680News - Lisa Brandt

So the Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier has been forced to resign under a cloud of scandal. And the Prime Minister continues to act like the “speak no evil” monkey about the situation. This is the same leader who has put significant energy into controlling the country’s media and its access to revelations about everything governmental on Parliament Hill.

Bernier gets a lot of attention because of his relative youth and his good looks. Hey, it’s equal time for men, after so many women in politics have attracted reams of ink over what they wear and how they do their hair. Bernier is a divorced father of two at the age of 45. He may be camera-friendly, but he’s also a bit of a loose cannon who has made a series of rather serious political gaffes, the latest being a promise to send a planeful of supplies to Myanmar - a plane that wasn’t available. That sent the Hill into a scramble to find a substitute jet to make good on his promise.

Now Bernier’s ex-girlfriend is revealing more than she showed on the day of his swearing-in, when he, apparently, chose her dress. She says he left classified documents behind and she didn’t turn them in for five weeks. (Was she a slow reader?) She claims her bed was bugged and her life has been ruined.

What a mess! The opposition wants an inquiry. The PM has already received Bernier’s resignation. This is getting loads of coverage overseas and it remains to be seen if it will have a negative impact on our image. Will the Prime Minister continue to claim that nothing is wrong, that the personal lives of his ministers is none of his business, that people should just move along and carry on as normal? He can say whatever he wants, but that doesn’t make it so.

Helpless. That’s how we start to feel after days and days of depressing details come out of Myanmar and the sometimes futile efforts to help those whose lives and worlds have been devastated by the cyclone, or hurricane, more than a week ago. It’s not a typical disaster, if there is such a thing. Often, in times of great human crises, there are few questions about whether to help. A donation to the Red Cross or another organization can ease that feeling of “what can I do?” But the situation in Myanmar is deterring many generous hearts from opening up too far.

Many nations don’t recognize the name Myanmar officially. It was changed from Burma by the military-led government nearly 20 years ago. The ruling junta initially refused to allow foreign aid workers into the nation to help save the lives of the millions of people who are in real danger of dying, despite surviving the cyclone’s devastation. They wouldn’t even accept aid goods at first, but then said they’d take the stuff, just not the people. There’s something terribly amiss about that and it certainly makes one wary of giving money because it truly does not seem impossible that it might not end up where it’s supposed to — with the people.

Echoes of the tragedy in Myanmar hadn’t even begun to fade when China suffered its worst earthquake in 30 years. As I write this, officials expect 20,000 to have been killed. Myanmar’s neighbour though, threw open its skies to help immediately. Cynics might say that’s because China’s working hard to improve its image ahead of the Beijing Olympics. But whatever the reason, help arrived quickly to many quake victims, although getting aid to any disaster is slow, frustrating and painful work. The donation process for China has been highly organized as well.

Ernest Hemingway wrote, “Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee”. Each man’s (or woman’s) death diminishes me. I know I feel that way in the wake of such massive tragedies as those in Myanmar and China. The question is, what do we do to make a difference, for those directly affected and, frankly, to be honest, for ourselves?

If you so choose, you can find links to donate to the people of Myanmar or China by clicking on the 680News Cares icon on this website.

Brenda Martin is back home and predictions are that she will not be behind bars in Waterloo very long before she is paroled.

The 51-year-old Trenton woman was held without trial for more than two years in a Mexican jail on fraud charges. Intervention from our politicians because of an outcry from Martin’s family, friends and supporters finally lit a fire under the Mexican judicial system and her case was heard.

It wasn’t the outcome some had hoped for though. She was found guilty of either aiding or knowing about a $60-million Internet scam carried out by her former boss, who is serving a 10-year term in a U.S. prison. Martin has always maintained her innocence and her ex-boss even delivered a sworn statement that she was not involved. The Mexican judge seemed to think Martin, who was working as a cook, knowingly took money from the proceeds of fraud.

So for all intents and purposes, speaking purely factually, Martin is a convicted criminal. The law — even though it’s Mexican law — has said so. She continues to protest, but a lot of convicted criminals say they’re innocent. In the eyes of the law, she is guilty.

