To all Canadians, here and abroad, Happy Canada Day!

I also want to take a moment to remember our soldiers that fought and are still fighting so that we can live FREE!

To those of you coming here and wanting to change our country, and bring rules and laws of your old country, I say “Have a nice trip back!” Those rules, religious beliefs and laws obviously aren’t working so well since you decided to come to live here.

To those of you coming here and wanting to leave in peace and harmony, I welcome you, including your religious beliefs to the extend that you are not trying to force them on me as I am not forcing my Christian Beliefs on you.

Enjoy the freedom that this day represents to so many of us,

Alain

Marc Emery just recently turned himself into the authorities in the US and pleaded guilty in US Federal Court to drug distribution. I am not looking at turning this into a debate on marijuana usage but just wanting to discuss the legal facts of the matter.

Currently in the US, Canada and several other countries marijuana is considered an illegal substance except for narrow usage. This is where the whole Marc Emery debate is getting sidetracked. It has turned into a debate on marijuana usage not if what he did was legal or not. I have heard arguments that said he should not be guilty of anything because what he did was not wrong. But according to the laws he was acting illegally. He knowingly sent marijuana seeds to the US and in the US this is considered illegal. This is why he was charged and convicted. Marc pleaded guilty. If he really believed he was innocent why did he not plead not guilty and go to trial.

It seems he was fighting the law through civil disobedience. Which is the wrong way of doing it. As Canada is a democracy laws can be changed in 2 ways that I am aware of. The first one is getting a sitting government to pass laws to accept your viewpoint or going to court to prove an existing law illegal. If he was so set in his ways he should have gotten enough voters accepting his viewpoints that the law would be changed. This was not done. Marc took the view point that getting charged and convicted of the crime as a way of making a statement. Is this any different than someone murdering their spouse and saying they should not go to jail because it should be legal.

If Marc and his supporters believe the laws should be changed get parliament to change the rules not practice civil disobedience to get your point across. Remember that at the end of the day the taxpayers of either Canada or the US will have to pay for his incarceration. And as a taxpayer this upsets me because I have to pay higher taxes so someone can make a political statement.

What does organic lawn care have to do with a blog about Canada. Well I have traveled most of the country and have found that people overall really care about their lawns. But with all the chemicals and fertilizers that we pore on it yearly it will take a toll on the environment which is a concern to all of us.

Some of the things we all can do is purchase the proper grass seeds for our organic lawns, that is grass that is designed for our local weather conditions. Getting the wrong seeds can make a lawn look a certain way but it can also add a lot of extra watering, fertilizing, and cutting to make it look good. The proper lawn seed will grow to the weather conditions of the area, being it will naturally go into hibernation at parts of the year when water may be more scarce. Organic fertilizers will work over longer periods of time helping the grass grow at a nice steady pace. Cutting the grass at 3 inches will provide a better lawn for growing conditions.

In walking in neighbourhoods I have seen these professional lawn care companies with the workers wearing masks and once they finish the lawns put signs on them warning people to stay off the grass for usually 24 hours because of the toxicity of  what they put on the grass. Now how can that be good for the environment, our kids, our animals and the wild animals that inhabit our areas. What long term health effects is going to happen?

Nice lawns and yards is important to all of us but so it the eco system we all live in. By making some changes to the way you do your lawn care you can go along way to making our environments healthier for now and the future. For more information go to anuplanet.com.

Does Canada have a medical tourism industry?  Yes Canada is a destination for people requiring some types of medical  procedures. This is a hotly debated subject that is polarizing this country. Some say Canada should not open its doors to any private clinics offering procedures to anybody but Canadians. Others will argue allowing private clinics will actually improve the health care system in Canada.

First I would like to say I am for having private clinics that offer medical procedures to people. If I have the money and have to wait in Canada to get the procedure done nothing stops me from going to another country to get the work done. And this is money and jobs that are lost to Canadians an the Canadian taxpayer.

There have been private clinics in Canada for years. Plastic surgery and eye surgery come to mind. These cosmetic procedures should never be accepted under the Canadian Health Act except in extreme circumstances (like repair after accidents illnesses etc). But for someone who may not like their breast size, the way their wrinkles look or that they do not want to wear glasses, they should not expect the taxpayer of Canada to fit this bill. So where does this work get done, private clinics.

Now lets discuss hip or joint replacement surgery. Is it fair that someone that needs the requirement gets bumped because the doctor performing the procedure goes to a private clinic that can get paid higher amounts so their is no body available to do the surgeries. This is where the debate has to be. And a set of rules created to make it fair for both the Canadians expecting the procedures to be done and foreigners or Canadians with money that are willing to pay for the procedures.

With health care collapsing in the USA we could possibly attract doctors from there to staff the clinics taking the foreign patients. If this is done maybe their will not be a burden on our system and these clinics could also take the Canadian patients willing to pay for the procedures. If these Canadians go to the private clinics this will reduce the wait times for others requiring the surgery. If this is done the Canadians should not be able to charge back the Canadian rates to the taxpayer as they made the choice of going to the private clinic. If we have the private clinics Canadian nurses, lab techs, therapists will all have to be hired which increases employment in these professions, and they are good paying jobs which will add lots of tax dollars to the economy. Plus with foreigners coming to Canada to get their health care they will add tourist dollars to the area the clinic is in.

Yes Canadians have to come first for health care but if we are willing to think outside of the box and have an honest debate and not a debate designed just to protect my interests then we may be able to get a health care system that includes medical tourism as a component.

