the scenes.

Once I had a moment to reflect, I began to see another possibility. Perhaps the King intends to use this visit as an opportunity to mend strained relationships. He has always been someone who values diplomacy, dialogue, and stability. Maybe this is his chance to help ease tensions and encourage a more respectful tone between nation

What I truly hope is that he also stands up for the rest of the Commonwealth — especially Canada and Australia. We have our own identities, our own values, and our own place in the world. We have no desire to become the “51st state,” and it’s unsettling when the U.S. President casually refers to our Prime Minister as a “Governor.” Comments like that may be meant as jokes, but they carry an undertone that many of us find dismissive.

So while my initial reaction was frustration, I’m choosing to hope that something constructive might come from this visit. If the King can help steer the conversation toward respect, understanding, and genuine partnership, then perhaps this moment — uncomfortable as it is — could lead to something better.

Mark Carney, what has he done in the last few months?

You may not like Mark Carney because he's a Liberal.  Cool.  I don't care, I'm non-partisan.  But I keep hearing "he's done nothing" from people who can't name a single policy he's passed.  So I'm going to list some of what the man has actually done in 12 months, just to clear a few things up.

1) He killed the carbon tax.

Gone. Day one. The thing you've been posting about for five years. He ended it. You're welcome.

2) He scrapped the EV mandate.

No more government forcing you to buy an electric car. Replaced it with a $5,000 rebate if you want one. Your choice.

3) He reversed the capital gains tax hike.

The one that had every doctor, investor, and small business owner looking at the exit door. Reversed.

4) He passed the One Canadian Economy Act.

Tore down interprovincial trade barriers that have been strangling this country since Confederation. Passed with Conservative support by the way. Nobody talks about that part. CMHC says this alone could unlock 30,000 new housing starts a year.

5) He launched Build Canada Homes.

Not a press conference. An actual federal agency building 45,000+ homes on government land across six cities.

6) He dropped $51 billion on real infrastructure.

The Build Communities Strong Fund. Hospitals. Bridges. Water systems. Transit. Universities. Stuff you can walk into and touch.

7) He cut 40,000 government jobs.

Trimmed the federal machine and committed to balancing operational spending by 2029. With a plan. On paper.

8 ) He slashed temporary resident admissions.

From 673,000 down to 385,000. Because he understood what the last government refused to accept: you can't add people without adding capacity.

9) He hit the NATO 2% defense target.

Something every PM has dodged for decades.  Canada just made the biggest defense spending jump in generations.  Over $63 billion.  Then at the NATO summit he committed to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.  The Americans aren't laughing anymore.

10) He flew to the UAE and came back with $70 billion.

A $70 billion investment pledge into Canadian infrastructure. Not a handshake. A signed agreement.

11) He went to China and played hardball.

Got tariffs on Canadian canola dropped from 85% to 15%. Cut EV tariffs from 100% to 6.1%.  That's not weakness.  That's someone who knows what leverage looks like.

12) He signed Canada's first bilateral free trade deal with an ASEAN country.

Indonesia. New market. New money. New doors.

13) He took the federal tax off gasoline and disel.

Now gasoline in Vancouer starts with a $1!

14) PM Carney announced the Advisory Committee for the US/Canada Free Trade Agreement.  He didn't chose people who were "loyal" or Liberal.  Look at the qualifications and political affiliations!

• Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
• Darryl White, CEO of the Bank of Montreal.
• Lisa Raitt, former Conservative cabinet minister.
• Tracy Robinson, president and CEO of the Canadian National Railway.
• Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers'​ Association. 
• Ron Bedard, president and CEO of steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal Dofasco.
• Ken Seitz, president and CEO of fertilizer giant Nutrien.
• Dennis Darby, president and CEO at Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.
• Lana Payne, national president of Unifor.
• François Poirier, president and CEO of Calgary-based TC Energy.
• Émile Cordeau, CEO of Agropur, the largest dairy co-operative in Canada.
• Luc Thériault, CEO of Pulp and Wood Products, and president of Domtar Canada.
• Magali Picard, president of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec.
• Jonathan Price, president and CEO at Teck Resources Ltd., a mining and resource company based in B.C. 
• Susan Yurkovich, president and CEO of Canfor, a large forest products company based in B.C. 
• Michael Harvey, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance.
• Tabatha Bull, president and CEO of Canadian Council for Indigenous Business.
• Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival.
• Valérie Beaudoin, expert in U.S. policy and politics at the University of Quebec.
• Erin O’Toole, former federal Conservative leader.
• Jean Charest, former Progressive Conservative leader and Liberal premier of Quebec.
• P.J. Akeeagok, former premier of Nunavut.
• Ralph Goodale, former Liberal finance minister and high commissioner to the U.K.

