I am writing on this very cool and historic Saturday - The Obama - Biden train is about to leave Philidelphia enroute to DC and is getting unprecedented coverage on the TV news channels. Many Canadians, including ordinary Canadians, will be enroute from Canada via bus and other modes of transit. While we are going through difficult economic times all over North America, the promise of change in the USA has captured the attention and hope of millions.

Change is overdue for North America . The Security Exchange Commission (SEC) in the USA gave up it's oversight of most all things financial and greed quickly took over resulting in this worldwide recession for many. As I write, steps are being taken to make the necessary changes to stop and prevent the unbridled greed. I'm not so sure that our Federal government yet understands that rules need to be enforced and additional rules need to be put in place to avoid repeats. The Ontario Security Commission (OSC) and the Federal banks regulator need to accept a great part of the blame for the hurt to our economy that has occurred in Canada.

There are those that want to establish a Federal Securities Regulator, similar to the SEC, but one has to question the wisdom of that for ordinary Canadians. The Provincial regulators, with the exception of the OSC in Toronto, are not to blame for this crisis. It was the Banks and part of Bay Street that bought and sold toxic financial paper. It is argued, our situation might be worse if the provincial regulators had not been in place. Federal regulation does not replace common sense.

That said, business has not ground to a halt as the media would like us to believe. These first two weeks of the new year in my business is booming - people have decided to just get on with life and business. Orders came in from Greece, Guyana, and the USA. Let us not forget that schools, universities, and community colleges will carry on. Food and health care will go on. Car and truck repair shops will go on. The oil and gas exploration will go on - at a reduced and more normal pace. Loans are available to non risky persons and companies. And so on. We, the people, are getting on with our lives. It's a pity that "Ottawa" is so far behind the populace.

Americans are saving again - I hope that Canadians will do the same, and will stop living on credit. Savings can be loaned to allow business expansion, can be loaned for mortgages, etc. And can be used in the future for retirement.

The Norwegians have shown the world how to capture CO2 and store it deep underground. Now we can use coal for power plants to supplement wind and solar. The next few years will be good - sooner than you may realize. Sooner than the media will realize. Have a great year all!