METANOIAFebruary/March 2012 Edition

Pepe SernaActor, Artist & Motivational Speaker

The Scarface Anniversary

what it was like on set

2 METANOIA

PUBLISHERS

COPY CHIEF

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

PHOTO ARCHIVIST

CONTRIBUTORS

METANOIAEXECUTIVE AND STAFF

METANOIA MAGAZINE is a publication of METANOIA CONCEPTS INC. For questions, comments, or advertising contact by

Phone: 604 538 8837, Email: metanoiamagazine@gmail.com, Mail: 3566 King George Blvd, Surrey, BC, Canada, V4P 1B5

SALME JOHANNES LEIS & ALLISON PATTON

CALEB NG

JR LEIS AND HEINO LEIS

DAL FLEISCHER

DAN DENIS

GALINA BOGATCH

A very special thanks to Dan Denis, Photographer

Pepe Serna photos; Courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment

(permission to use photographs and screen shots)

The Magazine That Makes You Think

Hank LeisSalme LeisChris MacClureSeth MeltzerCaleb NgJanice OleandrosAllison PattonCara RothKaela Scott

Maureen BaderAlex Barberis

Andy Belanger Donald J. Boudreaux

Tim BrownBrian Croft

Miki DawsonCheryl Gauld

Marilyn Hurst

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METANOIAPepe Serna

Butterfly Castle

Speech by John Martin

Christine Clarke

Women Who Breakthrough to Leadership

Canadian Artist, Brian Croft

Action Investment Network

A New Treatment for Chronic Pain

The Rant

Award Winning Essay

The Lobby Work of Dr. Ng

Boudreaux

CONTENTS

81618212226303235363738

The Magazine That Makes You Think

Scarface

Story of a mom

BC Conservative Candidate, Chilliwack-Hope

Fiscal Responsibility

Glass Ceilings, Brick Walls and Leaky Buckets

Painting the History of Vancouver and BC

Seth Talks about Real Estate Investing

The New Pain Zealand Liftoff Technique

The Meaning of Life

Root Cause, Totality and Naturopathic Medicine

Meeting with Gordon Hogg, MLA

Libertarians

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There is something remarkable in watching an actor

get into character. I witnessed such transformation once

with Pepe Serma, while having lunch with him in a

Corpus Christi restaurant named after him (Pepe’s). At

one moment I was having a casual talk with a friend, the

next with a total stranger. When the movie production

company came to Corpus Christi to film the movie Selena

(story about the pop star “Selena” who was murdered by

her manager in Corpus Christi) Pepe introduced me to

Edward James Olmos (who played Selena’s father) who

then in turn introduced me to Jennifer Lopez (who played

Selena).

Those were exciting times. I got to hang out with the

“stars” and introduce them to people I knew. As well I got

to visit the real home where the real Selena actually grew

up.

Our feature story is Pepe Serna. His long career as an

actor includes the classic “Scarface” when he dies by being

cut up with a chain saw. He also played Zabado a detective

in the T.V. series “Miami Vice”. His good friend Edward

James Olmos played the dower and dark police lieutenant

in the same series (for which he won two Golden Globe

awards and an Emmy). Pepe Serna has appeared in over

100 feature films and 300 television shows; he is currently

teaching and doing acting seminars. Serna has been

honoured by the Screen Actors Guild Achievement Award,

the League of United Latin American Citizens and the

Estrella Award for Arts and Culture.

There are a number of famous entertainers from Corpus

Christie, Texas. Farrah Fawcett who attended the same

school as Pepe Serna was one of them. Others include

Barbara Barrie, Eva Longoria, Lou Diamond Phillips,

Santiago Villalobos and more.

Butterfly Castle is a beautiful story about a White Rock

B.C. writer. It is a personal story about growing up and

becoming a mom.

As well there are articles on two candidates who are

running for office in the emerging British Columbia

Conservative Party.

Seth Meltzer, from Albany N.Y. begins his saga as an

entrepreneur. He will be writing about his progress as a real

estate empire builder in future editions of the magazine.

The rest you’ll have to read about.

Thank you to the Surrey Foundation for the work they do in our community. I support the Surrey Foundation because of their commitment to helping local charities through their grants program. Instead of attending a gala this evening, I’m going to relax at home with my family.

Dianne WattsMayor of Surrey

Tickets on sale now to not attend from February 15–29

GO ONLINE www.noshowgala.org 604 591 2699

Galathe one you don’t need to attend

PROJECT Surrey FoundationDATE February 6, 2012 12:43 PMFILE NAME 110201_SFGala_SurreyNowPUBLICATION Surrey Now NewspapersFILE SIZE 3x7 (5.083 in x 6.917 in) • Document page 1COLOUR 4C C M Y K

14983 Southmere Place, Surrey, BC, Canada V4A 6P8 TEL 778.238.7097 • FAX 604.538.7097EMAIL jan@perrierdesign.com • www.perrierdesign.com

Date: Sunday March 18th 2012 Time: 10am-7pm

Location: Moutainview Wellness Center 3566 King George Blvd, Surrey Price: $162 (includes taxes); full payment due upon registration. Register by calling 604 538 8837.

About the Workshop Facilitator: Dr. Alexina Mehta is a Naturopathic Doctor in Vancouver and is also trained in Energy Medicine through the Four Winds Energy Medicine Institute where she also works as a Teaching assistant. She is one of the certified Dying Consciously teachers, and has worked with the dying for several years in various domains. She is passionate about bringing awareness, peace, empowerment and gratitude to the process of dying. Read more about Dr. Alexina Mehta at: www.dralexinamehta.com

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as we did in the movie. But we are all still here and working. Who would believe that we would be celebrating a film that we were involved in 30 years ago that is relevant today and still stirs audiences. Thanks to periodic revivals in movie houses, TV, cable, video cassettes and now DVD and blu ray, Scarface is a film that is unprecedented in recent movie history in that it has become popular with each succeeding generation.

Of the more than 70 movies I have done, Scarface is the one that people ask me about the most. Let’s not forget that the screenplay was written by Oliver Stone and directed by Brian De Palma. The cameraman was the great John Alonzo.

Al hung out with us and then threw a party so that we could bond as actors and friends. This was done so that our relationships would come across on screen and so it did.

We shot the chainsaw sequence at a motel in the then deteriorating South Beach section of Miami, Florida. It is now a trendy area and the motel was converted into an office complex. The actual interior of the motel room was built on a soundstage at Universal Studios in Hollywood. It took two days to film the scene and weeks ahead, the special effects team had to make several molds of my arm. They attached a hose to the fake arm so it would splatter blood when the chainsaw made contact with the arm.

First time they previewed the film in Boston and they showed my death sequence with the chainsaw, blood spurting and my arm dangling it disturbed the audience so much that the film was going to be rated X. They had to trim the scene in editing so it would not be so graphic in order to keep an R rating. Even so, the scene is still impactful.

Scarface was a unique and powerful movie. It was arguably the start of the idolization of gangster culture. It took the perspective of the gangster, making it relatable and interesting. What does Scarface mean to you? How was it to play a character that came to such a bloody end?

To be correct, gangster culture has been with us since the time of Al Capone in the 1920’s and before. Scarface was a remake of a 1930’s movie that told the same story except that the immigrants were Italians instead of Cubans and it took place during Prohibition and alcohol while ours was cocaine.

Since its initial release in the 80’s, Scarface became really part of urban hip hop culture. However, in reality Scarface is part of “The American Dream” gone awry. A story of an immigrant of poor means who makes it in America, a success story that most of the world can relate to.

My character, Angel was part of Tony Montana’s possé who came over to the USA from Cuba and shared the criminal excess and success and was willing to lay his life on the line for Tony.

The fact that Tony could not help him in his hour of need perhaps was a bummer for Angel who probably until that moment, did not fully realize how viscious and dangerous their criminal enterprise had become. I was happy to have auditioned and been offered the role.

You recently had a reunion with the other actors of Scarface to celebrate the Blu-ray release. What was it like catching up with the other actors? Could you give us a sneak peak into what it was like behind the scenes of Scarface?

It was fun seeing Al, Robert Loggia, Stephen Baur, F. Murray Abraham and Angel Salazar. We sure as hell did not look as young

P e p e Serna

SCARFACE

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“Who would believe that we would be celebrating a film that we were in 30 years ago that is relevant today and still stirs audiences”

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you tear up the canvas and begin again; a motion picture, not so. If it doesn’t work, you’re stuck with it and a possible loss of millions of dollars. Careers and reputations are aff ected. In painting you are the writer, the director, actors, everything. It is totally like music, almost improvisational.

Making a movie is often about emotion and making a character believable and relatable. How do you fi nd the connection between yourself and your character? What do you fi nd useful in the discovery of a character?

In one of my fi rst fi lms, Raices De Sangre written and directed by Jesus Trevino, I played a young union organizer who worked along the Texas/Mexico border who tried to unite Mexican-American textile workers against unfair labor practices and abuse. It was fi lmed during the height of the Chicano Civil Rights movement in the 70’s. Being Mexican-American and from Corpus Christi, Texas, I related totally to the story and could easily put myself in the characters’ mindset. In another fi lm, Red Sky at Morning, I played a kid from a barrio in Santa Fe who faced prejudice during the 1940’s.

In other words you fi nd what is similar and what is diff erent from you in the character and try to fi nd the humanity. You look at things from that character’s point of view in relation to the story and start building from there. You use your body as an instrument to develop character through movement, body language, dialogue and wardrobe

What do you think makes a good actor?

A good actor is someone who comes prepared to work. He knows his lines and what needs to be done; the actor confers with the director and the other actors. He is able to listen and react to the scene and knows how to work in the diff erent media be it, fi lm, stage or television and what is required technically, emotionally and physically.

The main thing is keeping it real to serve the story and the audience.

What do you fi nd to be the most satisfying part of the fi lm process?

When your agent calls you to tell you that you have the role. I like working with the other actors and making it a team eff ort, the camaraderie among us. The process of making the story and characters come to life to the satisfaction of the director.

