Well the results are in. Tony Clement, the self-described "guy who will make the decision," (right Tony) gave us a definite maybe with that potash dealy, thinganamajig. That's the best we can expect, I suspect. After all, we're dealing with politicians here, so don't get too excited.
The sale is definitely off, said Tony at least for another 20 days. Then maybe it'll still be off, maybe not, but then on the other hand I know, it makes me tired too!
Hey, it's a good week so far, no Wikileaks about what happened to the four of us who forgot to go home from Theodore after playing a high school baseball game back in the day before Wikileaks or Wikianything. So Wikileaks doesn't know everything about everybody after all.
As the old saying goes, What happened in Theodore, stays in Theodore. You'd be surprised at what goes on in East Central Saskatchewan when you're not there to witness it first-hand.
Hey, it wasn't that bad folks, we only got a two-day suspension from school and no fine at all from the commissioner. And I've said all I'm going to say on that subject.
The point is, it must be so much more difficult for young people to get away with anything on the "not advisable" list these days. How long will it be before parents start to implant GPS tracking devices in their youths?
Cell phones, tweets, twitters and texting is bad enough. I mean a kid can't even make up the excuse that he or she wasn't near a telephone, so they couldn't call home. That used to be our good old reliable getaway excuse. No longer valid. But I'm sure the young people of today are still pretty inventive when it comes to making up phony excuses for not showing up at appointed times. They know how to trump technology with more technology.
And while I'm on the subject of keeping secrets and showing responsibility, I learned just last week that after those Swiss banks started the process of releasing information to other governments, Canada has recovered nearly $1 billion from previously unrecorded income from the rich folks who thought they had their fortunes tucked away in a secret bank account in the Alps. Ooops on that one folks. To date just two Swiss banks have agreed to release requested information.
So far this year, there has been another $65 million recovered by the Canadian taxman on previously unreported incomes from 83 account holders. Up until now the Canadian Revenue Agency, or whatever handle they're going by this year, has allowed the Canadians who have squirreled their money away in Switzerland to simply pay up without further penalties. They're letting them get away with the old, "whoops, I guess I just forgot about that $33 million I had over there." But that voluntary honeymoon will end soon.
Apparently there is another $32 million coming in soon from 124 audited files and $138 million from about 3,000 account holders who came forward voluntarily in 2009 once they realized the "jig was up."
That should mean no income tax increases for you and me, thanks to that $1 billion plus that the tax cheaters are now going to chip in to the Canadian coffers on our behalf. That's nice of them.
I'd just like Revenue Canada to know that what went on in Theodore back then had nothing to do with private credit union accounts.
But we did have a lot of fun! But that's all I'm going to say about that!
If anyone who has ever lived in Theodore, Saskatchewan would like to contact Park, he's listed in the regular phone book or at normpark@estevanmercury.ca
He does not subscribe to Wikileaks, Wikipedia, or wicka witch networks.
