Wednesday, November 27, 1996
Empty war chests
An intense dislike for their former leader, Brian Mulroney, saw the PCs almost annihilated in the House of Commons, with only two Tories gaining the voters' confidence, one being the charismatic Jean Charest.
John Diefenbaker enjoyed tremendous popularity in the 1950s, and it swept the PCs into power.
Then the Liberals ruled through the popularity of Lester Pearson, who was eventually replaced by his chosen man, Pierre Trudeau.
The public adored Trudeau once upon a time, but he too fell out of favor with voters when they grew weary of his arrogance.
Thus it has been a continual round robin for decades, with political parties, being dashed on the rocks by voters, only to rebound.
The Western Arctic Progressive Conservative Association is part of this current national rebuilding effort, which is vital to the well-being of our democratic way of life. So people of any political stripe should only wish them well -- not counting Reformers, of course ( 11/27/96 )
Yellowknife is such a culturally alive and vibrant city, making many similar or even much larger communities across this land pale by comparison.
We have Caribou Carnival and Folk on the Rocks, NACC performances and the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre.
Then there's NWT Mining Week, Festival of the Midnight Sun, Theatre Festival and Far North Film Festival.
If all this isn't enough, there's another soul-soother shaping up.
The Yellowknife Jazz and Blues Society was just born in Yellowknife and already members are aiming to create another festival to enrich our lives.
The nice part of it is, just as cabin fever might be starting to grip some of us, their jazz festival will be held annually in February.
But that's more than another year off for the first festival, so in the meantime the society will hold impromptu gigs about this city.
They also have admirable plans for importing performers, helping raise money for Folk on the Rocks, providing scholarships for students and conductor fees for musical groups.
Now that's jazzy. ( 11/27/96 )
The Yellowknife post office, like all Canadian post offices, has been taken over, lock, stock and honey barrel, by Winnie-the-Pooh.
Which wouldn't be all that objectionable, except that Christopher Robin's favorite denizen of Hundred Acre Wood is now the property of one of the largest entertainment and media corporations on the planet.
Yes, Winnie-the-Pooh was named after a bear found in the Northern Ontario wilderness, near the town of White River, which now holds an annual festival in his honor.
Yes his name derives from Manitoba's capital city.
And yes, he's without doubt one of the most popular children's storyook characters of all time.
But the estate of his creator, A.A. Milne, decided a few years back to sell him out. Now Walt Disney owns him. He's being marketed to death, and Canada Post should not be in the business of marketing American trademarks. Period.
Even a bear with a brain as small as Winnie-the-Pooh's can see that. ( 11/27/96 )