Research day

 Another research day finally and I shall complete the last two matches as I did not do that yesterday. Life has been very very busy. However we have made it over to Petri twice now - me for a walk and my caregiver for a kayak. Research is dominating our days for both of us. 

It was good to have visited my usual doctor and my flareup of diverticulosis (2 lots in the past year) has passed although I will repeat the blood work and probably I will call in and see if I can just get a request sent to the clinic to get that done early in the New Year. Interesting that each time I had blood work followed a flareup in the diverticulosis although not related at all but rather just how life flowed at that time. I had my usual result for white blood cell count but the reduced lymphocyte level to 0.8 from the usual 1.0.  The blood smear was produced from a badly drawn blood work as the technician had moved the needle about needlessly as the blood was flowing likely creating false artifacts and a very very bruised arm. I changed the company for the blood draw for the second time but it also followed a period of flareup. Shall try to pick a calm period in my life if there is one for the next one! Diverticulosis can be a nuisance for sure. 

I do watch my blood work though carefully because I was advised to do so after the birth of my first child and the enormous blood loss that I underwent at that delivery (blood was down to 28 and I had to drink Stout three times a day). For a non drinker of beer in particular and only the occasional glass of wine that was an experience in itself for sure.  But my blood did come back up to the usual level (I was always anemic in my young days; menopause was a great gift for me!) after a month or so of really carefully planned eating plus I was nursing the baby. Cause of the blood loss was a partial placental previa not noted prior to delivery. 

So today it is a research day and perhaps I should get a leap ahead on checking for any new matches in this past month that I have spent working away on the newly discovered matches a month ago just to make sure I am not missing anything interesting. It should be a quick glance. 

I need to do the Pincombe Newsletter as well for the 1st of June. Hard to believe it is nearly June and almost half way through the year. 

Our progress in becoming tariff proof is moving along very well. The purchase of the SAAB airplane for the Arctic is a perfect decision for us because they will be built here by Canadians and they are created and built for the Arctic by Sweden an Arctic nation and another member of NATO. I think it was a wise decision. We still need F-35s of course and have another order ongoing because we also have a large part of our nation that is not Arctic only although we do get long winters but the SAAB can land on quite short runways which is important for us. Plus it helps our GDP and our NATO expenditure. 

Our expenditure is rapidly going to 4% GDP for military which will speed up our path to 5% which is the desired level now in NATO. The north is opening up with climate change and the ability to use our deep ocean ports in the north will be very handy as we diversify our trade around the world. If anyone had said to me that we would be doing this in 2026 back even two years ago I would have doubted it but life flows as it flows and we just have to flow with it. We had no complaints with CUSMA although the extra tariffs which were placed on non-CUSMA goods through the years were surprising. But now we are trading all around the world and our GDP slowly increases. It will take time and once the new pipeline is built to tidewater then that will move quickly. We sell our oil at a discount in CUSMA but full price round the world.  

Part way through my exercise but thought I would put pen to paper so to speak and write down my thoughts as I exercise. There exercise and breakfast completed. Back to work although I need to clean the refrigerator at my next break time.  Never a dull moment for sure. Looking forward to that one room concept; I think my desire to do housecleaning has lessened as I reach 80 years of age. 

Solitaire puzzles to do.  

Attempting to change the Confederation of Canada which first began in 1867 and its gradual assumption and the enactment of treaties with the First Nation for the entire area from east to west through the 1880s/1890s which resulted in Canada from sea to sea to sea (including Rupert's Land) cannot be altered by anyone without the agreement of the First Nations (and that is the entire First Nations of Canada; all of them should have a vote in the lands that are Canada since they are all stakeholders). The founding principles of Canada which were gained over the initial period with regard to the treaties is not changeable at all as far as I am concerned as a voting Canadian. It is the basis on which we, the peoples of Canada at every stage, created Canada. Attempting to alter this was properly understood by the judge ruling on the objection of the First Nations to the entire process of a proposed referendum. Personally I do not believe in separatist referendums in democratic countries where there is no prior by the side requesting such a referendum (separatists are basically small groups of potential dictators and their adherents attempting to take away the rights of the many; it is not democracy at work). There was no Alberta until Canada created Alberta in 1905 as an administrative unit; there were the many First Nations that still occupy their historical areas of Alberta and a whole lot of unceded First Nations land which individuals have been permitted to buy with the understanding that they can own it under the laws of Canada,  sell it, pass it on to their legal heirs but they can not remove it from Canada (if they die without naming heirs then it reverts back to the government of Canada in the case of Alberta it reverts to Alberta as the administrator of the provincial jurisdiction known as Alberta which was created by Canada). Just because the numbers of the First Nations are not as great as the numbers of non First Nations does not alter the founding principles. If people do not like how our nation is formed and managed the door out is always open. I agree with that concept.  

The deal with Germany for low-carbon Canadian LNG is wondrous and congratulations to the Ksi Lisims LNG in British Columbia. We are on our way to being tariff proof as we continue to diversify our trade. Shovels in the ground for the new pipeline to Pacific tidewater are anticipated. One can feel the excitement in the air with all of this good news. 

We have had nearly 20 years of particularly poor government with regard to trade. Although the Harper government came in with a lot of good ideas the economic reality was recession and the reaction of the then Prime Minister was one more of panic than careful reasoning and it intensified as we moved towards 2015 with a number of poor choices including pouring all available money into oil production in Alberta and basically ignoring the rest of the provinces. Although oil is a good product all of Canada has good products and he should have used more measure in his selection of worthy projects (perhaps he could have listened to the advice given at that time instead of making decisions that did not benefit all of Canada). That poor selection continued and worsened under the Trudeau government (although the shut down during COVID was also part of that difficulty) resulting in stagnation in our trade around the world which was mostly not sufficiently explored. Under the Carney government we are seeing much better distribution of the ability of Canada to diversify its trade and create new industry across the entire country. I would like to see my party (the Conservatives) pull themselves together; get out of attack dog mood and get the youth of this country working. They will soon be back in their ridings and could put 100% of their time (which we pay for) into working with the youth instead of attacking the Liberal government constantly. We voters are all adults in the room and we want to see non panicking adults in the House of Commons.