What is your most coveted role? Is there a character you have always desired to play?

My most coveted role is the one that I am playing at the time. Next, I have an important role in a new movie, that starts shooting in the spring, Snake in a Bottle, a psychological thriller in which I play a world weary middle aged traveler who fi nds himself down on his luck and disrupts the lives of a young married couple.

When discovering a character and developing into the psyche of the role you have played, do you ever fi nd that the role has changed you?

It never really changes me, it puts me in touch with a part of me that I have not experienced. I am an improvisational actor and that is important. You are trained to go with your gut feeling and organically the character comes to life. You are open to letting the experience happen and reacting to it.

One of my favorite characters is a zany but warm, comical character I developed out of a fi lm I did with comedian Paul Rodriquez called, A Million to Juan, in which I played a Hindustani-American inconvenient, convenience store owner. Audiences

Looking at your pictures you have worked with many other famous faces, which of these actors stands out to you the most, and what have you brought forward with you from your experiences with diff erent fi lms and diff erent actors?

I was one of the last actors to be put under contract at Universal Studios under the old studio contract player system actors would be paid a weekly salary to work for one studio in many types of roles in diverse fi lms for an agreed period of time. It allowed for the emergence of such stars as Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson, and Clint Eastwood to name just a few. I was discovered by the legendary producer of Casablanca, Hal B. Wallis. He also discovered such stars as Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas and gave Elvis his fi rst fi lm break, so I fi gured he knew what he was doing.

I was privileged and lucky to act opposite Oscar winner Gregory Peck in a western Shootout, in which I menaced him as an outlaw. Early in my career, I worked with Oscar winning director John Schlesinger in Day of the Locust, and Oscar winning writer Dalton Trumbo in Johnny Got His Gun. I learned a lot about acting and moviemaking from them. You learn something from each fi lm for diff erent reasons.

Of course, Al Pacino in Scarface. I was part of the great ensemble cast of the classic Car Wash which included Richard Pryor. Speaking of comedians, I worked with Steve Martin in The Jerk, and most recently Eddie Murphy where I supplied the voice of Sanchez in the irreverent Claymation TV series The PJ’ s. I played Scruff y the cowboy in Lawrence Kasdan’s super Western Silverado with Kevin Costner and Danny Glover. In The Rookie I played Clint Eastwood’s police captain. Charlie Sheen was also in that one. Present day superstar Jennifer Lopez played my daughter in her fi rst television series role. It was a short lived series in which I co-starred called Hotel Malibu. Jennifer was unknown then, but even so, I could tell she had the drive and the ambition as well as the talent and beauty to succeed.

I have also had the wonderful opportunity to work with my dear friend and fellow actor, Edward James Olmos, in two fi lms, The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez in which I played his brother and American Me. We initially became friends more than thirty years ago when we worked together during the fi rst stage production of Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit. With Eddie it is easy and fun because we trust each other and have developed a short hand through the years in which we know what is demanded of us by the script and of each other. We have also done several TV projects together. Eddie and I played boyhood friends in American Me, who wind up in prison. While incarcerated, Olmos becomes the head of the Mexican Mafi a and in a hostile takeover, I betray and viciously stab him to death at the end of the movie in yet another memorable fi lm that like Scarface, was ahead of its time and only now is becoming fully appreciated.

The beauty of creating is always about seeing the fi nished product. Do you fi nd the process of painting diff erent from fi lm? How does the process diff er?

In fi lm you have a script and a vision that is fashioned by the director with actors and a team of talented artists and technicians. Painting you are all alone with your vision. You paint on a canvas and you go about realizing what you feel is in your head. Either you paint from life as is, let your imagination go, or you realize your interpretation, using colors, brushes and lines. You rely totally on yourself.

It’s only you and your canvas, not a crew of 150 people, millions of dollars, time and money at stake. If you don’t like the painting

METANOIA 11

love that character and I have made him part of my touring one man show.

In your business a key element is what people think of you. First with the auditioning process and last with the role completed and up there for eternity on celluloid. From any person’s standpoint, judgment can be diffi cult. How have you learned to deal with that as an actor?

On fi lm, once you do the role, you have to depend on the director, the lighting, the editing; things are out of your control. You are immediately judged by the director who has cast you and you want to give him what he wants. Sometimes you are so into the process you can’t really judge your work until you step back, perhaps years later and able to view it somewhat objectively from the vantage point of time past.

On stage, you have the opportunity to develop a character and change it a little to improve it as you go along. You have communicated with the audience and they will tell you what works emotionally. Once you have fi nished your performance run, that’s it. It’s over. The moment in the theatre is gone and lives on in the memory of those who experienced it.

It is better to be hated for who you are, than loved for who you are not.

Texas has been a sort of epicenter in your life and career. What does it mean to you to be a Texan?

Texas has that cowboy spirit and that Western culture that is bigger than life. There is that Tex-Mex cross-cultural history and infl uence, along with Southwest hospitality and cuisine that is all a part of my upbringing.

You have family and friends in Corpus Christi. What involvement do you have with the people in the community where you grew up?

I have made returning to Corpus an integral part of my life.

The involvement that I have is going back and motivating kids to be all you can be by sharing with them all my life experiences from somebody that grew up on the same streets. I travelled with the Chamber of Commerce to Washington, D.C. to promote the city and be an integral part of its growth and to support and encourage the arts on a local level. The city has been a diamond in the rough and the future is bright with growth through tourism. I have also been involved with Martin Middle School, and Artists in Residence program with Dr. Ralph Silva. I have been working with Dr. Mary Jane Garza. She is the chair of the Hispanic Women’s Network as well as the local chapter president in Corpus. I was the original poster boy for The Boys and Girls Club.

There are a number of well-known actors that have connections to Corpus Christi (Lou Diamond Philip, Eva Longoria, and the late Farrah Fawcett etc.) What do you think it is about Corpus Christi that produces so much talent?

That is just the actors, but there are a lot of talented musicians as well. There are talented artists in every corner of the world. It is just the luck of the draw. The support one gets from family. That’s why I go back. That is what I’ve learned.

Georgia O’Keeff e once said, “ I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way- things I had no words for.”

As hard as it is to articulate the ideas and the inspirations behind what has resulted from a creative endeavor such as

painting, could you tell us what your art represents to you?

It refl ects me, my personality, what I love and who I am and where I come from and perhaps where I am going or moving onto... Celebrating life through the use of bold primary colors is an artistic self- awareness I can share with others.

Motivational speaking can have a profound eff ect on the people you are speaking too. It has the power to change lives and set people up for a whole new way of thinking. In what way does your speaking teach your students and what has it given back to you?

Motivational speaking and improvisational workshops that I run empower participants to speak up and hear their inner voice out loud, to stand up and be counted. I call the workshops break-through improv.

After they participate in my workshop and hear one of my motivational talks, the kids are “Pepefi ed” and “Sernafi ed”, words that were coined by one of the the school Principals.

Pepe is energy, Pepe is lots of energy, and motivation comes from within. Open up their own path, so that kids can tap into their own energy. Enthusiasm from the Greek theo “god within,’ the kids were “Pepefi ed”.

The only way “in” (gaining access to success) as opposed to “out” is through education and the way it aff ects me is I have to read constantly and re-educate myself so that I can practice what I preach.

I make up diverse games for the children, starting with self- identity so they can enunciate their names loud and clear. That way they empower themselves. It leads to confi dence and stimulating thought processes. It creates ideas in an exciting environment that are easily communicated.

What are the most signifi cant and notable changes that have made in your life? And why did you make them?

The biggest change came when I started reading more so that I could give more information to adults and students. I must admit I was not an avid reader in school. The more you realize how much you learn and it impacts your own life. Being from Texas I like the Rancher mentality. Sick or not you have to go out and do your chores, cattle have to be rounded up, horses fed etc. We’ve gotten lazy in this society and we have to learn to be responsible.

In leaving Corpus Christi to pursue my career, Corpus never left me even though I left to pursue my dreams but my dreams still lives in Corpus.

I was born at the naval base and drank from the fountain of happiness. Anything I ever did, I had more energy than anybody else. Since I was a child, I had a gift that encouraged people to have people try things and not be embarrassed. And they go for it.

I did not have children of my own, so all these students I work with are like my own children. If I can make it, so can they. If the children and adults see me on the screen or on television or in person, they know that they can do it too, whatever their chosen fi eld of endeavor. Through this sharing and learning experience, I can create more dreams for others that can become a reality.

For artwork, classes or news on Pepe Serna please visit http://www.pepeserna.com/

Edward James Olmos, Tony Orlando

Tony Nomination for Zoot Suite with Edward James Olmos, Mike Gomez, Pepe Serna, and Danny Valdez - 1978

At the 10th Annual Nostros Golden Eagle Awards with Edward James Olmos- 1980

On the set of “The Jerk”

On the set of TJ Hooker with Heather Locklear - 1995

In “The Jerk” with Steve Martin - 1979

On the set of “The Brave” - written and directed by Johnny Depp

“In Painting you are the writer, the director, actors, everything. It is totally like music, almost improvisational.”

Pepe Sernaartist, actor and motivational speaker

14 METANOIA

In “The Jerk” with Trinidad Silva - 1979

With Don Johnson on the set of Miami Vice - 1984

With Anthony Quinn - Pepe was the MC at the opening of the Nostros Theatre in 1979

With Chevy Chase in Deal of the Century - 1983

With Katherine Bach of the Dukes of Hazaards at the 18th Annual Nostros Golden Eagle Awards

With Jennifer Lopez in Second Chances at Hotel Malibu

On the set of Inside Moves with Academy Award winner Harold Russell and John Hancock

With Lou Gossette Jr. and Madaline Smith Osborne in Sadat

Zoot Suit with Mike Gomez, Sheila Lankan, and Christina Avalon - 1978

The gang from the (left to right): Trinidad Silva, Director Robert Collins, Robby Benson, Pepa Serna & Domingo Ambritz

METANOIA 15With Bill Paxton on the set of Miami Vice - 1986

With Al Pacino in Scarface

With Edward James Olmos On the cover of TV Guide in Sequin with A. Martinez, Enrique Castillo and Danny de la Paz - 1980

With Oscar Chavez in Break of Dawn - 1989

Pepe Serna with Ann Serna- on December 24, 1970 - on their wedding day

Returning home after a seven year absence, gallo (Pepe Serna) embraces his wife, Juana (Evellina Fernandez)

Members of the eMe in prison. Top row:(Daniel A Haro) Mundo (Pepe Serna), Pinface(Domingo Ambriz), JD (William Forsythe), Cheetah (Vic Trevinp), Little Puppet ( Daniel Villareal), Puppet (Danny De La Paz), Santana (Edward James Olmos)

Top: Youung Santana (Panchito Gomez), Young Mundo (Richard Coca) & Young JD (Steve Wilcox).

