Leather Pass Chronicles

News Views and little known truths from the Canadian Rockies... 

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FEBRUARY 2007

JANUARY 2007

A year to bond and Juan Helluva Night

DECEMBER 2006

Victorias Secret, Caribou and Indian Giving

NOVEMBER 2006

Ah, November - its all about the weather

OCTOBER 2006

Community museums are key to culture 

The Who, Trailer Park Boys and Mel Hurtig

SEPTEMBER 2006

Tom Thomson and the Pine Beetle

Is that a Mexican Flag on the Banff Springs?

Green Party on the right track

AUGUST 2006

Heritage Month

UNESCO's Indigenous Peoples Day

Neufeld Watchel and Watchel

JULY 2006

From Fiddler on the Roof to Fiddler on the Rails

Traditions made new again, First Nations art

JUNE 2006

Bikeology and Caribou

MAY 2006
Centennial Dollars well spent...

On MountainTop Rock

SEPTEMBER 2006

Canadian Icons 

Tom Thomson and the Pine Beetle

Updated: September 27, 2006

CANADA  - A report on CBC news this morning said that the pine beetle infestation that has destroyed about 8.7 million hectares of the 13 million hectares of lodgepole pine in British Columbia is now threatening the Jack Pine of the Boreal Forest.

The Jack Pine joins an elite group of Canadian Icons that are becoming victims of climate change.  Glaciers, the polar bear, the caribou, the Jack Pine, even maple syrup are all feeling the effects of global warming.

(click HERE to see CBC video short about The Jack Pine by Tom Thomson)

Is that a Mexican flag on top of the Banff Springs Hotel?

They came in the night

Updated: September 22, 2006

BANFF, Alberta - A peaceful protest will be held outside the Banff Springs Hotel Monday, Sept.25 at 3 p.m. on the sidewalk of Spray Avenue. The pamphlet advertising says “We are protesting the Banff Springs Hotel’s involvement in this crime of treason against Canadian, American and Mexican Citizens.”

What?

Apparently between September 12th and 14th Banff was host to a series of secret meetings involving political and business leaders from Canada, the US and Mexico.

An internal document obtained by the Banff Crag & Canyon shows that US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was scheduled to be a keynote speaker on Wednesday, Sept. 13, although no one at the hotel would confirm or deny that he was in Banff.  He is considered to be the most powerful man in America - while also facing a lawsuit for torture of prisoners of war in US military custody. Speeches by Rumsfeld covered "Opportunities for Security Co-operation in North America - Military to Military Co-operation".

Banff taxi driver Chris Foote said he heard rumblings of Rumsfeld's alleged visit soon after he noticed that a Mexican Flag had been placed atop the Banff Springs. A former Green Party candidate in Wild Rose, Foote added that whether or not Rumsfeld was in town, many people in Banff would be appalled that the Springs was supposedly hosting a man he termed a "war criminal".  Foote also noted that Canada Mexico and US now have three conservative governments. 

The list of delegates included Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day, Chief of the Defence Gen. Rick Hiller, former secretary of energy James Schlesinger, and president of the largest weapons manufacturer in the US - Ron Covais of Lockheed Martin.

John Larsen, spokesman for the North American Forum, said that the public was not notified of the closed and private meeting and would not confirm or deny that Rumsfeld or anyone else was in attendance. 
"You can imagine that if this was all televised or open to public scrutiny the nature of the conversations and ultimately what you would be able to do with those conversations and how far you might be able to advance the solutions around it would be different."

The only media member invited to the event was the Wall Street Journal's Mary Anastasia O'Grady, according to the list of participants provided to the Crag.

"It's astonishing that there could be such an important meeting of so many high-level people from government and other organizations where apparently the desire was to not let the public know about these meetings," Nationalist Mel Hurtig said when alerting ViveleCanada last week. "All Canadians had best be concerned about the purpose of this conference and what went on at the conference. The fact that they're having these meetings in secret is of even greater concern."

Rumours circulated in Banff saying the hotel's fourth floor was taken up by the conference and that many of its attendees showed up in the middle of the night in buses.

(why is that the 'good guys' always seem to make signs out of old frig boxes and crayons!?  Sorry Aaron, no disrespect intended)

And its not April folks - this is no joke! 

Details on the attendees (by invitation only) is on the vivelecanada.ca site. The hotel doesn't want to talk about the conference, and the Globe and Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Star don't want to talk about the conference either.  Thankyou Banff Crag and Canyon!

Green Party on the Right Track

Elizabeth May stops in Jasper on her cross Canada trek

Updated: September 4, 2006

JASPER, Alberta - The leaves may be turning and the mountains may be getting some early snow but it was all Green at Jasper's VIA station on Saturday September 2nd.

Most political leaders are enticed into their positions by a desire to see a change or to pursue a philosophy that they find lacking in the present government.  Elizabeth May is no stranger to working for change.  The name Elizabeth May could ring a bell - she was the Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada previous to winning the position of federal leader of the Green Party of Canada at last weeks leadership convention.

And for the few that had the opportunity to meet her on Saturday she left some profound thoughts on the train station 'platform'.

WEBCASTS

(MPEG 4 format, they take a moment to buffer)

|  Green Party leader arrives in Jasper (13.7MB) |

|  The week is a blur (9.8MB) |

|  Alberta issues (28MB) |

|  Building a Green Alberta (8.7MB) |

|  A Campaign Train (26.5MB) |

|  Kyoto (22MB) |

For more information on the Green Party of Canada and Elizabeth May go to www.greenparty.ca.  Get on board!