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1 VOL 08 . 15 WRONGFUL DISMISSAL AND DUTY TO MITIGATE THINK TWICE; SPEAK ONCE Veteran Lawyer Scott Stenbeck explores your options - Page 11 Spotlight examines the upcoming race between the political parties of Canada - Page 6 Knowing the power of words - Page 12 Elections 2015: And They’re Off!

Elections 2015: And They’re Off! · Spotlight examines the upcoming race between the political parties of Canada - Page 6 Knowing the power of words - Page 12 Elections 2015: And

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Page 1: Elections 2015: And They’re Off! · Spotlight examines the upcoming race between the political parties of Canada - Page 6 Knowing the power of words - Page 12 Elections 2015: And

1

VOL 08 . 15

WRONGFUL DISMISSAL AND DUTY TO MITIGATE

THINK TWICE; SPEAK ONCEVeteran Lawyer Scott Stenbeck explores your options - Page 11

Spotlight examines the upcoming race between the political parties of Canada - Page 6

Knowing the power of words - Page 12

Elections 2015:And They’re Off!

Page 2: Elections 2015: And They’re Off! · Spotlight examines the upcoming race between the political parties of Canada - Page 6 Knowing the power of words - Page 12 Elections 2015: And

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5 FINANCE RETIREMENT FOR ONE

BMO consultant - Dan Hein, Talks abouts planning for retirement and what is involved.

6 EDITORIAL 2015 ELECTIONS: AND THEY’RE OFF

As elections once again appear on the horizon, our editor - Scott Cowan, once again examines the landscape and finds some very interesting things to say.

11 LAW WRONGFUL DISMISSAL AND DUTY TO MITIGATE What options are available to you when you deem that your job has been wronfully taken away from you? Legal veteran - Scott Stenbeck lends some insight.

12 POLITICS THINK TWICE; SPEAK ONCE

Being slow to speak has been a long standing wise saying. Brent Dunstan applies its relevance to politics in Canada and especially, in Alberta.

\

THIS ISSUES

MAGAZINEEDITORSCOTT COWAN(403) 504-7092

ART DIRECTOR JOAN BATEMAN

GRAPHICS DIRECTOR ABIM OYAD

PHOTOGRAPHY GAINSBORO STUDIOS

PHONE(403) 504-7092

[email protected]

ADDRESS377 - 4 Street SEMedicine Hat, AB T1A 0K4

For a complimentary subscription to Spotlight, forward your email to:[email protected]

Published and Printed by Spotlight Magazine

Disclaimer: No responsibility can be taken by Spotlight Magazine for any errors or omissions contained herein. Furthermore, responsibility for any losses, damages or distress resulting from adherence to any information made available through this magazine is not the responsibility of Spotlight Magazine. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Spotlight Magazine. Comments are welcome.

CONTENTS

SPOTLIGHT

Image AttributionsImage Attribution 101: W. Lloyd MacKenzie, via Flickr @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/saffron_blaze/. Image has been cropped and the original sky has been replaced with an opacity layer.Image Attribution 102: The Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. Photo by Chuck Szmurlo taken at dawn. Image has been unaltered.Image Attribution 103: Image of Rachel Notley by Huffingtonpost.ca. Image was altered with an artistic brush filter and composited with images of bandaids over the mouth of the subject.

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Retirement for One

BMO Nesbitt Burns

BMO Wealth Management is the brand name for a business group consisting of Bank of Montreal and certain of its affiliates, including BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., in providing wealth management products and services. “BMO (M-bar Roundel symbol)” is a registered trade-mark of Bank of Montreal, used under licence. “Nesbitt Burns” is a registered trade-mark of BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Montreal. If you are already a client of BMO Nesbitt Burns, please contact your Investment Advisor for more information. The comments included in this publication are not intended to be a definitive analysis of tax applicability or trust and estate law. The comments contained herein are general in nature and professional advice regarding an individual’s particular tax position should be obtained in respect of any person’s specific circumstances.

Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund and Member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada

Important Considerations for Singles Saving and Planning for Retirement

By chance or by design, a surprisingly large number of Canadians are facing their golden years alone. The fact is that even if you are part of a couple now, a 2009 BMO Wealth Institute report “Retirement for One - By Chance or By Design”, indicates a strong likelihood that you will find yourself single at some point during retirement.