Bottom: Santana (Edward James Olmos), Munda (Pepe Serna) & JD (William Forsythe).

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My first memory after being adopted from Korea on our family farm begins on Christmas Day. I was two months from my 3rd birthday and only a few days new to Canada. In my pajamas I am quietly playing with a tea set sitting on a small table to the right of a large black organ. There is a lot of activity in the background and a room full of words that sound like noise. I am warm and content playing with tiny cups.

Since that first Christmas Day, there are reels of memories I have stored that include frogs and snakes, picking flowers, climbing trees and cliffs, exploring the beach, the kitchen with my mom, brothers bugging me, Mr. Dress Up, and thoughts of how much I loved my mom.

My mom probably never knew what to expect when I’d walk back into the house after playing outside, oftentimes blood, bruises, burs, bites, rashes, sand and mud, a jar of worms, an injured butterfly. It was rare to get a reaction out of my mom. Usually I was greeted with a smile and her sweet voice, maybe raised eyebrows oftentimes gently stripped of my dirty clothes as she returned to pies and potatoes. She was always working. She has always been the rock in my family, steady and calm. My mom taught me so many things that have become a part of me, most importantly unconditional love.

My dad is the genius and comic relief of my family. He had his flaws, which in my books outweighed his love. Some say people can’t change, but I’ve witnessed my dad transform over the years. So I’ll be one of those few who believe there is a cocoon of hope in all of us.

My favourite times were spent outdoors on our beloved farm, surrounded by open spaces, water and many forms of nature. Every square inch of the farm where I grew up holds a memory of adventure, solitude, discovery, and imagination. At this time of my childhood I recall loving and appreciating myself. My perspective about the world around me was full of love, wisdom, and clarity. In my bare feet and bows, I saw life in a magical way.

This existence of innocence is fragile. Before my 10th birthday life got complicated as it often does and I spent the next several chapters of my life trying to find that place I knew so well as a little girl. Part of my way of coping was to become a perfectionist. I have come to realize perfectionism is an addiction and not much fun. It is a tool to be used in order to avoid what seems too uncomfortable and too scary to face. It’s a way to control what seems manageable when other life events seem uncontrollable. Addiction creates a space.

When I thought some situation, conflict, confrontation, family gathering, loss, pain, boredom, disappointment, and heartbreak was too much to handle, I would turn to Perfection, something I could control. Traditionally people associate addiction with

The BuTTerfly CasTleWhere roCks and Wings reside

a children’s story written and illustrated by a mom (available at Black Bond Books and Mountainview)

Pictured from L to R is Dr. Allison Patton, Miki Dawson, and Salme Leis

METANOIA 17

substances, but it’s been my discovery that a person can be addicted to anything. It’s so easy to forget how powerful we are. It became my journey to remember.

Then I had a child. There is no room for perfectionism when it comes to parenthood. Instead I decided to choose sanity and again search for self-love and awareness. Not a simple trip, but rather a fun and bumpy ride. Like the time I gave my son a very bad haircut, very bad…landing strip on the side of his head bad. It left us both in tears. His hair grew back, he didn’t stop loving me and to this day he still lets me cut it. We survived.

My son and I have survived harder times. I’ve been humbled by need; a week at a women’s shelter before my son’s first birthday, supplies from the Food Bank for a couple of months, being adopted anonymously by a family the first Christmas on our own. We slept in five different places in five months before we found a place to call home. It broke my heart some moments, but I realized as I looked at my son that he seemed ok.

I allowed myself to become unhinged occasionally with my son and it only made him more compassionate and sensitive. I still remember the first time he gently wiped away a tear one evening and asked, “Momma, are you crying?” He was only one. Tears say what is too difficult to put into words. Rain will loosen the ground when it has become too hard. Tears will do the same thing for a person.

Especially since my son has been born, after benefiting from charities, services, family, friends, and strangers, I have become profoundly thankful…for

everything. I realize we are doing our best even when our best seems lousy. I appreciate every place, every person and every experience I have had. They can all teach us about ourselves if we’re open. Non-judgment and gratitude have been valuable tools in healing.

Often people believe that if you have children, you must love them more than yourself. You must put their needs above your own. I have come to understand that it is both. I have learned to be a much better parent to my son when I’m taking care of myself, my whole self. Exercising, eating consciously, sleep, adult friendships and solitude seem optional (sometimes impossible) and unconnected to successful parenthood, but they’re deeply woven.

Occasionally, it’s important to look to the past to appreciate the present. My son and I have traveled far to reach this place that is Today. I am proud of both of us. I try to be as open and honest with him as possible without burdening him. It is a fine balancing act. I have become a fine-tuned juggler of judgment.

I realize it is tempting for children to tell a lie to preserve a perception of perfection a parent might hold. It is also tempting to lie to a child in the name of protection or to preserve an illusion of perfection as a parent. This is why dropping the need for perfection is so important. I want my son to be real with me. I want to be real with myself. The idea of controlling something or someone is not real. It is an illusion.

It has been through my search for love and transformation that the story of The Butterfly Castle was born. These are the gifts I have wanted to give to my son. In some miraculous way, I was able to write a story that captured several universal themes which is why it is a story for anyone…everyone.

After three years on the shelf, I realized the messages within the pages of this story were too important not to share with others. Since self-publishing my book this summer, I have been blessed with stories from others about how this simple gift to my son has touched their lives. It is a story that takes me to a time from bare feet and bows to bills and a little boy and all the magical places in between.

Through loving my son, I am finding love for myself again. I am his rock. He is a butterfly. He is my rock. I am a butterfly. The Butterfly Castle is about believing, friendship, wisdom, transformation, miracles, peace, integrity, respect, and the kind of love that gives freedom not confinement, where rocks and wings are

equally important.

I am of the Universe, but I also consider myself of this community in White Rock, B.C., as I am also part of the community in Chatham-Kent, Ontario where I grew up, where I still keep in touch with friends and my family. I believe in supporting local businesses and individuals. I will vote for my friends in a civic election (because I believe in what they represent), I will shop locally (because I believe in the people and the service and product), and I will buy quality over quantity.

It seems you pay more to buy locally and independently, but I believe you get what you pay for most of the time. It is difficult because we are taught to want more than we need. I’m trying to teach my son the values I learned from the rural community where I grew up, where neighbours helped you out of a ditch with their tractor, there is a church full of people showing their support when your oldest brother is killed in a car accident, prayers are said aloud during a church service for someone who is ill, people genuinely care.

I believe I am a baby in this community of White Rock, but already I have been greeted with support from strangers, love from new faces, and inspiration in the landscape. I have been drawn to the waters and the people of this small city. It is our home. Always, I am close to the neighbours, my friends and my family in Ontario as well. My heart resides in both places and if I had ashes to scatter, they would be spread over the waters of Semiahmoo Bay and Lake Erie, my two closest confidants over the years.

I may not always be an author but I will always be a mom…and so much more. Please enjoy the story that was inspired by the love for my son and the love for myself.

Miki Dawson is a single mother in White Rock who attributes her success to her son and who’s story is inspired by true life and love.

Author Miki Dawson dedicates her book, The Butterfly Castle, to her son, Kalyb

18 METANOIA

treated like a 24 hour ATM machine the government can hit up anytime it chooses to.

Everything costs more under this administration. Medical premiums, ICBC, BC Hydro, Carbon Tax, Gas Tax. The list goes on and on. It just doesn’t end.

And now they want to give the go ahead to burn Vancouver’s garbage in our backyard. I assure you, if the Liberals were to win this byelection it would be a clear signal to this government they can do anything they want and get away with.

We are on the verge of having 2500 criminal charges thrown out of court because this government won’t hire the required number of sheriffs, prosecutors and judges it takes to run the criminal justice system.

Charges are routinely dismissed and even child molesters are able to stay out of jail as they plea bargain for a stint of house arrest in return for a guilty plea. This is all a consequence of underfunding criminal justice and putting British Columbians at risk.

But it seems there’s no shortage of funds to keep hiring the Premier’s pals and keep the gravy train rolling along for cronies and insiders.

Every other jurisdiction that brought in the HST did so in an open and honest manner. Not this government. The contempt and disregard they have for the people of British Columbia is absolutely shameful.

There’s probably no area where this government fails more miserably than the leadership department. Even on something as important and vital to this province’s future as the northern pipeline, this government refuses to take a stand one way or the other.

Preferring instead to let the pollsters and spin doctors report back with their determination of the most politically advantageous position to adopt.

Can anyone, even in the Liberal caucus, honestly say with a straight face that this government deserves another term? That this government has earned a fourth mandate?

From L to R Salme Leis, Secretary for White Rock-Surrey CA; John Cummins, Leader of the BC Conservative Party and his wife, Sue Cummins; and Dr. Allison Patton, President for White Rock-Surrey CA.

Speech by John Martin

January 24, 2012

Do you get the feeling there’s something really big going on here tonight?

It sure is a pleasant feeling being in a room full of conservatives.

Having the opportunity to represent the BC Conservatives in the upcoming byelection is an honour and a privilege. It is not something I take lightly.

We are on the verge of shaking up the political landscape in a manner that has not happened for many, many years. Winds of change are in the air.

