Why McGuinty resigning will not matter to Northern Ontario, a Timmins 2020 rant and "Call me maybe"...bazinga!

Here we are less than 24 hours since Premier McGuinty announced his resignation and the circus has already started. My Conservative friends are doing their own constipated version of a touchdown dance, my Liberal friends are trying to paint Premier McGuinty in a light that he does not deserve to be painted in and my NDP friends are wondering how to best make their party relevant outside of Northern Ontario.  I thought I might bring a little perspective to the festivities:

1.      People of blue and orange stripes have to stop acting as if the Apocalypse is upon us in Ontario as a result of Premier McGuinty….a little perspective folks!  Most of us have been to Third World countries, have seen abject poverty and have seen or read about the oppression that exists in different parts of the world (Syria as an example).  This is not our reality in Ontario or Canada for that matter.  In the grand scheme of things, compared to people living in different regions of countries in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, we are doing ok.

2.      People need to stop acting as if the McGuinty government should be nicknamed the “Job Killers”.  The bottom line is that the current unemployment rate in Ontario is 7.9% which is less than 1% higher than it was the year Premier Harris resigned in 2002 (7.2%) and lower than the 8.5% unemployment rate during Bob Rae’s last year in 1995.  The unemployment rate prior to the crash of late 2008 was 6.5% in Ontario.  I’m not defending Premier McGuinty and the decisions his government has made that impacted Northern Ontario businesses and families, all I’m pointing out for the “barber shop political experts” out there, is that you need to do better than argue that unemployment has “exploded” under McGuinty…it hasn’t.

3.      Many people are pissed at the McGuinty government for its decisions that have negatively impacted Northern Ontario such as the ONTC, the closure of provincial parks, etc.  You should be pissed…so am I!  However, ultimately every government has to either make cuts, increase taxes, often times both, to offset the costs of running the government and the services the government is responsible for.  In 99% of cases, a provincial premier who is required to make cuts will do so in areas where he/she feels they will take the smallest possible political “hit”.  In McGuinty’s case this was Northern Ontario.  Northern Ontario only represents roughly 6% of the province’s population and includes only 11 of the over 100 seats at Queen’s Park.  Add this to the fact that most of the people in Southern Ontario do not give a flying hippo about what happens north of Barrie and it becomes clear why it has become so easy for McGuinty to make the decisions he’s made regarding Northern Ontario.  It does not mean it is fair…it does not mean the people of Northern Ontario have to like it and it certainly does not mean that we should be quiet over it.  All I’m saying is that no matter the political stripe of the governing party and the promises they make during a provincial election campaign; the bottom line is that if pushed into a corner on politically sensitive decisions, Northern Ontario will get the short end of the stick more often than not.  It’s politics.    

4.      If the people of Northern Ontario and throughout the province have such an issue with the way the McGuinty government has governed over years than I wonder why the voter turnout has decreased steadily over the past number of years.  In 2011, the voter turnout in the province was roughly 49.2% and the turnout in Timmins-James Bay was even lower than that.  The first argument I get when I raise those numbers is usually that the people have stopped voting because they are discouraged with the government.  Bullshit…people have not stopped voting because of the McGuinty government, they have stopped voting because they have gotten tired of the endless bickering that exists at all levels of government.  I don’t care what party you are from, no matter who forms the next provincial government, the other parties will be at your neck within days and the initial defense of the new government will be something along the lines of:  “…well we would have kept all of our campaign promises but we had really no idea just how bad the situation was in certain areas. “  It happens following EVERY election, will not be any different in the next Ontario election.  The politicians of all stripes have managed to alienate the majority of the Ontario electorate and all three parties would have to work together to change.  Otherwise, in today’s digital age, the bickering will continue to be so non-stop in becomes numbing.

5.      Finally…if Northern Ontario wants to grow its voice at Queens Park…where are the “all-star” candidates in the region?  No disrespect to Mr. Bartolucci or Mr. Bisson but I’m not sure either of these men would generate much excitement if we were to elect a “flag bearer” for Northern Ontario.  In the last election, the Conservatives of Timmins-James Bay ran one of the most recognizable municipal leaders in the region as their candidate and he lost to a man who has been in office for over 20 years and, if you were to listen in most coffee shops between elections, a man many people claim to hate as their MPP.  My suggestion, rather than waste time posting stories or comments on Facebook every time Mr. McGuinty or one of his minister’s goes to the washroom, it would be best for the local riding associations to further grow their grass roots support and go from there.

Local Rants:

·        Being a taxpayer does NOT give you the right to yell at City employees when they are on the job in the community.  City staff members do not work for you, they work for the Corporation of the City of Timmins.  You elect Councillors to speak on your behalf and who give direction to Senior Management who then pass on direction to their departments.  In short, no point yelling at the guy filling the potholes in your neighbourhood, he has no control over your taxes…he is a taxpayer too!