Based on the reports’ findings, singles need to plan and save just like couples, but should also address these considerations;

• Start planning for retirement earlier than couples

• Manage expenses more closely both before and during retirement

• Greater need to protect their income• Build a “Later Life” plan

Even though common wisdom suggests that every Canadian should start saving for retirement as early as possible, singles are often likely to be less informed about their financial well-being in retirement than their married counterparts. Since singles have only one income on which to rely, it’s

important to start saving as early as possible to benefit from compounding growth. In fact, if you’re 20 years from retirement and you save $5,000 per year in an account like an RRSP or TFSA, you will have approximately $220,000. If you wait 10 years to start saving, you’ll have to come up with $15,000 each year for the next 10 years to have as much money saved up. Saving enough money for retirement is hard enough, but starting earlier will make it seem easier.

Singles may find themselves needing to invest more aggressively both before and during retirement in order to compensate for a lower saving rate and a smaller nest egg. However, your investment portfolio should be well diversified and reflect your risk tolerance and time horizon. Meeting with a BMO financial professional to review your portfolio at least annually is an important part of your financial plan.

Once you’ve established a plan to accumulate savings, you should ensure you take steps to protect that savings plan. When you’re the only income earner saving for retirement, protecting your earning potential should be top of mind because not being able to work due to illness or other reasons, will not only impact how much money you will

be able to save, but may result in using funds that had previously been set aside for retirement.

Having a plan that encompasses both savings goals and risk management will help you make your retirement vision a reality. Talk to your trusted advisor – get to work creating and updating your retirement plan - explore solutions to

help you achieve your goals.

1 Leger Marketing (2011) survey of Canadians aged 18 and over conducted on behalf of The BMO Retirement Institute. The “Study” refers to The BMO Retirement Institute’s analysis of individual responses to the questions posed in this survey.

2 Research team: Ross, D. G., Wills L & Gilbert, M. (May 2012). Canadian financial preparation for retirement. Unpublished research paper. “Research” refers to research conducted by this international research team.

Lets Connect:

Dan Hein, BRE

Investment Advisor BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. 606 2nd St SE Medicine Hat, AB T1A 0C9

403-528-6771

[email protected] www.bmo.com/nesbittburns

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2015 Election: And They’re Off!

Scott Cowan

Continued on page 9

So we are in the writ period, and it’s cliché to say this is the most important election

of our time. However, this may in fact be the one election that changes Canada forever. As a nation we have seen a shift in the public’s perception of right and wrong, tolerant or intolerant, and what form of government we wish to live under.

I never believed Alberta would elect the NDP. But it happened and I

fear a national, “I don’t care attitude,” could usher in a national NDP major-ity. Ontario flirted with the NDP and regretted every minute of those four plus years under Bob Rae. Conserva-tive Mike Harris was elected, turned the economy around, and paid most of the debt. Then, voters traded the Con-servatives austerity and the return of triple A credit ratings for years of Dal-ton McGuinty. Ontarians again elected Liberal Premier Wynne. Ontario now boasts a greater debt load than Greece. The Province is bankrupted. Yet Lib-erals go on spending as if there are no problems at all. But that is the socialist way. Spend other people’s money until the sky falls. Then blame conservative’s greed and capitalism for the crisis. Do everything possible to impede free enterprise then blame it for failing. The voters seem to have increasingly short memories. Tax pain has become the norm. The government can confiscate ever more of our paycheck and no one cares. Look at the deduction side of your last cheque. Wouldn’t a big part of that money be better in your pocket? Premier Wynne is already shilling for Justin in an undemocratic, possibly illegal way. All the press she garners for

Liberal votes is not under the prevue of Election Canada’s spending jurisdic-tion. Provincial Premier’s have histor-ically been all but silent during federal elections. But Liberal’s don’t care about protocol or decorum. NDP Premier Notely as of this writing is jumping on Harper over comments made about Alberta. We are seeing USA leftist lobby groups calling Conservative rid-ings for the Liberals and NDP. This is clearly illegal. Remember last elections so called conservative Robo calling scandal. The media was still talking about it just last month. Compared to this Robo is nothing. But NDP / Liber-als get a pass.

