Much ink will be spilled in the coming days to describe Canada’s sixth longest serving prime minister, Stephen Harper. My reflections on having served with him in Parliament and as a member of his cabinet are of course biased but also very personal.
Our early interactions were guarded, but gave way to a common cause and mutual respect.
His leadership in unifying the Conservative movement after more than a decade of bitter internecine political civil war was transformative for Canadian politics.
It was at times a difficult period for us both and there was much to overcome.
I was proud to work with him to restore a competitive democracy in our country delivering balance and true choice for voters.
Upon forming government as PM in 2006 his singular focus on reining in waste and corruption in the aftermath of the Liberal sponsorship scandal set us on a clear course.
Smaller, more efficient government was a laudable goal not fully realized and a mistrust of bureaucracy was ever present.
Notable was his stewardship through the recession that allowed Canada to emerge better placed than any other G7 country. This was no small accomplishment. He governed like an economist with steely determination aided by the late, great finance minister, Jim Flaherty, to reach a balanced budget prior to the last election.
I witnessed a style steeped in pragmatism and a deep sense of commitment to building a better, more united Canada.
Complex like Canada itself, Harper was never one to seek the limelight, yet was comfortable and confident in what he believed to be the right course. It takes talent and grit to be PM, tough decisions must be made against a tide of criticism.
He lowered taxes over 180 times to help working Canadians; ended the failed long-gun registry; toughened the laws against gun crimes and violent offenders; took away the wheat pool monopoly; and boosted our Armed Forces budget to record levels.
His pursuit of world attention on the need to improve maternal health often goes unnoticed, but he pushed other world leaders hard to achieve consensus and action on this important matter.
He loved the North and an annual trip he cherished brought out a passion and a deep appreciation of our country’s vast and diverse land.
Having travelled with him, sat in countless meetings and observed him from a privileged vantage point, I can say his work ethic was legendary. He read incessantly, pressed ministers and bureaucrats on the material presented after reading every word. He held the respect of world leaders and spoke with a principle and clarity, often rare at international gatherings.
Harper much preferred substance to style but had a flair for music and an encyclopedic memory for politics, history, sport and movie trivia.
Sometimes impatient due to a desire to simply get things done, fiercely partisan but equally patriotic.
Stubborn and sometimes unyielding to be sure, but surprisingly open behind the scenes to good ideas if presented well and argued with logic over emotion.
On occasion, I also saw another side. He was the first to visit my wife and I at the hospital after the birth of our son. While often accused of being “stiff” he had a side seldom revealed that belied that public image. He was more compassionate and light-hearted than he cared to show.
He has a soft spot for animals, something he shared with his wife and daughter. Charlie the Chinchilla, among the cats, was a favourite. His sense of humour and ability to imitate voices often had the caucus in stitches. This much more human side was perhaps only revealed to those “on the inside” who he trusted.
His love for family and a deep commitment to public service define the man I worked with.
During my six years at Defence I also recognized his deep affection and appreciation for our Canadian Forces, veterans and their families.
His commitment to them never wavered. Afghanistan and its toll affected him deeply. He knew that soldiers defined past and present greatness for Canada.
A driven man of many talents and pursuits, it’s with gratitude I say that I am certain Canada is better for Stephen Harper’s public service and time as prime minister.
Peter MacKay is a partner at Baker Mckenzie and a former MP and Conservative Cabinet Minister.

Peter MacKay on Stephen Harper: 'His work ethic was legendary'


Much ink will be spilled in the coming days to describe Canada’s sixth longest serving prime minister, Stephen Harper. My reflections on having served with him in Parliament and as a member of his cabinet are of course biased but also very personal.


William Shatner is 85 and by all accounts he’s way busier than you’ll ever be.
This week, the original Captain Kirk heads to Fan Expo in Toronto to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. He’s also starring with Henry Winkler, Terry Bradshaw, Olympic gold medallist George Foreman and comic Jeff Dye on NBC’s travel comedy Better Late Than Never. Then there’s his upcoming book, Zero G, which follows the FBI in space 50 years from now.
“Also right now, today for example, I’ve been filming a special that we’re making for Canada called the Truth is in Our Stars,” he tells Postmedia Network down the line from Kentucky. “We started the show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, and its effect on various scientists. We ended up talking to Stephen Hawking about space and time and Black Holes and he’s a glorious part of the special that we’re making for Canada with Canadian production.”
Along with Shatner, former Star Trek stars George Takei and Nichelle Nichols will also be on hand to mark the 50th birthday for the iconic sci-fi franchise.
“Oh, I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with George and Nichelle,” he says with a tone of sarcasm (Shatner and Takei have trash talked one another for years).
During a wide-ranging conversation, Shatner reflected on Kirk’s death in Star Trek: Generations, his favourite film featuring the original series cast and revealed his favourite villain.
How does it make you feel to see this 50-year-old franchise still going strong?
I get to talk to scientists and one of the major questions I have is: ‘Please explain to me the concept of space-time?’ But when I think about it, I’m an authority on time, in that time — in this case 50 years — goes by so quickly. It’s almost as if time doesn’t exist. That’s how quickly it went.
Do you regret killing Kirk in Generations?
You see, the pronoun you used - ‘you’ - should be changed to ‘they.’ I didn’t kill Kirk. I protested. I died protesting (laughs).
But now that the timeline is reset, isn’t it possible that your version of Kirk is still alive and could be reunited with the current crew through time travel?
Mark, I’m giving you this job right now. I’m assigning you a job – and you’ll be highly paid. I want you to solve the mystery of bringing me, 50 years later, back as Captain Kirk. I want you to solve that mystery.
Having done so, you’ll be highly paid.
What’s your favourite Star Trek film from the original series?
Well, I thought the glorious altitude of Star Trek films was reached with Star Trek 5. I thought that was a brilliant film. Beautifully acted and extraordinarily directed.
I loved that one too. But did you have any other favourites?
Probably the one that Leonard Nimoy directed – Star Trek 4. That was a lovely film on a subject dear to all of our hearts, which is trying to preserve the world.
What’s your opinion of the new Star Trek films?
I really haven’t seen them. I caught a glimpse of the first one, but I think that they’re doing a wonderful job of bringing an audience in. The films we did made a $100-million and that was the top. Now JJ Abrams has solved the puzzle and he’s created a great ride of a film. And people are flocking to see the films.
How long would you like to see this current cast go?
I think if they got rid of all the characters except Kirk... I’m just joking. I don’t know. They’ve got some wonderful writers working on it. Star Trek was always about character and story. So it’s a balancing act. Obviously people are loving it and that’s good.
What should they do with Chekov after Anton Yelchin’s death?
They would replace him I’d think. But I don’t know.
Who was your favourite villain?
Mark, what’s funny is that I spent the day with Stephen Hawking last week and one of the questions he asked me was, ‘Who was your favourite villain?’ I had to say something. I couldn’t say, ‘They’re all great.’ But I’d have to say Khan… Ricardo Montalban. He was fun.
What’s your favourite thing to do when you’re back in Toronto?
Well, I lived in Toronto for several years. I worked at the CBC and I did theatre and I was at Stratford in the summer. But my favourite thing to do is I like to go to my old haunts and see that they don’t exist anymore and what’s there is a great restaurant. So I pay my respects to my old haunt by having a meal somewhere.
Lastly, what’s your motto?
There’s always tomorrow.
William Shatner appears at Fan Expo Canada on Friday, Sept. 2, and Saturday, Sept. 3. For tickets and info, visit fanexpocanada.com/guests/william-shatner.
Twitter: @markhdaniell
Mdaniell@postmedia.com

'Star Trek 5' glorious and Kirk didn't have to die in 'Generati


William Shatner is 85 and by all accounts he’s way busier than you’ll ever be.


Don Cherry has decided to wade into the fallout over San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to sit down during the U.S. anthem in his team's first three NFL preseason games.
Kaepernick explained on Sunday that he was taking a stand on race relations in America and challenging authority following the deaths of black people at the hands of police.
“The fact that it has blown up like this, I think it’s a good thing. It brings awareness,” Kaepernick said Sunday. “Now, I think people are really talking about it. Having conversations about how to make change. What’s really going on in this country. And we can move forward. ...There is police brutality. People of colour have been targeted by police.”
But Cherry, the longtime Hockey Night in Canada commentator, didn't see it that way, posting a response Tuesday afternoon on Twitter.
My thoughts on the Colin Kaepernick controversy... https://t.co/7EXEI9ogv3 — Don Cherry (@CoachsCornerCBC) August 30, 2016
"It's funny how athletes when they know they are finished they all of a sudden take a stand. For instance, the 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He knows he’s not going to beat out the 49ers quarterback (Blaine) Gabbert. So all of a sudden he takes a stand on the Star Spangled Banner and not stand up to honour the flag.
"And believe it or not some people compare him to Muhammed Ali. So very wrong. If you remember, Ali took a stand in the prime of his career and lost 3 good years.
"If Colin Kaepernick really wanted to make a statement he should have done it during the Super Bowl. And make no mistake he has made things tougher for the organization that has made him millions.
"Besides, if he feels so strongly about these issues why does he not take the money he’s going to, I was going to say earn, but I will say get, and give it to his causes."
Cherry is one of many to give their two cents on the controversy.
Jim Harbaugh, Kaepernick's former head coach who now leads Michigan football, disagreed with his tactics while supporting his right to sit.
I apologize for misspeaking my true sentiments. To clarify, I support Colin's motivation. It's his method of action that I take exception to — Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) August 29, 2016
Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who played 16 seasons with the 49ers, was also critical of Kaepernick.
All lives matter. So much going on in this world today.Can we all just get along! Colin,I respect your stance but don't disrespect the Flag. — Jerry Rice (@JerryRice) August 30, 2016
"All lives matter," Rice wrote on Twitter. "So much going on in this world today. Can we all just get along! Colin, I respect your stance but don't disrespect the Flag."
Seattle Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman understood where Kaepernick was coming from.
"I thought that was interesting," said Sherman. "Obviously, what he meant was in a good place. He wanted to make a stand. Obviously, anytime you don’t stand during the national anthem, people are going to criticize it. And that’s the unfortunate part of it. You can’t ever stand against the flag. A lot of people have sacrificed for it.
"But there is also a deeper meaning to what he did. He’s talking about the oppression of African Americans in this country. And that has been going on for a long time. I think a lot of the focus has shifted away from his message and shifted to some people, rightfully so, to him taking a stand against the nation ..."
- with files from Associated Press

Don Cherry questions Colin Kaepernick's motives for sitting during U.S. anthem


Don Cherry has decided to wade into the fallout over San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's decision to sit down during the U.S. anthem in his team's first three NFL preseason games.


