If half of the things I saw in my bourbon-filled dream last night come to pass, we are in for a big shock down the road..I was in a cold, snowy environment somewhere on the Prairies, and there were big long lines of trains carrying heavy agricultural equipment, like big tractors and combines, and other similar pieces of farm machinery..It seemed everywhere I looked on those trains, in every nook or cranny, there were homeless people seeking shelter, covered by wretched dark blankets, whatever they could find to escape the deadly cold..It went on, and on, and on — everywhere I saw destitution and poverty and death..Frozen bodies clutched together in one last embrace.. Death trainDeath train .I know, a bit of a buzz-kill, to put it nicely..What struck me was how vivid it was, and I wondered if some day our world as we know it, here in Canada, would come crashing down..French philosopher Antonin Artaud once said, "Thoughts and dreams are real ... but they are not reality ... reality requires a consensus.".I rarely, if ever, remember my dreams. Once I'm up and about, it's gone. But not this one..This one stuck with me, and was amplified after I read this line, in colleague Myke Thomas's latest column.."In Canada, Trudeau and his gang of accomplices are dismantling Canada piece by piece on their road to completely destroying the country.".Now, I have never been or probably ever will be a survivalist..I've always thought things will be OK, and that we will never get into a situation where people will have to hoard food and supplies to stay alive..Your basic apocalyptic Mad Max scenario..My friend Evelyn, down in Florida, doesn't think so..She was a school chum, studied to be a nurse and had a great career in The Sunshine State..Recently we met on Facebook after many decades had passed and to my shock, she told me in no uncertain terms the day will soon come, when everything will go to hell and that I'd better get on board..This is why she is stocking up on beans, rice and other staples that can be stored, growing her own vegetables, etc. She even learned how to set a snare trap..Her Hispanic husband is also a capable hunter, and they obtain their meat without going to a grocery store — all legally of course..She has no faith — none — in the people who are running things, nor how they are running things, and predicts that at some point it's all going to break..And then it will be every man, woman or child for him or herself..Imagine, she doesn't think politicians have our best interests at heart, and that the big corporations in the US control everything and don't give a damn about anything except making big profits and avoiding taxes..I'm being sarcastic, of course..Look at the Liberal government and how it's turned its back on the oilpatch, and more recently our agriculture industry — all Western targets, by the way, nothing affected in Ontario or Quebec..While I don't believe an Omega Man like existence is around the corner just yet, I'm fully concerned about the way the PMO is handling things, and the direction our country is heading ... or should I say, declining..Our airports and border crossings are in chaos due to federal mismanagement, and a quirky app called ArriveCAN, which should have been eliminated when the COVID-19 crisis ended..Rents, housing and food prices are soaring just about everywhere..Folks, I don't know about you, but I can't afford a pair of good rib-eye steaks anymore — the latter will cost me around $40-plus bucks..Add potatoes and vegetables to that and maybe a cheap bottle of Spanish wine, and you've easily exceeded the $50 mark — for one meal, for two people..Everything is going up, and going up fast..I am fond of Chinese pork dumplings, which used to cost around $5.99 ... the other day, I saw them at the local Save-On-Foods for $8.99..Same bag, same product. But a massive price increase. Thanks a lot, Darrell..My friends tell me it's because of transportation costs..And three guesses who has exacerbated these costs with a willy-nilly carbon tax that just happens to make him look good to the elite and out-of-touch Davos fraternity, but kicks the crap out of just about everyone else..Yes, our fearless Jack In Office, Mr. Justin Trudeau..To rub salt in the wound, Justin tweeted he was going to the G7 summit in Switzerland to meet "with our G7 partners and business leaders to talk about creating more jobs & opportunities for middle class Canadians.".UN-believable, Gary Dornhoefer..If anything, he has unleashed policies in our nation that have done the exact opposite!.Our friends at StatsCan (again, I'm being facetious) tell us more than two in five Canadians report being most affected by rising food prices..During the past year (April 2021 to April 2022), the price of food rose by 9.7%..Canadians had to pay much more for basic food staples, such as fresh fruit (+10%), meat (+10.1%) and fresh vegetables (+8.2%)..We are being nickel and dimed to death, and our leadership is AWOL..If you're sitting at home and worried about fast-rising inflation and where this is all going, you are not alone..While highly-paid economists quoted by mainstream media will tell you unemployment is low, GDP growth is better than any other G7 nation and the economy is "in good shape," the fact remains, people are struggling to make ends meet as never before..None of those big statistics mean anything to them. They're shopping around, they're trying to find deals, they're trying to save money, but wherever they turn there seems to be a new hurdle, especially for young families..When the price of gasoline soared at the pumps, one economist bluntly said: "Do you want to drive, or do you want to eat?".Nice. Really nice..The cost of living seems to be on a hellish roller coaster, yet governments seem oblivious and unsympathetic, if not completely disconnected to the new reality..Case in point — I'm still trying to get my head around the six-figure bonus payment handed to Alberta's chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw..After all the pain, suffering and sacrifices made by Albertans during the COVID crisis, the government rewards itself? Disgusting on every level..Hinshaw received a bonus of almost $228,000 for COVID-19 work in 2021 — the highest such cash benefit payout to any provincial civil servant since the list went public six years ago..That figure, on top of her regular salary, put Hinshaw’s pay at more than $591,000..Outrageous ... and an insult to every Albertan..There is a great coach Punch Imlach story a friend of mine likes to tell..It was a night in Toronto where legendary goalie Johnny Bower played magnificently, stopping 30 some shots to basically win the game for the Leafs..In the post game interviews, one reporter asked coach Imlach what he thought of Johnny's performance — thinking he was going to laud the goalie and offer up a great quote.. Punch and JohnnyPunch and Johnny .Instead, Imlach, sporting his trademark hat, looked straight at the reporter and said: "He's paid to stop the puck.".Well, in my playbook, Hinshaw was paid to do her job..She wasn't an economics expert, a small business expert, a logistics expert, a power generation expert or an emergency response expert..She had literally no knowledge of how her opinions on COVID would affect people and jobs..And for this, she gets a bonus?.Folks, maybe it is time to start stocking up on beans and rice.