As reported today PQ leader Pauline Marois (Wikepdia on PQ) is comparing Montreal Canadians cup run to the fight for sovereignty (Calgary Herald). Now are this is stretching it to the nth’ degree. She said “The whole nation is vibrating in tune with a team of players who were called too small, not talented enough, not proud enough to win”. Is she saying the PQ is not talented enough to win. And if they are not talented enough then how good would they be at running a country called Quebec.

Now I have been on both sides of the equation and really do not want Quebec to separate for one reason just how to make the separation fair for both sides could not be done. There are lots of arguments on what would be fair and what would not be fair. But with the sitting government under a lot of pressure about possible corruption now is the time to really step up and look good. Here is a short essay on the pros and cons of separation.

One of the biggest reasons if I was them I would not want to separate would be is the availability of money. They would be a small country will some resources but lots of overhead and massive infrastructure that would have to be supported. With what is happening in the world markets would they be able to borrow the money they would need to survive. I am guessing possibly not. And then if they cannot borrow the money they need then you can find a very troubling situation.

I have always believed when you are in opposition it is easy to point fingers, to make promises, let everybody know how much better things will be if they were in power but when that political party gets into power things are different. Then you blame it all on the previous administration to justify what you have to do. In Quebec’s case all I hear is a lot of yelling and screaming on how good they will be as a sovereign nation but no supporting facts.

As much as there is good news on this story there is a lesson on what is bad with our medical system. Reported from the Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun.

DCA is a compound that alters the metabolism of cancer cells. It is reported to reverse the glucose addiction that cancer cells have. The trial was performed on 5 individuals with very advanced cancer where they were only expected to live 7 – 14 months.  Of the five, three  had life expectancies of 7 months with 2 being alive after the 15 month trial. 2 others with a life expectancy of 14 months found after treatment their tumours shrank and their conditions were stable by the time the trial ended. More trials and work has to be done but at least there might be hope for some cancer patients.

But here is where the problem lies. When the first studies were published showing the potential that DCA had the possibility of being a treatment for cancel no drug company would back up the expensive clinical trials. Why because since DCA has been around for decades no patent could be gotten thus no money. This is where the story turns good again.

Because no body would step up to the plate the public did. Campaigns were held to raise money. There was bake sales, raffles done, and a Northern Alberta radio station stepped up to help raise money. Once this was underway then the grants started. The project total was 1.5 million dollars which was raised or granted and the trial went started.

It seems though because we are held hostage to big pharma possible cures in all health areas are being put aside because of a lack of research money. If DCA is successful which I hope it is maybe a message will be sent to governments and other research establishments that there could be products out there that may work and should be looked into. Instead of supporting pharmaceutical companies in their quest for big profits maybe we should put research money into existing products that may work and ultimately reduce the cost of health care.

More information on DCA can be found at thedcasite.com.

The latest push at knocking the federal government is the not offering grants to some groups and others getting an abundance of cash. For instance the Calgary Stampede gets $1,000,000.00 and Just for Laughs in Montreal and the Montreal Jazz Fest will receive 3 million dollars each. It is also reported the Gay Pride Parade in Toronto will get nothing. From the Edmonton Journal, National Post .

First I want to take issue on the Gay Pride Parade in Toronto which was denied funding. I do not believe the Gay Pride Parade in any city should get any type of funding  to demonstrate their lifestyle. If they want to demonstrate their lifestyle to me, do it at their own expense and not take money from me to pay for it. I do not care if it is Gay Pride or some religious group celebrating a religious holiday I just do not believe they should receive any type of government money. .

Secondly what bothers me on this issue if one group gets money over another favouritism is stated and the government is not being fair. Ok maybe this is the case. But there is only so much money to go around. It seems like these groups believe that the governments have unlimited money that can be given to any applicant. If this is the case I should apply for funding and should get funding for the coffee festival I have at my home every morning.

Should any money be given to any groups. I think not. Why are we supporting anything that will not stand on its own. If they run large deficits then shut them down. I just do not want my tax money going to support some special interest group promoting lifestyle choice. In this case I am including jazz, laughter, grande prix’s as a lifestyle choice as it is my choice if I attend them or not.

What the government should do is tell these groups that the money available will drop every year over a 5 – 10 year period to have them start to ween themselves from the handouts. But lets stop this practice before we bankrupt the country. I would rather the money going into health care than a festival or parade.

Here is some national political news as reported around the country.

First calgaryherald.com is reporting “that parliament unwittingly gave away its right to oversee billions of dollars in government borrowing”.  Now the Senate is trying to reverse it. I guess if they did their job in the first place it would have been found and addressed. Parliament has to be made aware and pass the increasing of the debt. It makes the sitting party in power somewhat accountable to the people of this country. If  the public is not made aware of the over spending that is happening we could end up like Greece. Then what.

I did not realize that hockey could be made into an issue of national unity. According to the Globe and Mail the Heritage Minister James Moore has made Vancouver Canucks Canada’s team. I always thought the Toronto Maple Leaf’s were.

A sad situation happened outside of Edmonton with the death of a 14 year old foster child. The cause of death is under investigation because of his age but natural causes have not been ruled out. The death was just being reported and the opposition parties immediately jumped to conclusions and requested judicial enquires etc on the matter. The problem I have with this is listening to the news over the weekend here in Calgary was the full story was not reported in the first place and the story has been changing as more information has been reaching the press. My thoughts are lets wait until the outcome of the autopsy be released and then pass the judgement. It is unfair to the foster family and the parents of the child where the child died if it turns out the death was a result of natural causes. Why have any type of enquiry if the death was of natural causes. From the National Post and Edmonton Journal.