This great province is at a crossroads. Simply put, we can not continue down the road we’ve been on.

Both the NDP and the Liberals believe they have the moral authority to continue to spend money that has yet to be earned by a generation that has yet to be born.

For too long British Columbians have been forced to choose between two parties addicted to debt, addicted to spending and addicted to endless growth in the size of government.

The people who work hard, pay their taxes and play by the rules are being

Of course they haven’t. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Even their wildest supporters can’t bring themselves to actually say that.

No. Fear of an NDP government is all they have to campaign on. “The NDP is even worse than we are so settle for us” “Sure we’ve mishandled the economy and can’t be trusted – but you don’t want the NDP do you?” That’s it? That’s all they’ve got?

How truly tragic that this is the most inspiring, positive thing they can say about their record. After more than ten years, all they can offer voters is fearmongering.

So allow me to speak for a moment about that elephant in the room. Splitting the vote. I can tell you, if I get a vote for everytime I’m asked about splitting the vote, we win this in a landslide!

It was a short while ago in 2010 the BC Conservatives didn’t have a leader. We had very little money. And we were barely registering in the polls.

Yet the Liberals fell 25 points behind the NDP. Twenty-Five points! Had an election been underway the NDP would have easily won 70 or more seats.

This government has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt, they are fully capable of handing the reigns of power over to the NDP without us.

We’re not splitting the vote. This government has lost the vote.

John Martin - Candidate for the Chilliwack-Hope Riding for the BC Conservatives

METANOIA 19

Clearly, the Liberals have squandered all that trust and confidence British Columbians put in them when they won 77of 79 seats. And now they actually have the audacity to blame us for their falling numbers. Maybe they should blame us for the lousy weather while they’re at it!

This government actually believes that anyone who isn’t an NDP supporter owes them their vote. It’s that type of attitude that confirms this is now a genuine, bonafide Big L Liberal Party with arrogance to spare.

But despite the Liberals being in freefall and fast on their way to irrelevancy, there is one reason, and one reason only why the NDP will not form government in 2013.

And that reason is John Cummins and the BC Conservatives!

People have been longing for a viable alternative in the province.

And now they have one.

I did not put my name forward to wave the flag, fight the good fight or finish second.

We can win in Chilliwack-Hope. It will involve a lot of work. But we absolutely can win this riding.

The NDP will be out in full force. They believe they have a real shot at government in 2013, having convinced themselves no one in the province remembers the carnage and wreckage they left behind in the 90s.

The Liberals are panicking and will be desperate. They are a spent party fresh out of ideas. They are rudderless and have no concerns other than desperately clinging to power.

Unable to defend a legacy of scandal, deception, and arrogance, they will go negative the day the writ is dropped. They have no option. What else can one do when tasked with defending their record?

But it won’t work. The people of Chilliwack-Hope have a golden opportunity to send a message to this government. A message that it is simply too expensive living under this administration.

A message that nickel and diming us to the poor house is no way to run Beautiful British Columbia.

A message that we deserve better. A message that we CAN do better.

Finally, there is the Conservative option. A common sense, responsible option that vows to treat all British Columbians with respect rather than pander to the special interests of corporate and union donors.

An option that vows to represent all British Columbians. Not just cronies, insiders, lobbyists and party hacks.

An option that vows to treat tax dollars with respect and get spending under control.

In John Cummins we have a leader who has always put his constituents ahead of party interests. Even ahead of his own self-interest and career.

His actions have always been based on conviction and standing up for what’s right – not polls and political expediency.

And I assure you, I would not be speaking to you tonight as the nominee if I wasn’t convinced beyond any shadow of a doubt that he will expect nothing less of his MLAs.

Thank you.

Good night.

From L to R Dr. Allison Patton, President of the White Rock-Surrey CA; John Martin, candidate for Chilliwack-Hope; and Salme Leis, Secretary for White Rock-Surrey CA.

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METANOIA 21

Premier Clark and the Minister of Finance have been telling you that we in British Columbia pay the lowest taxes in the country.

This is simply inaccurate and misleading. When you look at the total taxes and fees that British Columbians pay you fi nd that our real tax burden in BC is the highest west of Quebec – far from the lowest in the country.

The increases in Hydro, ICBC, MSP alone

demonstrate that British Columbians are being squeezed just as hard as the Liberal government thinks it can get away with. Who knows where they’ll hit our wallets next.

Here in the lower mainland, we pay the highest gas taxes in the country and the Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Council, which included my NDP opponent until recently, has suggested, and the Liberals have agreed, to impose another 2 cents/litre tax on gasoline because municipalities haven’t been responsible with their budgets and set aside the money to build the Evergreen Line.

How long have they known they’d need to pay for this? Instead of planning for it, they’re hitting drivers to cover the cost.

The BC Conservative Party believes these same mayors should shave 1% off their bloated municipal budgets to pay for the Evergreen Line instead of penalizing drivers yet again.

The Premier went to great lengths in her year end address to assure British Columbians that her government was

Pictured from L to R is Salme Leis, Christine Clarke, and Dr. Allison Patton

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY

Front row from L to R is Christine Clarke, Olivia Ng, Dr. Caleb Ng, Party Leader John Cummins with Door-Knocking Team Saturday, February 11, 2012.

Christine ClarkeBC Conservative Party candidate for Port Moody-Coquitlam

fi scally prudent.

The Minister of Finance explained away the enormous 3.1 Billion dollar defi cit the other day by saying that revenues were down.

I understand that. It’s the Liberal government’s reaction to reduced revenue that I don’t understand.

If your family or business income is reduced you don’t continue to spend money at the same level. You look around for everything that’s non-essential and reduce spending accordingly. Families cancel cable, businesses put hiring freezes in place. The government continues to spend your money at an ever increasing pace.

It’s this Liberal government that put the balanced budget legislation in place and it’s this Liberal government that has had to amend it every single year. Who do they think they’re fooling?

I’m Christine Clarke and I’m asking you to go to the polls and vote for me and the BC Conservative Party to restore fi scal responsibility to Victoria.

22 METANOIA

50% of Canada’s workforce is made up of women, but only 4% breakthrough to top leadership, according to Statistics Canada and research from Catalyst on the Financial Post 500 CEOs. In the US, women represent 47% of the workforce yet only 15% of Fortune 500 company women emerge as senior managers and just 3% breakthrough to become CEO’s. Who are the women who manage to breakthrough to leadership, and what challenges do women face along the way?

Women who breakthrough to leadership

Despite the reality that women struggle to breakthrough to top leadership, recent headlines including “IBM’s Virginia Rometty Breaks Ground as 100-Year-Old Company’s First Female Leader” and announcements of “Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women”, provides insight and inspiration to women trying to breakthrough the glass ceilings and brick walls of today’s workplace. IBM’s new CEO, Virginia Rometty at 54, joins other high-profile women in the technology sector including HP CEO Meg Whitmore, and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. The WNX list of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women is also enlightening with women like Elyese Allan, CEO GE Canada; Sue Paish, CEO Pharmasave; and Mandy Shapansky, CEO Xerox Canada. Recent studies prove the business case that having a significant number of women at the top of a company correlates to success in the marketplace including more profits, higher operating margins and higher return on equity. Women leaders are often acknowledged as being stronger communicators, more pragmatic and empathetic, more trustworthy, risk adverse and altruistic in negotiating more effectively for other people than their male counterparts----some even suggest a different economic outcome had Lehman Brothers been Lehman Sisters.

Glass Ceilings, Brick Walls & Leaky Buckets

Why do so few women breakthrough the glass ceilings and brick walls of

Women Who Breakthrough to Leadershipand the challenges along the way

by Cynthia Roney

today’s workplace? What challenges do women face? At the start of their careers, men and women are recruited in roughly equal numbers. A study by Bain & Company found that in the beginning, 82% of women aspire to be senior leaders. Women are well educated representing 60% of university graduates. In Canada, 71% of women compared to 65% of men aged 25-44 years, have completed post-secondary education. Since the 1990’s, as women began pouring into the workplace in ever-increasing numbers, new opportunities opened up and pay gaps began to close----but at the same time, there has been a significant leak in the bucket, as women struggle to balance career-building and care-giving. Half-way up the corporate ladder a lot of women have already dropped out and at the top of most companies, women vaporize. The result is a brain-drain and loss of talent---simply hiring more women won’t fix the problem. The challenges women face along the way range from the obvious brick walls of having babies and juggling childcare, to the subtle glass ceilings of women not getting the plum jobs they deserve.

One of the biggest barriers---Combining Career & Children

Although women are having children later in life and in smaller numbers, the

average age for women to have their first child is 28, so while these twenty and thirty year old women are juggling babies and childcare, their male colleagues are focused on building their careers. Some women choose to focus on their careers and forgo having children, afraid that if they took time out to start a family they would never catch up. IBM’s new CEO Virginia Rometty met her husband of 32 years when they were both establishing their business careers at the General Motors Institute. Like many other senior women, she didn’t have children. For women trying to breakthrough to top leadership, marriage doesn’t seem to matter---the key disqualifier is having children. Other women like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and Pharmasave CEO Sue Paish, who each have 2 children, openly share the importance of having their husbands take on added childcare responsibilities. Sue Paish described to Business in Vancouver that her husband left his film set-design job to care for the family full-time when Sue’s role as managing partner of one of Vancouver’s largest law firms required regular coast-to-coast travel. As their careers progress and children grow, women must continue to juggle to find creative solutions. Ilene Gordon, CEO Alcan Packaging, told RHR International that when she was leading a billion-dollar global business, her daughter fell down a flight of stairs and was seriously injured. Ilene moved into the hospital, working from there until her daughter recovered. Women can be incredibly resilient and resourceful when it comes to combining career and children. It’s important for women to tell their stories and share how they’ve coped so others can learn from these innovative solutions and powerful lessons. There is no quick fix. This brick wall may have to be disassembled one brick at a time!

