Author: Ciaran Thompson

Column: Moving lock, stock and barrel

– published in the St. Paul Journal on July 3, 2012

After over six months of rodeos, town and county meetings, a provincial election, high school sports games, cups of coffee from McDonalds and Tim Hortons, one week without said drink, and a baby of the month story, I have officially moved on.

The move is to another newspaper in a town located in the mountains. As exciting as it is to move to a different place and experience the freshness that comes with being in a new surrounding, thinking back on my experience here in St. Paul has reminded me that living and working here was something I needed to do.

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Bill C-38 important in moving forward, MP says

The federal government has passed its 425-page budget implementation bill, one that Westlock – St. Paul MP Brian Storseth says is an important piece of legislation for Canadians moving forward.

Now awaiting approval in the Senate, federal MPs voted 157-135 on June 18 to adopt the legislation, known as Bill C-38, at third reading. According to Storseth, the biggest changes implemented in the bill involve regulatory reform. Read the full story at the St. Paul Journal.

Column: Why the Euro Cup matters to Canadians

The 2012 Euro Cup soccer tournament, which is being held in Poland and Ukraine, has just about finished a week and a half of play and though it is a European country exclusive event, the major sporting spectacle has relevance to Canadians in more ways than one.

First off, as you may have observed while scrolling through a phone book in towns like St. Paul or anywhere else in Canada, we live in an immigrant nation. Though not all European, a vast amount of settlers ventured across the Atlantic Ocean to pursue a new life while also bringing their hard to spell, and usually hard to pronounce, last names with them. Read the full column at the St. Paul Journal.

Elk Point man pleads guilty to manslaughter

A 21-year-old man from Elk Point plead guilty to manslaughter last week at Court of Queen’s Bench in St. Paul in connection with the death of a 76-year-old Bonnyville woman.

Judge P.B. Michalyshn from Edmonton sentenced Jesse Colton Leppanen to 10 years in jail, less time served, in the death of Mary Ella Jane Corbiere whose body was found on November 15, 2010 in Kehewin.

Crown Prosecutor Jeff Rudiak and defense lawyer Naeem Rauf agreed upon the sentence of 10 years for manslaughter before submitting it to the judge. Leppanen has already served 15 and a half months and was originally charged with second-degree murder. Read the full story at the St. Paul Journal.

Column: One week, no coffee

It wasn’t until the Friday afternoon did I really start to panic. The days prior had been relatively easy as I casually paraded around the office not under the influence of the remedy I’ve become so accustomed to since college. It almost seemed too easy and up until that moment, it felt like I could go without drinking coffee for a long time.

For someone who, on average, drinks between two and four cups of coffee a day (the most I’ve ever drank was six), perhaps my judgment was a little premature when it came to deadline day for stories and photos. Either way, I battled through and with the help of tea – lots of tea – I made it to my goal of not drinking coffee for a whole week. Read the full column at the St. Paul Journal.

Severance packages and tax-free salaries scrapped by Alberta government

Local MLA Shayne Saskiw says the steps made by the PC government in implementing 13 of the 15 recommendations laid out by retired Supreme Court Justice Jack Major are a step in the right direction, but insists the Wildrose party will fight “tooth and nail” to ensure the proposed defined pension plan for MLAs does not become legislation.

Last week, in conjunction with the first session of Alberta’s 28th legislature, house leader Dave Hancock announced Premier Alison Redford’s government approval of most of the recommendations laid down by Major in his written report on salaries paid to Alberta politicians. Redford had originally pledged to accept every one of Major’s recommendations around MLA pay. However, immediately following the 327-page report’s publication, the premier announced she would not accept the recommendation for an increase in her salary to $335,000 (a raise of $124,000).

 

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Column: Canadians living through the first ‘Maple Spring’

The student strike in Quebec over the proposed tuition hikes by Premier Jean Charest and the Liberal government has entered its 14th week, and since the mayhem began, we have seen students clash with police, public property vandalized, smoke bombs set off and plastic baton rounds, or rubber bullets, fired at protestors.

There’s no keeping a lid on something like this as the world has eyes, or rather, Twitter and Facebook. The strike has even achieved the status of a moniker thanks to The Guardian. It’s being called ‘Maple Spring’ in honour of the Arab Spring. Clever enough. Read the full column at the St. Paul Journal.

Justice recommends scrapping controversial ‘golden handshake’

Defeated local MLA Ray Danyluk could be walking away from his years in the public eye with an estimated half a million dollars in severance pay, but future retiring or defeated MLAs may not be getting as hefty transitional allowances if new recommendations on MLA compensation are passed.

Last week, an independent report conducted by retired Supreme Court Justice Jack Major was released, outlining several recommendations regarding MLA salaries. In his 327-page report, Major made three substantial recommendations regarding MLAs’ transition allowance, the tax-free portion of their salaries and implementing a new pension plan similar to the one cut by former premier Ralph Klein in 1993. Read the full story at the St. Paul Journal.

Column: Married to the game

If there’s one thing the playoffs for any sport reveals to us, it’s this: the amount of passion and emotion running through athletes’ bodies can be paramount, sometimes even reducing them to tears. Whether they’re tears of sadness or joy, the power sport holds among individuals is a feeling only they can describe and for others, it is difficult to understand. Read the full column at the St. Paul Journal.

Imperial Oil plans to expand Cold Lake operations

Published in 2012 edition of ‘Our Natural Resources’ – special supplement to Athabasca Advocate, Bonnyville Nouvelle, Elk Point Review, Lac La Biche Post, Lakeland Regional and St. Paul Journal.

Imperial Oil Ltd. has announced plans to expand its stake in Alberta’s oilsands through the Nabiye Project at a cost of $2 billion, which will create around 1,000 jobs and produce an extra 40,000 barrels of oil per day, according to company spokesman Pius Rolheiser.

Nabiye, which is a Dene word meaning “otter,” is located at Imperial’s Cold Lake operation and received regulatory approval in 2004, but was put aside only to be reinitiated in 2008.

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