Posts with the Peter Kent tag

Barris Beat

Through the fog of the Pickering Airport

Written by Ted Barris on . 4 Comments
Toronto Star photo of government ministers Murray, Flaherty, Kent and Alexander at photo op to announce expansion of Rouge Urban National Park… and, oh yes, an airport.

It happened one morning a couple of weeks ago. I was driving down Brock Road in the southbound rush-hour east of Toronto. In the stop-and-go-traffic just below the village of Brougham – near the intersection of Brock and Hwy 407 – I pulled up beside a pickup truck with a construction logo on the door. I had my window down. So did he.

“Construction season’s started, eh?” I said so the guy could hear me.

“Oh yeah,” he said and smiled. He seemed glad to be working.

“Big time 407 overpass?” I asked. (more…)

Barris Beat

Cuts more than skin deep

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
Parks Canada guide, Sylvie, greeted our tour group to Beaumont-Hamel, this past spring.

As we arrived, she emerged from the information pavilion. She wore her identifiable green uniform, complete with department identification and Maple Leaf insignia. She offered a warm welcome and explained she would be our guide for the next half-hour. She was a long way from home, but made us feel as if we had never left Canada.

“Welcome to the Beaumont-Hamel National Historic Site,” the young woman said. I learned later her name was Sylvie, a student from Winnipeg, and that she was employed for several months by Parks Canada to guide visitors around the site.

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