May 17, 2022 Message to the Membership
Posted on May 17, 2022 in Message to the Membership
If you were paying attention, you may have noticed that my weekly message was absent last week, and that’s because I was away on a brief holiday. My wife and I made a quick trip to Ottawa to visit our youngest son, who works there for the federal government… yes, the Trudeau federal government.
In terms of the apple falling from the tree, it might be said on that day that the apple rolled down the hill… probably with a pretty good tailwind to boot. But this bright apple of ours has certainly brought a new appreciation for the work that bureaucrats do – particularly some bureaucrats.
We’ve been to Ottawa several times, but this was our first trip since the pandemic. It never ceases to amaze me what a cultural shift there is between Eastern Canada and the West. And this time that was further accentuated when we went for a little drive over to Montreal, where neither my wife nor I had been before.
I’m not sure if you’ve been there, but it’s as if it’s another country. They don’t even speak English there!
But seriously, in my opinion, whether it’s Ottawa or Montreal, walking the downtown streets is certainly a culture shock. Eclectic hardly begins to describe it. And those that aren’t eclectic are pretty much hipsters. You can certainly see where the support for the Federal Liberals comes from. The other noticeable difference is the lack of Indigenous people.
In other words, it’s almost nothing like here. There are no Corner Gas wannabes or comparisons to be found.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a strong federalist. I believe diversity is our strength. But I can also see how there needs to be a much more concerted effort in educating the easterners in the value of our commodity-based economy, and the role our resource industry plays in that. And the value the west brings to the table.
This week’s a special two-for-one deal, because there’s another timely set of circumstances that need to be shared. The NSBA is on the move. While I was away we had some unanticipated HVAC issues arise that needed immediate attention.
Long story short, it was going to be a fairly intrusive repair, so instead of trying to work in those conditions, or go back to a remote working environment (which frankly doesn’t work for us… you may recall a message I wrote a few weeks ago to that effect), we chose to find a temporary location.
We’ve always prided ourselves as an organization who likes to do things, not just sit around and talk about things. And boy did we live up to that mantra. The problem came to a head last Wednesday. On Thursday we were looking at locations. On Friday we selected one, and on Monday we moved.
Today’s Tuesday and although we’re very much still settling in, but if you’re looking for us, you can find us seven blocks north, and one block east of our Quebec Avenue location, at #3-701 45th Street East.
It took many helping hands to move this mountain, and thankfully our membership is always quick to respond. Many thanks to Ken Kreutzwieser of ICR Commercial Realty, Wayne Wilson of Business Furnishings, JoeAnne Hardy’s team at WBM Office Systems and the customer service team at SaskTel.
The biggest thanks go to our team of Melony Ward, Tracy Bitternose and Daniel Afe, who aside from substituting as a moving company on Monday, have been the proverbial ducks on the water; their seemingly smooth glide across the water, is a great disguise for their feet, which have been paddling at Tasmanian Devil speed.
Did I mention this is happening whilst we’re preparing for next week’s golf tournament? (Aye yai yai, I tell ya!)
They’re a great team who move mountains on your behalf. Make sure to thank them if you see them at next week’s sold-out golf tournament (or your earliest opportunity afterwards).
Until next time, be safe, be smart, be considerate, be well, but most of all, be kind.
Keith Moen
Executive Director