People talk about ninety thousand dollars a conservative senator may

have misappropriated while ignoring billions of dollars that Liberals waste. There is a pervasive undercurrent of animosity toward anyone who makes money in this country. The Liberals and NDP hate success and capitalism. They disparage any company that is highly profitable. It is always, “the rich don’t pay their fair share.” Trudeau treats “wealthy Canadians,” as enemies. Yet, he lives a millionaire life style off Daddy’s trust fund. They all talk about climate change and then fly off in

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2015 Election: And They’re Off!

their private jets to the next speech somewhere. No pipelines or fossil fuel allowed, but socialists have yet to offer any alternatives to fill the tank in your car. If the NDP had their way we would all drive a Prius. Mulcair allegedly owes millions in back taxes he refuses to pay.

Even now Liberal’s won’t admit Muslim terrorists are guilty for

killings and beheadings. Trudeau and Mulcair couldn’t bring themselves to utter the word terrorist when the shooter was a few feet from them in the Parliament Buildings. Why, because they are courting their votes. Had that terrorist simply turned one way, instead of the other, he would have made it into the NDP caucus room. Many would have died. Yet socialists label you Islam phobic if you are concerned about terrorists in our country, or are in favor of fight-ing them abroad. Our own security agency tells us there are Muslim Imams in Canada recruiting for ISIS and promoting radicalization. But NDP Mulcair and Liberal Trudeau ignore these warnings. Wake up Canada! Two major political parties are already catering to these voters, regardless of their intentions.

Nationally liberals and the NDP have voted against every bill to

fight ISIS and militant Islam. They will not stand up and fight for any reason. We will be laughed at around the world militarily if we elect a socialist government. Does anyone remember history? Neville Cham-berlain almost lost Britain to Hitler because he would not fight. ISIS is a far most devious enemy. If we do not fight them in their homeland, we will be fighting them in our streets.

The NDP want to run every facet of this country and tax the

producers to death. They will kill the oil and fossil fuel business in Canada. They turn around and kiss the backsides of Saudi Arabia while halt-ing domestic production. Taxes will spiral to astronomical levels. It’s their belief that entre-preneurs are about profit and taking advan- tage of workers. It is interest- ing that almost 30% of Canadi- ans are “protect- ed,” by unions. So how is it that 70% of us survive? Do

you want government employees to escalate to ever more unsustainable levels? The NDP and Liberals will de-stroy the economy. How do I know? Look at Ontario after a few NDP and Liberal majorities. In Alberta they are already chasing the oil companies away, by opening the royalty review process. Our new Premier just spent over $6,000,000,000.00 (billion) in nine weeks. Who is this woman few even knew short weeks ago? Where are those conservatives that ruled 42 years? Where is the outrage? Are we content or so complacent to wait years until the next election? Has the understanding of basic econom-ics become this clouded? Are there none left to sound the alarm? Have critically thinking people fallen so far we are unwilling to protect even basic values and tradition? Are there any real conservatives left who will shout?

If we do not promote individual responsibility, accountability, and

patriotism we will not survive as a nation. We will be assimilated into a tolerant politically correct stew of no discernable historical Canadian iden-tity. Eventually, we will vote in Sharia law. It has been repeatedly proposed in Ontario. Then we will find out why so many moderate Muslim’s

sought to es-

Scott CowanContinued on page 6

Continued on page 10Credits and Attribution 101. Index on Content Page

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Scott Stenbeck(866) 783 6232

Continued on page 14

Wrongful Dismissal and the Duty to Mitigate

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I usually write on family and divorce law. I thought I would shift gears for a couple months and write on another area. I have practiced a lot of employment law.   My first case after I opened my own office some fifteen years ago was an employment law case. It was an area I had a lot of interest in during law school.