The Glass Ceiling---Real or Imagined? Women can be their own worst enemy

The glass ceiling is real with less than 3-4% breaking through to the top, but the important question is--- are men holding women back, or are women their own worst enemy? In her interview

METANOIA 23

potential while women are promoted on their performance, and often understate their success and career ambition.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently said, “If you ask men why they did a good job, they’ll say ‘I’m awesome.’ If you ask women why they did a good job they’ll say it’s someone helped them, they got lucky, they worked really hard. Men attribute their success to themselves and women attribute it to other external factors.” Awareness that women often hold themselves back--is key to breaking through. The next step is having the courage to step forward and be visible. By sharing the stories and insights of top women leaders, other women can begin to model new behavior and ask for what they want.

Connecting Women in Business

Women who breakthrough to leadership fascinate me because I am part

with Fortune magazine IBM CEO, Virginia Rometty recalled, “Early in my career, I can remember being offered a big job…..Right away I said, ‘You know what? I’m not ready for this job. I need more time, I need more experience and then I could do it really well. I need to go home and think about it.’… (My husband) looked at me and said, ‘Do you think a man would have ever answered that question that way? I know you, you go do it.’ What that taught me was that you have to be very confident even though you’re self-critical inside. Growth and comfort do not coexist.” Virginia’s experience is not unique. In its report on women and work, the Economist stated that women are less self-confident than men, less willing to volunteer an opinion when they weren’t sure and don’t put their hands up for plum jobs or pay raises. Women can also be too honest and self-critical compared to men. Men get promoted on their

of this quiet revolution as women become the majority of the workforce. My life reflects the shift of the past 50 years, from my mother staying home to raise four children to my juggling a family while pursuing a career supported by bosses, nannies and my incredible husband. It has taken “a village” of support. In my experience, men encouraged me to pursue CEO leadership and respected my choice for both a career and family. Now, as a business and executive coach, I work with high potential individuals, especially women wanting to breakthrough to leadership.

In cooperation with Mountainview Wellness Centre, I’m pleased to announce “Connecting Women in Business”--- an exclusive program specifically designed to connect like-minded women executives, women business owners and high potential professional women to breakthrough to leadership.

Connecting Women in Business

Five  session  Program  Commitment:    $850  +tax/par-cipant    When:      1xmonth  Wed  from  3-­‐5pm    Who:      10-­‐15  non-­‐compe-ng  par-cipants  Requirement:      Signed  agreement  of  confiden-ality  Where:      Mountainview  Wellness  Centre    

     3566  King  George  Blvd,  S.  Surrey  Reserve  your  seat:    E    Cynthia.Roney@shaw.ca      

     C    604-­‐916-­‐6541  

Facilitated Peer-to-Peer Group to Connect Women Leaders Starting March 14th

Today,  50%  of  our  workforce  is  made  up  of  women,  but  less  than  4%  breakthrough  to  corporate  leadership.    Similarly,  50%  of  all  businesses  are  run  by  women,  yet  less  than  10%  breakthrough  the  million  dollar  revenue  mark.      This  exclusive  program  is  specifically  designed  to  connect  women  execu-ves,  women  business  owners  and  high  poten-al  professional  women  to  breakthrough  to  leadership.    Five  confiden-al  facilitated  peer-­‐to-­‐peer  group  discussions  will  connect  you  with  like-­‐minded  women  who’ve  faced  similar  challenges.    Together  you’ll  create  your  own  powerful  advisory  board  to  support,  encourage  and  inspire  each  other,  facilitated  by  your  own  CEO  Execu-ve  &  Business  Coach.      

Cynthia  Roney,  Founder,  Execu<ve  Passage    is  an    ICF  Cer-fied  Execu-ve  &  Business  Coach  with    25yrs  business    &  execu-ve  experience    including    biotech  public  company  CEO  &  Board  Director.    Cynthia  is  an  experienced  facilitator  and  coach  with  leading  professional  women’s  groups  including,  WXN,  CBDC,  FWE,  WEC,  PWN.    See  www.execu-vepassage.com    

 “Success  is  a  journey,  not  a  des2na2on”                                                

 “When  I  was  asked  how  I  enjoyed  our  last  mee5ng;  I  tried  to  explain  the  incredible  roundtable  experience  that  I  shared  with  these  unique,  accomplished  and  compassionate  women.  It  was  hard  to  put  into  words!  I  look  forward  to  seeing  you  all  in  a  couple  of  weeks  at  our  "safe"  forum”-­‐-­‐-­‐Susan  

24 METANOIA

Mountainview W E L L N E S S C E N T R E

Upcoming Events

visit www.moutainviewwellnesscentre.ca for more information

HCG RAPID WEIGHT LOSS TALK with Dr. Allison PattonThursday, March 8 at 7pm at Mountainview Wellness CentreAttendees will receive $100 credit towards an HCG program. One program will be given away during each presentation.Call Mountainview Wellness Centre at 604.538.8837 to register.

MINIMIZING SEASONAL ALLERGIES with Dr. Allison PattonWednesday, March 14 at 7pm at Choices Markets, White RockCall Choices Markets at 604.541.3902 to register. ($5 admission benefi ts local charity)

HEALTHY EATING AND LIVING WORKSHOP with Vancouver Natural GourmetsTuesdays, February 21 to March 27, 7-8:30pm at Mountainview Wellness CentreCall Mountainview Wellness Centre at 604.538.8837 to register.Workshop fee $100 plus $20 deposit.

VACCINES AND YOUR CHILD SEMINAR AND OPEN HOUSE with Dr. Allison PattonThursday, April 12, 2012 at 7pm at Mountainview Wellness CentreTickets $10. Call Mountainview Wellness Centre at 604.538.8837 to register. Participants: Physiotherapist/Osteopath Sarah Stevens, Counsellor and Coach Kaela Scott, Author and Speaker Kasia Rachfal, Aromatherapist and creator of Akashic Aromatics Alison Legge, and Artist April Lacheur.

26 METANOIA

After spending nine years researching and painting local Fraser Valley history as a watercolour artist, I had become very comfortable with both the medium in which I was working as well as the subject matter. In retrospect, I have come to understand that being comfortable was not a good thing for me. Although unsettling by definition, it was a new period of challenge and change that pushed me forward.

The first challenge and change was self-inflicted. By this time, the little-boy-in-me, had become fascinated with

the British Columbia Electric Railway Company, B.C.E.R. and the way in which it had opened up the Fraser Valley in 1910. I therefore made a decision to painting scenes which told the whole history of this historic streetcar and interurban transportation company which had its beginnings in 1890. This meant that I would be primarily painting downtown Vancouver with all of the associated architectural and historical complexity. This was something that I was keenly interested I had never done Vancouver’s history before.

At this juncture I also made a major transition from watercolours to acrylic on canvas; amazingly, this really wasn’t my idea! I was sensing very real pressure, from the galleries that represented me, to move away from paper and onto canvas. Although I can now look back and understand, completely, the necessary for this transition, I can also recall that, at the time, I was doggedly dragging my feet. When, finally, I acquiesced, I faced a very steep learning curve that was certainly steep both in terms of research and painting techniques. The familiar

Brian Croft

Painting the History of Vancouver and British Columbia - Part Two

Brian Croft is a former fighter pilot with the Canadian Forces. Today he is a widely recognized artist whose work emanates from the beautiful locales surrounding Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He has introduced a historical and heritage perspective into his work and this has become the focal element and trademark of his various collections. Brian’s major works are now rendered on canvas and his meticulous research and paint process continues to produce highly detailed and evocative paintings of our past. He resides in Langley, B.C. and has created over 380 works.

Theatre Row, Granville Steet, 1948

METANOIA 27

comfortable feeling that I mentioned earlier, disappeared completely; this was good.

To say that canvas simply replaced watercolour paper on my easel would be an understatement. In reality my whole studio was redesigned. I insisted on learning how to stretch my own canvas and apply multiple coats of gesso until the paint could be controlled in a breathtakingly thin and uninterrupted line. I evaluated both oil and acrylic for nearly a year before settling on acrylic, with its immediate dry-time which permitted tiny detailed work without fear of smudging or disturbing surrounding wet pigment. Today, I sometimes miss the mental gymnastics of thinking 25 moves ahead to control a watercolour project and yearn for the thick-rich blending properties of oil, but I cannot escape that the move to acrylic on canvas has permitted me to add even greater intensity of detail into my work.

My new research centers became the Vancouver Archives and the Vancouver Public Library, Special Collections. There, one can browse for hours through

books of carefully organized copies of photographs from our past. Although, I have never lived in Vancouver, it is amazing how after spending time studying the photographic record of the city, one begins to be able to identify locations and to begin piecing together a visual history.

Over time, I noticed that I was not just looking at photographs; I was making an almost instantaneous evaluation of each image by visualizing it as a potential painting. The more research I did, the more I began to appreciate the talents of our earliest photographers. A well composed, focused and lighted photograph is a reflection of an interested and engaged photographer and every now and then an image would jump out at me as a possible subject for a painting. There were over 40 paintings done in the following period and I’ve chosen a few examples that I’d like to share with you.

One of my first works in these new circumstances was Passing Woodwards-1939, a reflective rendition of Hastings Street in the days when this was the center of Vancouver’s shopping

and entertainment district. With the smart looking BCER streetcar number 272 glowing in the low afternoon sun, following a recent shower, the painting leaves me feeling hopeful that Hastings Street can one day return to such grandness.

Lonsdale Quay-1919, is another of my earliest canvases. It presents a sunny afternoon view down Lonsdale in North Vancouver. I was honoured a few years ago when this image was chosen for the front cover of North Vancouver’s history book, The Ambitious City, one of many of my paintings to grace the covers of

Lonsdale Quay, 1919

Passing Woodwards

28 METANOIA

various books.

Granville Street Bridge-1921 is a panoramic view of Vancouver showing the second Granville Street Bridge crossing a newly created Granville Island and with the BCER Steveston Interurban station built on stilts beside the bridge at mid-span. Although a beautiful and impressive station, it was a hopelessly unworkable design as passengers were required to walk onto the bridge deck through traffic to transit to and from the Fairview streetcars serving downtown. It was a thrill to be able to create this image and to be able to bring back this rare view of a unique and amusing oddity from our past.

