The Salvation Army Thrift Store on 12th Ave. in Vancouver is selling two commemorative mugs from Premier David Eby's swearing in ceremony, and it's truly a mystery as to how they got there.
Or, that is, they are selling one mug; I bought one of the pair that I saw on the shelf for $2.99, as a gift for a friend.
Our new premier was sworn in at the Musqueam First Nation’s community centre on November 18th, 2022.
All invited 385 guests in attendance received a commemorative mug which, as the Musqueam's Intergovernmental Affairs Officer Wade Grant tells me, was a gift from the nation itself. No tax dollars were spent on swag.
According to information obtained by Glacier Media by way of a Freedom of Information request, the total expenses for the ceremony were around $24,000. That includes Audio/Video, catering, etc.
The FOI also unearthed the complete list of attendees, whom I immediately added to my list of suspects who quickly got rid of the mug they were gifted, for reasons that are currently unknown.
It definitely could not have been BCTF president Clint Johnston, Whistler mayor Jack Crompton, Liberal MP Joyce Murray, or Chilliwack mayor Ken Popove. They were a few on the list of 69 invitees who declined attending for one reason or another.
NDP MP Don Davies didn't even bother to respond to the invitation, nor did Liberal MP Harjit Sajjan, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, and 61 others who are not suspects in my Very Serious Investigation into this matter.
Mike Harcourt was there, but I've ruled him out. If he did anything with the mug he was given I imagine he traded it to somebody in exchange for a promise to build a new Cambie Bridge. The one they built us for Expo 86 is a little worse for wear these days.
Comedian and author Charlie Demers can be struck off the list as well. Not simply because he's an old friend of mine but because he might be Eby's biggest fan. I imagine he's sipping coffee out of his mug at this very moment, staring out the window and marvelling about what a great day November 18th, 2022 was.
But Richmond mayor Malcolm Brodie? Definitely sus.
Former chief of staff to Premier John Horgan, Geoff Meggs? Near the top of the list.
Former Homeless Advocate for the City of Vancouver, Judy Graves? Possible, but not likely.
Lastly, could it possibly not have been any of the guests but instead the catering company who worked the event and was possibly left trying to figure out what to do with more than 100 mugs that were left over because they expected a higher attendance, so they donated them instead of letting them go to waste?
Nobody knows.
I’m not getting political and I will never get political here but this is kinda funny.
