Within the span of one week I've had the opportunity to 'meet and greet' in B.C., Ontario and Nova Scotia.

OK, I won't try to make like I've talked to every soul in those three provinces or that I'm on top of every issue in every place. However I can give you a bit of a flavour from each region.

In Vancouver I announced a $100 million (!) program which will radically enhance environmental research in the forestry sector.

I put an exclamation mark (!) after the 100 million because I think that's a pile of money.

The announcement at UBC was attended by research scientists along with some of the leading minds on the planet
in this area of enviro expertise.

I guess I figured because of the magnitude of the bank roll and brain power on site the media would be all over this event.

I figured wrong. Very little reporting of the issue. Guess I should have put in the news release that some of the high tech paper that would come from these new processes might be used in the long form census.

(At least that way we might have had some media interest.)

Later in the week, in Ottawa for 3 days of Cabinet and Caucus, there was an opportunity to hear from MPs across Canada.

The issues that were resonating in their ridings had similarities from BC to Atlantic Canada. Sure there were specific items unique to some regions, but the overall theme was similar.

The local economies generally seemed to be doing fairly well. People were feeling like things had stabilized since last year and were improving.

One of the encouraging reports which had similarities in most provinces was that government should stay the course. MPs said that most of the people they were talking to at home were aware we are on track to a balanced budget and want it to stay that way.

In Halifax at an economic roundtable and in Bridgewater at a Chamber of Commerce, the sentiments were the same.
Stay on track. Keep government spending down, keep taxes down.

And those comments were coming from a broad cross section of the Atlantic community, which has seen job growth but not as strongly as in other parts of the nation.

And most Nova Scotians aren't too happy with the fact that the provincial government has just jacked up the provincial portion of the HST so that it’s now 15 per cent.

Add to that the Ferry from Yarmouth to the USA has just been shut down.

That's something like cancelling the route from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo. Not pretty.

In spite of all that, the message generally here is still keep spending down and taxes down and balance that budget.

On a non-policy item, I ran into a guy in Halifax who had been transferred there from BC. I asked him how he liked it in Nova Scotia. He said he's enjoying life overall, but sure misses those oversized Okanagan cherries and peaches.

I agreed, but reminded him that the lobster and scallops in Skaha or Douglas Lake don't exactly match what you can get in Yarmouth or Digby.

I'll be back in the constit later this week, so call the office during regular hours if you need a time to get together.

(Sorry I won't be available on Saturday 'cuz I'll be taking a break over the weekend on a houseboat at Mara.) I'll be the guy on the top deck in the hot tub with my grandkids. Wave if you go by. Cheers!