A wonderful 1931 photograph found in the Vancouver Public Library, Special Collections, is the genesis of Bathhouse on English Bay-1931. I used the photograph to set the perspective and then consulted over 120 additional photographs to add detail upon tiny detail. I had never focused much on painting more than a few people in my scenes but with a beach scene on the canvas I was forced to paint hundreds of folks, all the while consulting a 1931 Eatons catalogue to keep the dress-code in line.

I think the “fun”, as I now call it, all began when I painted Theatre Row, Granville St.-1948 which was intended to capture Vancouver’s night-time entertainment scene. This painting attracted a lot of positive interest in galleries when it first appeared, eventually selling out and I was amazed at the outpouring of emotion and memories this painting generated. I followed that up with Theatre Row, Hastings-1926 depicting a vibrant Hastings Street in its early years. Again, I was surprised at how well this theme of painting was received. These two paintings influenced me to look for more ways of focusing on Vancouver’s night life and particularly scenes from our living memory. Because of this, I found myself eventually widening my perspective on history and in so doing, realized that for many of us, the 1950’s and 1960’s had a huge personal significance and so I began to paint the neon-blazing era of Rock and Roll, and the days of my youth.

To be continued in the next issue...

www.briancroft.com

Bathhouse on English Bay, 1931

Theatre Row, Hastings Stree, 1926

Granville Street Bridge in 1921

30 METANOIA

If you can’t find it, start itA growing success story with a few

lessons learned along the way

The beginningIt was the fall of 2009 and I was re-

evaluating my goals. I had been investing successfully in real estate for about three years in smaller apartment buildings ranging from 2 to 12 units, but what I really wanted to do was put my name on larger 100+ unit complexes and high-rise buildings. Knowing that I didn’t have the knowledge or the team in place to pull together the investors that would fund my larger deals I went in search of a local organization where I could make the contacts necessary to achieve my goals. Although there were groups around my Albany, New York area (some more formal than others) I couldn’t find an organization that met the three criteria I was looking for: a focus solely on real estate; a mission to serve the needs of the membership as opposed to the leader only; and a focus on activity as well as education.

During one visit to a local meeting I met another real estate investor who, for different reasons, was searching for the same thing. My new friend Mark Dobert provided short term loans for the rehabilitation of non-owner occupied investment property- known in the field as a hard money lender- so finding a pool of active investors was a priority for him as well.

One day during a conversation about our mutual problem I suggested starting up a new group, and Mark quickly offered to back me up if I chose to take the leap. Action Investor Network (AIN) was born.

You can’t make a good deal with a bad guy

I learned long ago that no matter how much you think you’re protected when working with someone you don’t trust, it’s probably not going to work out. So I wanted to build an organization with people who were not only competent and that I liked, but more importantly, that I could trust. As can be expected, at AIN we’ve had people come through the organization who didn’t harmonize with the level of integrity that we demanded. In most cases, they quickly weeded themselves out….and in the few cases where they didn’t, we took the necessary and sometimes awkward steps needed to accomplish the same goal. Trust is an important value to AIN, and we will work hard to insure a reliable membership.

Building the team“You’ve got to do it on your own, but

you can’t do it alone,” a mentor once told me. One can be full of drive, focus, and ambition, but without the right team in place it will be extremely difficult to accomplish one’s goals.

I’m blessed to have found a team of loyal members to run AIN (which I couldn’t do alone), but I also accomplished my original goal of pulling together my own real estate development company, called Penta Development Group. Our most recent project is a $1.5 million conversion of a 17,000 square foot vacant commercial building on a main street in downtown Albany into 14 upscale apartments with a commercial storefront- scheduled for completion in Fall of 2012.

Stop assuming and start listening

This is the biggest lesson I’ve learned. Early on I thought I knew what our members wanted. I spent countless hours on the computer formatting an online forum to connect members between meetings, I created a deal submission form and required submission at least 1 week prior to the meeting for review and approval, I allocated 45 minutes for opportunities to be presented, worked on publishing a member list, and much more that ultimately most members ignored.

Some of my original ideas are what the group is best known for today, but it pains me to think of the opportunity cost of those wasted hours working on projects where I incorrectly assumed people would like. So I no longer manage by

the seat of my pants... our members have already started to see member surveys circulating and can expect many more in 2012.

Something to show for our efforts

From the beginning, the AIN member-centered mission and structured meetings resonated with local investors. Through word of mouth, led by my partner Mark’s amazing “gift of gab”, we had 25 members by the end of our first year, 65 members by the end of our second year, and a goal to reach 130 members by the end of our third. We have corporate sponsors (including banks, attorneys, contractors, agents, and even home improvement giant The Home Depot) that cover flipping, insurance, architecture, legal, property management, accounting, and much more. In just over two years the group has reported over $1.3 million loaned between members to fund projects, over $1.5 million worth of property has changed hands (30 units total), and 32 partners have been found to close on deals. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Due to privacy concerns most of our activity goes unreported. This means that not only are Mark and I growing our businesses, but our members are growing theirs as well.

AIN operates in the spirit of abundance. Our goal is not to take someone else’s piece of the pie, it’s to grow the pie so everyone’s piece is bigger. We hold a monthly raffle so AIN can support local charities such as the Children’s Hospital at the Albany Medical Center.

Our next challenge… glad to have the team

If AIN is to continue to grow we need to become more organized with our public relations and marketing. Our biggest weakness perhaps is that we don’t brag enough about the individual and collective successes we’ve brought to the community. This is top of my list for 2012.

There are larger players in the world of real estate. There are more famous players, too. But I am proud to have started an organization that not only benefits its members financially, but does so with integrity and community responsibility. In the end, those values count more to me than the money alone.

The Action Investment Network by

Seth Meltzer

From L to R: Salme Leis, Seth Meltzer, and Dr. Allison Patton

ATTENTION REAL ESTATE INVESTORS:

WHAT IS ACTION INVESTOR NETWORK ALL ABOUT?• Monthly meetings to facilitate real estate transactions between members, as well as

real estate networking/mentoring

• Guest speakers at the meetings that help you learn and grow your business

• Vendors that educate us and provide group discounts

• Legal, financial, and contractor assistance available to members at meetings

• Making contact with like-minded people that may become your business partners... and friends for life!

For More Information Log On To:

www.AlbanyInAction.org

OPPORTUNITYIS EVERYWHEREWHEN YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND IT!LEARN TO MAXIMIZE OPPORTUNITIES IN A DOWN REAL ESTATE MARKET WITH A GROUP OF LIKE MINDED INVESTORS.

32 METANOIA

Ocean Park Natural Therapies – Surrey, B.C. Nov 2011

It is with sincere respect that I wish to acknowledge Dr. John Lyftogt, MD., for bringing to light this important technique, along with the scientific information that supports it, and for his unselfish sharing of the insights and ongoing clinical discoveries in its usage.

In July of 2011, doctors from my clinic attended a seminar led by Dr. John Lyftogt, M.D. (pronounced lift off) from Christchurch, New Zealand. In that seminar, he reported and demonstrated that severe chronic pain could be treated with injections under the skin of 5% dextrose, a simple sugar concentration used in ordinary intravenous solutions.

It was difficult to believe that such a

simple solution placed under the skin of painful areas could have almost instant pain relieving quality, in spite of the fact that everyone he had injected with that solution appeared to have their pain levels relieved almost immediately. However, it resonated with previous information I received from one of my colleagues who had experienced these injections, and since there was no damaging side effects and the results could be dramatic for chronic pain, I resolved to use the procedure in our clinical practice.

The first patient we treated was a lady who had severe hip and lower back pain for several months who was not getting much relief by traditional methods of pain medication nor from alternative musculoskeletal treatments such as

prolotherapy injections and soft tissue and joint manipulation. After treatment this lady experienced dramatic relief of pain for the first time in months and the effect lasted for about 4 days and returned to a lesser extent. Subsequent treatments about once weekly resulted in dramatic and almost complete relief of her pain – without any use of anesthetics – just sugar water at 5% concentration. Treatment of other patients with chronic pain syndromes also resulted in similar amazing or gratifying results.

This procedure is safe and involves using finger pressure on the skin to detect areas of tenderness, which are located and marked, and then injected with 1 ml. of 5% dextrose solution. There may be as many as a hundred such areas on a patient with neck and arm or low back complaints – but after injection – there is often a surprised look as the patient gets up and moves, bends, and stretches – and finds that their pain and movement has dramatically improved. The last part of treatment is to find any areas that are still tender and seem to be ‘missed’ and also inject them. The goal of a visit is to find the involved areas and have the patient ‘pain free’ at that time.

Relief from pain may last anywhere from 4 hours to four days, and treatments once weekly for several weeks then once every two weeks for several sessions seems to allow for a healing effect of the nerves involved so that the effect lasts longer and eventually resolves the pain and stiffness issues of the tissues. The patient goes through a journey of healing that is often profound and always interesting and insightful as to old injuries and complaints.

Using this simple protocol has been rewarding in many ways – relieving patients of chronic neck pain, headaches, lower back pain, groin and hip pain, painful shins and calves, and foot pain. It is also shown itself to be beneficial in post surgical problems such as edema of joints, painful joints, and poor wound healing due to cutting or injury of the ‘trophic nerve’ component to the joint region. More than 80% of the people treated find this treatment provides relief from pain.

A NEW TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC PAIN ‘New Zealand Pain Liftoff Technique’

by Dr. Tim Brown, ND

METANOIA 33

How could the injection of simple sugar water under the skin provide such dramatic results?

In November 2011 I attended a follow up workshop in Hawaii with doctors from Korea, China, Canada, Australia, and the USA – who had all been using or had heard about this amazing technique from their colleagues. Dr. Lyftogt in his lectures provided the following explanation based on current science and new understandings of pain pathways.

There are essentially two types of nerve pain:

One type – Nociceptive pain – is characterized by precise localized pain that is proportional to the degree of injury, the pain goes away when we withdraw from the source, and the tissue heals.

