Laurie's been busy this summer attending many constituency events and supporting Edmonton Centre's vital community spirit.  Listed below are some descriptions of the events and accompanying pictures.

Jul 28 - Pancake Breakfast at Westmount Shopping Centre - Laurie had yet another breakfast of pancakes at the Westmount Shopping Centre with residents from the neighbourhood.  He was also test driving a Smart Car, which certainly contrasted with the high performance Mustang from the Grand Prix of Edmonton.  Laurie pronounced the Smart car to be fun to drive and an environmentally friendly mode of transport for those who don't need to venture too far out of the city.

Above - Laurie at the wheel of a smart car 

Jul 27 - Tour of Campus St. Jean - Laurie toured the campus St. Jean with Director Marc Arnal to learn more about the programs and plans for the francophone campus of the University of Alberta.  It was an excellent opportunity for Laurie to practice his French, which he is improving as one of the Alberta MPs capable of operating in Canada's other official language.

Jul 27 - Klondike Kate at McQueen - Laurie joined Klondike Kate at McQueen Seniors Residence for some ice cream and entertainment as part of their Capital Ex celebrations. 

Above - Laurie with Klondike Kate

Above - Laurie dishing it out! 

Jul 26 - More Capital Ex events - More pancakes and meeting with constituents at the Westmount Safeway Capital Ex Pancake Breakfast and a Capital Ex Tea Party at Canterbury Court with a Constituency Day to discuss issues sandwiched in between.  pictures - Chatting with Canterbury Court residents and Laurie with Klondike Bernice

Above - Laurie with Klondike Bernice

Above - Laurie chatting with Cantebury residents 

Jul 25 - Laurie attended the pancake breakfast at Riverbend Square in support of Dave Hancock, who is seeking the leadership of the Provincial Progressive Conservative Party.  He also visited the Edmonton Telephone Museum at the Prince of Wales Armouries.  There was a lot of interesting history there that people should be encouraged to visit.

Jul 24 - More pancakes with the Premier and MLAs at the Legislature Grounds for Ralph Klein's annual Capital Ex event.

Jul 23 - Laurie and Judy joined their friends at the West Edmonton Christian Assembly for their annual pancake breakfast and enjoyed excellent fellowship, food and music.

Above - Laurie and Judy with friends at the West Edmonton Christian Assembly

Jul 22 -23 - Champ Car Grand Prix of Edmonton - "Along with 172,000 other race fans, Laurie and Judy sweltered in the heat at the Champ Car Grand Prix of Edmonton.  It was another spectacular event made so by an excellent organization and the exceptional volunteer spirit of Edmontonians.  Great Job!!  Laurie managed to catch a ride in one of the pace cars, but couldn't talk the driver into switching seats.  It brought back memories of Laurie's sports car racing days many, many years ago."

Jul 22 - Meadowlark Safeway Pancake Breakfast - Laurie attended all the Capital Ex Pancake Breakfasts in the riding, including the one at Meadowlark.  As usual, he met a lot of constituents in a relaxed atmosphere and many volunteers who make it all work. 

Above - Laurie with Giuseppe Albi, General Manager Events Edmonton

Jul 21 - Mayor's Annual Seniors Picnic - The Mayor's Annual Seniors Picnic at the Shaw Conference Centre was another success and Laurie joined hundreds of people, many decked out in Klondike finery.  Many of the more "experienced" folks lamented the passing of the name Klondike Days.

Above - Laurie with proud Klondikers

Jul 21 - Alberta Tattoo 2006 - On Day 2 of the Alberta Tattoo, Laurie was privileged to take the salute from the Honour Guard at the beginning of the performance.

Jul 20 - Safeway Pancake Breakfast kick-off - Laurie attended the first of the Safeway Pancake Breakfasts in conjunction with Capital Ex.  The first feed was held at Sir Winston Churchill Square and attracted hundreds of hungry folks.

