Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART FOUR

Our discussions led to the topic of the newly formed Regional Tourism Organizations. At first the leaders in these regions were apprehensive and a little anxious about the unknown and outcome of this new strategy. Minister Chan believes that the vibe of these regions was “we alone can’t do it, but now we can work together cohesively”. Minister Chan tells us that if the Regions package the best they have to offer, visitors will come to stay and enjoy all that the communities have to offer. Michael Chan said “it is really no use to have people stopping by, snapping a few pictures, then leaving without shopping, enjoying the restaurants, theatres, museums, attractions and so on”. I laughed as I have to confess that I was guilty as charged! I recently “snapped a few pictures from the sunroof of our car while at a red light”. We were heading home from the Canadian International Military Tattoo in Hamilton. It had been a long day and we did not have time to stop and enjoy the Dundurn Castle that day. Minister Chan feels that each Region has diverse skills to contribute to create a great organization. The role of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture is, as Minister Chan states, “not to tell the Regions what to do". He hopes “that the funding from the Ministry will only add to the excitement of promotional efforts in the Regions of Ontario”. He continues, "The role of the Ministry is not to administer the RTO Regions, however, there is a mandate of the RTO’s to advertize and promote tourism and culture".
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART THREE

I’ll now switch gears a little and give you more INSIDE SCOOP about Tourism and Culture from Minister Chan. I have written a lot about volunteers and the importance of these dedicated people to our society! Minister Chan added to this issue by saying “can you imagine going to a festival or event (or even our local hospitals) without volunteers!” Michael Chan feels “Ontario is one of the most generous jurisdictions in Canada and (he) is very proud of this”! He states these volunteers greatly help our economy. Minister Chan was emphatic that he was correct on his statistics, as he himself worked on them. They even surprised me! As many of you may know, I have volunteered at Lang Pioneer Village and Museum in Keene, Ontario for the last couple of years. Here, I help the 120+ volunteers during the course of the visitor season. I was surprised, when speaking with Melanie Fernandez the Director of Community and Educational Program’s at the Harbourfront Centre in downtown Toronto, that she is responsible for co-ordinating 4,000+ volunteers for Harbourfront's events and activities. Minister Chan’s, statistics state that approximately 5 million volunteers, in Ontario alone, are helping our economy, by not only increasing revenue into our communities, decreasing personnel costs, but, by adding a work force that Minister Chan goes on to say "this adds 8-10 billion dollars in time costs alone". All this done by the hard work and dedication of these volunteers!
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

The Honourable Michael Chan
Minister of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

PART TWO

I wondered how Minister Chan became the Minister of Tourism and Culture. He shares with us that his portfolio with the government started as Minister of Revenue, then Minister of Citizenship & Immigration and now Minister of Tourism and Culture in 2010. He tells us that the government found it a natural choice to combine Tourism and Culture. Muku adds here that “it is the Premier's prerogative to appoint a Minister, but they wanted to put someone with an economic background to the portfolio and someone with a business mind. Mr. Michael Chan met all these requirements and more”. The Festival Nomad and Minister Chan had a chat about both of their backgrounds. Michael Chan spent over 30 years as a leader in the insurance business in the Mississauga and Markham area. The Festival Nomad’s family is now in its fifth generation of insurance agents. Here though, Minister Chan went on to give us the Scoop, that he likes the business “because of the people he dealt with”. His brokerage offered both life and general insurance at competative and large quantities, which few agencies can offer. What Michael Chan enjoyed was “engaging the people all the time!” He tells us he “enjoyed the flexibility of time and enjoying life all at the same time!” Michael Chan shares that it was his own choice to go into politics, as he feel “it is also a way of engaging people”. He seems proud of the fact that he has trained himself over the years. It appeared Minister Chan is well received within the political field as he won the past election with the approval of 33% above others. Minister Chan states that “once people understand your style … like an Out-there-Person who likes to talk about issues and concerns of others, you get to engage with them”. He tells us “that regardless who the people are, what their philosophies are, whether they agree with him or not, he still enjoys his challenges”.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with the Honourable Michael Chan

The Honourable Michael Chan
Miniter of Tourism and Culture
Province of Ontario

On this warm sunny Wednesday morning in July, the Festival Nomad and I traveled to downtown Toronto to get “THE INSIDE SCOOP”! It was with great anticipation and excitement today as we were being offered Scoop from none other than one of the main leaders in the industry, The Honourable Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism and Culture! Much preparation went into this occasion. The Minister is fortunate to have a remarkable advisor helping him with coordination and details. I must say that Mr. Mukunthan Paramalingham, Director of Communications, Office of the Honourable Michael Chan is incredible at his job! Muku (as he prefers to be called), is completely thorough, responsible, knowledgeable and kind! I had pre-sent Minister Chan a list of INSIDE SCOOP questions to ponder prior to our meeting. I might be a little “thorough” myself. Some of my pre-questions had been answered through our ever changing society and its rapid media availability. Fortunately, I had time to adjust my questions, which, in the long run, turned out to be much more genuine and I hope will help give you the best INSIDE SCOOP!

A day in the life of Minister Chan usually begins at 6:15 a.m. and he doesn’t return home until 9:30-10:30 p.m. Many times, he tells us his dinner hour starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes on for a long, long time as he is often required to attend up to 4 or 5 dinners per night. He laughed when he told us one of his nicknames is “The Honourable Ministry of Food Tasting”.
(To Be Continued)

Interview with THE MANTRACKER

Terry Grant
aka THE MANTRACKER
Visit Terry's Website to learn more (Tracking with Terry)

PART FIVE

I asked him if he sold his furniture in a store or elsewhere, and he tells me he “only makes custom furniture for people who ask him to”. He helps out at the Calgary Stampede at the Chuck Wagon Races. Of course, I was not surprised when he told us that his job was to round up the loose horses. I told him about my exciting experience, when I sat on a beautiful horse right on the first corner of the dirt ring where the chuck wagon races took place. The first time the horses and wagons came barreling down towards me, the ground and my horse shook! I hated to admit to The Mantracker, I was terrified! He just smiled across the table at me. Oh well!

I finally asked The Mantracker if he gets tired of all the interviews, and all the questions he gets bombarded with. He admits to me, “yah, sometimes!” … and without letting any negative thoughts get to him, he smiled and marched on his way to the autograph signing and the long line-up of anxious folks waiting for a chance to meet The Mantracker! For those of you who didn’t get a chance to meet The Mantracker, Terry Grant is as genuine a cowboy and man, as genuine can be!