The other type – Neuropathic pain – comes from two types of nerve fibres which represent 35% or 1/3 of the nerves in your peripheral nervous system. It is characterized by a diffuse type of pain that is hyper-sensitive to heat or pressure, the pain signal is not proportional to the degree of injury, and the pain doesn’t go away but persists and spreads into other areas and is not relieved by normal treatment methods or pain medications.

These nerve fibers are called peptidergic and have a receptor called TRPV1. Their main role in normal everyday life is to supply and maintain the functioning of the nerve cells to all areas of the body – such as skin, muscles, and joints. (They act in a similar way to the root system of a plant supplying and maintaining growth - hence the term ‘trophic’ nerve function.)

When there is no injury these nerves never transmit pain signals but silently carry on their ‘trophic’ functions. However, when a part of the body is injured by traction, cutting, or compression the role of these nerves is to kick-start the body’s repair mechanism and help bring back normal function to the injured body part. They do this by activating their receptor TRPV1 which transmits sodium and calcium into the tissue and releases two peptides – substance P and CGRP.

The first peptide released is called

substance P, as in pain. If you have pain, you don’t want to move the painful part. This keeps the edges of an injured area together and allows it better chance to heal. Too much movement disrupts the repair process – which is something like sewing two pieces of torn fabric together – and too large of an area makes for a much larger patch job – and hence surgery or bracing is sometimes required.

The second peptide released is called calcitonin gene related peptide or CGRP. CGRP and substance P cause blood vessels to open up, which will make the injured area red, swollen, and inflamed. This is what kick-starts the body’s repair mechanism. CGRP also causes the cells to become engorged with calcium, which may lead to calcium deposits in chronically inflamed areas such as muscles, tendons, or around joints after injury.

A blow, a burn, or a cut across a nerve, are not the only way the body can be injured. These nerves must also cross through fibrous coverings and openings to get to the skin. Some of these openings are tiny holes just big enough to let the nerves through. If the fascia is suddenly stretched out of shape the holes become slits like a buttonhole and can traction/squeeze on the nerves – constricting or de-gloving their sheaths. The trapped nerves swell which can initiate a cascade of persisting pain, injury, and swelling which is medically termed a ‘chronic constriction injury’. Swelling in a nerve can cause the pressure inside the nerve fiber to increase to the point where they are no longer able to conduct nerve impulses or self repair. Inside the nerve, the swollen C fibers now have ongoing activated TRVP1 receptors, which will remain activated as long as these C fibers remain swollen. This may help to explain why people who suffer ‘soft tissue injuries’ such as whiplash have such persistent pain that spreads, is diffuse, and does not respond to conventional treatments as traditional anti-inflammatory drugs do not affect these particular pain pathways.

It appears then that blocking the TRPV1 receptor would be the best way to block the release of substance P and CGRP, and the transmission of

pain signals by the C fibers, and this is what Dr. Lyftogt set about to do. Since research had shown that sugar (dextrose) could selectively block the TRPV1 receptor he experimented with different concentrations. At first, Dr. Lyftogt used high concentrations of dextrose, but when these were injected under the skin they produced a burning sensation, which required the use of local anesthetics to deaden the pain of this concentrated solution. When he experimented and lowered the concentration to 5%, he found that he could selectively block the TRPV1 receptor pain without the use of local anesthetics so that only the TRPV1 nerve fibres were being targeted. Amazingly, the sugar at 5% blocks the TRPV1 receptor almost instantly. Once the TRPV1 receptor is blocked, substance P and CGRP stop being produced within the nerve and the pain message delivered via the nerve to the central system/brain disappears in a few seconds. The nerve reduces its swelling, and begins to move more easily within its sheath and fascial opening – and begins to return to normal function- which is to maintain and repair the tissues that it supplies – skin, muscle, tendon, and joints, as well as the nerve tissues themselves.

In our clinic, we have found that the combination of: 1) Joint and soft tissue manipulation (to reset the fascia and joint receptors), 2) Neural prolotherapy according to Dr. Lyftogt (New Zealand Pain Lift-off Technique), and 3) Traditional prolotherapy using Procaine and Dextrose (for treating stabilizing joint ligament laxity) …… has been a potent therapeutic regime to help many patients from chronic pain syndromes that have failed to respond to conventional treatment regimes.

New advances in understanding these mechanisms is leading our clinic to ever efficient methods of relieving patients of chronic pain and dysfunction in order to set them back on the road to better health and feeling of well being. We are indebted to Dr. Lyftogt for his insights and sharing of this process and are thankful that we have discovered a simple yet potent way to reduce the pain and suffering from these chronic nerve related problems.

34 METANOIA

PiscesLeadership is about making decisions that are good for people

in the long run. People feel they are entitled to a good life- ignoring that sense of entitlement means reducing someone else’s. Your job as a leader is to maintain the balance and at some point be hated by either side.

AriesAfter you take a vacation you find yourself more exhausted

than you were when you left. Do what no one else would do; take your work with you and become a self motivated person who gets pleasure out of their accomplishments rather than one who always runs away from responsibility and calls it a vacation.

TaurusYou think you know the consequences of all your actions,

but you don’t. You are oblivious to what you do- let alone the consequences. Look up the word “introspective” to understand what it means.

GeminiYour self confidence is an illusion about yourself. Try being self

conscious, unsure of yourself and not all knowing. People will like you more and might even bother listening to your blathering about things that are not important (nothing is).

CancerThere is a reason your life is cyclical. Everything you do to

make your life exciting ends up making it worse and when you become depressed about how bad your life is, you begin to do things that make it better. Get a handle on what you do and why you do it.

LeoLooking for love in all the wrong places? It’s like drinking

alcohol to avoid a nightmare. Try some alone time with a book or learning how to read if you don’t know how. Carlos Castaneda books are both fun and educational.

VirgoEvery word you say is an indication of who you are. Your

words and the way you say them reveal your inner secrets. The more you try to camouflage them the more they reveal the gaps between who you really are and who you are pretending to be. Try being open and ask more questions rather than just expressing your stupid opinions.

LibraThere is no self when your whole world is centred on pleasing

everyone. Be introspective, thoughtful and kind- and give up this illusion that you have of yourself that you are well liked. You’re just everyone’s patsy.

ScorpioOwning things often seems a blessing, but often times the

things you own end up owning you. To make the life you lead into the life you want, your job is to know the difference.

SagittariusWorried about all the things going on in your life? If you

had exactly 6 months left what would you do? Wrong! Foolish person- You need to look for joy in everything you do. At some point, we all only have 6 months left, and after that there is nothing left to worry about.

CapricornThere is something you want to know about life but are

confused as to know how to word the question. Remember that there are no answers to anything. Everyone is confused- and by knowing that and being content with it, until you’re not, is the best it ever gets.

AquariusYou’re too good to be true- which means you’re doing most

things to get the attention where people say “Awe, aren’t you nice!” Try being genuine, it won’t get you accolades but your life will be more real.

Horoscope By Oneih Siel

METANOIA 35

THE RANTThat which I know to be true, turns out not to be so true after

all. What I’ve done in my life is build up sets of false assumptions which over my lifetime have proven not to have given me ways of finding out what the truth is, but only provided an unstable foundation to build upon confidently so that I could move forward with alacrity and then discover its frailties and failings causing me to reorganize my thoughts and my premises.

We enter the mainstream of life with eyes wide open-but those of us who have been given the gift of seeing incongruities in what we have been taught-begin to question even the very essence of who we are. Philosophers have been doing it forever and now it seems like almost everyone is engaged.

The apes and monkeys that we are, having recently descended from the trees, means that the chattering sounds we make are still difficult to enunciate, let alone be understood by others. There is a huge chasm, between what our bodies feel, and how we interpret and ultimately express it. We are neither really clever nor even well constructed. Evolution has been unkind to us in that our bodies are fragile and parts wear out quickly. Our brains are able to articulate questions that have no answers. We are a work in progress-transforming ourselves and our ideas as we speak and in the way we speak. There is no beginning or end-there is just being engaged in the middle of something that never gets completed. Our minds create Gods and ghosts to fill in the emptiness in life’s inability to provide the answers. At best the puzzle is in why the interlude we call life makes relevant the irrelevant in the context of time and space, neither of which has beginning or end.

Our interpretation of life’s meaning is inconsistent with the ongoing dangers that potentially could eliminate in totality what the primordial ooze once produced; which in a sense was its own significance in the form of witnessing itself. Life is temporary. A creation is giving itself meaning by looking in the mirror and studying itself to try and comprehend what happened. Mankind’s greater dream is to explain himself and his life and his lesser dream is what prevails because most of what occupies his mind is sex and survival. And even more mundane are the subsets of these lesser dreams which lead to marriages, families, mortgages and work. Something to do to pass the time until the allotted time is used up and all is over. Everything we do is meaningless unless we are satisfied with not thinking. Mostly we give no priority to thinking; our life is all about the next pleasure high.

This is not just speculation on my part, the Greek philosophers began their introspective meanderings centuries ago. Over the years, when every man’s point of view became valued, these thoughts and observations became so muddied and vague that the originators of such profound observations would laugh at the discrepancies between what they thought they said

and what was ultimately heard. We are now a planet that has systematized and made into facts (proven by assimilation of selectively observed data and therefore biased) in an obscure world which is absent of any laws or fact scientific or otherwise. Things just are, until the narcissistic witness takes control. The narcissist can only see its own image and survives by judgement of its own beauty.

“Everyman” has no truck with such ethereal meanderings. “When is the football game on?” “How do I look?” “What’s for breakfast?” are the questions that need answering-because that is all that is left when one plays a game that someone else started long ago before one was born-and one that will never end. One is captured by what is already here-and one makes the assumption that the game, its rules and its objectives are the only paradigms available. Whatever was in mind-indeed if there was anything-cannot be ascertained from the pitiful and false data left by our immediate predecessors.