Our government brought Brenda Martin back to Canada last night. They chartered a private jet for the pick-up. This is where I have questions.

Whether she’s guilty or innocent, Brenda Martin is not a violent woman. She is not a danger to anyone. Why in the world would our government feel the need to spend big bucks on a jet to bring her home? She could have been flown first class on the next commercial flight. That would be understandable. But this massive expense, is not.

There was no need to segregate her from everyone in this wholly expensive manner. She still could have been brought back in virtual secret and once the plane was in the air, there was no way media or anyone else could get to her as she flew with Corrections officers.

That’s where I stand. How do you feel about this government expense of your money?

Did you happen to see 60 Minutes last night? Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, shared the story of their newborn twins and how they nearly died because of a medical mistake.

“It’s bigger than AIDS. It’s bigger than breast cancer,” said Quaid of medical errors that kill thousands of North Americans every year. It’s a problem that’s rarely spoken about because it’s essentially human error. People aren’t perfect and they make mistakes, but those errors can cost lives as it almost did in the case of the Quaid babies.

The infants had been hospitalized for a staph infection. They were accidentally given 1,000-times the recommended dose of the blood thinner Heparin — twice! They essentially started to bleed out.

This does not come as a surprise to me because I am allergic to Heparin, which is the go-to medication for preventing clots after surgery. Try to tell a nurse that you’re allergic to Heparin and you’ll get a wall of disbelief. I have to repeatedly justify my helpless, potentially fatal reaction to one of the safest and most widely used drugs!

The makers of Heparin have made changes to their packaging because the old containers of adult and child doses were too easy to mix up. But, Heparin isn’t the only medication that’s problematic. It just happens to be the one that’s getting a star of Quaid’s celebrity level to call for changes. The Quaids sued the makers of the drug, but they’re not suing Cedars Sinai Hospital.

The babies have recovered and the couple is just grateful and want to make sure no one else has to go through what they went through. They’re pushing Cedars Sinai to take the lead in creating awareness and new policies for health care to reduce mistakes. As Quaid explained last night, “I’m grateful for every day because if the twins had died, there wouldn’t have been another happy day.”

Have you ever wondered what it must be like to be in the royal family? Of course we’d all like a little taste of the wealth, but when you read, as I have, the end-of-year stats on how many public appearances members of the royal family make and how much of their lives are given to “serving” their subjects, it’s quite a big trade-off.

And everyone knows you so there’s little chance of having a normal life although they all claim that it’s what they’re striving for. It’s easy to say, from the outside looking in, but I wonder if it would be better to just acquire a bit of pomposity and revel in the privileges of extreme wealth and elitism! It might be easier than trying to fight against the responsibilities of the crown.

So Prince Harry, the younger of Diana’s boys, has been fighting on the front lines in Afghanistan for 10 weeks and not a peep was said about it because of an agreement with the media to keep it quiet. A couple of outlets that did not have an agreement broke the story yesterday. Now Harry and his regiment have a symbolic target on their backs. Wounding or, God forbid, killing a prince would be a prized “get” for the Islamic terrorists they’re fighting.

Now the British defence department is recalling Harry and he’s due back in England by the end of the weekend. On the one hand, as a young man with military aspirations, you might feel a bit sorry for him that he doesn’t get to do what he wants most to do. On the other hand, his life is not his own and he has to be used to that by now. And I suppose the military has to do everything it can to improve the safety of its troops, in whatever tiny increments that is even possible to do.

When I see a snow flurry lately, I feel like a woman I once saw in a commercial for - Canadian Tire I think? - who screamed at the top of her lungs when a leaf fell from a tree! The approach of fall was too much for her to take!

And I’m not even having to shovel this year, living as I do in a condo, feeling like a princess with a staff of serfs and shovellers to do my dirty work.

But I can just picture the overworked homeowner, staring blankly out the front window at the sight of more flurries falling on our city.

Yes it’s winter, yes it’s Canada, yes it’s Toronto but it’s a little more snowy than most of us would like. Unless, of course, snow removal is your business. Then you’re having a good season!

