My lunch with Minister Prentice

Well, I can spill the beans now... The Honourable Minister Jim Prentice was the "VIP" I was talking about having lunch with today. And, for the record, it was NOT on the taxpayers dime... we're Tories, not Liberals!

So I figured I'd be a nice guy and pick a seat about midway down the table, figuring that the Minister was going to sit at the head with our EDA President and his staffers. What does he do? Goes and pulls up the chair beside me! Not that I'm complaining... got me into the middle of most of the conversations. It's kinda funny too... he orders his lunch, and I get to say "I'll have what he's having", since he goes and orders what I already had my eye on.

We had some really good conversations... we talked about the possibilty of an election this spring, he asked a lot about our view on the riding and what our chances were in that upcoming election, and our current Liberal MP... and about how he had to look up her info before he came, because he didn't have a clue who she was. Not that he didn't know her name, but that he could not picture her face, where she sits in the House, or remember anything she's said or done since he's been in Ottawa. However, we told him we weren't surprised, since none of us can remember anything she's said or done since she got to Ottawa... fourteen years ago.

And, maybe I'll surprise many of you for having asking it, but I got a chance to ask the biggest question that I had burning in my mind... "What can you tell us about what's going on in Caledonia?" Interesting thoughts shared all around. And nice to hear that, despite what some people want you to think, that the Conservative government is actively seeking to, and wanting to, deal with this and other outstanding issues in a satisfactory manner.

And, of course, I got my pic to add to my Ministers collection... collect them all! Now I've got Mr. Harper, Solberg, Baird, and Prentice.

Great lunch, great conversations, and a great break from our massive server upgrade at work. Which, if you're at all interested, we're pretty much DONE!


UPDATE: (June 12, 2007) Well, I can now spill the beans... the Prime Minister has just announced an overhaul of the Native land claims system. We got wind that this was in the works over my lunch with the Minister, but of course, couldn't say anything until now.