Explosive testimony ...

I am having a hard time believing what I heard today when MP Jody Wilson-Raybould testified before the justice committee to reveal that there had indeed been pressure on her as Canada's Attorney General to back off on the SNC Lavalin case. Her testimony has left Ottawa in shock.  She demonstrated she is a person of truth and integrity. Hard to believe she is a Liberal.

In all the years I have been watching federal politics I don't think there has been a scandal as bad as this. It is beyond scandal. It is actually unlawful.  This is the type of thing that should bring down the government. Back in the day, the "honourable" thing for the Prime Minister would be to tender his resignation to the House of Commons.
I doubt that will happen.  Gerald Butts, Justin's chief of staff has already resigned. He knew this was going to be a shit storm. Oh well, it might be a good thing this is an election year. The election is set for the third week of October. But I fear Canadian voters have short memories. We are in for some interesting times.

What's in a name?

I have to admit I get a kick out of the names that mining companies use to describe their prospects and potential mining properties.

Back in the day, mines were named usually after the person who discovered them or the name of the company. I think of Timmins which had the world famous Hollinger and the McIntyre gold mines, named in tribute to the prospectors.

I was thinking about this last night when I met Al Coutts, (guy in the photo) the president and CEO of Noront Resources. That’s the company that owns about 90 percent of the mineral properties in the area known as the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario.

There you go. This is a world class ore zone in the middle of the Canadian muskeg, and it’s called Ring of Fire. Not named after the Johnny Cash song through. It is names for its circular shape of ore zones over a wide area of land.  It is already famous because it has so much chromite, a key ingredient in stainless steel. But there are also huge quantities of nickel, copper, zinc, palladium, diamonds, silver and gold. This is an ore zone that will last well into the next century.

Some of the ore zones have names like Black Thor, Black Horse, Eagle’s Nest, the Blackbird and Big Daddy.  Every diamond miner in Northern Ontario knows that the De Beers Victor mine is also known as Brad’s Pit – a tribute to geologist Brad Wood who discovered the diamond zone back in the 70s. Over in Hemlo, there was the Golden Giant mine, discovered by Timmins prospectors. 

East of Timmins, McEwen has the Black Fox mine. Right in Timmins is the super-rich Hoyle Pond mine, which was discovered by mistake back in the 1970s, when a tailings pond on the Texas Gulf property failed.  Crews went in to clean it up and gold was discovered.

Even Detour Gold north of Timmins gets people wondering about the name. Temagami had the Beanland and Big Dan mines. Go figure.

The things you hear ...

One of the interesting things about this job is covering court. More people should drop by their local courts to sit in for a morning or afternoon to listen in on what goes on. You would be shocked, amazed, confused and frustrated by the things you hear. 

Interestingly a lot of the testimony said in open court is not reported by the media. That's because the lawyers usually seek a ban on publication. That's an interesting part of the Criminal Code of Canada that disallows any public reporting that might endanger the chances of an accused person getting a fair trial.

If there is too much information revealed before a jury is selected, then there is a chance that no one would have an unbiased impression about the accused person.

None of the stuff can be revealed until after the trial is held, and by that time, much of the info is old news.

That's what is going on in Sudbury right now. There is a bail hearing on for a very interesting capital case, but the media cannot report the details. There is amazing testimony about DNA, about fingerprints and other details that might eventually be revealed. Then again it might not be revealed.

It is also the reason the company has decided not to allow public commenting on the story or on the company's Facebook page. Anyone who does reveal details could be held in contempt of court. And yes, that includes stuff that people might post on Facebook. Be careful what you write!

I think I've said enough.

Well I sent out another order on Amazon today, only because I was able to find what I wanted at a much reduced price. One item is a piece of photography equipment and as much as I wanted to buy it locally, the Amazon price was 20 per cent cheaper, for precisely the same product. The other item, also for photography, could not be found in any local stores. I have been looking for almost two months. I found it online, and so I will buy it online. I can see why retailers are having a rough time.

I also took Jenn's advice and signed up for Amazon Prime. I am not sure how it all works, but it means quicker and cheaper shipping.

I will keep you posted.

Life goes on ...

Things are going well now that I consider my second month in Sudbury. It's nice to be able to see Tyler, Nathan, Scott and Jenn so easily. I spent Super Bowl Sunday at their place, had a few beers and was able to stay there, without worrying about driving home after drinking. It was so relaxing and the food was outstanding! I do not miss the 300 kilometre drive from Timmins.
The work is good too. We got our first 2019 issue of the magazine completed on time and ready for the PDAC convention in Toronto.  That's where I will be two weeks from now. It will be fun to meet all the interesting mining people from around the world.
I have been focussing a lot on work, but that's because I am still learning all the different responsibilities with the job. That is working out okay. I find I am still not working as many hours as I did in the daily newsroom in Timmins, but that is because the writing is not as urgent. Still I like being part of the Northern Life newsroom. It is a good place, and best of all it is not a corporate newsroom... it is an independent business.
I also had a chance to see Jennifer at work one day recently when I covered a news event at the hospital. It was cool to see Jenn at work, being all serious and everything. But she still has that Jenn grin! I took a nice photo.

The weather so far this winter in Northern Ontario has been cold and snowy and certainly has people talking. It is the same in Timmins, North Bay and Sudbury. We had one nasty day not too long ago with icy rain. The build up of ice on the vehicle was just ridiculous. So there I was that morning banging away at the bottom of the windshield to get break the ice. Crrrack! I broke the ice and cracked the windshield! I think I also broke a record for the number of curse words I spoke that morning :) .
Life goes on.