Brian Hill is calling for more accumulation around the middle of next week. I wish you patience and a strong back. Lift with the legs!

Holiday shopping. It raises the ire of some and warms the debit cards of others.

Depending on how old you are you may remember when Sunday shopping was brought into Ontario. You would have thought we were talking about public hangings! The outcry! Some folks felt that the complete decline of the nuclear family was imminent.

Unfortunately, their arguments centered on claims of a lack of desire for shopping on the so-called Family Day, but that turned out to be not the case at all. In fact, if you go out to a store or mall on a Sunday, you can see for yourself that it’s quite the opposite.

Now city council is considering whether to allow wide open shopping every day except Christmas, even outside of designated tourist areas. No more fines for throwing open the tills on Good Friday. Each and every retailer would be allowed to open.

If the city’s economic development committee agrees, the concept will go to a full council vote and could be in place before this Good Friday, next month. Ladies and gentlemen, start your protests or your bank accounts!

Oh no, there’s no conspiracy to prop up gas prices. Not at all! (In case it’s not obvious, this is sarcasm!)

Here we are on the cusp of the first ever February long weekend, now known as Family Day, and what do you know? Prices at the pumps are up about three cents a litre. You will not see many surprised drivers pulling up to fill up today. Long weekend equals price hike for gas. It’s just the way it seems to be and we pretty much expect it.

Liberal MP Dan McTeague is the country’s self-proclaimed gas price critic, but I don’t really know what impact his comments have, beyond him being readily available to rant every time there’s a price increase. Nothing really seems to change.

Maybe it’s apathy setting in, but it really doesn’t seem to matter if prices go up or down. A long weekend arrives and we just ride along with the changing numbers, because we need to travel and we’re held hostage by whatever it is they want to charge. And I don’t know about you, but I hear so many predictions about where prices are going that I can’t even remember what they were! I can’t imagine how confusing it is when you miss a prediction or two!

Meanwhile, if driving somewhere is in your plans this weekend, I’m guessing that – like me — you’ll suck it up and fill up at whatever price is on the pump.

How interested are you in U.S. politics?

This is something we discuss a lot lately with the primary season well underway in the States. I was amused to see an ‘expert’ on Canadian news television last week admit that even she didn’t totally understand the process because it’s so complex. And yet there she was, a panel “expert” on it. That just shows how complicated it really is!

Who will ultimately run the most powerful nation in the world is obviously of great importance to those of us here. The fact that the first black president or the first female president could occupy the White House adds another exciting dimension.

So my question to you is, do you want to know each advance made by each candidate, or only about the surprises and ultimately, the presidential election decision? Do you understand the long and winding process of the primaries, or does it even matter that you don’t really know how it works, and you’d still like to know who takes those baby steps ahead to win the nominations before November’s election?

I’m looking forward to your comments. Thanks!

Tis the season of holiday parties. So many little crustless sandwiches to nibble on and so little time!

For most of us, it seems we simply have to just say “no” to something or another. It’s a matter of survival. I’ve heard what I consider to be time-sucking horror stories of couples who have started out in the afternoon at one get together and ended late that night at a 4th or 5th party. I suppose there are obligations that need to be met but keeping up that kind of pace for very long would be just insane! And it’s the reason summer barbecues were invented. You don’t HAVE to see everyone during the holidays only!

This week, Paul Cook and I host our annual Paul and Lisa Festivus Brunch for more than a dozen of our colleagues who regularly contribute to the 680News morning show. It’s our way of saying “thank you” for going above and beyond the call of duty every day.

Maybe your workplace is like ours. We work together in a very intense environment and don’t always get a chance to socialize, certainly not all together at once. I look forward to the Festivus brunch every year for that reason!

And this year I have a surprise for the crew. But I’m going to tell you about it here as long as you promise not to tell anyone! I am bringing a real, authentic, internet-ordered, Seinfeld endorsed Festivus steel pole! How I’ll get it into the restaurant is still to be determined. But I’m also determined, so I’ll do it somehow! We only enjoy select traditions from the Costanza Festivus. No feats of strength or airing of grievances. But with Santa Claus as my witness, we will have a pole!