While this likely won't be a summer where people will travel to remote destinations or take in events like Rodeos or Concerts, it's still worth celebrating. For those of you who have had the kids home, all… the… time… you may be exhausted. Learning from home was a new venture for many of us and the lack of activities available was frustrating for everyone. With the sun out regularly now and school out for the summer, it's been good to get outside and enjoy the weather. We've been able to go on some bike rides and even made our way out to the lake at the end of June. Businesses across Canada are opening up and while we likely have a ways to go yet, we have to be glad to live in a country where our case numbers are very, very low. We are trying our best to be positive, supporting our local businesses, and staying cautious; we haven't beat this thing yet. As long as our situation in Alberta continues to improve, we will do a road trip right here in our own province this summer. We haven't finalized any plans yet but there are a number of places here in Alberta that we still haven't seen. I figure this is as good an opportunity to explore as any. We plan to be out of the office from July 25th to August 2nd. Please get in touch with us before or after that if there is anything we can do for you.
2020 will be a year that we will all remember. It's been about as dramatic as any year I can remember. We opened the year with record job numbers in North America and a bustling Stock Market. Come the end of February we were all on the edge of our seats and by the middle of March, we were hiding in our homes. We had to make some serious sacrifices but it looks like it has helped to flatten the curve. As I write this, Canada has only been adding a few hundred new cases of COVID-19 every day. Countries like Brazil and the USA have been adding over 40,0001 new cases every day. Sure, they do have a lot more people than us but a hundred times more? Absolutely not. Remember, Canada has approx. 1/9th the population as the United States. If we were in the same boat as them, we could be seeing 4,400 new cases daily. We've never seen a number anywhere close to that and if we keep up the good work, my fingers are crossed that we never will. Natalie and I want to thank everyone for the sacrifices that they have made during a very difficult year. We also want to thank you for your understanding and flexibility with Phone and Video Meetings. That has been an adjustment and as much as I miss seeing you all in person, it's been a good solution to keeping in touch.
We wish you a Belated Happy Canada Day and as wonderful a Summer as possible in the circumstances we are in!!
Bryce A. Borden
1Worldometer - https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/