A few days ago, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Michael Goodwin, a long-time newspaper columnist in New York, lamented that American journalism as he once knew it was collapsing before his eyes.
In their efforts to derail the presidential ambitions of Donald Trump, Goodwin claimed, Hillary Clinton and her campaigners, in collusion with the Obama White House, are purposefully “working hand-in-hand with what was once considered the cream of the nation’s news organizations.
“This shameful display of naked partisanship by the elite media is unlike anything seen in modern America,” said Goodwin, who then accused CBS, NBC and ABC, as well as the New York Times and Washington Post, of having “jettisoned all pretense of fair play.
“Indeed, no foreign enemy, no terror group, no native criminal gang, suffers the daily beating Trump does,” he said.
And then he added this: “The mad mullahs of Iran, who call America the Great Satan and vow to wipe Israel off the map, are treated gently by comparison.”
Sound familiar?
There is no question the perceived media elite of Canada were equally hysterical and committed in their quest to see the back of the Harper government, and particularly Stephen Harper himself, for not genuflecting before them.
And for failing to truly recognize and openly appreciate their contribution to the greater good of the country
I watched it all go down from the cheap seats as a political staffer, and shook my head over the lack of objectivity coming from reporters whose job it was to be objective.
Opinion, once the purview of columnists and commentators, had leaked into general news reporting.
The demarcation line between news and opinion had not only become blurred, it had been erased.
Still giddy with bringing down what they viewed as the despicable Harper government, today’s national press gallery, as well as their agents far and wide, continue their love-in with Justin Trudeau well past the shelf life of most political honeymoons.
Oh, there have been subtle rumblings.
Certain things are beginning to grate, like Trudeau inserting himself into The Tragically Hip’s final concert in their hometown of Kingston as if it were all about him, and not the terminal brain cancer of the Hip’s poetic lead singer, Gord Downie.
Trudeau was an unnecessary distraction, even if the PMO claims he was invited, and he should have known better.
He should have said thanks but no thanks, and let the focus be where it belonged — on Downie himself
Instead, there was a photograph of the two of them hugging, although Downie’s face was totally obscured.
In the meantime, there has been no real governance coming out of the Trudeau government.
The country has been shedding jobs like snake skins, the $10 billion deficit promised during the election to spur the economy has now been projected to hit $150 billion by the end of Trudeau’s first term because of his endless spending.
Trudeau is now off to China, of course, and will be talking trade with the commies.
No one calls it Red China anymore, but it is what it is, and still rife with human rights abuses.
Thankfully Trudeau will have that steely-eyed Stephane Dion at his side as foreign affairs minister, which will no doubt have the Chinese politburo quaking in its boots.
It is to laugh, yet cry.
What New York columnist Michael Goodwin writes about the collapse of American journalism is happening here among the progressive news outlets, and more so within the CBC now that Trudeau has jacked up its funding.
Instead of focusing on what Trudeau is or isn’t doing to right Canada’s failing economy and oppressive taxation, we get headlines from the largest daily newspaper in Canada reading, “Shirtless Trudeau leaves international media breathless.”
They’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and bought the swampland. All in one foul swoop.
markbonokoski@gmail.com

Media drinking the Kool-Aid and buying the swampland


A few days ago, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Michael Goodwin, a long-time newspaper columnist in New York, lamented that American journalism as he once knew it was collapsing before his eyes.


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- It was in early morning darkness that officers scrambled to sort out the chaos at an Albuquerque apartment complex where a couple had reportedly been attacked, the woman bleeding from a head injury and the man sporting a black eye and wearing blood-stained shorts.
The woman told officers her 10-year-old daughter was still inside apartment number 808 from which they had escaped.
What the officers didn't know was that the child was already dead, her battered and dismembered body partially wrapped in a blanket and set ablaze.
With the fire alarm blaring, they busted in the front door and searched the smoke-filled apartment for Victoria Martens. In the bathroom, the real crime began to come into focus.
Investigators took into custody the girl's mother, her boyfriend and his cousin.
The community was left struggling to understand how a blossoming elementary school student who loved swimming and gymnastics could have been the target of such violence.
Details of what New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and law enforcement officials described as an unspeakable crime emerged in a criminal complaint made public Thursday. Police said Victoria was injected with methamphetamine, sexually assaulted, strangled and stabbed before being dismembered.
The killing happened on the day Victoria was going to celebrate her 10th birthday.
"This homicide is the most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen in my career," Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden Jr. said.
The girl's mother, 35-year-old Michelle Martens, her 31-year-old boyfriend, Fabian Gonzales, and his 31-year-old cousin, Jessica Kelley, face charges of child abuse resulting in death, kidnapping and tampering with evidence. Gonzales and Kelley also face charges of criminal sexual penetration of a minor.
Gonzales denied having involvement with Victoria's death while reporters yelled questions at him as he was led out of the police station in handcuffs late Wednesday. The girl's mother said nothing as she was taken from the police station to a police cruiser and driven away.
Police said Kelley was hospitalized and will be booked after she's released. No details were disclosed about why she was hospitalized.
Bail was set at $1 million each for Martens and Gonzales at their first court appearance Thursday afternoon. The two did not speak in court, and the public defence lawyer who represented them did not comment about the allegations.
As news spread about Victoria's death, neighbours and friends built a makeshift memorial under a tree near the apartment complex, adorning it with stuffed animals and candles. Some hugged while others cried and prayed.
In the evening, dozens of people gathered for a candlelight vigil and the shrine grew.
Christie Zamora said Victoria attended her gymnastics class every Saturday and always seemed happy.
"She was incredibly social," Zamora said. "It's just so tragic."
Another shrine was erected at Petroglyph Elementary School, where Victoria had just started the new school year.
School officials said in a statement that, like the rest of the community, their hearts ache. "Victoria is in our thoughts and prayers as we hold our children just a little tighter on this sad day," the statement read.
Neighbours said Victoria's mother worked at a nearby grocery store deli and they were shocked to see a mugshot of her in an orange jail jumpsuit.
Mugshots of Martens and Gonzales released by police showed them with bruises on their faces. According to the complaint, Gonzales said his cousin hit him and Martens with an iron, prompting him to jump over the balcony and run to a neighbouring apartment for help. Martens also found her way outside.
Police initially went to the apartment complex early Wednesday after the neighbour reported the disturbance.
Victoria's mother told police she met Gonzales online about a month ago and that he drugged the girl so he could calm her down and have sex with her, the complaint said.
Gonzales has a New Mexico arrest record stretching back to 2004, including a felony child abuse charge, driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest. He pleaded no contest to a charge of child abandonment in 2015.
Kelley's record includes battery, domestic violence and drug charges.
The Albuquerque Journal reported that in one case, Kelley acted as a lookout while a woman allegedly raped another inmate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in September 2012. Kelley pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit criminal sexual penetration and was sentenced to three years in prison minus nearly a year for time served.
Martens told police Kelley had recently got out of prison and that she allowed her to stay at the apartment.
Online court records show no criminal history in New Mexico for Martens.

'The most gruesome act of evil I have ever seen'; Neighbours shocked by girl's '


It was in early morning darkness that
officers scrambled to sort out the
chaos at an Albuquerque apartment
complex where a couple had reportedly
been attacked, the woman bleeding from
a head injury and the man sporting a
black eye and wearing blood-stained
shorts.


