Cruising in Canadian waters 2021???

In February, Canada banned all cruise ships in it's waters for one year.  This has caused havoc in the cruise industry.  Of course the cruise lines immediately cancelled the Alaska cruises sailing in and out of Vancouver and the Canada/New England cruises sailing in and out of Quebec City.  However, they have not cancelled cruises sailing through Canada out of Seattle, New York or Boston yet.  

I know they are lobbying the US Government to amend the Jones Act and Passenger Vessel Services Act.  It was enacted in 1886 and reads:

No foreign vessels shall transport passengers between ports or places in the United States, either directly or by way of a foreign port, under a penalty of $200 [now $762] for each passenger so transported and landed.

With Canada closing it's ports, cruise ships are not able to go to Alaska from the lower 48 as there is no foreign port enroute for them to dock.  There was talk about one of the Alaska islands, inhabited with indigenous people, become a country.  I believe that didn't get anywhere.  Changing the Jones Act/PVS Act isn't as easy as one would think.

Some of the people in US Government sent this letter to our Ambassador!

I think we should counter offer.  Let them dock at Canadian Ports that charge huge docking fees.  Keep all passengers on board and load load all supplies required for the cruise.  That would include fuel, Canadian meat, vegetables and alcohol!    That's what I call a win-win!  I've sent an email to the Canadian Ambassador in Washington so we'll see if she replies!

Beautiful wood work from British Columbia

There are few things more beautiful than wood grains especially when incorporated into the wood carvers skill.

Enjoy the beautiful work from the Province of British Columbia. 

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The Martintoren

All over the Netherlands during the Second World War, the Germans took the large (and small) church bells to melt down and make into bullets. When word got around to Groningen, the locals would have none of it. They took the bells down, buried them and seeded crops on top of them so the Germans couldn't find them. One man made a map of where the bells were buried and hid the map in a church basement so they could get them after the war. Canadian troops were billeted all over the area immediately following the end of the war. It took a lot of time and effort to dig up the bells, clean them, hoist them up into the tower and mount them.

The "Chime Master" was expected to play the Dutch National Anthem the 1st time the bells were to ring out after the many years of silence, but he had another plan. He approached the officers of the Canadian Soldiers who had liberated Groningen and asked them, "what is the song of the Canadians". the officers responded "God save the King" "Ya, Ya.. that is the official song of the British Empire... I would like to know the song of Canada!" They then replied, "O Canada". No one had the sheet music to O Canada, but a Chaplin in the Canadian Armed Forces that was stationed there had a good clear voice and he was summoned and sang "O Canada" a few times for the Chime Master who wrote down the notes, climbed into the tower and for the 1st song to be played in years, he played "O Canada" as a tribute to the soldiers who had liberated Groningen, Netherlands.

The picture below is the Martintoren. It was completed in 1482. Unlike many buildings around it, both the Martinitoren and the church next to it, the Martinikerk (St. Maarten's Church) survived World War II relatively unscathed, though some shrapnel damage is visible.

The ever-so-slightly leaning sandstone and red brick Martinitoren is the bell tower for the Martinikerk. It contains a carillon with 52 bells, some of which are enormous bells that are 400 years old.

Now look out at the city. Nearby, below you, is the Grote Markt, the central square of Groningen. One row of lovely centuries-old buildings lines one side, now used as pubs and restaurants. The stadshuis (city hall) stands in the middle with the Golden Age goudkantoor behind it. The rest of the buildings around the Grote Market are newer, replacing buildings destroyed in the Battle of Groningen between the Canadians and the Germans in April 1945.

When Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers opened their office in Moerdijk, a few of our Canadian employees went to the Netherlands to train the new employees and open the office.  They were there over Liberation Day.  There was a big parade, so they went to see the festivities.  When one of the crowd asked where they were from, all of a sudden, people all around started shaking their hands and thanking them for what the Canadians did in World War II.  They were all overwhelmed with emotion!

