Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Remembrance Day
So today is Remembrance Day in Canada. We've missed out on this the past few years. I can remember showing someone our wedding pictures in the states, and saying that a picture was taken in the Vimy Memorial. Well the look on his face, he had no idea Canada had been in World War I.
The Vimy Ridge Memorial in Saskatoon
Above is the Vimy Ridge Memorial to Canadian soldiers in France.
Today at church we had a moment of silence, and sang the national anthem. The veterans in the congregation all stood. There were 4 WWII vets there. It was a little moving.
In the paper yesterday there were quite a few in memoriums for WWI and II vets, but also some for Afghanistan. It makes it a little closer to home.
Here is a link to Canada's role in World War I and Canada's role in WWII
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Shopping Carts
Ok, so when my family moved here from Illinois, we noticed that at the grocery stores you had to put a quarter into the shopping cart to unlock it, and then when you put it back in the shopping cart rack, you get your 25 cents back. Well then some stores upgraded so that now you need a whole dollar (a loonie) coin to get your shopping cart. I always thought this was kinda weird, but good incentive to return your shopping cart.
Well since Jeff and I have been in Kentucky, I have enjoyed the world of not having to keep loose change in your car to get a shopping cart. Now that I am back in Saskatoon, I am always scrounging for the appropriate coinage depending on what store I am at.
Last night Jeff and I went to Dairy Queen for a late night snack, and I was a dollar short, so I used the loonie from the glove box to pay for our treats.
This afternoon we went grocery shopping. So we pull into the lot and I exclaim "Oh no, I don't have any change for the shopping cart!". Jeff says, wait there is a loonie in the glove box. I said well no, remember we used it last night. Then Jeff looks up at the shopping carts and see's that the one on the end isn't locked up. Meaning that the loonie is still in it, and we can just take it. But there are other people going to get carts too. I yell at Jeff to go get the cart, he yells at me to get the re-usable grocery bags. So as Jeff goes running from the car I yell out the door, "You get the cart, I'll get the bags!!" Jeff ran up to the carts, and gets there just before some other guy and he got the free shopping cart. Phew! We only had 75 cents, so I don't know how we would have gotten a cart if we hadn't gotten the free one!
Well since Jeff and I have been in Kentucky, I have enjoyed the world of not having to keep loose change in your car to get a shopping cart. Now that I am back in Saskatoon, I am always scrounging for the appropriate coinage depending on what store I am at.
Last night Jeff and I went to Dairy Queen for a late night snack, and I was a dollar short, so I used the loonie from the glove box to pay for our treats.
This afternoon we went grocery shopping. So we pull into the lot and I exclaim "Oh no, I don't have any change for the shopping cart!". Jeff says, wait there is a loonie in the glove box. I said well no, remember we used it last night. Then Jeff looks up at the shopping carts and see's that the one on the end isn't locked up. Meaning that the loonie is still in it, and we can just take it. But there are other people going to get carts too. I yell at Jeff to go get the cart, he yells at me to get the re-usable grocery bags. So as Jeff goes running from the car I yell out the door, "You get the cart, I'll get the bags!!" Jeff ran up to the carts, and gets there just before some other guy and he got the free shopping cart. Phew! We only had 75 cents, so I don't know how we would have gotten a cart if we hadn't gotten the free one!
Saturday, November 03, 2007
vote update
I should mention that when my NDP candidate was here, he did talk about a bridging program between LPN's and RN's, but as a union guy and health employee, he said he didn't really know that it would work. It would be like taking from Peter and giving to Paul. There is a LPN shortage too. Also this wasn't really the party's platform, just something we discussed.
Now for the exciting news. I was at the Farmers Market this morning, and well premier Lorne Calvert was there. So I talked to him. I asked him if this bridging program does happen, what does the SRNA think about it? He asid he didn't know, that it was a good idea in theory, but that he didn't know if the SRNA would be ok with it or not. He would have to ask his health minister about it. He said the Healthcare system is so rigid, and that change happens very slowly there. Which is all true. I told him I didn't know who to vote for yet, that I wanted a minority government, but I didn't know what I thought about my SaskParty candidate, so I didn't know if I should vote NDP so that the SP guy doesn't win, or if I should vote Liberal in the hope there is a minority government. He said most people are voting very stratigically in this election, and thanked me for thinking about them.
