Report From Parliament's Hill - Dec. 28th - Opinion 250 - News for Northern and Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada

Report From Parliament's Hill - Dec. 28th

By Prince George - Peace River M.P. Jay Hill

Wednesday, December 27, 2006 04:18 AM

Christmas in Afghanistan

(part one)

It’s 4:00 pm EST, Thursday, December 21st as Leah pulls up to drop me off at the Ottawa airport to catch my flight.

This is far from unusual as over the past seven years she’s done it dozens of times. But this time is different, and we hold each other extra tight and a little longer than normal for our customary "goodbye hug."

I imagine that at least in some small measure this is what it’s been like for thousands of other couples. For although I’ll be gone less than a week, NOT months, my destination is war torn Afghanistan!

Leah has been unusually quiet during the drive, no doubt perhaps second guessing her support for this particular trip, but it’s with a brave smile that we part company with her final cautionary "be careful" hanging between us.

It’s a little after six pm when the fuel laden Canadian Forces Airbus finally claws her way into the darkened Ottawa sky.

In addition to myself, two of my Conservative colleagues have also "lobbied" to be allowed along. Treasury Board President Minister, John Baird and Laurie Hawn, MP for Edmonton Centre (and a former fighter pilot) comprise the political contingent of our diverse group. Our leader is no less than the Chief of the Defense Staff, General Rick Hillier .... a true "soldier’s General", universally loved and revered by the men and women of the Canadian Forces. And a man I’ve already grown to have tremendous respect and admiration for.

Along with some of his staff and a security detail we’re also joined by media and entertainers. Max Keeping of CTV, Rick Mercer and Mary Walsh of CBC fame, singer Ms. Damhnait (Dav) Doyle, and the rock band "Jonas" from Montreal.

Following a brief stop in Zagreb, Croatia for fuel we arrive at Camp Mirage after nearly fifteen hours enroute. And, with the loss of an additional nine hours it’s now six pm, Friday, December 22nd.

Since the location of Camp Mirage is highly classified, I cannot divulge where we went or what occupied our time on the 23rd. That is, other than recovering from "jet lag" and relaying our heartfelt message from Canadians that we’ll repeat over and over again over the next five days .... (THANKS and MERRY CHRISTMAS!)

Although there was insufficient room on the Sea King to take all of us, General Hillier and a few "lucky" souls did use the day to fly out and visit the 245 sailors aboard the HMCS Ottawa on patrol in the Persian Gulf.

It’s now six am, Christmas Eve and I’m sitting squished like a sardine in the cargo hold of a C-130 Hercules aircraft enroute from Camp Mirage to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

In addition to the flak jacket and army helmet we’re all required to wear as we enter the combat zone, Mercer is decked out in a full desert camouflage uniform identical to the soldiers. Somewhat to our surprise we learn he is an "Honourary Colonel" for the 423 Sea King Squadron.

However, unlike the "real" troops on board, we’re all relieved that "Colonel Rick" hasn’t been issued a firearm!

(to be continued next week....)

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Posted on Wednesday, December 27, 2006 04:18 AM in Views by Prince George - Peace River M.P. Jay Hill

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Comments

Posted by: Runner46 on December 27 2006 10:13 PM

Great writing............sounds like the trip of a life time!

But how about notes about what you have been doing to "lobby" problems on the home front?

1. Beetle Kill funding
2. Northern Sport Centre Funding

Posted by: diplomat on December 28 2006 8:03 AM

No money left over for that and other pressing problems, such as the homeless here and the foodbanks. Foreign wars have top priority. One billion spent already over there with no end in sight.

Some things never change, apparently. Sad.

Posted by: Chadermando on December 28 2006 7:33 PM

Maybe if he is really lucky he will get shot at by the taliban and gain a whole new perspective on the situation.

I look foreward to the updates....

Posted by: Chadermando on December 28 2006 7:37 PM

Maybe we can call him GI Hill of the Nodime platoon. Private Dick and GI Hill hiding in the dark, to be continued....

Posted by: Palopu on December 28 2006 9:22 PM

People keep **Whining for money to harvest the **Beetle Kill trees** however as usual they havent given the subject much thought. As I said before and will say again. Unless you have a market for the lumber then why would you log it.

Lumber Companies in North Central BC have been logging beetle killed lumber for years. These trees are processed into 2x4's the same as any lumber and sold primarily into the United States.

Have a look at the butt ends of a logging truck any day of the week and you will see that 90% of the logs loaded on the truck have the **Blue Circle** on the outer rim which is how you can identify a beetle killed tree.

There are no new mills being built to process the beetle killed timber, mainly because there is no market for anymore Canadian Lumber in the US or other Countries at this time. Canadian mills inundated the American Market before the softwood agreement was signed, and in addition the price of lumber has fallen from $450.00 US per 1000FBM to about $250.00. Therefore mills are cutting back, and reducing production. Hardly a good enviroment to increase sales of beetle kill timber.

I would like to hear what everyones plans are for all this beetle kill timber if we do get the money from the Federal Government. It should be interesting.

I agree we need to do something for the homeless, however I suggest that you should check out some of the foodbanks in this town, as they have wall to wall food in them, with more coming in everyday. Unless you have some specific facts in regards to foodbanks dont blame the Government. Even if it was the fault of the Government it is the responsibility of the Provincial Government, not the Feds.

Maybe we should move them into the Civic Centre, Art Gallery, and all the empty schools for starters, as these facilities are underused or not used. The high priced executive suites in the CN Centre are hardly ever used. Maybe we could utilize those facilities. Especially the Citys suite that was paid for by the taxpayers.

Posted by: Chadermando on December 29 2006 1:18 AM

Paul, I think it would be far more interesting to hear what the criteria is for the federal funding.

I'm sure there are lots of ideas out there, but chances are the money will all go to some multinational as grant money, or maybe get used for funding that the government would otherwise normally be expected to fund.

I bet Dow Chemicals gets a good chunck and the rest will go to general infrastructure like the city bridge and sports center. The first being corporate welfare, and the others having less to do with economic development as to do with shifting government expenses to a different account.

I don't understand why the money couldn't be used to specify an industry in general like eco-tourism where a plan is developed identifiying what areas need developing to bring the industry past its critical mass. Then putting the funding towards assisting small business to fill the gaps needed for the industry as a whole. It could be done under a number of different industry files.

Posted by: lmorg on December 29 2006 6:14 PM

Oh Mr. Hill.... give it up. You're not going to do anything worth while over there..after all you don't do anything worth while over here!

Posted by: Runner46 on December 29 2006 9:49 PM

Nice shot, Pal, but you machine gun approach to the topic has as usual not done much but take up space while still missing the topic.