Moody Blues: Classic rockers The Moody Blues held a celebrity cruise in April 2014 with Roger Daltrey. The five-night Moody Blues Cruise II around the Bahamas recreated the vibe of the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival. The band will also set sail on a New Year's Eve theme cruise in 2018. (WENN.com) Mandatory Credit: WENN.com
Star Trek: William Shatner - a.k.a. Captain James T. Kirk -- and his Star Trek castmates will set sail on a theme cruise to celebrate the franchise's 50th anniversary. Jonathan Frakes, Denise Crosby and Robert Picardo will also be aboard. The six-day cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line departs Miami on Jan. 9, 2017, and will make stops in Cozumel, Mexico and the Bahamas. Read the full story here. (WENN.com)
MasterChef: The itinerary for the week-long MasterChef cruise of the Caribbean includes plenty of opportunities to interact with fan favourite contestants like Luca Manfe. The seven-day voyage sails from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Nov. 6, 2016 and past winners from MasterChef and MasterChef Junior will be aborad. Click here for more details. (Courtesy Bell Media)
Property Brothers: Canadian twins Jonathan and Drew Scott — better known as the Property Brothers for their W Network reality real estate show — are setting sail on the “Ultimate Design Cruise” aboard the Carnival Ecstasy. Their cruise, formally called “Sailing with the Scotts: The Ultimate Design Cruise,” will sail from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico from Nov. 16 to 20, 2015. The Scott brothers have a number of surprises in store for fans who join them on the cruise, including trivia night challenges, dance parties and DIY decorating challenges. Click here for more information. (Handout)
Dancing with the Stars: Fans of TV dance competition Dancing with the Stars can pretend they're one of the stars while cruising the Caribbean or Alaska on Holland America's MS Nieuw Amsterdam. With several sail dates throughout 2015 and 2016, the cruise features dance classes, competitions and the change to mingle with stars like Kym Johnson (pictured), Tristan MacManus and Carson Kressley. Click here for more details. (WENN.com) Daniel Tanner/WENN.com
KISS: Set sail with classic rock band KISS on their fifth annual Caribbean "kruise" from Oct. 30 to Nov. 3, 2015. On your round-trip cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl from Miami to Jamaica, you'll enjoy gourmet dining, ob-board amenities, plus an indoor rock show with KISS. (WENN.com)
Maxwell: R&B star Maxwell has recruited his famous friends and is setting sail for a Caribbean cruise. The singer is launching the Maxwell + The 7 Seas Caribbean cruise, sailing May 3 - 10, 2015, and is bringing fellow musicians including Erykah Badu, Anthony Hamilton, Ledisi, Robert Glasper and comedian DL Hughley for the seven-day trip. Click here for more details. (WENN.com) WENN.com
Game of Thrones: Crystal Cruises has created an excursion for Game of Thrones fans that takes guests to filming locations in Northern Ireland as part of a cruise along the British Isles. The half-day excursion with the seven and 14-day cruise packages will offer guests a behind-the-scenes tour into the making of the mythical worlds of Westeros and Essos. Click here for more details. (WENN.com) WENN.com
The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings: Fans of The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and author J.R.R. Tolkien can take to the high seas on a Tolkien fan cruise with cast members from the films, including Jed Brophy (pictured) (Nori the dwarf,) Sarah McLeod (Samwise Gamgee's wife Rosie Cotton,) and Bruce Hopkins (Gamling in the LOTR film trilogy.) Click here for full details. (WENN.com) WENN.com
Grand Budapest Hotel: Fans of the Wes Anderson film The Grand Budapest Hotel were offered the chance to set sail with Anderson and members of the cast in a star-studded lineup aboard the Queen Mary 2 cruise liner in June 2014. Actors Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman and writer/producer Roman Coppola sailed with Cunard's flagship liner during a seven-day transatlantic crossing. Read the full story here. (WENN.com) WENN.com
Backstreet Boys: The Backstreet Boys cruise sailed from Miami for Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas on Oct. 24 to 27, 2014. The boy band's cruise was so popular in past years, the band had to turn to Carnival's Ecstasy ship, which has more balcony cabins for guests. Guests enjoyed pool parties on deck with Brian, Nick, A.J., Howie and Kevin, disembarked at Half Moon Cay for a beach party with the Boys, plus enjoyed all the luxury amenities and gourmet dining the Carnival Ecstasy ship offers. (WENN.com) WENN.com
Frozen: Hit the seas with Anna, Elsa and all their Frozen friends on the new Disney Cruises 'Frozen' theme cruise. The ship - to be transformed into a wintry wonderland overnight - will sail in 2015 to destinations in Europe and to Alaska. Click here for more information. (Handout)

Set sail with the Moody Blues on New Year's cruise


Classic rockers the Moody Blues are setting sail on a fan cruise to Mexico to ring in 2018.


Former prime minister Stephen Harper resigned from his Calgary Heritage parliamentary seat Friday, marking his exit from politics.
In a Facebook and video message to Canadians, he thanked them for the opportunity to serve and outlined what he believes were the major accomplishments of the Conservatives under his leadership.
“We united all Conservatives behind our agenda,” he said. “We cut taxes, made critical investments and balanced the national budget. We got tough on crime and put families first. We managed our G7 economy through the worst global recession since the Great Depression, and came out in the strongest position of them all. We took principled decisions in a complex and dangerous world. And, whether at home or abroad, we were always proud to stand up for Canada.”
As Harper leaves politics to set up a consulting firm in Calgary, his critics will contest all of these claims. They are free to do so.
Our readers know our view. We would have preferred he was still prime minister.
One of many things we admired about Harper was that while politicians like to think of themselves as the smartest people in the room, Harper typically was the smartest person in the room.
During last year’s election campaign, for example, when Liberal leader Justin Trudeau promised Canadians three years of modest deficits before returning to a balanced budget, Harper joked this commitment was absurd given Liberal campaign promises.
“He’ll run, he says, a modest deficit, a tiny deficit, so small you can hardly see the deficit,” Harper joked, squeezing his fingers together.
“And only for three years, three deficits, three modest little deficits.”
So what happened?
During the election, Trudeau promised “modest” deficits of $9.9 billion in 2016-17, $9.5 billion in 2017-18, $5.7 billion in 2018-2019 and a $1 billion surplus in 2019-2020.
After the election, in Trudeau’s first budget as prime minister, he almost tripled his projected 2016-17 deficit to $29.4 billion, followed by $29 billion in 2017-18, $22.8 billion in 2018-19, $17.7 billion in 2019-20 and $14.3 billion in 2020-21, with no balanced budgets in sight.
That’s one of many things we admired about Harper.
He was nobody’s fool.


Former prime minister Stephen Harper resigned from his Calgary Heritage parliamentary seat Friday, marking his exit from politics.


As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his first official visit to China, reality squares off against his previous notorious comments.
At a Liberal fundraiser before the election, Trudeau stated:
“There’s a level of admiration I actually have for China. Their basic dictatorship is actually allowing them to turn their economy around on a dime.”
A poor choice of words.
“Admiration" for a dictatorship is inappropriate when the Chinese regime is alleged to have harvested organs from its citizens (see reports by former Liberal secretary of state David Kilgour and lawyer David Matas), culturally suppressed minorities, including Tibetans, tossed human rights and democracy activists into jail, bullied its neighbours and disregarded international rulings from UN- sanctioned tribunals.
Of course, China has an economic and military presence which requires our engagement on a series of issues.
It is an important trading partner and Canadians of Chinese origin make a tremendous contribution to our country.
China has also benefited from Canada's openness, most significantly when it acquired Candu nuclear technology in the early 1990s.
It has used it to build a new industrial power supply domestically, and now for the export market.
China remains a core market for Saskatchewan potash, Canadian lumber and other products.
We remain a very accessible market for Chinese goods and investment in oil and gas, mining, telecommunications, infrastructure and other sectors.
Consequently, any new engagement with China under Trudeau should reaffirm Canadian values, national interests and rule of law.
Canada should advise Beijing we will not be bullied into conditions which permit temporary foreign workers from China to fill jobs in businesses which should be available to Canadians.
National security assessments must be taken into consideration when investments impact critical infrastructure such as ports in the Arctic, telecommunications, defence or the power sector.
As chair of the cabinet’s intelligence committee, the prime minister should strongly condemn Chinese espionage and cyber attacks on Canada.
Remaining silent in front of President Xi Jinping on this will send the wrong message.
We should speak in support of our friend, Taiwan, which is finding its new, democratically-elected government subject to renewed harassment and bullying by China.
The prime minister should support conflict prevention measures by urging President Xi to respect the Hague ruling on the South China Sea and accept resolutions in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
On agriculture and trade, we must respond strongly and swiftly to the recent regulatory prohibitions on Canadian canola, which place a $2 billion market at risk.
This attempt to drive prices down and hurt Canadian farmers should be met with equal penalties on Chinese imports.
Relations with China, including any potential free trade agreement, must be based on mutual respect, not blind admiration.
Canada should be a partner, not a colony.
Indeed it is hard to see how a free trade deal is possible given the tenuous state of the rule of law in China.
I do wish the prime minister well on his visit, and remind him that Canadians will be watching closely to see how he champions these issues, including the rights of 300,000 dual nationals who reside in Hong Kong, and are seeking greater consular support from their government in Ottawa.
If this is a time for engagement with China, it is most definitely not a time to abandon our principles and national interests.
-- Clement is the MP for Parry Sound and a Conservative leadership candidate


As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau makes his first official visit to China, reality squares off against his previous notorious comments.


