A New Name for YYC?

It has been suggested a few times lately that the Calgary International Airport be renamed after former Prime Minister Stephen Harper.  I totally disagree!  I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Harper, but I don't think naming the airport after him is quite appropriate. 

Besides, the airport already has a name; McCall Field.  It was named after Freddy McCall, a Calgarian and a fighter ace of the First World War.  He did much to promote and expand aviation in Southern Alberta and Calgary.  I knew his son, the late Fred Jr. who was also heavily involved in aviation in Calgary and worked tirelessly to make the Aero Space Museum of Calgary the success it is today.

I think the airport's name should be returned to McCall International Airport.  Just because the Liberals like to name airports after former Liberal Prime Ministers doesn't mean Calgary has to follow along.

Best Wishes, Mr. Harper

I was sorry to hear that former Prime Minister Stephen Harper resigned his seat in the House of Commons, yesterday.  He has represented the good folks in Calgary Heritage very well for a number of years. 

And as prime minister he represented all Canadians very well, too.  I believe that Stephen Harper was one of Canada's most influential leaders of the last century and the first part of this one!  His legacy will be vast and varied.  For one, he was instrumental in patching up a fractured federal conservative landscape and leading the new Conservative Party on to make it once again a strong part of Canadian federal politics.   His work in international affairs, free trade, and finance was landmark!

His defeat in the last federal election hit him hard personally.  I wish he would have stayed on as leader and stick-handled a few rounds with our new Prime Minister.  I would have loved to see that.

It was said once that Harper loved humanity, it was just the people he hated.  I sincerely doubt there was any truth to that at all!  I think throughout his tenure as our Prime Minister, he remained a very private and shy man.  We got glimpses of his personal side when we heard him play piano and sing, or when he talked about his total love of hockey, but they were only glimpses.  But it was very obvious to me and many others that his focus was always on a love and respect for his family, his nation and Canadians!

Mr. Harper will be entering into the consulting world with his new company; Harper and Associates.  I know he will succeed there, too.

So to Stephen Harper, a huge thank you from this proud Canadian.  I wish you well in all your future endeavors.  And I am thankful you were able to lead the federal government of the greatest country on Earth.

Global Shame

I've been a long time writing this one.  It's been bothering me for a number of days now. 

I'm referring to the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe.  That news photo of the lifeless body of the little three year old Syrian boy really hit me.  The little guy, his Mom and older brother drowned while desperately trying to escape their homeland for a better life in Europe.

Had they survived, their troubles would have just begun.  Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of refugees are stuck in a political limbo while the world spins around in little circles like everyone has one shoe nailed to the floor!

Here's how I see it.

• The governing Syrian regime is desperately trying to hold onto power during what has become a bloody three year struggle, tearing Syria apart.
• A number of terrorist groups, including ISIS (or ISIL), the Taliban, and others are each trying to carve out their own territory within Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
• The Kurds also want some kind of recognition in that same area.
• A bunch of Western nations, including Canada are bombing targets in an attempt to stop ISIS from expanding.
• Millions of innocent people are stuck in the middle of all this mess and want out!
• Most appear to want to go to Germany where they hope to find jobs and a safe place to live.
• Hungary, which had its own refugee crisis in 1956, looks like they're treating these refugees like the plague and are just now dealing with this human tsunami.
• The oil-rich Arab nations have not helped out in any way.
• ISIS (or ISIL) stole millions of dollars from banks in the cities they've overrun, but they have not helped out at all either.
• The Canadian Government is pretty much hamstrung by this Marathon election campaign and will have difficulty changing its immigration policies at this point.
• The Canadian election candidates are trying to make the plight of these refugees into an election issue.

Something needs to be done here in Canada.  Let's put the election campaign on hold for a day and call representatives from all parties together to put together an emergency plan to help these refugees!  I understand many western countries have already done so (but they're probably not in the throws of a gong-show election campaign).

And something needs to be done in those countries I mentioned above.  There needs to be an emergency meeting of the United Nations to develop a plan to bring peace and stability back to that part of the world.  Then a portion of these refugees might actually want to return home!