·        The people of Timmins need to become more engaged in the Timmins 2020 Strategic Plan process.  This plan can only become a “waste of taxpayer money” or “just another consultant report that will sit on a shelf somewhere” if the people of Timmins let it happen.  It is easy to sit at Tim Hortons and complain about “stuff” but that “stuff” will not change if people do not get involved.

The consultants that are working on Timmins 2020 are smart enough that they will rarely, if ever, publicly acknowledge projects that would benefit the community but that they do not know how to fund.  They will only bring forth projects that they know they already have funds for or for which they can easily get government funding.  It will then seem like the Timmins 2020 plan is accomplishing all of its key objectives when in fact all that is being accomplished are “quick wins” or the completion of projects that could have been funded regardless of whether there was a Timmins 2020 plan in place or not.  There is nothing wrong with this approach unless the people of Timmins decide they want more.  It is up to us…get engaged in the process!! 

Random Thoughts

·        I love Canada but I have to admit that I get disgusted when the State of Pennsylvania can put former Penn State University football coach Jerry Sandusky to jail for a minimum of 30 years for assaulting young men that were participating in activities put on by a charity created by Sandusky while in Canada, Graham James gets two years for assaulting players whose careers and futures he held over their heads.

·        Like everyone else, I was devastated when I read the story of Amanda Todd who put up a Youtube video chronicling the bullying she had endured and almost begging for help only to commit suicide last week.  I read a bunch of message posted on Twitter regarding Amanda’s tragic story and one guy raised a point that I am having trouble wrapping my head around.  He pointed out that the outpouring of love and attention that Amanda has received since her death might make suicide an even more feasible solution to other young people that are being bullied and are craving the love and support that Amanda has received since her death.  I’ve re-read that guy’s message about 20 times and it is the stupidest thing I have ever heard but makes a lot of sense at the same time.  Maybe time will give me more clarity on his comments.

·        I would be curious to know how many “fender benders” happen in shopping mall/grocery store parking lots every year…people just seem to drive stupid in parking lots.

·        I spend very little time worrying about the Royal Family but I find it somewhat bizarre just how much attention seems to be paid on an almost daily basis on websites like Yahoo as to whether or not Kate Middleton is pregnant.  I realize that when she does get pregnant the child will either be the future King or Queen of England but do the media really have to speculate on a weekly basis about it.  By the time the media finally get it right it will be so anti-climactic anyway!

·        I engaged in a “debate” a few weeks ago with an “old school” marketing guy who seems convinced that social media is not a driver of traffic for businesses.  He views social media as a part of the marketing mix but is steadfast that traditional media is still the way to go.  I agree with him if you are Tim Hortons or Canadian Tire and you can essentially blanket traditional media sources because of the sheer size of your marketing budget.  Don’t get me wrong, I would tell any client to advertise between periods on Hockey Night in Canada (…well, maybe not right now) if they could afford it.  However, for smaller businesses that have minimal marketing budgets, traditional media can be expensive and the ROI (return on investment) is not nearly what it used to be.  Local media sales people will pull all types of statistics out to prove that advertising on radio, TV or in the daily newspaper is still the only way to go.  But what about guys like me…I generally listen to satellite radio for the variety, I get my local news online with headlines from Twitter and only go in to read the articles I am interested in, and I can get the same programming offered by our local TV station on 14 other stations on satellite TV.  Smaller businesses are often getting lost in the noise of traditional media.  Their best bet is to create a strong social media presence and grow their community and client base from there.  It will soon be the only way they can really compete.

·        So…um…where was I during the first 5 seasons of The Big Bang Theory?  Love that show!!!

·        So…Felix Baumgartner brought doing something with style to a whole new level on the weekend.  He did freefall from 37KM in the air and landed the jump on his feet!  Show off!  J

·        So…this summer I made a concerted effort to get back “into the loop” when it came to today’s Top 40 music.  Not sure that this was the best decision I’ve ever made.  I became a fairly consistent listener of “Hits 1” on Sirius/XM Radio.  I swear to God that they play the same 20 songs all day long.  Anyhow…the one song that stood out during the summer was a song by a young lady who first got noticed by finishing in the top 5 of Canadian Idol a few years back.  Her career had progressed slowly until a certain Justin Bieber heard one of her songs on the radio on one of his trips back to Canada and he mentioned it on Twitter.  The rest as they say…is history.  Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” was probably the most overplayed song of the summer but it did lead to a strange phenomenon…the song was covered and “lip-dubbed” by so many different people and groups.  Here is my top 5: 

5.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFVhSDQmIxs&feature=plcp – Choir and Orchestra

4.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX1YVzdnpEc – Barack Obama

3.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qTIGg3I5y8 – Cookie Monster

2.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIfbghHdG1s – Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders

1.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEsPhTbJhuo – Jimmy Fallon (with Carly Rae Jepsen)

·        If you cut me off by turning out in front of me only to turn again a block further, I retain the right to follow you and kick you in the ass when you get out of your car!