I will talk this month about one of the biggest pitfalls from the employee per-spective. That is failing to be able to prove appropriate mitigation. I will ex-plain what that means in a moment. Employment law comes from contract law.  There is recognition that generally the contract is between unequal parties. But it is still contract law nonetheless. A basic part of contract law is called, “the duty to mitigate.”  This means for exam-ple, say you and I have an agreement that you are going to buy a car from me for $5,000.  At the last minute, you back out.  I am not allowed to just fold my arms, sit on the hood of the car and say, “you owe me five grand.” I have to make reasonable efforts to sell the car.  Say I get four thousand dollars for the vehicle from someone else. My damages that I can claim from you are one thousand

Scott Stenbeck

dollars. In the employment law context this means that when an employee is dis-missed, they are not entitled to just sit down and demand damages for the pe-riod of reasonable notice.  They have to make reasonable efforts to find compa-rable employment. Those efforts have a legal and a practi-cal side.  If an employee is able to they are entitled to hold out for a job with roughly the same pay and level of re-sponsibility, and in the same geograph-ic area in a similar field to which they were dismissed.  That is the legal side.  The practical reality however is that most employees can’t wait. They have to take something in order to pay the bills. Let’s take an example of an employee

that was working somewhere making five thousand a month for the next few examples.  Let’s say that after their length of time working, their age, level of specialization of the job. And other factors are taken into account, either the parties in settlement negotiations, or the Court in a trial, arrive at 6 months pay as a reasonable notice period. But, what if the employee in the above example failed to take reasonable steps to find another job? Either the defen-

2015 Election: And They’re Off!

Scott Cowan

cape to the west. But there will be no where for us to run after sacrificing our culture, laws, and way of life. We have traded immigration and assimilation, for tolerance and inclusiveness. The West will cease to exist. Un-checked, in a generation or two, Muslim immigrants will numerically out vote Canadians and take over demo-cratically. Britain, France, Spain, are mathematically lost already. Across those countries as their numbers grew mini nations of Islam (communities) pracwticing Sharia law emerged. Non-Muslim businesses and people were forced out. Any western law enforcement is prohibited to enter. Within 20 years large parts of western Europe will be Muslim nations. ISIS executes any moderate

Muslims as apostate who oppose their brand of religious fervor. The moderate Muslim people came here to be free. If the West will not fight, they know better than any the futility expending half measures of force, or of appeasement. Moderates tried in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syr-ia, and Iran. Everywhere the West pledged support and then abandoned freedom loving Muslim’s.

When Muslims come here we give them money, health benefits, and pay for their immigration

lawyer. Still, many seek to bring their laws to our land. The Liberals and NDP support them in that endeavor for their votes.

We are in an election and the NDP are strong con-tenders. But look at the Harper track record. We

remained stable economically during the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression. Employment and the GDP have gone up in Canada and we are first of the G8 industrialized countries. Taxes have been decreased and the deficit is almost balanced. All this good news while world oil prices have decreased by half. Our jets, accompanied by our allies bomb the extremists who

Continued from page 9

Continued on page 21 Continued on page 16

Trudeau treats “wealthy Canadians,” as enemies. Yet, he lives

a millionaire life style off Daddy’s trust fund.

when an employee is dismissed, they are not entitled to just sit

down and demand damages for the period of reasonable notice.  They have to make reasonable

efforts to find comparable employment.

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Brent DunstanColumnistBrent Dunstan

Think Twice;Speak Once

In politics, the biggest difference between being in power, and being in opposition, is hav-ing the knowledge of what not to say. In any form of leadership, and particularly in the realm of government, where every word uttered is not only for public consumption but analyzed to the nth degree, the ability to look wise and say little is a valuable asset.

Failures in this area can prove to be at best, problematic, and at worst, disas-trous. When a party and more specifically their leader, is in opposition, he or she has the ability to say almost anything. Righteous indignation with one’s hair on fire is practically a job requirement. Extreme positions, particularly those that appeal to a party’s base support group can be articulated at full volume, with vim and vigor. It’s a quality that

appeals to the public in general. Poten-tial voters see opposition parties as be-ing passionate and active, just the sort to “get things done.” There is virtually no accountability while in opposition, given the fact that they are not in the position to actually implement what they are saying. It was Bob Rae, when the NDP was put in power in Ontario, who famously admitted that they had no plan, since they didn’t think they would win. Such is the nature of being in opposition. However, once in office, the situation changes dramatically, and for a num-ber of reasons. The most obvious dif-ference is that there IS accountability that comes with being the governing party. There is a delicate and sometimes impossible balance to be struck, espe-cially when newly elected. Between the platform presented prior to and during an election campaign, and the realities presented when put in the position to govern. A prime example of this was the Chrétien era Liberal Red Book promise to eliminate the GST if elect-ed. Often time’s theory and practicality collide rather than mesh. 