Jul 20 - Edmonton and Area Caucus Meeting -  Laurie chaired another in the series of meetings of the Edmonton and Area Caucus.  This meeting was held in the excellent facilities of the Edmonton  Chamber of Commerce in the Edmonton World Trade Centre.  The meeting was attended by most of the Edmonton area MPs and provided another excellent opportunity for interaction with local community groups.

Jul 20 - Alberta Tattoo 2006 - Laurie and Judy attended the opening performance of Alberta Tattoo 2006 and were part of the podium party along with His Honour The Lieutenant Governor Norman L. Kwong and Her Honour Mrs. Mary Kwong.  The performance was a spectacular mix of music, pageantry and history as the story of two Canadian soldiers from World war I was told from enlistment to the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917 to the unveiling of the Vimy Ridge Memorial in 1936.  It was very poignant and there weren't many dry eyes in the house with the massed bands playing the Maple Leaf Forever and the unveiling of the replica of the "Grieving Mother" from Vimy Ridge.  As one Canadian who has been to Vimy Ridge, Laurie would urge all Canadians who can, to visit the memorial in France or to at least learn more about how our nationhood was forged at places such as Vimy Ridge. 

Above- (Left to Right) Laurie, Judy, Her Honour Mrs. Kwong, His Honour the Lieutenant Governor, Jen Bell, Robb Hawn, at the Edmonton Tattoo

Jul 20 - Capital Ex Parade - Laurie and the other seven Edmonton area MPs hitched up their wagon for the fourth year and joined the Capital Ex Parade.  It was great fun to take part and wave greetings to the record crowd, especially all the children who lined the route.

Above - Edmonton area MPs getting set to start the parade. 

Jul 10 - 20 - Laurie and Judy were on vacation in Manitoba, attending a family wedding celebration and touching base with many family and friends.  One of the highlights was renewing acquaintance with his Grade 2 teacher, Mrs. Bernice Churcher.  She was still sharp as a whip and a close follower of politics and current events.  What a treat! 

Above - Laurie and his Grade 2 teacher, Mrs. Bernice Churcher

Jul 9 - Curtiss Special Biplane Rollout - Laurie attended and spoke at the rollout of a replica Curtiss Special Biplane at the Alberta Aviation Museum on Kingsway.  The aircraft has been lovingly built over many years by the dedicated volunteers at the museum and is a great addition to an already world-class collection.  The event also commemorated the first airmail delivery in Alberta from Calgary to Edmonton by aviatrix Katherine Stinson on July 9th, 1918. 

 picture 

Above - Painting commemorating the first airmail flight in Alberta

Jul 7 - Constituency Day - Laurie and his staff set aside another day to meet with constituents to discuss and assist with their issues.  Edmonton Centre residents appreciate having an MP who is available and accessible to them.

Jul 6 - Joint Alberta PC and Alberta CPC Caucus Meeting - Laurie joined his Alberta parliamentary colleagues as they gathered in Calgary for the first joint meeting between the Caucus of the Provincial Progressive Conservative MLAs and their federal counterparts.  It was a productive meeting that included Premier Ralph Klein and resulted in some initiatives and a better understanding of issues of mutual interest.

Jul 5 - Change of Command One Area Support Group - Laurie attended at the Edmonton Garrison for the Change of Command Ceremony to welcome the new Commander of 1 Area Support Group, Colonel Alexander Patch.  1 ASG is the unit that provides logistic support for the other operational units of Land Forces Western Area and is key to the success of missions at home and overseas.

Jul 5 - Constituency Day - More meetings with individual constituents or small groups on issues of importance to them and, therefore, to Laurie.

Jul 5 - Town Hall Meeting - Laurie held his first Town Hall Meeting at the Sherbrooke Community League.  Approximately 50 constituents attended and engaged in a question and answer period after Laurie gave a summary of his activities and the first session on the 39th Parliament.  It was a lively and healthy exchange of information and views. 

Above - Laurie speaking at the Edmonton Centre Town Hall Meeting

Above - Town Hall Meeting audience.

Jul 4 - Army Outreach Luncheon - Laurie attended briefings and a luncheon at the Edmonton Garrison with several dozen other community business people and leaders.  It was a very informative series of briefings and equipment familiarization related to Canada's important mission in Afghanistan. 