·        I would be curious to know how many “fender benders” happen in shopping mall/grocery store parking lots every year…people just seem to drive stupid in parking lots.

Putting the Shania Twain Centre to bed and other random summer thoughts

Last year when I started the “Frankly Speaking” blog it was simply a way for me to put on paper a few thoughts or opinions that I had that I wanted to share with the “public” whether that meant two people or 2,000 people.  It turned into a surprisingly popular blog with a few hundred people reading the each edition.  So, after a few months away, I am pleased to present you the first edition of “Frankly speaking” for 2012-2013.

Over the summer, I spoke to over a dozen regular readers of the blog and many asked/wondered if I would write a blog about the Shania Twain Centre this year.  As many of you know, my office was in the Shania Centre from the day it opened until the day I was politely escorted out of the building following a “re-org” some eight years later.  There is no doubt that I could provide an “insider’s perspective”, I could dish some dirt (…although there isn’t nearly as much dirt as many people would expect) and I could certainly “connect the dots” for people on a few issues that would raise a few eyebrows.  However, there is really nothing to gain by any of it.  I’ll make the following 5 points on the Shania Twain Centre and will then refrain from commenting on it any further unless an individual or a member of the media is unfairly spreading inaccuracies that I feel aren’t fair to the people that genuinely worked really hard to make the STC a success despite the hand they were dealt:

1.      There is no doubt in my mind that the Shania Twain Centre, along with all of the other regional attractions built in Northeastern Ontario in the late 90’s and in the early 2000’s were a failed experiment.  Neither the STC, the Polar Bear Habitat, Hockey Heritage North nor the largest “oops” of all, Eagle’s Earth, ever generated the interest, the visitations or the revenues suggested by the consultants and anticipated by the communities that invested monies to have these attractions constructed.

2.      The STC was ill-equipped to deal with the realities it faced when the anticipated number of tourists (30,000 to 40,000 per year) never materialized.  This all started when decisions were made regarding the layout and content of the building after it became clear that the anticipated funding was going to go from a little over $10 million to under $5 million to avoid needing approval from the provincial cabinet.  The government of the day was Conservative and our MPP was a rather vocal member of the NDP so there was little chance that we would have gotten cabinet approval.  I find it interesting that the MPP in question often takes credit for the STC receiving funding when in fact he was one of the primary reasons why the project was scaled down.  When visitations were lower than anticipated from the very outset, there was no plan and, to be honest, no infrastructure in place, to develop additional revenue streams nor was there any real way of encouraging repeat visits from local citizens.  Components such as a recording studio, a performance theatre, meeting rooms and proper conference facilities and technology had been discussed at different times but had to be cast aside when the project was scaled down making it very difficult for staff to develop additional revenue streams and making it difficult for them to create goodwill in the community.

3.      The idea that Shania somehow owes the city of Timmins anything is ludicrous.  Let’s not forget that she got her big break long after she moved away from the community.  It is also important to note that it was not Shania who approached the City about the STC but vice versa.  It was the City that wanted to take advantage of her famous “coat tails” in an effort to draw some visitors and make a few bucks.  She never asked for ANYTHING in return. The fact that city officials have not publicly and vigorously shot down recent media insinuations that she had her collection strategically removed while the community was distracted by the forest fires in late May so that nobody would notice makes me sick to my stomach.  This woman has used her fame to promote her hometown more often than just about any other public figure in the world has done over the past 20 years.  She has provided Timmins with publicity and visibility that we could never afford on our own.  I was at 10,000 feet in the Himalayas three years ago when a Japanese hiker pointed to my Timmins hat and said “ah…Shania Twain”…’nuff said!

4.      To all the critics of the STC, specifically the “coffee shop experts” who always knew better when in fact they really did not know anything…Bite Me! My blog, my rules…I feel much better now!

5.       Most importantly to all the individuals…staff, volunteers, Fan Convention participants and other supporters that have stood by the STC steadfastly through all the good and mostly the bad…thank you.  As I write what will be my last public comments about the STC (…ok, one of the “random thoughts” further in the blog is about the STC), I think of Charlie Rinehart, Sam Young and other supporters of the STC that left us way to early and realize that I need to move on…

Community Stuff

·        Was it just me or did it seem like the whole 100^th Anniversary celebration in Timmins fell flat.  For all the efforts that were made to try and generate interest, it just seemed like the whole thing lacked “pizzazz” with no real memorable moments for the community at large.  Don’t get me wrong, there were a number of well- received reunions, etc but there really was no event or series of events that a 12 year old child will be telling his/her grandkids about 50 years from now.  Considering this was our 100^th Anniversary; I was expecting more.