Driving into the future can only be achieved by looking at the rear view mirror-yesterdays have a story-tomorrows do not. We anticipate our tomorrows by reflecting on yesterday’s news-but we are never right-never ever. The future is controlled at the sub atomic level-never directly visible to us-where even Newton’s laws take a battering. Even the so called Butterfly Effect which is used to explain how small interactions can affect the sequence of events that lead to the cataclysmic is of no use to us.

The future is for us to discover not to know. No matter the plethora of evidence to support our predictions we are always wrong and there are always unintended consequences. We ourselves are an unintended consequence. When we realize that what we extrapolate from the evidence we have selected to support our conclusion can never be absolute-even though the future is absolute (history always is)-the difference being in the immeasurable quantity of observations needed and the very effects of the observer on the future by observing. So ultimately by predicting the future-or coming to conclusions we change the future making it unpredictable

Understanding this inherent gap-ought to at least make us worry about every truth we believe-and more importantly that have become our subconscious assumptions. We revere our own intelligence at our peril and it is not our ignorance that may be responsible for our demise but our obsession with knowing.

Hence fear and trembling persist. Heros exist not because bravery consists of taking on others-but because the mind is able to rationalize that there is no other place to go or thing to do. What we have is a temporary pass to living-and if we are frightened of living we’ve messed up the opportunity. Systems are the symbols of fear of death-or conversely the fear of living. Adam eating the apple was not a choice to abandon innocence to have wisdom. Innocence is the wisdom we once had in paradise. It is now paradise lost because man’s innate dependance on what nature provided has been replaced by man’s need to control and maximize nature’s productivity. This results in his enslavement by the systems he has devised and as well creates imbalances in nature that require him to constantly alter what he has devised because of the unintended consequences of his interfering actions. With 8 billion people how can we operate spaceship earth any other way? We cry for more laws, more rules, and more play things-which ultimately enslave us more. Nature is the enemy- so we destory it and we are afraid of what Paradise might bring because it means making difficult choices.

The Meaning of Life BY HANK LEIS

36 METANOIA

In the core principles of naturopathy there is an unresolved tension between the mandate to identify fundamental causes, and the desire to address the person as a bio-psycho-social whole of signs and symptoms. Treating fundamental causes represents discovering the fundamental essence of reality, while treating the whole suggests a theoretical framework where the meaning of signs and symptoms is determined primarily or exclusively from their interrelationship to each other.

In 500 words or less, debate on the core principles of Tolle Causam (remove the obstacle to cure) and Tolle Totum(treat the whole) and how they relate to modern and future naturopathic medical practice.

The naturopathic profession is expanding in a brilliant rebound from a brush with extinction in the middle of the 20th century. However, as it expands there is a corresponding decline in discussion of the core principles of naturopathic medicine. As technology allows us access to more advanced and focused natural remedies, a previously blurry distinction between Tolle Totum and Tolle Causum becomes even murkier. This creates increasing confusion and inner conflict in naturopathic students and seasoned practitioners alike.

The struggle in designing a therapeutic hierarchy is complicated by the yin and yang nature of root cause and the relational web that determines our health. Which takes precedence generally is the will of the patients seeking naturopathic care. Root cause may readily present itself, or only a bio-psycho-social map is apparent, but both means of understanding a patient are rendered useless if the patient wishes to be met elsewhere. As naturopaths we are investigators and purveyors of knowledge; ultimately acting as guides while the true healer is the vitality laying within our patients. Thus, distinguishing root cause from a totality of symptoms is only beneficial if the patient can gain from it, and not if introduction of either is presented when the patient cannot grasp its meaning.

When discussing root cause and totality individually, ultimately root cause is the most difficult to understand. Whatever our therapeutic order, our primary objective is to access and engage the Vis. The question then is: is the inherent essence we refer to as root cause something beyond an impairment of the Vis, and therefore is it of the utmost importance that it is the a major component of any treatment plan? Is it only in finding the cause that we may incite healing? It seems that would be true assuming healing is a linear process. However, to raise that awareness and bring about true healing, the case often involves removing superficial layers, which must first be done by addressing a totality of symptoms. As more layers are unearthed

and glimpses of root cause reveal themselves, the torch can be passed on to using this essence as a tool until another difficult layer is reached.

It is the logistical aspects of this debate that will continue to create tension in future naturopathic practice. With increased desire for medicine in pill form, instant relief and decreased understanding of mind-body medicine, it is easy to deny patients the benefit of the doubt. That is, we assume they will and/or cannot be guided into defining the cause of their disease as opposed to their symptomatic whole. It may also be that we have lost faith in our ability to do so ourselves. Young practitioners (who will continue to be the majority of the profession) may also find perceiving the root cause in their patients is a skill they have not mastered, as an individual’s essence is often difficult to identify. This is worsened by the increasing emphasis on Tolle Totum versus Tolle Causum in Naturopathic education, as well as irreconcilable differences in how these two principles are perceived or emphasized in our individual modalites (ex: Homeopathy vs Traditional Chinese Medicine)

In the end, it seems important to utilize and reinforce these principles by understanding they work in concert with one another, and like everything, it is best not to use either in extremes.

by Aline Potvin, ND candidate 2012

Award Winning Essay

METANOIA 37

The Lobby Work of Dr. Caleb Ng

On January 6, 2012, Dr. Caleb Ng met with local MLA Gordon Hogg to further the eff orts of the BC Naturopathic Association. This is the fi rst time that the former minister mining has met with a member of the naturopathic profession. Dr. Ng took the opportunity to thank Minister Hogg for his government’s commitment to the profession and ensured that Minister Hogg was aware of the issues preventing naturopathic doctors from gaining access to diagnotic laboratories and imaging.

Hogg seemed to have an understanding of the issues and inquired about the specifi cs and evidence of how and why naturopathic doctors were not allowed diagnotic access by BC labs. With the assistance of Glenn Cassie, the executive director of the BC Naturopathic Association, Dr. Ng was able to to provide Minister Hogg documentation indicating that laboratories in BC risked losing their accreditation status with the College of Physician and Surgeons of BC if access were to be granted to naturopathic doctors, even if labs and lab pathologists were in support of naturopathic access.

The timing of this meeting was important as it happened before the BC Liberals Spring Planning session where the Minister of Health, Michael De Jong, would need support from the cabinet to move towards legislative change.

Hogg indicated his support and as he is the current Government Caucus Chair, he promised to contact Minister De Jong to see if this was an item that could be included on the agenda.

Dr. Ng and the Honourable Gordon Campbell former Premier of BC

Dr. Ng and the Honourable Kevin

Falcon, Fomer Minister of Health

Dr. Ng and the Honourable Michael De Jong Kevin, current Minister of Health

Dr. Ng and the Honourable Gordon Hogg, MLA for Surrey-White Rock

ND

38 METANOIA

22 January 2012

Editor, The New York Times

Dear Editor:

Your report on Apple’s allegedly inadequate job creation in America is titled “How U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work” (Jan. 22). Although your reporters missed it, the answer to his question is a happy one: Americans remain exceptionally prosperous.

According to The Economist, labor costs are merely 7 percent of an iPad’s retail value.* This reality suggests that, in addition to the fact that the bulk of each Apple product is made by machine, most of the labor that IS used to bring the likes of iPads and iPhones to market is of the low-skilled and low-paid sort that is abundant in developing countries. Should Americans lament the loss here of such low-paid jobs?

No. As your reporters admit, Apple uses lots of overseas workers precisely because those workers are willing to work in worse conditions and for lower pay than are American workers – strong evidence that the options open to even low-skilled Americans are far superior to those of most workers in developing countries. Our prosperity enables even the poorest of us to avoid such toil.

Of course, some people (such as, according to your report, Pres. Obama) suggest that Apple simply hire American workers at American wages to do more of those jobs. Alas, the unavoidable result of THAT policy would be a substantial rise in the price of Apple products and a fall – likely total – in the number of such products produced and sold.

Put differently, your report, like Mr. Obama, insinuates that low-wage jobs overseas (and jobs currently performed by machines) would, if transferred to America, somehow become the same – but higher paying – jobs for workers here. This insinuation is wrong. If Apple tried to follow Mr. Obama’s suggestion, there would exist no iPhone (or other Apple product) “work” that the U.S. could possibly “lose out on.”

Sincerely,Donald J. BoudreauxProfessor of EconomicsGeorge Mason University

FROM DONALD J BOUDREAUXMISSIVES

18 January 2012

Editor, Huffington Post Dear Editor:

Attacking libertarianism, Jeffrey Sachs writes that “Libertarians hold that individual liberty should never be sacrificed in the pursuit of other values or causes. Compassion, justice, civic responsibility, honesty, decency, humility, respect, and even survival of the poor, weak, and vulnerable – all are to take a back seat” (“Libertarian Illusions,” Jan. 16).

As non-sequiturs go, this one’s a whopper. Mr. Sachs here performs the equivalent of, say, accusing someone who advocates sobriety of thereby being indifferent to other values such parental responsibility, financial prudence, and neighborliness. But just as being sober in no way precludes – and likely promotes – other values such as parental responsibility, being a libertarian in no way precludes any of the values and causes that Mr. Sachs lists. Indeed, libertarians argue that individual liberty best PROMOTES those other values and causes.

Of course, libertarians might be mistaken. But that Mr. Sachs merely ASSUMES that libertarians hold cheap such values as compassion, civic responsibility, and honesty proves that what Lord Acton wrote about Robert Kemp Philp’s description of history applies perfectly to Mr. Sachs’s description of libertarianism: “It were well if he knew his subject as well as he knows his own mind about it.”*

* Lord Acton, “Review of Philp’s History of Progress in Great Britain” (1858), reprinted in Lord Acton, Essays in the Study and Writing of History, J. Rufus Fears, ed. (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1986), pp. 31-33; the quotation in the letter appears on page 3

Sincerely, Donald J. Boudreaux Professor of Economics George Mason University

Mountainview W E L L N E S S C E N T R E

Providing Excellence in Naturopathic Medicine since 2001

DR. ALLISON PATTON

ND

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DR.  ALLISON  PATTON