Above - Laurie partially kitted out and not quite ready to deploy.

Jul 4 - 416 Sqn and 441 Sqn Shutdown - Laurie did a quick trip to 4 Wing Cold Lake for part of the events to shut down two of the fighter squadrons that he had served on during his 30 years in the Air Force.  Laurie flew CF-104 Starfighters with 441 Sqn in Germany from 1972 to 1975 and was Commanding Officer of 416 Sqn in Cold Lake with the CF-18 Hornet from 1988 to 1990.

Jul 2 - Airfest 2006 - Laurie spent the day at one of his favourite things - hanging around airplanes and pilots.  Airfest 2006 was held at Blatchford Field and was a great opportunity for people to see some aviation heritage, view current military equipment, visit with the EPS Air 1 unit, tour the Edmonton Aviation Museum, and enjoy many more things on a beautiful summer day.

Above - Laurie introduces Councillor Ron Hayter to the CF-18 Hornet 

Above - Laurie and  Constable Jim Pennie of the EPS Air 1 Team

Jul 1 - Happy 139th Birthday Canada! - As one might expect, this was an incredibly busy and fun day, full of events and wonderful people celebrating Canada's 139th birthday.  Laurie started the day by flipping pancakes at the annual Ismaeli Pancake Breakfast at the Legislature.  Next, he opened the Downtown Farmer's Market by ringing the bell to turn shoppers loose.  The highlight of the day for Laurie was welcoming about fifty new citizens who took their oath of allegiance to Canada.  This was followed by visiting and speaking at the Edmonton Viets Association Annual Barbecue where Laurie spoke to the crowd in English, French, Italian and Vietnamese.  Visits to Trinity Christian Centre, Kiwanis Place and Canterbury Court rounded out a great day.

Above - Laurie as the Pancake chef

Above - Opening the Downtown Famer's Market

Above - Welcoming new Canadians with Dave Hancock, MLA and His Honour The Lieutenant Governor Norman L. Kwong

Jun 30 - Norquest College Canada Day - Laurie joined His Honour Norman L. Kwong and Her Honour Mrs. Mary Kwong at Norquest College as they celebrated Canada Day for their English as a Second Language program.  Laurie spoke about the importance of immigration to Canada's past and future and congratulated students on their achievement and commitment to their new country.

Above - Sharing a laugh with a Norquest College staff member

Jun 29 - Busy Day - Laurie had a very busy day, visiting four seniors homes, attending a funding announcement at City Hall, a fund raiser for the Constituency of Edmonton East and a Board Meeting of Edmonton Centre.

Above - Laurie at the McQueen Place barbecue

Jun 28 - Lots going on - Laurie was on the go all day, starting with his usual coffee shop visit at 7 AM.  He attended two events in support of Dave Hancock, visited a seniors home, held a constituency day, joined the Minister of National Defence for a major funding announcement at the Edmonton Garrison, and joined a group of constituents who had "bought" him and Judy for dinner at an auction.

Jun 27 - Talking to constituents - Laurie visited two seniors homes and held a constituency day for people seeking assistance.  All in all, several dozen people and lots of great conversation.

Jun 26 - Jul 3 - Canada Day Cakes for seniors - Laurie and a team of volunteers helped seniors celebrate Canada's 139th birthday with special cakes delivered throughout the week.  Canada's seniors built our country and Laurie spends a lot of time in the dozens of seniors homes in Edmonton Centre. 

Above - Sharing conversation at St. Andrew's Centre

Above - Serving cake at Canora Gardens

Jun 26 - Pride Picnic - Laurie caught the end of Pride Week with a visit to the pride picnic on Jasper Avenue.

Jun 24 - Back to Edmonton - Laurie returned to Edmonton after the end of the spring session of the 39th Parliament to begin his summer 'break'.  He's looking forward to attending many events and to meeting as many new friends.

Above - Laurie's usual chariot between Edmonton and Ottawa.