·        I went to the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge this summer and actually had a good time…until they ran out of beer in the beer garden but that is a whole other story.  My only gripe about the Kayak Challenge is that organizers would like us to believe that the event has a much bigger impact on the community, specifically in attracting visitors, than it actually does.  It is an event mostly organized by Tourism Timmins but does not seem to draw many people from out of town. I’m sure that an organizer could defend this by stating that they have gone from a handful of out of town participants to 15 or 20 but, after four years, that to me does not make it the “Great Canadian Kayak Challenge”.  Call it what it really is the “Timmins Summer Festival” and it will seem more appropriate.

·        Earlier this month I got into a private debate over email with a local media outlet which publicly stated that Shania Twain had never made a public appearance at the STC.  Now, we can debate the feasibility of the STC until the cows come home, we can even argue that perhaps things would have gone better for the STC had Shania been able to visit more often.  However, I believe that it is irresponsible and non-professional to allow a story to air with so many inaccuracies in it.  Taxpayers do not have to like the STC, you can call it a burden on taxpayers if you want, you can even refer to it as a “white elephant” if you’d rather not come up with something more original.  Those are all opinions and in our country we are all allowed to have them.  However, if you are a member of the media, you can at least check your facts and get the story right.  When I need to send you a photo of Shania being interviewed by one of your network’s very own national hosts on stage just outside of the STC in front of a little over 1000 people to prove my point…that’s just sad!

Sports  

·        I would like to say that I am indifferent about the upcoming NHL lockout but I’m not indifferent.  Watching billionaires fight with millionaires about who should be getting richer is simply annoying.  Ultimately whether there is hockey on TV does not impact me directly but it does impact all of the game day employees at each NHL Arena, you know those people working at close to minimum wage who direct you to your seat or serve you that overpriced beer. Those are the people I feel bad for!!! I also feel bad for people like my father who is retired, lives in small town without much going on and essentially plans his days in the Fall and Winter around when there might be good hockey on TV.

·        If the lockout lasts as long as many people anticipate there will be a couple of positive repercussions – Canada’s team at the World Junior Hockey Championships should be pretty loaded and the folks that live in cities with American Hockey League teams will see really good hockey on most nights.

·        It became clear to me this summer that Canada really is a winter sport country.  It was unfair to our 2012 Summer Olympic team members that they had to follow what was a seminal event in Canadian history however I was hoping that our Canadian team could ride the coattails of excitement that was created at the 2010 Games in Vancouver but that never really materialized.

·        As most Canadians are apt to do, I have occasionally yelled at my TV during hockey games when I feel like my team has been robbed, especially when it is an international event involving Canada.  However, I must admit that I had never yelled at my TV during a soccer game until watching the end of the Canada/USA semi-final game in the Olympics.  We wuz robbed!!!!!

·        One of my favourite sporting events is coming up in a couple of week…golf’s Ryder Cup.  Nothing like watching multi-millionaires literally shaking in their spikes on a three foot putt because they are afraid to let their team down.  Rarely does an individual sport like golf provide an opportunity for players to be part of a team event.  The Ryder Cup usually delivers in spades.

Politics

·        So the people of Quebec have put the Parti Quebecois back in power.  Premier Pauline Marois is now hinting that she will move forward with a Referendum if enough of the population seems to support the idea.  How about this…have one more go at it and if the province votes no again, the PQ has to disband, go “buh-bye la” forever.  It has gotten to the point where the rest of Canada just wants you to make your minds up once and for all.

·        So, the United States has a population of 350 million and these are the best four people you can come up with?  Hmmmmmmm…….

·        A Congressman from Missouri is interviewed on local TV and claims that women have some sort of magical on/off switch that allows them to control whether or not they get pregnant when being raped.  This guy has been elected six times, I kid you not.  How he can go home and look his wife and daughter(s) in the eyes after making claims like this publicly, I’ll never know.

Random Thoughts

·        Several weeks ago, Neil Armstrong passed away.  I have always been a bit of a space geek and Mr. Armstrong has long been one of my heroes.  The fact that he did very few interviews following the Apollo 11 mission is so unfortunate.  Here is a guy whose name will be in history books for centuries and yet we know very little about him.  “First pilot to make a lunar landing and first man to step on the moon”

·        I have a question for my American friends…when the issue of gun control comes up in the U.S., usually after another mass shooting (Colorado theatre, Empire State Building), I am left to wonder why there is so much opposition to limitations being put on guns such as AK-47’s.  There is a fairly good chance that your home will never get attacked by a whole platoon so I’m not sure why you need a weapon that can shoot 30 bullets in 2 seconds.  I understand that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” and I get the importance of your “right to bear arms” but it puzzles me as to what circumstances would justify having a weapon that is built to spray bullets as fast as possible…just wonderin’….

·        I am not a huge fan of Taylor Swift’s music but I will be the first to admit that she and her team sure have the PR game completely figured out. No one plays the system like Taylor Swift and boy does it ever work for her.