A newly elected government feels the pressure to please their political base,

as well as meet the challenges of office that require more pragmatism than idealism in the substantive messiness of governing. A quote often attributed to Bismarck is that there are two things people shouldn’t see being made, laws and sausages. While the words may not necessarily have come from Bismarck, the sentiment is fairly astute. This is not to say that in a democratic society gov-ernment should be secretive, but often the machinations of governance need not be exposed carte blanche. The latter being the concept newly elected Premier of Alberta Rachel Not-ley, appears to be struggling with to come to terms. When taking power it’s easy to be slightly intoxicated with one’s newly found place and position. Being “in the know,” and having the attention of a variety of audiences, especially when one is newly elected, can lead one feel compelled to speak on every mat-ter. Answer every question, providing every detail, and sharing every thought, every time a microphone is presented. Plato said, “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools be-cause they have to say something.”

For example, after meeting with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, Notley’s comments indicated that Quebec’s ap-

proval was needed. Or at the very least its support of the Energy East pipeline project, was contingent upon Quebec’s approval of Alberta’s environmental policies. Premier Notley seemed to be fully accepting of this position. Then there was the entirely expected blow-back from Albertan’s. The lengths Not-ley went in order to reel in the impres-sion that she had conceded a de facto pipeline veto to Quebec, was a less than subtle admission that her comments to the media were misplaced. Her mistake wasn’t to have the issue as a topic of conversation with Premier Couillard. It was the failure to weigh the full import of her comments about that conver-sation to the media afterwards. It was evident that the Alberta Premier want-ed to present herself as a good neigh-bor. But, being a good neighbor doesn’t mean having to let your neighbor tell you how to landscape your backyard. 

While on the topic of being a good

neighbor another example of Pre-mier Notley’s unbridled tongue were comments regarding the Premier of Saskatchewan, Alberta’s immedi-ate neighbor to the East, and Premier Wall’s so-called “showboating,” and having a “tantrum,” during the recent-ly held meeting of the Premier’s. This is a prime example of not knowing what not to say. Every privately held opinion does not, and in the case of a Provincial Premier, should not be pub-licly expressed. History is littered with examples of political leaders who gen-uinely disliked other political leaders. But they had the wisdom and discre-tion to bite their tongues and smile, at least in public. Any goodwill equity Premier Notley had with Premier Wall was spent in one ill advised sound bite. No amount of back peddling will erase an obviously pointed and very pub-lic attempt to chastise a Premier. One who has every motivation to take full advantage of every misstep made by Alberta’s new Government on behalf of Saskatchewan. One of the lessons pre-vious Alberta Premiers learned from former Premier Peter Lougheed, was cultivating close relationships with the other Western Canadian Premiers. Re-gardless of their political stripes, at least show a unified front  on the national stage, and that one  determined in ad-

vance. Premier Notley eradicated that notion on her maiden voyage into the waters of inter-provincial affairs. This was not lost on her counterparts from the other Provinces. 

Another mistake easily made by all pol-iticians and those newly wearing the mantle of leadership, is playing to one’s audience. It is a recipe for disaster espe-cially in a world where everything said or done by a public figure is recorded by the unblinking eye of the media. Pre-mier Notley has already shown signs of this tendency in regard to her dealings with the Oil & Gas Industry. Her state-ments seem incongruous; in front of an audience of resource industry types, she’s pro industry. While in front of her environmentalist political base she’s considerably less “enthusiastic,” about resource development. The Premier promises the Oil Industry a fair and impartial royalty review. Then abruptly

Continued on page 16Credits and Attribution 103. Index on Content PageCredits and Attribution 102. Index on Content Page

Plato said, “Wise men speak because they have some-

thing to say; fools because they have to say something.”

History is littered with examples of political leaders who genuinely

disliked other political leaders. But they had the wisdom and dis-cretion to bite their tongues and

smile, at least in public.

