USA Consul General for Alberta, Saskatchewan & N.W.T.

Laura Lochman : USA Consul General for Alberta, Saskatchewan & N.W.T.

On Thursday the Calgary Chapter of The American Chamber of Commerce met for cocktails at the Osteria de Meidci restaurant in the Kensington district to listen to Laura Lochman, the USA Consul General deliver a summary of President Barack Obama's state of the union address to the American Congress and the implications of statements made in the President's speech that would effect the relationship between Canada and the United States of America.

I found the Consul General to be a most articulate and captivating speaker. After delivering her speech she entertained questions from the audience. Being a former debate coach, I asked her the President's position on The Keystone XL Pipeline. The Consul General did not skirt the sensitive issue but told the audience that the pipeline is not cancelled and that TransCanada can reapply for a new route through Nebraska that will be more environmentally acceptable. The Consul General elaborated on security and cross-border crossings between Canada and the United States. The three year term for Laura Lochman is coming to a close and in six months she will be reassigned as the Consul General to Columbia in South America.

Wayne Cao: A Politician of the People

On December 10, Wayne Cao had his annual Christmas Party at the Dover Community Center for his constituency members for his Calgary Fort West Riding. The Honorable Member for Calgary Fort West invites anyone who wishes to attend his celebration to partake in a fabulous buffet and take an opportunity to socialize with members of the community. Wayne plays a most gracious host to his diverse constituents who come from a large cross-section of ethnic backgrounds--Chinese, Vietnamese, Fiipino, Mexican, Anglos, East Indian, Pakistani, just to mention a few.
Even though I do not live in Wayne's constituency, I attend the party and bring a Chinese family who have just immigrated from mainland China and who have only been in the country four months. I introduce them to Wayne who gives them a hearty welcome. I explain to my new Chinese friends that Wayne Cao is a member of the Provincial government and they would be more than welcome to come and volunteer in Wayne's next upcoming election in March. The new family are excited that they will be able to participate in the democratic process of getting someone they know elected to office.

Over the past twelve years, I have worked on three campaigns to elect Wayne Cao and with the upcoming election in March it will be my forth campaign. The reason, I support this gentleman is because of his contributions to his community. In 1999, I approached Wayne Cao for advice on how to obtain government funding to host an International World Schools Debate tournament to be hosted in Calgary in 2005. At the time , I thought I would need a $150,000. When every other agency, organization gave me the cold shoulder, Wayne Cao provided advice, support, letters of recommendation that helped me validate the project. Because of his support, the tournament in 2005 became the Conoco Phillips World Schools Debate Championship that raised over $450,000 to run a 10 day international debate tournament attended by 250 of the brightest students from 32 different countries spanning 6 continents. The debates were hosted in 40 different schools spanning the public, private,separate,rural, first nations schools and the Calgary Teacher's Convention. Over 10,000 school children and teachers were introduced to world schools thematic debate on topics of international interest. Without the help of Wayne Cao, I could not have made this tournament a reality. Wayne Cao, quietly worked behind the scenes. But such is the style of Wayne Cao to work behind the scenes for causes that help the community. For example, Wayne was instrumental into bringing low cost affordable housing into the Dover and Ogden area while the Federal, Provincial and Municipal government were still mired in bureaucratic inaction on how to create affordable housing. Wayne was instrumental in kick starting a program turning the weir on the Bow River into a recreational white water kayaking area. I once asked Wayne Cao why did he not tell the general public about his contributions and he replied, " I do not need recognition, my job is to help my constituency."
In his Christmas message to his constituents Wayne states: " I thank you for giving me your trust and honour to represent you in government. I feel it is my privilege and duty to serve Albertans. I hope to receive your continuing support, trust and friendship."
Wayne has written lyrics for a song that he has sung at Canada Day Celebrations and Citzenship Celebrations:
Our Canada, the land of people free.
Together we're building our great country
From West Pacific to East Atlantic,
And North Boreal to Southern lake land,
Blue sky, white snow always pure,
Green grass and wheat fields abound.
We're Canadians, so blessed and free.
We, Canadians, love our country.
Fron all parts of the world
we have come here
to live together in peaceful joy.
Canadians, we stand together.
Canadians, we will live forever
keep on building country we love.
Blessings from Creator to Canadians!