·        I’ve pretty much tuned out most of the “singing competitions” on TV these days except for the X Factor.  The reason I like the X Factor is because they provide the best test for raw talent.  On American Idol, they perform three or four times in front of the judges and then have a few months to prepare before the live shows and singing in front of an audience.  On “The Voice” the bulk of the contestants are already experienced singers/musicians…last year’s winner had been a back-up singer for Alicia Keys.  The X Factor holds their auditions in front of a live crowd and the contestants have to come out, deal with nerves, deal with the crowd and perform in front of judges.  Now I realize that they are likely pre-screened to a degree but it is still impressive to see them in front of an audience from the get-go.

·        So I had 5 people on from my Facebook friends list participating in the “Tough Mudder” race near Toronto a few weeks ago and I had about a dozen people on my FB running in a half marathon in Timmins the same weekend…impressed by all of them.  I just wish I could find motivation in running (…short of being chased by a bear). 

·        It is no secret that I like Twitter but I do get annoyed when random celebrities go to Twitter to offer condolences to the families of people that have passed.  Like Vanilla Ice taking to Twitter to share that he thought “Neil Armstrong was a real important dude and he will be missed” …warms my heart to know that Vanilla Ice  thinks that  Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon, a hero for the ages is a “very important dude”.

On that note…I’m out!

Fire in the North

Over the past 2 weeks, Northeastern Ontario unwittingly became the subject of an experiment that showed us how social media can be beneficial in times of uncertainty and concern while also proving that social media can also give a voice to so many people on one specific issue that it becomes overwhelming for those trying to sort through all the “virtual noise” to find accurate and useful information.

In case you haven’t heard, it has been a difficult start to the “forest fire season” in Northeastern Ontario.  Two weeks ago, in the midst of a long weekend, two fires, one located on a stretch of highway just outside of Timmins and another to the west of the city, began to threaten the outskirts of town and parts of our “cottage country”.   People from throughout the region and beyond turned to Facebook in order to share and receive information on the fires, road closures, power outages, etc.  The fact of the matter is that several potential “official” sources for information were left scrambling and there was only a limited amount of information being released from official sources in the first several hours of the fires.  As a result, people turned to Facebook for information which led to a mish-mash of rumours, half truths, uneducated guesses and even some flat out lies by individuals simply trying to upset or worry others.

To their credit, some people including Mandy Tambeau decided to create Facebook pages dedicated to the fires.  I highlight Mandy not because I know her (we’ve never met) but because she made a point of trying to limit the conversation to confirmed information from trustworthy sources.  As I mentioned in a post on Mandy’s page at the time; if you received your information from “the guy who lives next to your Cousin Bob who has a friend who works with a guy that plays hockey with a guy who works for the MNR”, the accuracy of the information has probably gotten diluted along the way (…think of that game you played in grade school when the teacher would tell the first kid in the circle the word “tiger” and by the time it got around the circle the word the last student repeated to the teacher was “bubble gum”).  As such, there was much confusion over the first several hours as otherwise official sources of information such as the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Provincial Police and the City of Timmins were left scrambling to get the proper communications officials in place over a long weekend.

At the end of it all, “Timmins Fire 9” which has now fallen under the category of “being held” has burned over 60,000 acres of forest.  Luckily, the fire crews have managed to protect all but a few sheds.  Many in the area are treating these fire crews as heroes but if you were asking many of those battling the fires they would tell you that they are simply doing the job they get paid to do. 

Once the fire has been completely extinguished, there will likely be de-briefing meetings where all aspects of the event will be reviewed.  Here are two points I hope they will cover:

1.      The MNR, the OPP and specifically the City of Timmins should develop a more pro-active social media presence for such situations.  The fact that we had City employees posting links on Facebook pages that had been set-up by members of the public shows that the City was ill-prepared to deal with an event like this in a digital world.  The Youtube videos of the press conferences were terrific but official information could have been shared as they happened via Facebook and Twitter as opposed to waiting twice a day for press conferences.  At last count, the Facebook page “Northern Fires” created Mandy Tambeau’s, who by the way is a seamstress by profession and not a communications or social media expert, has over 11,000 followers.

2.      The MNR, OPP, the City of Timmins and other relevant agencies also have to improve their internal communications.  People would hear/see something from an official source on Facebook or in the traditional media and when they would approach a “field staff” at a road block or another location, they would be told different information.  There were disconnects between “Headquarters” and the field staff and in this day and age where so many communications tools are available that is unacceptable.  

Random Fire thoughts:

·        One negative with social media during a time of “crisis” is the number of people that join a page and ask questions that have already been answered 26 times on that page without looking for answers to their question before posting.

·        Appalled at the idiots that would post random comments such as “THE CACHE CAMPGROUND BURNED TO THE GROUND” to worry people or create panic, especially at times when they know that information is sketchy at best and they know that people will latch onto any kind of information.  