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w

Continued from page 11 Continued from page 13

Continued on page 19

Brent Dunstan

Wrongful Dismissal and the Duty to Mitigate

dant employer, or in the case of a trial the judge is going to say something like, “If you had made a reasonable effort to find another similar job, you could have been employed in two months. Therefore that is all you are getting for notice pay.” If the employee in the above example did take reasonable steps to mitigate their damages, one of two things will hap-pen.  If they find another job, the earnings from that job are going to be subtracted from the notice pay.  Consider if the employee is totally unemployed for two months, then finds something part time for two months paying two thousand dollars a month. Then, he secures a full time job, paying four thousand dollars.  His damages for the six-month notice pe-riod are $18,000 On the other hand, the employee may despite reasonable ef-forts to do so, not find another job.  The damages are then the full five thousand dollars times six months.  But the em-ployee better be able to prove they took reasonable steps to find another job.  What does that entail?  Keeping a journal daily of all efforts.  Printing off or taking copies of every sin-gle communication or application for the purpose of finding a job.  Keeping a list of everywhere a resume has been sent; everywhere there has been an interview, and the result. 

Think Twice;Speak Once

appoints a registered anti-pipeline lobbyist from Toronto as the Minister of Energy’s Chief of Staff. The Minister herself apparently hadn’t actually met this person until he was on the job. Such words and deeds have already gen-erated newspaper headlines asking “Who’s Side Is Rachel Notley On?”

The inclination to be overly forthcoming, particularly with the media, by political leaders new to their role often arises from the best of intentions. They wish to be seen as open, forthright, and media friendly. They want to have the public perception to be favorable. They believe un-restrained candor to be the means by which openness will be accomplished. However, in a media saturated cul-ture where attention is everything. Politicians soon learn the biggest train wreck garners the most attention. Most participants in the political arena soon discover it’s their imperfections, missteps, and shortcomings that will be focused upon. (This article being Exhibit A.) Political re-porters are notoriously averse to being seen as too cozy with the subjects of their work. In an Internet driven, 24 hour a day media cycle, the media’s primary goal is to sell copy and generate online hits. This has resulted in less political reporting of the facts, and more political com-mentary and opinion. The media friendly politician soon learns the media in general is not friendly in return. The Edmonton Journal unabashedly touted itself as the “un-official opposition,” during the Lougheed era. They never really conceded the role. It will be interesting to see the newspaper’s tone now that a party more reflective of its political leanings is on the Government side of the aisle. 

Another reason, and perhaps the key reason that learning to temper one’s comments when one crosses from opposi-tion to governance, is that the role change includes a mas-sive change in the constituency for which one speaks. As an MLA, a person represents his or her riding. As a politi-cal party leader a person speaks for that party and articu-lates its platform. In opposition, that person debates with the sitting Government, and presents alternative policies. But a Premier speaks for his or her total Province. Re-gardless of age, gender, ethnicity, political affiliation, or any differentiating factor. A Premier represents all of the residents of the Province, not just those that voted for his or her party. A Premier is no longer afforded the luxury

16 17

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of being able to speak his or her mind without fully measuring the potential ramifications of what he or she might say. That person becomes the voice of a Province. The words he or she says carry a massive weight. Based on Premier Notley’s first few months in office, she has yet to fully grasp that every statement, however and wher-ever made, will be taken as the word of Alberta. 

If the Premier of Alberta says that her fellow Premier from Quebec may have a determining say about the building of an artery allowing Alber-ta’s resources to get to market, or the Premier of Saskatchewan is a show-boat, then that is the position of the Province of Alberta. If that isn’t the case, then perhaps these statements should have never been made in the

first place. Unmeasured, unchecked, un-distilled, and undisciplined words cannot leave the mouth of a political leader with the stature of a Provin-cial Premier. Notley is the captain of a huge ship. Every utterance has the potential to set a course that requires far greater effort to change or undue, than set in the first place. In light of this, much care and consideration must go into every nuance and mean-ing that could be drawn from her words and deeds. 

In politics, the biggest difference be-tween being in power, and being in opposition, is the understanding of when not to speak. It was a political leader of no less caliber than Abra-ham Lincoln who said, “Better to re-main silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Wise words that one can only surmise was the voice of experience talking. 

