Congratulations to the Nova Scotia NDP!

I want to congratulate the Nova Scotia NDP on winning a substantial majority government on June 9. I am pleased that the Liberal Party came in second place in the popular vote and that the governing Tories actually fell to third place in the popular vote. I’m glad the Tories in Nova Scotia were routed. I’m also glad that the Liberal Party will form the Official Opposition and I congratulate Kelly Regan, wife of Halifax West Liberal MP Geoff Regan for wining a seat for the Liberals in Bedford-Birch Cove against the incumbent Tory MLA. I also congratulate Liberal Andrew Younger for his victory in Dartmouth East against an NDP incumbent. The Liberals did great under the circumstances so congratulations to both the N.S. NDP and the N.S. Liberals!

The economy

Stephen Harper recently indicated that the economy was on the mend because the economy contracted by about 5.4% instead of by about 6.5% as predicted. It’s certainly possible the economy may be improving but is it really accurate to say the economy is on the mend simply because it didn’t contract by quite as much as projected? Projections and estimations have tendency to be off by some margin of error. Maybe the economy is improving but an economic contraction of over 5% is quite serious and not something to celebrate.

Swine flu

In recent weeks I have been preoccupied by exams and studying. I didn’t notice that the swine flu epidemic had gotten way worse. Tens of thousands of people infected (some people think it could be hundreds of thousands). Multiple children have died of swine flu in the United States. My heart goes out to all the families of the children and adults who have died of swine flu worldwide. I didn’t realize how severe this epidemic was. I’m so sorry.

Smiths Falls water bottle plant

The other day in the Kingston Whig standard there was an article about the plans for a water bottle company to take over the empty building where the Hershey Chocolate Factory used to be in Smiths Falls, Ontario. The Council of Canadians has objected to this on the basis that bottled water is bad for the environment due to polluting trucks and due to the fact that water bottles end up in landfills. I do not agree with the Council of Canadians assessment. Water is good for you and bottled water is the only way to drink water on the go. Also, so long as water bottles are recycled they are not a problem. As far as trucks are concerned, that is something we need to work on long term. But by all means open a water bottle factory in Smiths Falls.