He's made 26 international trips in one year.

Building trade relationships, signing deals, and putting Canada back in rooms we got quietly removed from (yes by Trudeau ... enough about Trudeau, he is NOT Trudeau).

Read that list again.

Carbon tax gone. EV mandate gone.  Capital gains hike gone.  Immigration reduced. Defense spending up. Government jobs cut.  Trade barriers removed. Foreign investment pouring in.

Again, not Trudeau, enough about Trudeau, he is not Trudeau, he is Mark Carney after barely a year leading our country!

A Liberal made all these things actually happen.

And that's what's really eating some people alive.  It's not that they disagree with the results. It's that the wrong team delivered them.  So instead of saying "good, keep going" they say "he's done nothing" because their brain won't let them give credit to someone wearing the wrong jersey.

You don't have to like Carney.  You don't have to vote for him.  But if you're going to yell he's done nothing after reading that list, just say what you actually mean:

"I don't care what he does. I decided I was against him before he started."

At least that would be honest.

Sweet Caroline

Most people know that Neil Diamond wrote "Sweet Caroline," but almost no one knew the real story behind the song for nearly four decades.  In 1969, Neil Diamond was sitting with a photograph of a little girl riding a pony, her face glowing with pure, unbothered joy, and something about the image stopped him completely.  That little girl was Caroline Kennedy, captured on the White House grounds with her pony Macaroni, and the photo moved him so deeply that he sat down and wrote what would become one of the most beloved pop songs in American history.  He never told a soul.  Not his record label, not his closest friends, not even Caroline herself.  He carried the secret quietly through the decades, watching the song become a cultural institution, hearing it played at stadiums and ballparks and birthday parties across the country, and still he said nothing. 

It was not until 2007, when Diamond performed the song at Caroline's 50th birthday celebration, that he finally told her the truth.  She was the inspiration.  She had always been the inspiration.  Think about that for a momen photograph of a small, unsuspecting child at the most powerful address in the world quietly gave the world a song that has been sung billions of times.  Caroline never knew.  The song outlived her father, outlived her brother, outlived her mother, became embedded in the soundtrack of American life, and at the center of it all was that one innocent photograph of a little girl and her pony on a sunlit lawn, frozen in time, turned into music that will never stop playing.  That is one of the most quietly beautiful stories in the history of American culture, and it belongs entirely to Caroline Kennedy.

Troy Van Vliet for Mayor of Surrey

 

South Surrey's Troy Van Vliet Founder of Saint John Paul II Academy

Last month I went to a function and sat beside Troy.  I knew he planned on running for mayor but until it was public, I would not say anything.  He spoke about his wife and two daughters.  His oldest daughter has a learning disability.  Trying to get her the help she needed the Surrey Schools let him down.  He was so upset about the way these children were being neglected, he built a school!  He said "now children will get the education they deserve".  His daughter has graduated, but other children with learning disabilities will have a better education.

I've heard about his platform from others but I will go to his launch to find out from him.  Troy isn't a career politician.  He's a builder, a father, and a community member who believes Surrey deserves better.  With five other people running for mayor this will be an interesting race.

https://surreynow.ca/priorities

There is an interesting article in the Surrey Now Leader:

Surrey Now Leader

Canada Just ENDED 15 Years of Dependency — And What Rolled Out in Winnipeg Changes Everything

Canada’s manufacturing future may have just shifted — but not in the way many expected.   In Winnipeg this week, something quietly rolled off the line for the first time in over a decade… and it didn’t cross the border to be finished.