Think Twice;Speak Once

Continued from page 16

Brent DunstanBlah Blah Blah,

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2015 Election: And They’re Off!

Scott Cowan

threaten our very existence.

This could be the most important election in our lifetimes. Now is not the time for complacency and

coffee shop banter. We are more threatened than at any other time since the second World War. The economy is teetering on a worldwide collapse. Militant terrorists have attacked us on our own soil. We have an NDP Lib-eral opposition who won’t even acknowledge the threats. Mulcair advocates giving money we don’t have to nations that vow to kill us. Liberals / NDP think the terrorists are just, “misunderstood.” The NDP will abandon Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, to appease these terrorists. That will make the terrorists like us better. As

Justin said,

“We should send them blankets and warm coats instead of whipping out our CF-18’s and showing them how big they are.” “The budget will balance itself.” How can you believe Justin is best to lead Canada? If his last name was not Trudeau, even the Liberals would ignore an out of work substitute drama teacher.

As far as Mulcair, the NDP have never balanced a budget in their Provincial history, but they have de-

stroyed plenty. Ontario was bankrupted under Bob Rae’s NDP government, and now again under the Liberal’s. In BC the Liberals still haven’t fixed the NDP mess, not that they see it as a priority. Saskatchewan with its vast natural resources was stunted until the NDP were defeated. Do we need to discuss the third world status of Manitoba under the NDP? In only nine weeks the NDP have sunk Albertan’s six billion dollars in the hole.

The only answer is a resounding Conservative Harper majority. He may not be a Churchill, but the other

two are definitely worse than Chamberlain. With the economy and our lives at stake, who do you want in charge?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper (R) meeting with SpotlightEditor; Scott Cowan on a past occassion.

Continued on page 10

If we do not promote individual responsibility, accountability, and pa-

triotism we will not survive as a nation.

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What People are Saying about Spotlight Magazine

Since becoming involved with Spotlight Magazine my business has changed dramatically. Space does not allow for the number of positive comments I could make. I highly recommend advertising in this publication. As a photographer, I have now done business in Las Vegas, New York, Los Angeles, and other exotic locations, specifically because of Spotlight. Joan Bateman Gainsboro Studiowww.gainsboro.ca

We love advertising in this magazine. We find it to be one of the most professional publications out there, the quality of the magazine from design, articles, advertisements, and the uniqueness of Spotlight itself; makes it a keep sake. I’ve found this magazine has staying power, they are kept for long periods of time in waiting area’s in multiple businesses. This makes it great for advertisers, they are seen over and over. For the price you will not find a better publication out there. Thanks, Scott. Todd Boschee, Auto’s R Less

This is the best advertising I’ve ever had. I receive calls from all across the country. Scott Stenbeck, Lawyer

The eclectic mix of editorial enhances our demographic. People read us be-cause they love and appreciate our tell-it-as-it-is content. Medical, financial,

celebrity interviews, we cover it all.We are excited to unveil our next transformation. We have partnered with a TV Station with 24 hour live programming, streaming Canada wide with a huge presence in Alberta. Our links are featured prominently on the main page and throughout their programming which increases visibility to 1.2

million impressions per week.What’s incredible is; with Spotlight, you now have TV, Web, Facebook,

Twitter and Instagram exposure. No other magazine can offer millions in distribution and affordability for emerging companies as well as the giants.

S p o t l i g h t i s C u t t i n g E d g e .

VOLUME 7.14

spotlightmagazine.ca Cover photo Joan Bateman / Gainsboro Studio

Star of: X-Files, Stargate Atlantis, Sons of Anarchy, and the new Dallas

Mitch Pileggi

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SPOTLIGHT COVERSThe Tony Awards inNEW YORK CITY

page 28

PRIME MINISTER of the Bahamas, PERRY CHRISTIE,Talks with Spotlight

page 14

NOTES FROM N’KENGE:

Tony Nomine CHARL

BROWN

We’ve heard directly and indirectly from a growing chorus of our readers. Not only is Spotlight great for our business, it turns out our column is engaging and useful for others. Many new customers we previously had not met. We applaud Scott and his team for ongoing format improvements and increased distribution - great job! Shine on Spotlight!!! Dan Hein BMO

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