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COLUMN: Everyone’s Irish on St. Paddy’s

St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow. My mother was born in County Cork, Ireland and was pushy about her heritage.

St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow. My mother was born in County Cork, Ireland and was pushy about her heritage. She always outdid herself on March 17, especially with the food. She’d use every “green” veggie available and she’d colour everything else with green food dye or chopped parsley. Mostly it was OK but green milk was never a hit. Her dad was English, so was mine, so the Irish is somewhat diluted when it comes to me. However, everyone is Irish on St. Paddy’s Day, so have a happy one.

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GGS#3 visited the other day. He is 17 months old. He doesn’t say much but he certainly communicates. We had a nice visit, but when he’d had enough he gathered up his coat and boots and took them to his mother. His intention was very clear.

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There are so many awful things happening everywhere these days, from local crimes to global wars, it is heartening to see something positive. Like him or not, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and family did us proud in Washington. It was a nice touch that Justin’s mom was included. She’d been there before as a PM’s wife.

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Now for some not-so-good stuff. It will warm your heart as you do your income tax to know that the Canadian Revenue Agency has not only offered amnesty to wealthy clients of the accounting firm KPMG, who hid their money offshore for years to avoid paying taxes. The agency offered them a discount on their owed interest. Bending rules for cheaters is bad enough, but the government could use the lost money.

More than three years after a panel of engineering experts warned BC Hydro to fix a serious deficiency at the W.A.C. Bennett dam “without delay,” the Crown corporation has applied to begin the work which might be done by 2019. According to the Globe and Mail, the rip rap is damaged, and wave action, floods or a minor earthquake could endanger the integrity of the crest. According to an other report, BC Hydro is $76 billion in debt.

That’s all comforting, isn’t it.

Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.