For years, Canadian-built buses were only partially completed before being sent to the United States for final assembly. That long-standing pattern has now been broken.

New Flyer has expanded its facility to design, engineer, and fully assemble hybrid electric buses entirely in Canada — a move backed by a $38 million investment and thousands of jobs tied to it.  But this isn’t just about transit.

It signals something much bigger: a shift away from cross-border dependence at a time when global trade is becoming increasingly unpredictable.

After 15 years, “Made in Canada” is no longer partial — it’s complete again from start to finish… and the implications are only beginning to unfold as the internet is exploding.

Strait of Hormuz - closed again!

Five cruise ships were able to sail through the Strait of Hormoz before it was closed yesterday.  I am not sure if there are still any cruise ships being detained.  All passengers have departed and only the crew needed to sail are on board.  I know one more Celestyal ship was able to leave the strait that's not on this map.

I did a search and found this:

1. At least 14 ships stopped by Iran (India‑bound)

A PTI‑sourced report states that 14 India‑bound ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz were stopped by Iran, with one vessel hit by gunfire.

2. More than 20 ships turned back by the U.S. blockade

NBC News reports that the U.S. military says 21 ships have been turned back to Iran since the blockade began. These are vessels prevented from exiting Iranian ports or proceeding through the strait.

3. Some tankers forced to turn around after being fired upon

TankerTrackers.com reported that vessels—including an Indian‑flagged supertanker—were forced to turn around after Iranian gunboats opened fire.

4. A few tankers have transited despite the blockade

CBS News confirms that at least several tankers, including the crude oil tanker Alicia, successfully transited the strait overnight, even under blockade conditions.

Letters to the Editor

In October, Surrey, BC will have a civil election for Mayor.  To date, five people have declared they will run.  I know of one more candidate that isn't going to announce until August.  Some are good, others are opportunists who need a job and then there is the 82 year old former Mayor who lost in the last election and had a disaster of failures in his last stint as Mayor.  He's had two strokes since his Mayor days.

I've met Ivan who wrote this letter and I must say he's right on!

Letter to the Editor                                      14 April 2026

“Why Stop at Zero?”

Dear Editor,

82 year-old former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum has again entered the Surrey Mayoral race of 2026 after previously failing badly in the 2022 election. If it wasn’t so sad, it would be quite funny. Actually, it is humorous – and he is entering with the same failed, familiar political offerings: including a ridiculous promise of a zero percent tax increase for four years!

Why stop there?

·         Why not promise an immediate four percent tax reduction — with no increases for ten years?

·         Why not give two (or three) police helicopters instead of the unnecessary one he is offering?

·         Why not 400 additional officers to match Vancouver?

·         Why not rather declare Surrey a “world-class city” overnight?

·         Why not promise honesty; integrity; honor;  truthfulness; virtuousness; uprightness of character; morality?

Because at some point, words collide with reality.

McCallum promises expanded policing, new infrastructure, accelerated development, and “opportunity zones for growth.” - impressive phrases. But they are, at present, nothing more than that — just phrases. He has promised it before and failed.

A city does not run on slogans – especially McCallum’s slogans. It runs on arithmetic.

Every "promise" he makes has a cost. Every expansion requires funding. Every delay in revenue must be compensated somewhere — through reduced services, increased debt, or deferred responsibility. There is no escaping this.

So the question is: are these ideas logical and do they make fiscal and common sense, and are they credible, costed, and achievable? The answer, in my opinion is – definitely no! McCallum is just trying to bribe his way in – he cares nothing for Surrey as a City. As before, he cares only to satisfy his own ego.

Surrey is not a campaign stage for aspirational language. It is a complex, growing city that demands disciplined thinking and honest accounting.

Residents deserve to be treated as adults — capable of understanding trade-offs, not simply being handed imaginary and comforting numbers and Words. Words. Meaningless Words.

Definitely not McCallum for mayor, we have far too much to lose.

“Zero” is not a plan.