Adventures in Ottawa.

In the capital city on the eve of what could be a historic vote on the future of troops in Afghanistan and realizing belatedly that if I had been so inclined I could have gone around the corner to Parliament Hill to watch the debate live from the gallery. Looks like Harper is finally going to lose one if all the opposition parties actually do what they have indicated and vote against extending Canadian military involvement in the war-torn country by two years. Hopefully this is an indicator of further debates/votes on whether or not to deploy troops overseas – a small hope in an otherwise conservative morass that is seeping over the country.

Turns out there are a few union friends in town as well this week – a couple of staff from the Vancouver office and a couple politicos. Went for dinner with one of them last night and then met up with the rest for drinks afterwards. Ended up staying out way late and drinking too much and then capped that off by wandering around Ottawa in the rain for an hour with my friend Patrick. Didn’t get to bed until 2 in the morning and then for some reason woke up at 6 which made for a bit of a long day trying to stay sharp (and not get annoyed) during the meetings I was in today. As much as I hate the bureacracy back home, there is a horrid cynicism among those of our counterparts here in the centre. No wonder we’re such a mess when our “leaders” in the government are so hateful and unattached to their jobs.

I don’t think I have mentioned here before – but there is some potential I am going to Colombia in July for 2 weeks as part of a trade union delegation – my name having been submitted by those political leaders much higher up the food chain than me. I am still waiting to hear the official decision on whether I will be selected to go – but last night over drinks I received an indication that things are looking very favourably in my direction. Still, won’t get my hopes up until I get the official word – politics working in strange ways and not trustable in the interim – but I was somewhat heartened to realize that the hints flying in my direction were at least some positive message about where that discussion as going. This trip would be part of our ongoing commitment to meet with and provide international solidarity to the trade union movement in Colombia which is among the most persecuted in the world (death threats and killings of union leaders are not uncommon occurences there – in 2005 almost 40 trade unionists lost their lives to corporate thugs and paramilitaries). International unionists provide some monitoring and help to publicize the plight of those struggling to unionize and keep their movement for a civil society intact despite the brutal repression and fear they face – and I am honoured to have even had my name put forward to participate in such a movement to support the working class worldwide. Of course, I will post here as soon as I find out for sure of my involvement. In any case, it is a very good project for our union to be involved in.

I am waiting at the moment for Patrick to show up to go out for a bite to eat and some more wandering around in the rain and (possibly) drinking. We’ll see. At least I managed to get a nap after work today so I’m feeling a bit more chipper than I was earlier.

(PS: I would really recommend that people travelling to Ottawa stay away from the Capital Hill Inn and Suites unless you like stale 70s decor and a matress that hasn’t been changed in 2 decades. This was the only place I could find a room in town because of big events going on here – and it’s no wonder it was the only place left with rooms available when I booked. It’s so bad it’s actually funny – no one can accuse me of living high on the taxpayer dollar while working on this trip.)