·        Amazed at how people do not think things through in a time of “crisis”.  Questions such as “I live in downtown Timmins should I evacuate?”, “can I have a bonfire in my backyard?” and several other examples of people not thinking things through before posting their questions online just left me shaking my head.

·        Kudos to Len Gillis of the Timmins Times who published an erroneous report regarding the fire after receiving information from two sources that should have otherwise been credible and owned up to it immediately while making the correction.

·        I’m not going to be overly critical of the Daily Press headline “Journey into Hell” because the article itself was essentially a first person account of being near the actual fire.  That being said, the headline did raise many eyebrows in the community.  As you can imagine, there are many that can think of hundreds of current and/or past examples of what a “Journey into Hell” really is (…think Ground Zero on September 12^th, Hiroshima the day after the bomb, Haiti after the earthquake and parts of Indonesia the day after the Tsunami).  Sometimes hyperbole is good, sometimes it is misplaced, and hopefully the flack they took in some quarters will have been a learning exercise for the crew at the Daily Press.

·        I leave my last note to the firefighters, police, EMS workers, MNR and City officials that played a role in dealing with these fires.  Thank you for all your hard work!

7 thoughts from a Habs Fan

I rarely blog about hockey because there are SO MANY other writers and bloggers that already write about it and do so very well.  However, I had a few minutes to kill at lunch and thought I would write these 7 thoughts from Habs fan:

1.      Hiring Marc Bergevin was an astute move because he has no previous ties to the organization, he comes from an organization that was built utilizing a successful model and he had experience in just about every aspect of managing a professional hockey team short of being a General Manager.

2.      The only reason Patrick Roy is a candidate for the Canadiens coaching job is because the Montreal media are pushing for it.  They realize that Patrick would be a walking headline on a daily basis.  That’s why the media are pushing for him, it has very little to do with whether or not he is a good fit for the team.

3.      The Canadiens do not have to “rebuild” in the traditional sense.  They have a number of good assets already in place to build around.  They also have a number of good young players in their system.  To that end, I trust that the new management team will give young players like Brendan Gallagher and Nathan Beaulieu a chance to learn at the highest level and not hide them in Hamilton to “…gain experience”.

4.      I think the Canadiens made a mistake when they said that speaking French was a mandatory requirement for the coaching position.  Get the guy you think gives you the best chance of improving your team and lead them to success long-term.  Make it a relationship building thing and have the new coach tell the fans and media that he will strive to learn French and hopes that they can all help in his efforts.

5.      The media in Montreal keep blaming the organization for not having enough Quebec players on the team.  Ironically, the problem is not the organization but the media itself.  Players such as Vincent Lecavalier, Daniel Briere and others have all had the chance to sign with Montreal but have not done so.  If you are a Quebecer, especially one from Montreal like Lecavalier, do you really want to come to live/play in the fishbowl that is Habs hockey? Especially if you can make just as much money, playing elsewhere while remaining largely anonymous.

6.      The Canadiens need to do what they can to secure Carey Price long-term.  I don’t care if they have to overpay a little or give him more years than the typical 4 or 5 that the Canadiens like to limit themselves to.  This kid is a franchise goalie and if they can start adding pieces that provide him with just a bit more protection, I think he has a chance to become VERY good.

7.      If I were a betting man…I think the next coach of the Habs will be Marc Crawford and I think the player they will pick at #3 in the draft will be Russian centre Alex Galchenyuk who played with the Sarnia Sting of the OHL.

Calling out an old boss, voting for the Pope and listening to a Kardashian...uh???

The other day, I was reading an article online where the writer indicated that more institutions should do like the College of Cardinals does when they are sequestered in a room until they have elected a new Pope.  What he was suggesting is that our governments, be they municipal, provincial or federal would get much more substantive work and pass much more effective legislation if they were forced to sit in a locked room until they have come to a decision in a private setting as opposed to all of the posturing we see in the various media as politicians eternally seek that catchy sound-bite that will garner media attention.

Obviously, this would not work for many reasons when it comes to our political system but would it not be nice to see our leaders arrive to a decision without the vitriol and posturing that now occurs prior to, during and following each debate on each issue.  It has gotten to a point now where representatives of political parties argue back and forth on TV, radio and in social media because that is what is perceived as being required in order to win the next election.  I have long accepted that the first priority for a politician once elected is to start running for re-election but would it not be nice if we could have an honest discourse in our country without always having our representatives hiding behind their political stripes or, worse yet, arguing against decisions made by a government even though that decision is good for the taxpayers. 

I have become incredibly frustrated with individuals who claim to have the best interests of my province or my country at heart but spend all of their time viewing issues through blue, red or orange coloured glasses and who view history through those same tinted glasses.

