The Honourable Ralph Goodale PC MP

The Hon. Ralph Goodale has been appointed the Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Preparedness. I wanted to know what the responsibilities were for this position and found the following information on Wikipedia.

“The Minister of Public Safety, formerly the Solicitor General and then the Minister of Public Safety

and Emergency Preparedness, is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government’s domestic security department, Public Safety Canada. The position was nominally created in 2003 and incorporated the responsibilities associated with the Solicitor General including responsibility for the federal Canadian prison system (Correctional Service of Canada), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Parole Board of Canada, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, although the incumbent was formally sworn in as Solicitor General of Canada.

Sailing the high seas

When I was a kid I remember watching those old Errol Flynn movies on TV with the buccaneers, those massive ships, and all the guns firing on the enemy prior to boarding and capturing the ship.  It was exciting to watch.

Well I can now say that I have cousins who sailed aboard some of those massive ships.  I have managed to find three cousins on my fathers side of the family who served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815).