Something sinister may be afoot in the woods of Greenville, S. C. - and, if so, its shoes are comically oversized.
Clown sightings, as reported by residents of Fleetwood Manor Apartments, have alarmed local parents and set the community on edge. Per a letter distributed to residents of the community and then posted to Facebook on Friday, the property manager warned of a "clown or a person dressed in clown clothing" who was "trying to lure children in the woods." It is the latest in a recent string of clowns reported as real-life menaces.
Though the evidence is sparse, the Greenville County Sheriff's Office is investigating the clown complaint.
"Many of you have inquired about clowns being spotted in the woods near Fleetwood Manor Apartments," said Drew Pinciaro, a Greenville County deputy, in a press release on Monday, according to WYFF News 4.
"As of today's date," he said, "there has been one incident report filed with our office regarding this."
In the incident report, one woman said she saw "several clowns in the woods flashing green laser lights" on Aug. 19. The next night, she said her son could make out the sounds of "chains and banging" coming from outside their front door. A different person said a clown with a large, winking nose was hanging out near the dumpsters early one Saturday morning.
Fleetwood Manor resident James Arnold told Buzzfeed News his children, aged 10 and 13, described "clowns out there in the woods and they're trying to get us to come out there,'" he said. "Some had chains, some had knives, and some were holding out money, saying, 'Come here, we've got candy for you,' but they wouldn't go." His wife, Donna, said she filed the report and invoked the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's "It," about a creature that takes the form of a clown to stalk children.
If what the Arnolds saw mimicked "It," they could hardly be faulted for being so distraught. In the long descent from court jester to made-up face of villainy, "It," when King published the horror novel in 1986, marked the changing of the cultural tide against clowns. Clowns could be threatening characters, made worse by the fact there was real-world precedent for evil jesters. In the decade prior to the book's release, serial killer John Wayne Gacy, convicted of raping and killing 33 men and boys, occasionally performed as a clown named Pogo.
Though the killer-clown trope in fiction is at least as old as "Pagliacci," the 1892 opera about a knife-wielding performer, since "It," the dark side of clowns has steadily picked up steam. "American Horror Story" featured a killer clown. There is an "It" movie currently in the works. Through the Joker, the great comic-book villain, the clown has been portrayed with buffoonish menace by Jack Nicholson, criminal nihilism by Heath Ledger and teeth grills by Jared Leto.
(Even "Baskets," FX dramedy starring Zach Galifianakis as a clown, wallows in what The Post described as delicious misery; this too could be an old echo of Joseph Grimaldi, the 19th-century English clown whose fame on the stage was rivaled by the illness and depression he suffered later in life.)
The secret to the clown's anti-success, wrote the Smithsonian Magazine in 2013, is in the mix of mischief, makeup and a target demographic made up of children. "Where there is mystery, it's supposed there must be evil, so we think, 'What are you hiding?'" Andrew McConnell Stott, a University of Buffalo, SUNY, English professor, told the magazine in 2013.
As the evil clown ascends, the friendly clown has not. By 2014, there were 2,500 members of the World Clown Association, a thousand fewer clowns than a decade before. The big-tent circus, the American clown's natural habitat, is on the decline, while Cirque du Soleil and more acrobatic acts prosper. Clowns like the Florida entertainer named Wrinkles have embraced the creepy vibe and can be hired to scare friends.
The South Carolina incident is not the first time disturbing clowns have been reported by witnesses, either. Earlier in August, Wisconsin police fielded calls about a dirty clown wandering Green Bay carrying black balloons.
And in October 2014, a rash of hooligans in spooky clown costumes were spotted across the United States, reported ABC. That same month, more than a dozen French teenagers dressed as clowns were arrested for harassing strangers, too; it was one episode in what the Atlantic called France's "clown outbreak" that in turn spawned anti-clown vigilantes, the "chasseurs de clown."

South Carolina community warned about reported group of scary clowns trying to l


Something sinister may be afoot in the woods of Greenville, S. C. - and, if so, its shoes are comically oversized.


OTTAWA -- The Liberal government is putting the United Nations on notice that Canada is ready to provide money and, more importantly, troops for peacekeeping missions around the world.
Up to 600 Canadian soldiers -- including engineers and medical units -- are being committed to future peacekeeping operations, as well as equipment such as helicopters and planes, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said Friday.
"It is time for Canada to choose engagement over isolation," Dion told a news conference in Saguenay, Que., where Liberal MPs are taking part in a two-day caucus retreat.
"(It is) time to act with responsible conviction as a determined peacebuilder."
The additional soldiers represent a dramatic increase over the 19 Canadian troops deployed on peacekeeping missions at the end of July, bringing the total more in line with the number of Canadian blue berets deployed in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Sajjan said Friday's announcement signals that Canada is committed to re-engaging in a full spectrum of multilateral peace operations, but he also warned that the landscape has changed dramatically in the last 20 years.
"Around the world, the nature of conflict is changing and it's more complex than ever," Sajjan said.
"Today, peace support operations are conducted where there may be no peace to keep, or where the fragile peace constantly teeters on the edge of violence. We need to understand conflict better. We need to look at the root cause of conflict, and think of innovative ways to move forward."
The government is also setting aside $450 million over three years for projects that promote peace and security around the world, including the deployment of police officers and civilian experts.
The UN says 75 Canadian police officers and nine military experts were participating in missions at the end of July.
The commitments are being announced in advance of a major conference in London. Countries are required to make a tangible pledge in order to attend. Canada did not attend last year's summit in Washington, which was organized by U.S. President Barack Obama.
But the big question, which the government has yet to answer, is where Canadian troops would actually end up. The government says no decision has been made, but it's believed Canada will participate in more than one country.
Speculation has been rife that the Liberals are eyeing a mission in Mali, the Central African Republic, South Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo. But all four represent complex and dangerous environments, with no easy solutions.
In Mali, for example, 86 peacekeepers have been killed since April 2013. The UN missions in the DRC and South Sudan, meanwhile, have been accused of not doing enough to protect civilians. The political situations in those countries are also extremely volatile.
The Liberals promised during last year's election campaign to return Canada to peacekeeping after more than a decade of dwindling participation. In July, Canada ranked 67th out of 121 nations in terms of the number of troops and police deployed on peacekeeping missions.
Some have questioned the Liberal government's emphasis on peacekeeping given that many UN missions involve dealing with terrorist groups and other non-state actors. There have also been concerns that the military, which also has a large mission in Iraq and will be soon going to Latvia, is being stretched thin.
Sajjan has said the government won't task the military with anything that commanders believe they can't handle.

Liberals pledge up to 600 soldiers, $450-million for UN peacekeeping operations


The Liberal government is putting the
United Nations on notice that Canada is
ready to provide money and, more
importantly, troops for peacekeeping
missions around the world.


STOCKHOLM -- More than 300 wild reindeer have been killed by lightning in central Norway.
The Norwegian Environment Agency has released eerie images showing a jumble of reindeer carcasses scattered across a small area on the Hardangervidda mountain plateau. The agency says 323 animals were killed, including 70 calves, in the lightning storm Friday.
Agency spokesman Kjartan Knutsen told The Associated Press it's not uncommon for reindeer or other wildlife to be killed by lightning strikes but this was an unusually deadly event.
"We have not heard about such numbers before," he said Monday.
He said reindeer tend to stay very close to each other in bad weather, which could explain how so many were killed at once.
"I don't know if there were several lighting strikes," he said. "But it happened in one moment."
Knutsen said the agency is now discussing what to do with the dead animals. Normally, they are just left where they are to let nature take its course, he said.
Thousands of reindeer migrate across the barren Hardanangervidda plateau as the seasons change.

Lightning strike kills more than 300 reindeer in Norway


More than 300 wild reindeer have been killed by lightning in central Norway.


TORONTO — Jose Bautista made it clear on Thursday afternoon that he has not returned to the Blue Jays lineup with a list of demands or a prima donna attitude or as a pending free agent worried about his individual statistics.
He’s not about to tell manager John Gibbons where he wants to bat in the lineup, nor is he going to demand to start every game in right field or anything like that.
Bautista said he just wants to be a good soldier and help the Jays get into the playoffs and to the World Series. He wants to be another bullet in the holster.
“Right now it’s about winning,” said Bautista, following batting practice at the Rogers Centre. “The team’s doing great. Hopefully I’ll slide in and continue to let the team roll like we have.”
Bautista has been out since Aug. 9 when he twisted his left knee while attempting to make a throw to the infield in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays. He also went on the DL with a toe injury suffered on June 17 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Needless to say it’s been a frustrating season for the long-time Toronto slugger, who was, of course, hoping for a big year given that he is a free agent at the end of the season. But the injuries have held him back.
Statistics-wise, Bautista is not going to be able to post the mega-numbers of years back and he can live with that.
“It’s been tough,” he said about the season. “I’ve had to deal with a lot. Overall, I think I contributed. My on-base-percentage, RBIs and runs scored-per-game played are not bad at all. I just want to finish out strong and, again, we’re in first place, I don’t think I’m going to focus a lot on my individual situation. If we continue to win and I’m playing every day, I’m sure I’ll contribute and at the end of the year my numbers are going to look fine.”
Bautista wants to help the Jays put together a nice winning streak like they did a couple of times last year. The media pushed him on Thursday as to where he wants to bat in the line-up — if he expects to bat lead-off again despite the fact that second baseman Devon Travis has assumed that spot in his absence. In 22 games as the lead-off hitter, Travis is batting .311 with an .806 OPS.
“I don’t think I’m in a position to be demanding or tell anybody what to do,” Bautista said. “This team is playing great and the last thing I want to be is a disruption. I just want to continue to help anyway I can and hopefully get back in the playoffs and try to get that championship that we missed out on last year.”
Bautista did bat lead-off on Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels with Travis out with a sore knuckle. He also DH’d with Ezequiel Carrera playing right field.
Gibbons said he expects to have Bautista DH from time to time having just come off the DL.
When Bautista assumed the lead-off spot earlier this summer when the Jays were struggling, he actually went to Gibbons and suggested the move. It paid off. Now everyone seems to be waiting for a controversy to break out over who bats lead-off when Travis and Bautista are both healthy.
Bautista said he isn’t going to get in a twist one way or the other — sincere in his intent on helping the team win without making any waves.
“We want to have the best nine out there and obviously Devon’s done a great job at lead-off and, again, this is Gibby’s team. He’s the manager and we’re not going to try to undermine him,” Bautista said. “He has to go with the hot hands and whatever’s working. So wherever I can fit in, I’m sure I’ll be fine. As long as we keep getting wins, I’ll be happy.”
With Bautista back and Travis expected to return in the next day or so, the Jays are finally getting close to being the offensive dynamo they expected to be all season.
Left fielder Michael Saunders, who has 21 home runs this year, was out with a sore hamstring on Thursday, but that’s not expected to be a major problem.
Besides the power and his outstanding eye at the plate (Bautista was leading the AL in walks before he ran into injury troubles), the veteran outfielder gives the Jays some more swagger, something they had in abundance en-route to the AL East title last season.
“Oh yeah. No doubt,” Gibbons said. “He’s a feared hitter in this league and everybody knows where he is in the lineup, when he’s coming up, when he’s sitting on deck, everyone’s aware of that.
“He can burn ya, he can burn ya with the best of them, and you know he’ll take his walks, he’s got great discipline. It’s a weapon.”
sbuffery@postmedia.com