I have included pictures from Wayne Cao's Christmas Party. ( Wayne and his grandson with his son William, Will's wife and mother in law) (Wayne and the new Chinese family: Ivy,Wayne,Michael, Peter)

Hunting in a Windstorm

On Sunday, November 30 on the last day of hunting season, at first light I walked into a patch of bush that was a half mile wide and one mile long. My hunting partner and I were to walk into the bush from the east about two hundred yards apart and walk in a slow zigzag pattern to hopefully flush an elk, moose or deer into a 60 foot open cutline a quarter mile due east where our two other hunting partners waited in ambush. With my trusty compass in hand , I had to take a bearing that I was moving in a south south west direction to appear at the cutline. I had walked only about 100 yards into the bush when I heard a slow dull roaring whirr that sounded like a muffled jet engine. Within minutes , I was hit with a blast of wind as the windstorm hit the forest with gale force winds of 100 to 140 km per hour. The forest exploded into a series of sharp reporting sounds that at first I thought were gunshots but quickly realized the cracking sound was the snapping of tree trucks as the hurricane like gusts began bringing down trees between eighteen cm and 36 cm in diameter crashing all around me. I looked above my head and the trees that were 10 to 20 metres in height were swaying back and forth. As I turned slowly making a 360 degree turn, I heard the crack of breaking limbs and trees crashing to the forest floor in every direction. I heard a crack and quickly stepped back behind a tree as a 30 foot tree fell two feet from where I was standing showering me in falling bark, twigs and leaves. It was like being in a war zone with shells exploding all around you.
I waited for the wind to subside and when there was a brief lull, I would quickly walk fifty yards and take cover before the next wind gust came and witness the next wave of crashing tree trunks. I was in that predicament for an hour and a half. During that time, I came upon deer within 20 feet but I had no intention of shooting a deer. The deer were befuddled and did not know where to run or hide. I remember leaning up against a sturdy tree and to my surprise I could feel the tree vibrating like a drum through my jacket. I quickly looked up to see the tree swaying back and forth. The black bamber aspen was the most dangerous of the trees in the forest because their inner core becomes hollow and rotten when they mature and they were snapping like twigs. I emerged from the forest after an hour and half and feeling grateful to be alive. Mind you while I was in the forest , I never felt more alive in my life.

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Thanksgiving

I recently invited a Chinese family who have been in Canada for only two months to spend Thanksgiving dinner with my cousins in the country. Here are 19 things we did that day that I took for granted but they were experiencing for the first time:
1. Seeing the Rocky Mountains
2. Seeing large hay bales in the foothills
3. Seeing cattle roaming in the fields
4. Entering Kananaskis Park and seeing a forest of firs and aspens
5. Hiking along a forest trail
6. Seeing trail riders on horses
7. Seeing white-tailed deer
8. Seeing a mountain river and skipping rocks
9. Fishing in the river
10. Sitting around a campfire and poking the logs
11. Roasting marshmallows
12. Making a smores from graham wafers, nuttal and marshmallows
13. Eating garden grown tomatoes
14. Eating turkey and stuffing
15. Sharing a Thanksgiving dinner with other Canadians
16. Riding a tandem bicycle in the mountains
17. Finding a maple leaf
18. Setting off rockets
19. Using a knife and fork instead of chopsticks

Tour of Six Provinces of Northern and Southern China

China Tour : July 21st to August 8 2012

If anyone is interested in taking the 18 day all-inclusive China tour that departs from Calgary, look at Mrleeschinatour2012blogsite.blogspot.com
The final bookings will be made in December. The tour is designed to accommodate 30 travelers and all costs are based on double occupancy.

Hunting Season In Alberta

From September until December, residents of Alberta are allowed to purchase bird game licenses to hunt waterfowl and upland game birds. Big Game animals such as elk, moose, white tail deer, sheep,
Big Horn Sheep, and antelope may be hunted in wildlife zones known as WMU's or Wild Life Management zones. In some WMU's only people who have picked in a draw in June may hunt big game animals in specified WMU's. There are general hunting areas for white-tail deer that do not require a special draw because there is such an abundance of white-tail deer. There are more white-tail deer in North America today than was present when the first white settlers arrived in America. There is also a special draw for Wild turkeys. Canadians from outside Alberta are classified as non-resident hunters. Foreign hunters are classified as non-resident aliens. Hunters who do not live in Alberta must pay higher license fees for the privilege of hunting the animals.

On Thanksgiving Day, I decided to take a drive in the country to view the habitat where the hunters of mule deer, moose, elk and white-tail deer will be from November 1st to November 30.
As I stopped along a country road classified as parkland habitat, it reminded me of the topography one would see in a game park in South Africa but instead of deer or moose one would see elephants, giraffes, spring bok, gazelles, zebras and wildebeests. Unlike the African animals who roam in large herds in the scrubland, the Elk, Moose, and deer hide in the aspen thickets and only venture out into the open just as twilight approaches. With my camera in hand , I snapped a few photos of cow elk that I saw at an elk farm that sells the velvet horns to Asian markets.