Lunch with Laureen Harper, the wife of the Prime Minister of Canada

Recently I was invited by news broadcaster and federal candidate Peter Kent to attend a lunch with Laureen Harper, the wife of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The lunch gathering was a very cozy, relaxed event, which provided the opportunity to share some ideas with Ms. Harper. I asked Ms. Harper whether she would explore the idea of being an honourary national spokesperson for autism. While I didn’t really expect her to give an answer on the spot – and she was somewhat reluctant – Ms. Harper introduced me to her assistant so we can stay in touch about the suggestion. I also asked Ms. Harper to pass on my congratulations to the Prime Minister for the great speech he delivered recently at the Ricoh Centre during the Israel @ 60 celebration in Toronto. By the way, I found Laureen Harper to be outgoing, relaxed and friendly, which made for a very enjoyable event.

Explaining the TDSB pool funding and GST challenges to federal finance minister Jim Flaherty

From left to right, Joe Oliver, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Trustee James Pasternak

Recently I had the opportunity to share a few words with federal finance minister Jim Flaherty. I described some of the challenges we are facing in keeping our swimming pools open at the Toronto District School Board. I attended a high school with a pool and it was great for physical education classes and developing school spirit through a competitive school swim team. It was also essential for learning safety skills. I was hoping to tap several federal funding initiatives that promote athletics and healthy lifestyles.

I also mentioned that there is an emerging national initiative to have school boards exempt from paying GST. While the minister was attentive to these issues, he was non-committal and wanted keep the dialogue open.