Returning Bautista in it for the team, not his numbers


Jose Bautista made it clear on Thursday afternoon that he has not returned to the Blue Jays lineup with a list of demands or a prima donna attitude or as a pending free agent worried about his individual statistics.


Forty four years after the Canada-Russia Summit Series, the World Cup will seek to generate that elusive sense of raw conflict that Ken Dryden calls “us against them”.
“There really isn’t a ‘them’ for us anymore,” said Dryden. who joined ‘72 teammate Pat Stapleton Monday to promote an interactive big-screen stage show with a revolving cast of eight players in the four cities where the maple leaf met the hammer and sickle.
“Canadian fans keep hoping that the Russians will become the next them again. And the assumption is because of our relationship with the United States, it would be great if they became ‘them’. The U.S. is getting better, but you don’t want it to be your once poor cousins, because that would suggest something has happened to (our game).
“For the rest of the world, they do have a ‘them’ and that’s us.”
Perhaps the Cold War conditions of ‘72 can never be re-created when cell towers are now erected where the Berlin Wall once stood. The ‘87 Canada Cup probably came closest with three 6-5 thrillers and Sidney Crosby’s golden goal in 2010. Yet nothing put the country through an emotional wash and rinse cycle like September of ‘72.
Those who played -- a few have passed on and others such as Dryden and Stapleton are at or near 70 -- aren’t looking at the tour to re-hash their individual stories, as much to re-unite and find out from each other what they might have missed in those crazy four weeks. They also want to hear what it was like on the home front while they battled Soviet skullduggery in Moscow to the climactic Game 8.
“There is a time limit on our group,” Stapleton said with a hint of sadness. “But the most important thing about this tour is an educational component (the shows in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver will be recorded for public posterity). People want to know the lessons we learned.”
Until last year, when a sold-out trial of the tour was held in St, Catharines, Dryden completely forgot that he slumped into a bus seat next to Stapleton after the stunning 7-3 Game 1 loss in Montreal and mumbled ‘What just happened?’ Stapleton, a Game 1 scratch, had already been talking to fellow defenceman Bill White about what would be required to get back in the series.
“If you just tell a crowd it was all about team work, they’ve heard that a thousand times,” Dryden said. “It was those little things like Pat and I on the bus or hearing about Rod Gilbert’s brother (who called him ‘a disgrace’ after Montreal). Those are the really revealing things.
“We were in emotional disarray after Game 1. What was it like for Gilbert and Jean Ratelle? They had played 10 years in the NHL and from the time they were eight years old, the puck always belonged to them. Now they’re sitting beside each other asking if either even touched the puck on the last shift. Now they have to find an answer when put in a situation where you have no idea. You know the answer has to be with other people, finding a way to work it out.”
Dryden, Stapleton, Serge Savard, Yvan Cournoyer, Peter Mahovlich, Dennis Hull, Brad Park, Bob Clarke and seldom seen coach Harry Sinden are among the potential list for Toronto.
Stapleton vividly remembered all the telegrams and postcards that flooded into Moscow after the Canadians arrived, trailing in the series and with a couple of unused players bailing for home. The good luck messages all went on the wall outside the dressing room, including one Stapleton saved from Canadian-born bandleader Guy Lombardo.
Far from home, Dryden took heart in reading many of them.
“A lot of the words were terrific, but what really got me was where they were from; Arnprior, Ont., Red Deer, Alta., Amherst, N.S. It was like ‘Holy man, this is from everywhere’.”
Regular tickets for the Toronto show at the Sony Centre range from $81.93 to $341, with some discounts for group purchases and a Meet and Greet/VIP package ranging from $577 to $2,200 that includes drinks and a team-signed sweater.
All 37 players and coaches from ‘72, regardless of ice time, including the families of the deceased, share in any revenue that might result, though Stapleton emphasized “education, entertainment and charity” causes were the three pillars when the team formed its own corporation a couple of years ago.
DA, DA, CANADA
‘Da, Da Ca-na-da, Nyet, Nyet Soviet’.
Ken Dryden recites that chant by Canadian fans at Luzhniki Ice Palace like a favourite childhood nursery rhyme, a memory from Moscow that his team were not alone so far behind enemy lines.
“One fan decided that ‘Go Canada Go’ wasn’t quite enough and came up with Da Da Canada,” Dryden laughed. “All it would take was that one person, then it would be 10 and then all 3,000. All of us players were fans, too, and could imagine being put in that situation.”
When Dryden could finally bring himself to watch highlights of the whole series -- waiting about 15 years because he still found it so nerve wracking -- the footage from Russia was most captivating.
“The sound of the crowd, the different look of the arena. It wasn't so much the games, but hearing Foster Hewitt’s voice. The sound quality wasn’t that great, like an old war correspondent from the battlefront. His thin voice, the crackly sound ... you had a fear the line was going to get cut.”
LHornby@postmedia.com
twitter.com/sunhornby

'72 Summit Series teammates embark on Canadian tour


Forty four years after the Canada-Russia Summit Series, the World Cup will seek to generate that elusive sense of raw conflict that Ken Dryden calls “us against them.”


Dear Amy: I am writing to you regarding people sharing pictures of children in the buff on Facebook, Instagram or other social media.
I have a girlfriend who constantly posts naked pictures of her 3-year-old son.
Even worse, some of these photos were taken on a public beach. Imagine the looks from others as they stroll by!
To me, this is not only distasteful, but also dangerous.
I am afraid that some of the "friends" from Facebook or Instagram could be pedophiles who might take advantage of this innocent boy!
I discussed this with my mother and her mother, and both women are concerned.
When we suggested to the friend's mother that she should discuss this with her daughter, she said she would get defensive and maybe stop talking to her.
I want to confront her about this through a private message. How can I approach this? -- Fully Clothed
Dear Clothed: I think this practice is risky (and disrespectful to the child, who cannot consent).
Those photos can wind up anywhere (well beyond her own Facebook circle), and the photos of these innocent children can be grabbed and shared by pedophiles, who will hoard and trade them. The pictures will also surface off and on for the rest of the child's life.
I am not offended by the sight of a nude young child at the beach, but in this day of secret photographing and photo-sharing, I agree that this, too, carries risks.
Reacting to posts and photos is expected on social media sites.
Rather than privately soliciting opinions about this and gossiping about it, you should feel free to share your point of view with the mother posting these photos.
I suggest sending her a private message and saying, "I really enjoy seeing pictures of your adorable son on Facebook and Instagram, but I worry that any nude pictures can fall into the wrong hands and be shared well beyond your own circle of trusted friends. I hope you'll think about possible unintended consequences when you post photos."
Every young child deserves to have adults in their life who respect and guard their privacy. Children are completely defenseless when it comes to the questionable judgment of their parents.
Dear Amy: My grandmother is 78 and lost her husband about 10 years ago.
I've noticed over the last five years that she has become very lonely and likes to do ALL the talking. Due to the distance between us, I am only able to see her one or two times a year and for only one or two days per visit. Spending time with her is not fun anymore. She never asks about me, my future husband, my upcoming wedding, etc.
She doesn't even ask me, "How are you doing?"
Our entire visit consists of her reminiscing about her past, and she will even cry over certain events, which results in me consoling her.
When it is time for me to leave after staying for a couple days, I feel as if I didn't get to actually talk to her. I feel like we are missing out on these years we have together.
I hope this doesn't make me seem selfish. I love my grandmother dearly; we used to talk till the cows came home, and it's not the same anymore.
I want to talk to her about it, but I am afraid I will hurt her feelings. What should I do? -- Worried
Dear Worried: You should be honest with your grandmother about your concerns: "Grammy, I'm worried about you. You seem so sad..."
It sounds as if she might be depressed. Older people are just as likely as anyone else to become depressed, but they aren't routinely screened for depression. Diagnosis and treatment could be a game changer for her. Speak to your parents (and/or her) about this.
Also, if you correspond with her by email or snail mail in between your visits, you will basically have the opportunity to tell her whatever news you have regarding your own life. Then when you are with her, you can say, "Remember how I wrote to you that I'm engaged? I have some pictures of my fiance -- do you want to see them?"
Dear Amy: The question from "Sad" broke my heart. Sad's younger sister was abusing the party drug Molly, and Sad was upset because her sister was mad at her when she intervened.
I wish more people cared enough to intervene and let a family member be mad at them. Anger fades. -- Also Sad
Dear Sad: Exactly.

