WINNIPEG, MB – “Departmental spending accounts for just 22 per cent of the overall government budget,” declared Finance Minister Cameron Friesen in a speech to the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce the day after the budget was announced March 12. The other 78 per cent? That is spent by Crown corporations and agencies. These Crown operations…
Emerald Ash Borer – Is Winnipeg Ready?
WINNIPEG, MB – Is Winnipeg ready for Emerald Ash Borer? Do you know much about it? This Friday is your opportunity to learn as much as you can. Friday April 6th at the Soul Sanctuary, 2050 Chevrier Blvd, beginning at10:30AM there’s a workshop that will provide the latest updates on what the City of Winnipeg…
How Political Aides Steal Power From Their Bosses
WINNIPEG, MB – Back in the day as both a business executive and later a politician, I would be greeted after an absence from my office with a pile of pink telephone call slips detailing every call I had received. I either answered them immediately or gave instructions to my assistant about how to respond.…
OPINION – Unleashing the power of Manitoba
WINNIPEG, MB – Whenever we have started out with the premise that government needs to lure industry to the province, we have ended up losing our shirts. The successful and long-term enterprises have been those that saw an opportunity and seized it. Government needs to get out of the way. It can help by removing…
OPINION – Fix Things Instead Of Just Talking About It
WINNIPEG, MB – That a wealthy country such as Canada can help a few thousand refugees is a good thing and something of which we can be proud. But it defies logic that the same country tolerates homelessness, children living in third world conditions on reserves and reserves at all, for that matter. How can…
When Political Correctness Makes Honest Debate Impossible, The System Fails
WINNIPEG, MB – The other day I told a friend, a former NDP cabinet minister, about a conversation I had with another friend who happens to be a First Nations person from the West Coast. This friend, we’ll call him Rob, had contacted me for help with a publication about First Nations business opportunities he…
Education System is Failing Students And Business
WINNIPEG, MB – Shortly after my abrupt removal from elected office, I attended the executive program at Queens to try to get my head out of politics and back into business. The only thing I came out of it with was a new appreciation for the benefits of physical stretching and a realization that I…
Dorothy Dobbie Talks Daffodils
WINNIPEG, MB – February seems like the dead of winter, but really, it’s already the month before spring starts. The days are getting longer. On Feb. 1, the sun rises at 8:01 a.m. and sets at 5:23 p.m., but the actual daylight hours extend from dawn to dusk, meaning the day will last about 10…
Ask a Winnipeg Airport Goldwing Ambassador
WINNIPEG, MB. – Volunteering is an invaluable part of the inviting atmosphere that defines our airport. The best example of this is our Goldwing Ambassadors. Now in its twentieth year and with more than 300,000 volunteer hours since the program began in 1997, the Goldwings have been an integral part of Winnipeg Richardson International Airport…
Opinion – It Ain’t Easy Being Mayor – or a City Councillor, For That Matter
WINNIPEG, MB – When Brian Bowman took office three and a half years ago, he did so with a bright eye and a light step. He had dreams of a stronger more vibrant, forward looking city and he shared them with us. We were excited with him, looking forward to a modernized transit corridor, the…