Every year the Canada receives 20,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands as a thank you for the liberation in 1945.  They are planted in Ottawa.  Canada purchases many more and Ottawa hosts the Canadian Tulip Festival every May.  650,000 people are expected in a non-COVID year.  

Every year when our tulips come up, it reminds me of this wonderful story.

Apache Blessing

 

The Keg

The Keg, formerly The Keg and Clever was founded in North Vancouver in 1971.  There were many "Keg's" throughout the lower mainland.  We visited the New Westminster and Richmond locations many times.  They had a wonderful salad bar.  Here is the 1971 menu!  Check out those fabulous prices!

We now go to the South Surrey/Morgan Creek location.  The salad bar is gone and the prices are much higher, but the food, service and ambiance are awesome.  We ordered take out during COVID and it was really good!   I thought prime rib may get dry or not as good bringing it home, but it was excellent.   We look forward to our next visit to this long time Vancouver restaurant.  

I usually order the Prime Rib Classic. I like the Classic as it's served with a great salad as a starter.  There are a few Classic's to chose from:

KEG CLASSICS 

Start with a Caesar, mixed greens or iceberg wedge salad, and choose your favourite Keg steak or slice of Prime Rib. 

Served with sautéed field mushrooms and your choice of accompaniment. 

PRIME RIB GF horseradish, red wine herb jus (10 oz) $42 

FILET MIGNON GF bacon wrapped (7 oz) $46 

TERIYAKI SIRLOIN (8 oz) 39 TOP SIRLOIN GF (6 oz) 35 • (8 oz) $38 

BASEBALL TOP SIRLOIN GF grilled medium rare or less (12 oz) $43 

NEW YORK STRIPLOIN GF (12 oz) $46

Keep the RCMP in Surrey - a problem for BC!

THIS LETTER TO ALL MAYORS IN B.C. WRITTEN BY COUNCILLORS BRENDA LOCKE AND JACK HUNDIAL SAYING THAT THE IMPACT OF THIS TRANSITION WILL BE FELT FAR AND WIDE IN B.C. AND WILL NOT ONLY AFFECT THE LOWER MAINLAND. ALREADY THEY HAVE HAD GREAT RESPONSE FROM OTHER CITIES AND TOWNS IN B.C.

Brenda Locke Councillor

T. 604.502.6032 brenda.locke@surrey.ca surrey.ca

Jack Singh Hundial Councillor

T 604.502.6035 jack.hundial@surrey.ca surrey.ca

City of Surrey | Councillors’ Office

13450 – 104 Avenue

Surrey BC Canada V3T 1V8

February 15, 2021

Dear Member of Local Government,

Re: Surrey’s Police Transition’s will Impact Public Safety in British Columbia and there is an urgent need for a feasibility study.

The City of Surrey is working to transition from the RCMP to a city police department. This decision has met with significant opposition from the residents. We are two of the councillors that do not support the Surrey police transition and believe it is incumbent on us to let you know that this transition will impact public safety in municipalities throughout British Columbia, especially the Lower Mainland and Capital Region.

This new Surrey Police Service (SPS) will require, once operational, a minimum of 850 (probably closer to 1,000) officers. The RCMP, from the beginning of this transition process, have reassured their members that they are a priority posting to which we are already seeing those transfers out occur. The current Surrey RCMP members have been canvassed and it was determined to be unlikely that even 10% of those canvassed would consider transferring to the SPS. Currently at issue for those considering employment with SPS are the undetermined wages, losses in pension portability (case-by-case basis) and the lack of clarity regarding role and rank for personnel.

So why is this an issue for you in your municipality? Firstly, Surrey is the largest RCMP detachment, and there has never been a transition of this size before anywhere in Canada.

Further, there has not been a proper feasibility study or a cost benefit analysis that would support and establish the impact that the transition will have on Surrey, the region, or the Province as a whole. The question remains if, and how, the transition will destabilize public safety from a variety of areas including recruitment, cost, and the overall integrated network.