Children in the buff shouldn't be on Facebook


Dear Amy: I am writing to you regarding people sharing pictures of children in the buff on Facebook, Instagram or other social media.


OTTAWA -- Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will begin working with a special mediator Friday morning in the face of a union threat of job action.
"In an attempt to push the two parties, help them facilitate a mediated, negotiated settlement, we've got a special mediator coming in who will start working with both parties tomorrow morning," Mihychuk said Thursday evening in Saguenay, Que., where she was attending the Liberal summer caucus retreat.
"We hope to have significant resolution by Sunday," Mihychuk said.
The union representing nearly 51,000 employees issued a 72-hour notice of job action Thursday, accusing the Crown corporation of forcing a labour dispute.
It was not immediately clear whether the action would result in a disruption of mail and parcel deliveries, something that -- if it does happen -- could come as early as next week.
The union said the notice, delivered to management just hours before a strike mandate was set to expire, "listed anticipated job actions" but stopped short of a full-blown walkout. The union hasn't said exactly what actions it was planning.
The notice puts postal carriers in a legal strike position by Aug. 28.
In a statement, CUPW national president Mike Palecek said Canada Post forced the union's hand by refusing to accept a request from the federal labour minister to continue negotiations under a 24-hour deadline extension with the help of a special mediator.
"This was an eleventh-hour intervention from the government to avoid a dispute and of course we said, 'Yes,'" said Palecek.
"From the outset, our goal has been a negotiated collective agreement without service disruptions. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Canada Post, whose president and CEO Deepak Chopra refused the minister's request."
But a spokesman for the agency said that was not the case.
"Canada Post will fully co-operate in the (mediation) process," Jon Hamilton said in an email.
"We hope that the assistance of a neutral third party will help both parties address the real challenges facing the postal service caused by declining mail volumes and increasing pension obligations."
The union's strike mandate was set to expire at midnight.
Had it expired, Canada Post employees would likely have had to vote to approve another mandate, a costly process that could take up to two months to complete.
CUPW had asked the agency to allow an extension of the mandate, a request that was refused as "inappropriate."
The two sides had been in sometimes bitter negotiations for more than nine months but were still far apart on key issues, including pay equity for rural carriers and proposed changes to the Canada Post pension plan, despite days of intensive talks that carried through last weekend.
CUPW offered a glimmer of hope Thursday that a strike could be averted, saying it's still prepared to talk.
"We are still willing to withdraw our notice if Canada Post agrees to an extension," said Palecek.
The Crown corporation also has the option to lock out workers.
A pay equity issue pitting rural and urban carriers against each other and a proposed move from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan for new employees are the main stumbling blocks in the dispute.
The union claims rural postal workers earn, on average, nearly 30% less than city carriers.
Other issues revolve around part-time and temporary work, staffing improvements and the possible closure of nearly 500 retail postal outlets that could result in the elimination of up to 1,200 full-time jobs that are currently protected.
Although Mihychuk hoped the latest effort would bring results over the weekend, she cautioned that it might not work.
"Canadians need to get prepared for a potential work stoppage," she said.
"I think that's the reality."
- With files from Joanna Smith in Saguenay, Que.

CUPW issues strike notice after it says Canada Post refused to extend talks


Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said
Canada Post and the Canadian Union of
Postal Workers will begin working with a
special mediator Friday morning in the
face of a union threat of job action.


OTTAWA — Contract talks continued between Canada Post and its largest union Sunday afternoon, with neither side hinting as to whether any progress had been made.
A federally appointed mediator began meeting with the two sides on Friday to try to reach a deal.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said if there was no deal by midnight, it would begin job action on Monday by having its members refuse to work overtime on a rotating basis, starting in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
CUPW served 72 hour strike notice Thursday night, accusing Canada Post of forcing a labour disruption by refusing to bargain in good faith.
The two sides have been deadlocked for months on the issues of pay scales for rural letter carriers and proposed changes to pensions for future employees.
On Sunday, the union said its initial plans for job action would have little effect on Canada Post customers.
“Our action will cause little to no disruption to the public,” national president Mike Palecek said in a statement. “We’ll still be delivering mail every day.”
But a spokesman for Canada Post said the union’s threat of job action was still creating uncertainty for customers.
“Anyone who is trying to plan their usage of the postal system in the coming days is questioning whether or not it will be able to get there, and that is going to have a huge impact on the business whether the union likes it or not,” Jon Hamilton said in a phone interview.

Postal workers union give details of job action if no deal is reached Sunday


Contract talks continued between Canada Post and its largest union Sunday afternoon, with neither side hinting as to whether any progress had been made.


Two people are dead and three others injured in a serious crash that shut down a busy downtown Vancouver intersection on Monday.
A white SUV heading north on Seymour Street veered off the street just before 5:30 p.m. and hit a tree, sending it toppling onto the sidewalk in the path of pedestrians before striking a lamp post.
The two occupants of the SUV, a 68-year-old man driving the SUV and his 70-year-old female passenger, were killed instantly, said Vancouver police.
Three others, all men in their 30s, were injured by the fallen tree and flying debris. One man had minor injuries and lacerations. Two other men suffered more serious injuries, including broken bones and a punctured lung. They are expected to survive, but are listed in critical condition.
A couple hours after the crash a blue tarp covered the driver's and passenger's seat of the SUV, which was flipped on its side. On the sidewalk, scattered amid glass and metal debris, were mundane objects — a pack of tissue paper, bags of fruit, a red shoe.
Vancouver police spokesman Const. Brian Montague said investigators are still trying to determine what caused the crash. They have video footage of the incident and have talked to many witnesses. Investigators and the Coroner will see if any underlying medical conditions may have contributed to the crash.
But what was clear was "the crash behind me clearly tells our officers that speed is going to be a factor here," said Montague. "There's no question about that. We are working to determine what that speed was, and if there were other factors."
The sound of the single-vehicle crash was heard by some people in nearby stores, and by residents who live high up in nearby condo towers.
Francis Lin was at a Starbucks across the street when he heard a loud boom.
"I looked outside and it was this SUV on its side. It looked like it was wedged between two poles," he said. "How fast must you have been going to saw off a tree? It's pretty horrific. There's no skid marks, no nothing."
Bobby Soor was working at a smoothie store just around the corner from the crash. He felt the crash's vibrations and heard the sound of metal debris, including a crumpled newspaper box, scraping on concrete. When he got outside, he saw two men on the ground. Both had lower-body injuries, he said. One had a bone sticking out of his ankle.
"The one guy with a visible fracture, he was in pretty bad condition. The other guy wasn't moving his legs."
Xiomara Lopez said she often sees cars speeding on Seymour or Davie, well above the posted speed limit. Soor said some vehicles coming off the Granville Street Bridge onto Seymour Street often speed trying to beat the light. "We're not surprised that this happened," said Lopez.
chchan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/cherylchan


Two people are dead and three others
injured in a serious crash that shut
down a busy downtown Vancouver
intersection on Monday.


NEW YORK -- Has Col. Sanders' nephew inadvertently revealed to the world the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices behind KFC's fried chicken empire?
The company says the recipe published in the Chicago Tribune is not authentic. But that hasn't stopped rampant online speculation that one of the most legendary and closely guarded secrets in the history of fast food has been exposed.
KFC's secret recipe revealed? Tribune shown family scrapbook with 11 herbs and spices https://t.co/k0ieLSbcPI pic.twitter.com/gg3NygwFqN — Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) August 19, 2016
It all started when a reporter visited with Joe Ledington, a nephew of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harland David Sanders.
The reporter was working on a story for the Tribune's travel section about Corbin, Kentucky, where the colonel served his first fried chicken. At one point, Ledington pulled out a family scrapbook containing the last will and testament of Sanders' second wife, Claudia Ledington.
On the back of the document is a handwritten list for a blend of 11 herbs and spices to be mixed with two cups of white flour. While Joe Ledington initially told the reporter that it was the original recipe, he later said that he didn't know for sure.
KFC -- which is a subsidiary of Yum Brands Inc. -- calls its recipe "one of the biggest trade secrets in the world." It says that the recipe the reporter saw is not the real thing.
"Many people have made these claims over the years and no one has been accurate -- this one isn't either," KFC said in a statement.
The Louisville, Kentucky-based company says that the original recipe from 1940 handwritten by Sanders is locked up in a digital safe that's encased in two feet of concrete and monitored 24 hours a day by a video and motion detection surveillance system.
Joe Ledington could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.
THE COLONEL'S FAMOUS RECIPE (maybe, maybe not)
Social media is lighting up on the possibility that, at long last, Col. Sanders' 11 herbs and spices have been revealed. KFC says it hasn't, and the original source, a relative, now says he doesn't know. Anyway, here it is.
The 11 spices:
2/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp basil
1/3 tsp oregano
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried mustard
4 tsp paprika
2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp white pepper
Method
Mix spices above with 2 cups of white flour

The colonel's secret recipe revealed? Not so fast, says KFC


NEW YORK -- Has Col. Sanders' nephew inadvertently revealed to the world the secret blend of 11 herbs and spices behind KFC's fried chicken empire?


