Jumbo Glacier Mountain Ski Resort

B.C. approves Jumbo Glacier Mountain ski resort

The CBC quotes NDP Leader Adrian Dix:

"The government has made its decision presumably to try and gain political benefit but the economic, environmental and community interest is being abandoned here."

Sometimes it's hard when you are pitting nature against economic growth. It's clear that the development will bring a lot of jobs to the area, not just at the resort, but in the nearby communities. Their hospitality industry will grow exponentially, and will likely bring money for developments that the residents will benefit from.

As a snowboarder I obviously have a biased view here. I like the idea of a year round ski resort for sure, and that's something that will make this development unique.

I share the residents' and the environmentalists' concerns to an extent though. I hope that between the developer and the government, we can have this resort built with the least amount of impact on the  wildlife.

More Money for the Police?

Police want more cash, mayor wants more efficiency

Gordon Kent from the Edmonton Journal writes:

Much of the police increase covers inflation, wage increases and the full annual salary of officers hired partway through this year, but there is also a proposal to add 29 officers along with 13 sheriffs and paramedics.

Public Safety is definitely a major focus for me. I think Mandel is right that the police need to be more efficient, but we need to make sure they have access to the resources they need.

During the last couple of years, seeing our murder rate climb has been disappointing to me, and I'm sure many Edmontonians. We want to feel safe in our city, and not just in our own subdivisions, but everywhere we go.

There's plenty more to be done in crime prevention as well, but our police are the front line, and we should support them.

Obama FTW

Well it looks like Obama will get 4 more years. Obama got 303 electoral votes compared to Mitt Romney's 206. Technically there's still 29 electoral votes to be assigned from Florida, but the race was so close there that the numbers haven't yet been confirmed.

Interestingly, Obama also carried the popular vote in the country, but only by a slim margin. Obama got a total of 60,481,241 votes while Romney received 57,678,067. For a while last night, CNN was projecting Obama as the winner, but the popular vote still favoured Romney. What's interesting is that Obama won by a large margin when it comes to the electoral votes, but clearly, based on the actual number of votes, The United States is actually quite divided.

However, I've said it in my previous post, and I'll say it again. Obama is the right decision. In the last four years, there has been steady improvements in the American economy. He's accomplished an unprecedented amount of health care reform, and he's ended two wars. In his second term, it looks like he's going to continue working on the economy, while tackling the immigration issues that plague the United States. By the end of his 8 year presidency, I think Obama will have a legacy that his nation can be proud of.

Why the US Election Matters to Me

Obama, Romney pull out the stops in last weekend of U.S. campaign

In just two days, Americans will go to the polls and decide who will be the next president of the United States.

It's interesting as a Canadian to watch from a distance. It's also arguably important that we pay attention as well, because I think most Canadians have a stake in this as well.

For example, it's clear that the American economy affects ours, and has a global impact. In 2008, when the American economy crashed, it didn't take long for ours to suffer. The effects are still being felt globally, with some nations, especially in Europe, that haven't even begun to recover.

As an Albertan especially, you might think I would lean towards Romney. He has said time and time again that getting the Keystone Pipeline project completed, and importing oil from the oil sands is a major priority for him. This would bring a huge amount of money in to our economy, but for me, it's not the biggest factor. We will always find a market for our oil. The demand is not fading.

I think that if I could vote in the American election, I would be voting for Obama. He's taken a broken economy and has been able to make a partial recovery, even as globally many nations are not. The unemployment rate has declined since he took office, he's helped to save the automobile industry, and the big one for me, he's brought in much needed health care reform. It's my feeling that if Americans give Obama 4 more years, he will be able to finish what he started, and set up the United States to be stronger than they ever have before. And by extension, Canadians will be better off too, as our relationship with our most important ally strengthens.