On July 8, 2020, the Provincial government struck a Special Committee of the Legislature to review the BC Police Act after 45 years. The committee was given until May 14, 2021 to submit their recommendations to modernize the Police Act. This includes fundamental shifts in how policing is to be conducted in BC with renewed oversight to correct systemic racism, addressing social issues such as mental health, addiction, and harm reduction. Recommendations have already been discussed regarding Police Boards including the role of local government and removing Mayors as the Board Chair.

Of note, on February 8, 2021, the only member of the SPS Board with any policing experience and co-author of the Surrey Police Transition Report, announced his sudden departure from the Board. This leaves the SPS Board without any historical or fundamental knowledge of policing in British Columbia and presents a further risk amid a changing Act.

Recruiting, hiring and retention of police officers, is a challenge in BC and throughout North America. As hiring officers becomes more difficult, we are seeing cities in other jurisdictions offer significant signing bonuses on a case-by- case basis, which will require cities to counter-offer in order to retain their experienced officers. Policing costs, that are already increasing, will only be exacerbated by these new staffing and budget pressures, as policing costs continue to rise. We know that the initial start-up of SPS is based on recruiting experienced officers. The high cost of relocating personnel into the lower mainland will be a barrier for most people, which will result in additional pressure to recruit at the local level. This has been demonstrated already with senior executives of the SPS being hired from neighbouring cities.

All non-RCMP police training in BC is done at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) – a provincially funded institution. Currently, the JIBC is just keeping up with the need of the current municipal police departments. While the provincial government, through the Ministry of Public Safety and the Solicitor General, has given tacit approval of the transition, the Treasury Board has not yet seen the need to increase the funding to the JIBC to accommodate this human resource need. Regardless, these new recruits will not be able to meet the skills, knowledge and local expertise required and therefore it is inevitable that there will be recruitment through other police departments.

Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner (OPCC): On February 2, 2021, the Police Complaints Commission made a plea to the Select Standing Committee on Finance & Government Services to increase provincial funding by 45% to the OPCC to underwrite the expected impact of the Surrey Police Transition.

These costs for the Surrey RCMP are currently borne by the federal government, but after the transition, they will be covered by the Province. There will also be a significant ask for capital costs that are yet to be determined.

The Surrey Police Transition will financially impact all British Columbia cities that are policed by the RCMP. RCMP divisional administrative costs are shared cost among all RCMP jurisdictions. With the removal of approximately 850 RCMP members positions from Surrey (approx. 15% of RCMP in BC), these costs will be redistributed amongst the remaining RCMP detachments in the Province. The financial impact of the Surrey Police Transition has yet to be determined, but regardless, it will be an additional cost burden for every municipality.

In closing, all polling, including Surrey’s own consultation process, has demonstrated that the residents support the RCMP remaining in Surrey, particularly in the middle of an ongoing pandemic. The list of the unknown consequences is ever growing and worrisome, particularly when this may all be reversed by the next local government election in Surrey. Recently, in considering the option to transition police, both Richmond and Red Deer completed a public, third party feasibility study and elected to stay with the RCMP. We ask that you require the provincial government to commission the necessary feasibility and impact study of the Surrey Police Transition to ensure that it does not negatively impact your community, the region, or destabilize public safety in British Columbia.

Please do not hesitate to contact either Cllr. Jack Hundial at 604-340-9561 (jack.hundial@surrey.ca) or Cllr. Brenda Locke at 604-340-8607 (brenda.locke@surrey.ca).

Kind regards,

Cllr. Jack Singh Hundial Cllr. Brenda Locke

Cllr. Hundial is a retired RCMP officer with 25 years experience. Cllr. Brenda Locke is a former MLA and Minister of State.

Interesting

 

Great Idea!

When You Can't Be There for Them!

 

 

 

 

A bride and groom asked their grandmas to be flower girls!!!!  Great idea!!!  So sweet!!!

 

 

 

“Worry is the misuse of your imagination.” Dan Zadra