From Kanye West's rant, to Britney's return and Beyonce's epic entrance and performance, here are photos from the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.
Lance Bass, left, and Robert Sepulveda Jr. arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Nicki Minaj, left, and Meek Mill arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Amber Rose arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
DJ Khaled, left, and Nicole Tuck arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Desiigner arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Beyonce, left, and her daughter Blue Ivy arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Farrah Abraham arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Contestants from "RuPaul's Drag Race" TV show arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Lance Bass wears a jacket with the slogan "Love Trumps Hate" as he arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Hailey Baldwin arrives at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Nev Schulman, right, and Laura Perlongo arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Jeremy Scott, left, and Stella Maxwell arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Alicia Keys attends the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce (C) attends the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for MTV) Getty Images for MTV
Ariana Grande performs at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP) Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Rihanna, center, performs at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Ariana Grande, left, and Nicki Minaj perform at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
Michael Phelps, left, and Nicole Johnson arrive at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez present Best Female Video onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears and G Eazy perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Kanye West performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce accepts the Best Female Video award presented by Madison Kocian, Aly Raisman, and Simone Biles onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Michael Phelps presents onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Rihanna performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Beyonce and mothers of gun violence attend the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for MTV) Getty Images for MTV
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Britney Spears performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
G-Eazy, and Britney Spears perform at the MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in New York. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Jimmy Fallon presents the Video of the Year award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Rihanna performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Music Video Awards at Madison Square Gareden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
Fifth Harmony and Ty Dolla $ign (C) accept the award for Best Collaboration during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards August 28, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York. / AFP PHOTO / Jewel SAMADJEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Drake presents Rihanna with the The Video Vanguard Award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers and Halsey perform onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Drake presents Rihanna with the The Video Vanguard Award during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 28: Jimmy Fallon presents Beyonce with "Video of the Year" for "Formation" onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Getty Images

Drake: I’ve been in love with Rihanna since I was 22


Drake professed his love for rumoured
girlfriend Rihanna at the MTV Video
Music Awards on Sunday night.


MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Hillary Clinton says Donald Trump has unleashed the "radical fringe" within the Republican Party, including anti-Semites and white supremacists, dubbing the billionaire businessman's campaign as one that will "make America hate again."
Trump is rejecting Clinton's allegations, defending his hard-line approach to immigration while trying to make the case to minority voters that Democrats have abandoned them.
The back-and-forth accusations came Thursday as the two candidates vie for minorities and any undecided voters with less than three months until Election Day. Weeks before the first early voting, Trump faces the urgent task of revamping his image to win over those skeptical of his candidacy.
In a tweet shortly after Clinton wrapped up her speech in the swing state of Nevada, Trump said she "is pandering to the worst instincts in our society. She should be ashamed of herself!"
Clinton is eager to capitalize on Trump's slipping poll numbers, particularly among moderate Republican women turned off by his controversial campaign. "Don't be fooled" by Trumps efforts to rebrand, she told voters at a speech in Reno, saying the country faced a "moment of reckoning."
"He's taking hate groups mainstream and helping a radical fringe take over one of America's two major political parties," she said.
Trump tried to get ahead of the Democratic nominee, addressing a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire just minutes before Clinton.
"Hillary Clinton is going to try to accuse this campaign, and the millions of decent Americans who support this campaign, of being racists," Trump predicted.
"To Hillary Clinton, and to her donors and advisers, pushing her to spread her smears and her lies about decent people, I have three words," he said. "I want you to hear these words, and remember these words: Shame on you."
Trump tried to turn the tables on Clinton, suggesting she was trying to distract from questions swirling around donations to The Clinton Foundation and her use of her private email servers.
"She lies, she smears, she paints decent Americans as racists," said Trump, who then defended some of the core -- and to some people, divisive -- ideas of his candidacy.
Clinton did not address any of the accusations about her family foundation in her remarks. Instead, she offered a strident denouncement of Trump's campaign and the so-called alt-right movement, which is often associated with efforts on the far right to preserve "white identity," oppose multiculturalism and defend "Western values."
Clinton's campaign also released an online video that compiles footage of prominent white supremacist leaders praising Trump.
Trump, who also met Thursday in New York with members of a new Republican Party initiative meant to train young -- and largely minority -- volunteers, has been working to win over blacks and Latinos in light of his past inflammatory comments and has been claiming that the Democrats have taken minority voters' support for granted. "They've been very disrespectful, as far as I'm concerned, to the African-American population in this country," Trump said.
Many black leaders and voters have dismissed Trump's message as condescending and intended more to reassure undecided white voters that he's not racist.
Cornell William Brooks, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" Thursday that Trump has not reached out to the organization for any reason. He added that Trump refused the group's invitation to speak at its convention.
"We're going to make it clear: You don't get to the White House unless you travel through the doors of the NAACP," Brooks said. "More importantly, you don't get to the White House without addressing the nation's civil rights agenda."
------
Lerer reported from Reno, Nevada. Jill Colvin contributed reporting from Washington.

Trump says 'shame on you' to Clinton for racist accusations


Donald Trump confronted head-on allegations that he is racist on Thursday, defending his hard-line approach to immigration while trying to make the case to minority voters that Democrats have abandoned them.


CHICAGO — Two brothers have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of the cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade as she was walking to register her children for school, Chicago police announced Sunday.
Darwin Sorrells Jr. and Derren Sorrells, 22, also were charged with attempted murder in Friday’s shooting.
Nykea Aldridge, a 32-year-old mother of four, was pushing her baby in a stroller near the school when two men walked up and fired shots at a third man but hit Aldridge in the head and arm. Police say she wasn’t the intended target, and the baby was not injured.
Nykea Aldridge, mom of 4 and cousin of NBA star Dwayne Wade, killed pushing baby stroller. #Enough #EndGunViolence pic.twitter.com/8STOB9aDlY — Robin Kelly (@Robin42CD) August 27, 2016
Police say the suspects in the shooting have criminal records. Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson plans to release more information at a news conference later Sunday.
Authorities are investigating whether the encounter between the men was a robbery, possibly involving a driver from a ridesharing company, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Saturday.
Chicago has been in the throes of a major uptick in gun violence this year, largely centred in a few South and West Side neighbourhoods, after years of seeing declines. This July alone, there were 65 homicides — the most that month since 2006.
Wade, whose charitable organization, Wade’s World Foundation, does community outreach in the Chicago area, signed with the Chicago Bulls in July after 13 years with the Miami Heat. He and his mother, pastor Jolinda Wade, participated Thursday via satellite in a town hall meeting in Chicago on gun violence hosted by ESPN.
Wade has reacted to his cousin’s shooting only online, tweeting Friday: “My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough.”
My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough — DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
Wade also tweeted Saturday morning: “The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!” adding in a following tweet, “These young kids are screaming for help!!! #EnoughIsEnough.”
The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH! — DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
These young kids are screaming for help!!! #EnoughIsEnough — DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
It is not the first time Dwyane Wade’s family in Chicago has been affected by gun violence. His nephew, Darin Johnson, was shot twice in the leg in 2012 but recovered.

2 charged with murder of Dwyane Wade's cousin, shot in head while pushing baby s


Two brothers have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of the cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade as she was walking to register her children for school, Chicago police announced Sunday.


SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Letting his hair go au natural and sprinting between drills as usual, Colin Kaepernick took the field Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers as his stance against standing for the national anthem drew chatter across NFL camps.
Two days after he refused to stand for the “The Star Spangled Banner” before the 49ers’ preseason loss to the Packers, Kaepernick stopped briefly on a side field to talk with Dr. Harry Edwards and they shared a quick embrace before the quarterback grabbed his helmet and took the field. Edwards is a sociologist and African-American activist who helped plan the “Olympic Project for Human Rights” before the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where U.S. sprinters and medallists Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads through the anthem on the medal podium in their black power protest.
Kaepernick, whose hair had been in cornrows during training camp, sat on the bench during Friday’s national anthem at Levi’s Stadium, a decision he told NFL Media is based on the United States oppressing African Americans and other minorities. Kaepernick’s adoptive parents are Caucasian.
After swirling trade talks all off-season following Kaepernick’s three surgeries, he has done everything so far but play good football.
Coach Chip Kelly said Saturday he still hasn’t decided on his starting quarterback in a competition between Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert. Kelly wasn’t scheduled to address the media Sunday, but said a day earlier he planned to talk about Kaepernick’s choice with the team.
Kaepernick also didn’t stand for the anthem before the preseason game on Aug.20 with Denver, Kelly has said.
“We recognize his right to do that. So, it’s not my right to tell him not to do something. That’s his right as a citizen,” Kelly said. “We recognize his right as an individual to choose to participate or not participate in the national anthem.”
Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz said after his team’s exhibition victory against the Jets on Saturday night that the American flag deserves respect — no matter the circumstances in the U.S. or beyond.
“The flag is the flag,” Cruz said. “Regardless of how you feel about things that are going on in America today, and the things that are going on across the world with gun violence and things of that nature, you’ve got to respect the flag, and you’ve got to stand up with your teammates. It’s bigger than just you, in my opinion. I think you go up there, you’re with a team, and you go and you know you pledge your allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem with your team, and then you go about your business, whatever your beliefs are.
“Colin is his own man, he decided to sit down and that is his prerogative, but on a personal standpoint, I think you have to stand up there with your team and understand and it’s this game and what’s going on around this country is bigger than just you.”
Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan said Sunday he believes players and coaches should stand for the anthem to show respect and give thanks to members of the armed forces.
“You’ve got to look at the gifts that we have, the opportunity that we have to play a great game is through the men and women that serve our country,” Ryan said before practice on Sunday. “And I think that’s an opportunity right there just to show respect.”
The easy thing to do is to make fun of Kap and his play. How about trying to understand where he's coming from....but that would be too hard — Adrian Clayborn (@AJaClay) August 27, 2016

Kaepernick creates stir, gets NFL talking after anthem protest


SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Letting his hair go au natural and sprinting between drills as usual, Colin Kaepernick took the field Sunday with the San Francisco 49ers as his stance against standing for the national anthem drew chatter across NFL camps.