I have a friend, a great guy who is also an intelligent man but who, because of his political leaning refuses to admit that, in his 16 years as Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau accomplished anything substantive or positive for our country.  I am not here to open a discussion on the pros and cons of Mr. Trudeau’s time in office, especially since most of my readers weren’t around for the bulk of his time in office.  However, to claim that someone can be Prime Minister of our country for 16 years, win 4 federal elections and accomplish nothing is shortsighted and is a slap in the face to our country’s history and to the people that voted for Mr. Trudeau either once or several times.  In fact, in the majority of polls conducted by credible media outlets, Mr. Trudeau ranks consistently in the Top 5 Prime Ministers of all time, including in publications that are not viewed as “liberal friendly” or “Left Wing”. Did Mr. Trudeau make mistakes…absolutely!  But to claim that he accomplished nothing in his 16 years as Prime Minister is to be looking at history through blue tinted glasses.

Our province and country would be that much better off if our political leaders spent more time identifying well-researched solutions to key issues and problems as opposed to slinging mud at each other and competing for the one-liners that will make the evening news.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

·        I have rarely used my blog to point the finger at one person in particular but one former local politician did something at the grocery store the other day that was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”. Jamie, this was the fourth time over the past few years that you walked by me in a public place and just as I was about to say hello you turn away so as to not acknowledge that I am there.  I don’t expect you to chat me up for an hour but saying hello would be a nice touch.  Your husband says hello all the time and I never wrote speeches for him nor did I ever vote for him!  Real leaders, those who honestly care about their community as much as you always appeared to, get up from the ground, dust themselves off and remain a part of their community.  When I ran for school board several years ago, and lost, you gave me a hug, told me you were proud of me and told me that I should keep my head up and remain active in the community…I think a quote about following your own advice would be appropriate here!  Oh, and by the way…HELLO!! 

·        In the near future I hope to write a full blog about the Shania Twain Centre and the controversy that has surrounded it since the funding announcement was made over ten years ago.  In the meantime, I want to make a point clear for all of the individuals who THINK they have it all figured out.  Shania owes NOTHING to the City or the people of Timmins.  She has been good to our community in ways that extend far beyond what any celebrity should be expected to do and for those that say “…Timmins has been good to Shania”…well, that is a small town bullshit argument and you need to get over it. Shania has always been good to the people that have truly helped her along the way and if she hasn’t shown you the love it is probably because lending her a tape recorder or a pen to write that lyric on a napkin probably does not rank real high on her list of the things that helped me make it to the top. 

·        I have always been fascinated by “celebrity endorsements” and what impact they might have, specifically when it comes to politics or humanitarian causes.  I have three causes that I support on an ongoing basis…the Canadian Cancer Society, Sick Kids in Toronto and the children of friends and family that are fundraising for their various teams or activities.  I support these causes because they are close to my heart, not because Bono from U2 or Wayne Gretzky told me to do it in a commercial.  I am especially amused when celebrities publicly support candidates in elections.  Many will tell you that I have long had a weakness for Cameron Diaz but I really don’t give a hoot what candidate she supports politically, even if I was American.  I’m not sure it is wise to support any candidate because the Kardashians said they are good people, in fact that might cause me to automatically vote for the other guy.  That being said, I’m assuming that political strategists have done their research on this and that it does have an impact.

·        Recently, the Ontario Hockey League gave a special exemption to a young man named Connor McDavid to enter the Ontario Hockey League Junior Draft as a 15 year old.  He promptly was drafted 1^st overall in the draft by the Erie Otters.  He has since been all over the airwaves in Southern Ontario as media outlets want to be amongst the first to get an interview with the “next big thing”.  Is it really fair to put that much pressure on a 15 year old even if he is potentially THAT good?  At this point, the only way this kid will meet expectations is if he dominates the league.  That’s a lot of pressure for a 15 year old.

·        Last week, I had the pleasure of facilitating the Annual General Meeting for the Timmins Minor Hockey Association.  It was the fifth or sixth time that I facilitated the AGM for the TMHA and I still can’t believe just how political minor hockey can be.  I think minor hockey would be much better, and the kids might have more fun if they locked anyone over the age of 25 out of the arena.  Alas, that would keep all of the parents from seeing their very own future NHL superstar children perform and would make it difficult for the refs to hear what obscenities that same parent yelled when the same ref makes a call that will surely cost their son/daughter a shot at a scholarship to play hockey for a U.S, University. The best advice I have for hockey parents…lay off of the volunteers that are responsible for keeping hockey going for your child.  Without them you’d have to hope that the NHL scouts would catch a glimpse of your little NHL superstar in the making in between “car stops” during road hockey.

·        Several weeks ago, there was a Mega Millions lottery prize in the U.S. that went up to $640 million before it was won. Wow…that’s’ almost like owning a Tim Hortons franchise!  J

·        There is currently an inquest taking place in New Zealand to determine if Coca-Cola is partly responsible for the death of a woman who drank 8 to 10 litres of Coke a day, smoked 30 cigarettes and did not eat much.  Yup, it had to be the coke that killed her.