Well that was nice.
And then a reporter from Edmonton interviewed me. He siad what was interesting about this election is that our province is in a state of prosperity right now, and the NDP may not get re-elected. And normally this would be a sure thing for them. So I talked a little bit about how people are a little impatient and they want change to happen faster. He asked why I wouldn't vote for the SaskParty and it's really that I am not a conservative. I never have like a conservative platform, and I don't like this one either.
So considering the polls, the Liberals may not get any seats, and that's a little worrisome for me.
No comments yet, and I want to know what everyone else is thinking!
Now for the exciting news. I was at the Farmers Market this morning, and well premier Lorne Calvert was there. So I talked to him. I asked him if this bridging program does happen, what does the SRNA think about it? He asid he didn't know, that it was a good idea in theory, but that he didn't know if the SRNA would be ok with it or not. He would have to ask his health minister about it. He said the Healthcare system is so rigid, and that change happens very slowly there. Which is all true. I told him I didn't know who to vote for yet, that I wanted a minority government, but I didn't know what I thought about my SaskParty candidate, so I didn't know if I should vote NDP so that the SP guy doesn't win, or if I should vote Liberal in the hope there is a minority government. He said most people are voting very stratigically in this election, and thanked me for thinking about them.
Well that was nice.
And then a reporter from Edmonton interviewed me. He siad what was interesting about this election is that our province is in a state of prosperity right now, and the NDP may not get re-elected. And normally this would be a sure thing for them. So I talked a little bit about how people are a little impatient and they want change to happen faster. He asked why I wouldn't vote for the SaskParty and it's really that I am not a conservative. I never have like a conservative platform, and I don't like this one either.
So considering the polls, the Liberals may not get any seats, and that's a little worrisome for me.
No comments yet, and I want to know what everyone else is thinking!
Friday, November 02, 2007
How to vote.
I love election time. I love having the candidates come to my door and answering my questions. This year I e-mailed each candidate to let them know I was looking forward to talking to them. Then one day I was at work and they all came by when I wasn't home. So I had to call them all and they came back, well except for one.
To start, here's a little thought. We come form a province that has traditionally shunned the Liberal party. Have you ever thought about what if our province had a Liberal government when the Liberals with in power nationally? Would we have been treated any different? We have two parties represented provincially that are also national parties. The Liberals and the NDP. The Saskparty is it's own little party that only represents Saskatchewan. Although it has strong ties to the Conservatives, it's not the same. All that being said, you still have to vote on what is best for the province.
So here's how I see it at the moment. I really really liked my NDP candidate. He works in healthcare as well, and he figured there needed to be someone in there who actually has something to do with healthcare.
I don't know how I feel about the NDP right now. They have made some progress and you know, things like roads, and a severe nursing shortage don't get fixed oevrnight. So you should give them some credit that the wait list is shorter than before, there are now better incentives for nurses to come back to Saskatchewan, or to stay here after school, and there has been some progress on roads such as highway1 and the road from Stoon to Lloyd. The NDP guy admitted to me that working on the nursing shortage will take a while. A new day surgery centre has already opened in Regina to help with waiting times and there is already plans in the works for a Saskatoon day surgery centre.
The Saskparty guy never came back, and although I have called his office many times, I haven't heard from him or the healthcare critic they promised would call. What exactly is "enterprise Saskatchewan". Would they really privatize the crowns? And what if the first thing they do is pass a bill that elections will be every 4 years no matter what. Well then what if they aren't good, then no one can force an election before there is damage done. This applies to any party, but the Saskparty is the only one talking about making elections every 4 years. And how exactly do they plan to pay for recruiting and retaining nurses? And where do they plan to find 800 nurses? He did say something to Jeff about LPN's, and I don't really know what the plan is there.
The Liberal guy came by, and though he was in a hurry, he answered my questions. There was mention of a bridging program for LPN's to become RN's. Of course it will take a while to deal with the shortage. They would like to set up day surgery centre's to open up OR time (and so do the NDP). All good. But the most important thing, we all know there is not going to be a Liberal government. So I asked what will happen if there is a minority government and he gets elected. The Liberals could have a swing vote if they get enough seats. So he assured me that they would vote on a vote by vote basis, and they would remain Liberal.
