A great day, a sad day

On this great day an American who should have visited Canada over four years ago finally came to "five finger " waving. His visit brought out thousands of protesting demonstrators. They came from across the county, from the U.S. and elsewhere. They came to show that they did not agree with some of the things the visitor had done, was doing or was proposing to do. It is not everyday that the most powerful man in the world comes north to visit his neighbouring country. But he did and left letting the people of Canada know that he would do what he believed necessary to do to protect the American nation from terrorist activities. I think that he is prepared to take a war to other nations rather than accepting terrorist intrusions on American soil. George Bush can't be stopped in his efforts to protect America.

There can be no question that the President wanted to let the people of Canada know that America is a friend. He praised Canada as a democratic nation. His intentions include having Canada become a strong partner in the fight against terrorism. As well, he would like Canada as a nation to willingly support American efforts in the reconstruction of Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti.

I believe he has mended fences, that relations with America will improve. Nevertheless, there will be ongoing discussions and debates relating to the future of the North America aerospace defence and the defence of the continent. Many Canadians are concerned about the "Star Wars" program and that problem will continue.

On this sad day, we heard about the death of a great Canadian, the author, Pierre Berton. Recently, he was a nominee to be the Greatest Canadian. To many, he was! During his life time he wrote 50 books, he was a writer for newspapers, magazines and appeared on TV and was a broadcaster. He will always be remembered as a great Canadian.