·        So, I was on Youtube last week and noticed for the first time how so many random/anonymous people leave comments ripping the artist/band, the quality of their voice, the lyrics, etc.  Whatever happened to if you don’t like it, just don’t watch it?

·        How big is NFL Football…the NFL Draft where they pick guys coming out of college is the 3^rd most watched sports “event” every year.  They get about about 40 million people to watch it every year.

Kony 2012 and VIA Rail plays "throw Jann from the train"

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock or you’ve given up social media for lent, you will have heard about KONY 2012 by now.  To summarize, KONY 2012 is a campaign that has been developed by an organization called “Invisible Children” to bring attention to Joseph Kony who has spent the better part of the past 20 years killing and terrorizing civilians in countries such as Uganda, Sudan and the Central African Republic.  At the centre of this campaign is a 29 minute video that speaks to the atrocities perpetuated by Kony and promotes the “Stop Kony” movement as presented by Invisible Children.  As you might imagine over 100 million people viewed the video on Youtube and “Stop Kony” trended on Twitter for two days.

Of course, as seems to happen with most matters that gain attention on social media these days, it did not take long for critics of KONY 2012 to appear and I’m sure both sides will continue to wage a public relations battle via traditional and social media over the coming weeks.  That being said, following are some of the things I learned and observed as I watched the KONY 2012 story play out:

·       I was reminded yet again how sad it is that we still live in a world when war lords can operate in such a vicious and sadistic manner in isolated and/or under-developed parts of the world.

·       I was reminded yet again about the power of social media.  There is no way that, as recently as 15 years ago, a movement such as KONY 2012 would have garnered this much attention from large media outlets.  However, when the video went viral so quickly, and considering the subject matter, it became very difficult for the major media outlets to ignore…score one for social media on this one.

·       I learned how quickly certain people will move to call into question any group, organization or movement, no matter what the end objectives of the movement are.  I can appreciate that some people had concerns about the finances of “Invisible Children” but when I watched the video, I saw it as a call to action in efforts to raise awareness about this issue and about what Kony was doing, not as a fundraising effort.

·       I was saddened to watch when one of the many women who have been disfigured by Kony’s “soldiers” appeared on international television to speak out against the campaign by “Invisible Children” and emphasized that she did not understand why “Invisible Children” was trying to “make Kony famous” after what he had done to her and so many other people.  It became obvious that she did not understand the real meaning behind the “making Kony famous” concept and I felt that she was misguided by the people who arranged to have her interviewed.

·       To that point, I was reminded yet again how important messaging is when it comes to any cause or movement.  In retrospect the “Make Kony Famous” slogan may have been ill-advised.

·       For a few brief hours last week, we got a glimpse into what I hope is the future of social media.  A medium that is used for good and to share important messages on a myriad of subjects that often get ignored in many countries because organizations such as “Invisible Children” do not have the financial resources to get their message out to the world true traditional channels.

·       Finally, I was reminded of how important it is to make sure you get as much information as you can on any cause or organization before providing them with any financial support.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

·       Yesterday I was mumbling to myself about how the week had gotten off to a bit of a rough start when I saw a report on CNN that 45 women and children had been slaughtered in Syria…immediate perspective…there are no words.

·       So Jann Arden get kicked off of a VIA train “in the middle of nowhere” (most of us know that place as Oshawa) because she had hidden her dog in a carry-on bag and pets are apparently not allowed on VIA trains.  That’s when Ms. Arden went all “modern diva” on VIA and complained about the treatment her and her dog received on her Twitter feed.  You get no sympathy from me on this one Jann.  I saw the real you at one point and it is much different than the persona you project during interviews or with your fans.  You are a diva and I’m next to certain you thought you could bring your dog on that train because you were Jann Arden.  Good on VIA for calling you out.

·       The other day I was at a local store when I saw boxes of the “Popeye candy cigarettes” that were so popular when we were kids.  Of course, I had to buy a box and try one when I got home…WTF were we thinking when we were kids.  Those things are awful!

 

·       It was interesting to watch the U.S. media deal with the story of the Staff Sergeant who killed all those people in Afghanistan.  They are trying so hard to find a reason, not to justify the act, but to explain why it happened.  Bottom line is one of your guys killed 16 civilians; if an Afghan soldier did that to American civilians there would have been hell to pay.

·       Dick Cheney just cancelled a speaking engagement because he does not feel safe when travelling to Canada.  Well Mr. Cheney, I’m guessing you will spend the bulk of your time in the U.S. from now on because if you do not feel safe in Canada you probably should not feel safe in most other countries either.

·       I recently came to the conclusion that I would have made a lousy “spokesperson” for an American presidential candidate.  Listening to these people trying to “spin” every question they are asked in such a way that they can stick to the “speaking points” they were given by the campaign team makes very smart people sound very dumb on national TV…just sayin’.