Now I have no idea how the SRNA feels about this "bridging program" the various parties are talking about. That will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Some issues being discussed around the hospital are, heart surgeries. Apparently the wait list in Saskatoon is much longer than the one in Regina (this is just gossip mind you). Also heart surgeries in Saskatoon are often cancelled because there are not enough ICU beds. If there is not an ICU bed available, than no heart surgeries that day. Until there are more beds, with the nurses to staff them, this will be an ongoing problem. So which party is going to fix that? These are not easy issues.
So in the last few years, the NDP has had a majority government. That means that the SaskParty has had to just sit back and watch. Be vocal, but watch because they didn't have the numbers to do anything about it.
Now if there was a minority government, then either party would have to lobby for votes in order to get anything passed. So the Liberal party could say, ok we'll vote for you if you change this and this. That way the bills get changed or watered down a little bit, which has potential to be a very good thing.
So what does everyone else think?
To start, here's a little thought. We come form a province that has traditionally shunned the Liberal party. Have you ever thought about what if our province had a Liberal government when the Liberals with in power nationally? Would we have been treated any different? We have two parties represented provincially that are also national parties. The Liberals and the NDP. The Saskparty is it's own little party that only represents Saskatchewan. Although it has strong ties to the Conservatives, it's not the same. All that being said, you still have to vote on what is best for the province.
So here's how I see it at the moment. I really really liked my NDP candidate. He works in healthcare as well, and he figured there needed to be someone in there who actually has something to do with healthcare.
I don't know how I feel about the NDP right now. They have made some progress and you know, things like roads, and a severe nursing shortage don't get fixed oevrnight. So you should give them some credit that the wait list is shorter than before, there are now better incentives for nurses to come back to Saskatchewan, or to stay here after school, and there has been some progress on roads such as highway1 and the road from Stoon to Lloyd. The NDP guy admitted to me that working on the nursing shortage will take a while. A new day surgery centre has already opened in Regina to help with waiting times and there is already plans in the works for a Saskatoon day surgery centre.
The Saskparty guy never came back, and although I have called his office many times, I haven't heard from him or the healthcare critic they promised would call. What exactly is "enterprise Saskatchewan". Would they really privatize the crowns? And what if the first thing they do is pass a bill that elections will be every 4 years no matter what. Well then what if they aren't good, then no one can force an election before there is damage done. This applies to any party, but the Saskparty is the only one talking about making elections every 4 years. And how exactly do they plan to pay for recruiting and retaining nurses? And where do they plan to find 800 nurses? He did say something to Jeff about LPN's, and I don't really know what the plan is there.
The Liberal guy came by, and though he was in a hurry, he answered my questions. There was mention of a bridging program for LPN's to become RN's. Of course it will take a while to deal with the shortage. They would like to set up day surgery centre's to open up OR time (and so do the NDP). All good. But the most important thing, we all know there is not going to be a Liberal government. So I asked what will happen if there is a minority government and he gets elected. The Liberals could have a swing vote if they get enough seats. So he assured me that they would vote on a vote by vote basis, and they would remain Liberal.
Now I have no idea how the SRNA feels about this "bridging program" the various parties are talking about. That will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Some issues being discussed around the hospital are, heart surgeries. Apparently the wait list in Saskatoon is much longer than the one in Regina (this is just gossip mind you). Also heart surgeries in Saskatoon are often cancelled because there are not enough ICU beds. If there is not an ICU bed available, than no heart surgeries that day. Until there are more beds, with the nurses to staff them, this will be an ongoing problem. So which party is going to fix that? These are not easy issues.
So in the last few years, the NDP has had a majority government. That means that the SaskParty has had to just sit back and watch. Be vocal, but watch because they didn't have the numbers to do anything about it.
Now if there was a minority government, then either party would have to lobby for votes in order to get anything passed. So the Liberal party could say, ok we'll vote for you if you change this and this. That way the bills get changed or watered down a little bit, which has potential to be a very good thing.
So what does everyone else think?
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