NORWAY HOUSE, Man. -- Indigenous leaders say two men from a northern Manitoba First Nation have DNA evidence showing they were switched at birth -- the second such alleged mix-up in the mid-1970s at the same federally run hospital.
The men, who are to share their story publicly Friday, were born at the Norway House Cree Nation hospital in January 1975. They still live in the community about 450 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
DNA tests revealed just a few days ago that the men are not biologically related to their parents.
"It's disgraceful," Manitoba's former aboriginal affairs minister Eric Robinson, who has been working with the families, said Thursday.
"It's really, really troubling."
The revelation comes after two men from Garden Hill First Nation discovered last fall that they were switched at birth at the Norway House hospital in the same year.
Luke Monias and Norman Barkman were born in June 1975 and raised by each other's families. They learned the truth through DNA tests last November.
Robinson said there was always suspicion among residents in Norway House about the latest case. He wouldn't name the men before their news conference Friday.
Their families are coping as best they can, Robinson said, but they are in turmoil because their lives have been torn apart.
One of the fathers is an elder who shares the same name as his son.
"The boy he raised is known as Junior," Robinson said.
"They're upset and (saying), 'How can this happen?' They are confused and there is a bit of anger."
When the first mix-up came to light, Robinson and others called on the federal government to investigate. Counselling was offered but no action appears to have been taken, Robinson said.
"This matter was just swept under the rug."
Now, he and the Norway House First Nation are renewing the call for an inquiry so the families get the answers they deserve. The federal government must appoint an independent body to conduct a thorough investigation, Robinson suggested.
If this happened to four newborns at the same hospital, he asked, how many other indigenous babies were also switched at birth?
"Other cases may come forward," he said.
"Twice in the same year in the same hospital with indigenous kids? It makes you question."


NORWAY HOUSE, Man. -- Indigenous
leaders say two men from a northern
Manitoba First Nation have DNA
evidence showing they were switched at
birth -- the second such alleged mix-
up in the mid-1970s at the same
federally run hospital.


Last year, Albertans tossed the Progressive Conservatives from office.
The PCs had bet Albertans’ jobs on a never-ending boom, then abandoned them in the bust.
They emptied their Heritage Fund.
Fixed rules so CEOs pay the same tax rate as secretaries.
Spent public money flying friends and family.
Cut education and health care.
That gang wants back. And they’ve written their play – “Jason Kenney, Alberta Uniter.”
After 26 years in Ottawa, Kenney’s shed his Ottawa power suit and minister’s car.
He’s in new jeans, driving a bright blue Dodge Ram pickup – and talking about uniting Albertans behind the PCs, with him as leader.
But it’s not going according to script.
How can it? His entire life, Kenney – anti-abortion crusader, anti-tax lobbyist, social conservative – has been a polarizing and divisive politician.
Kenney’s political life hasn’t been dedicated to unifying anything except power.
No summer script can erase what’s been burned into voters’ psyche over 26 years.
Kenney polarizes Albertans and has little room to grow.
So says a recent poll by ThinkHQ.
Only 4% of NDP supporters approve of Kenney, 74% disapprove. No growth there.
Compared to Kenney, about 75% of Wildrose supporters prefer current Wildrose Leader Brian Jean – who Kenney aims to depose. So blocked there.
Overall, Kenney holds a 2% net approval rating, albeit higher than any other potential PC leadership contender.
But a Kenney-led PC party would still run third. Rachel Notley’s governing NDP would hold first.
Even if thunder bolts wiped out all memory of Kenney’s 26 polarizing years, this summer’s script creates new doubts.
In past provincial elections, Kenney cheered for Wildrose.
Now he’s switched to the PCs, the party he wants to lead, then destroy by merging it with Wildrose.
The PC leadership campaign officially starts in October and candidates can’t register until then.
But Kenney’s found a way to give himself a head start.
He’s set up Unite Alberta Inc., a corporation which can take donations and spend money.
Elections Alberta says there’s nothing they can do about it.
There’s the hypocrisy.
Kenney used to denounce double-dipping politicians.
But he’s going to keep taking his $12,000 per month MP paycheque until October, even though he spends his days campaigning across Alberta.
He doesn’t need the money.
He’s a single guy with none of the costs of raising kids.
Elected at 29, for 20 years he’s been an MP – for 10 of them as minister, who are currently topped up to $240,000 a year.
He already qualifies for a potential $6.3 million in pension payments to age 90.
Then there’s his Trump-like policy inconsistency.
Kenney’s against deficits, but voted for 10 of them as a Conservative minister.
He wants pipeline development, but his and the federal Conservative government’s climate-denying approach didn’t build one mile of it.
He doesn’t want a price on carbon, but once suggested a “small sales tax” in Alberta.
He favours more trade deals, but cheered Brexit.
He was strongly against abortion and gay marriage, now doesn’t want to talk about them.
Kenney polarizes because he feels like a slick huckster.
This isn’t about uniting Alberta.
It’s a play to return the old gang to power – the crew who dug a deep hole, took anything valuable from it, shoved Albertans down it, and now criticize them as they try to climb out. Kenney’s their man.


Last year, Albertans tossed the Progressive
Conservatives from office.


Everyone knows that people often pair up at work.
You can attribute the phenomenon to shared interests, career parallels, proximity or simple laziness, but people who work together often fall in love.
That goes for celebrities, too.
Look at Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, or, more recently, Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. There seem to be a lot of actors who fall in love with fellow actors at work.
Or with grips or directors or cinematographers — guess there are all kinds of likely romantic prospects on a movie set.
A lot of musicians fall in love at work, too, but they don’t seem to have such good results.
Which brings us to Drake and Rihanna … and how their on-again/off-again relationship seems switched back to ‘on’.
So we have to ask: What is it about the world o’ music that has it littered with so many ruined relationships? Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony used to be a couple and so did Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, and we all know where that went.
Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale no doubt aimed for happily-ever-after, as did Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert; those plans changed for everybody somewhere along the way.
(As for the busted-up Shelton and Lambert, country singers are in a special category all their own. It may be related to composing and singing songs about heartbreak, cheatin’, d-i-v-o-r-c-e, and hurtin’ in general, but start with Tammy Wynette and George Jones and move along to Shania Twain and Mutt Lange or Trisha Yearwood and Robert Reynolds and then to the former relationships of singers such as Kenny Chesney, Randy Travis, Leann Rimes, etc: It’s like an epidemic.)
In music, there’s no end to spectacular failures — Carly Simon and James Taylor, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, J. Lo and Puffy, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears, John Mayer and Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris and Taylor Swift, Calvin Harris and Rita Ora, Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas, Rihanna and Chris Brown. Remember all that?
Beyonce and Jay-Z appear to be the exception in this, although her songs about his infidelity on Lemonade will continue to keep everyone guessing.
Meanwhile, if we had to guess the origin of all that couple wreckage, we’d say irreconcilable similarities. You can only have so many swelled heads under the same roof.
But back to Drake and Rihanna. These two have collaborated on a few tunes — What’s My Name, Take Care, Work, Too Good.
Ever since the New York Post reported them kissing in a bowling alley bar seven years ago, Drake and Rihanna have certainly seemed to have had something going on. They have plenty of history.
If you’ve seen them on-stage together then you know their chemistry is undeniable. And yet, nothing permanent ever seems to materialize. Remember the donnybrook between Drake and Chris Brown in that New York club in 2012? There was plenty of speculation about what they were fighting over.
Drake keeps turning up in Rihanna’s concerts, in Miami, in Manchester, in L.A. Then she was onstage for his OVO Fest in Toronto this summer, where she called him “baby.”
Is that her face tattooed on his arm?
Things have seemed to be heating up for over a year now.
And now everybody heard him speak of his feelings earlier this week at the MTV VMAs:
“She’s someone I’ve been in love with since I was 22 years old. She’s one of my best friends in the world. All my adult life, I’ve looked up to her even though she’s younger than me.”
Later that night Drake posted an Instagram of the two of them together, with the CN Tower in the background.
Rihanna posted videos on her Snapchat of Drake hanging backstage with her and her family, including her mom and her grandfather.
It all looks very cozy.
A lot of young people we know think Drake and RiRi are the greatest couple since Romeo and Juliet.
Others are not so sure. There are interesting differences between people who grow up where there are four seasons (and snow) with which to contend and those who grow up where the sun is always shining. We just made that up, but still.
And then there’s that bleak music world landscape, littered with broken hearts — which everyone will tell you is the ideal atmosphere for song-writing. Alas.
Nobody writes songs when he or she is happy.
May all concerned proceed with caution.
Twitter: @LizBraunSun
LBraun@postmedia.com

Drake and Rihanna and the pitfalls of being a celebrity couple


Everyone knows that people often pair up at work.