In over 80 countries the world over, on this date each year people pause to think of the thousands of workers across this country who have been killed, injured or suffered illness as a result of workplace conditions or incidents. People do this out of respect for the fallen and their loved ones who they left behind, of course. However, ...

Good morning Algoma-Manitoulin, I hope you are doing well. As I and my team have been taking in and returning calls to people throughout the day, I have been finding most people in good shape but there is no doubt that this is not an easy period. However, as I have noted before, it is impressive how neighbours and communities ...

The Federal Government has announced a package of supports for people in this crisis. I have pasted in a summary below. More details will be needed but it appears to address some of the income insecurity and small business supports that people have been asking for. The official NDP response is added in below. The legislature is coming back on ...

Back in the 1930s, a particular adage gained notoriety, even though it was around long before then. The adage, which readers will no doubt have heard many times is, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” No one really knows the origin, but my guess is it became popular through the radio show hosted by actor, humorist, and journalist ...

Dans les années 1930, un dicton particulier a gagné en notoriété, même s’il existait bien avant. Le dicton, que les lecteurs auront sans doute entendu à plusieures reprises, est: « Il n’y a rien de tel qu’un lunch gratuit ». Personne ne connaît vraiment l’origine, mais je suppose que c’est devenu populaire grâce à l’émission de radio animée par l’acteur, ...

MPP Michael Mantha (Algoma-Manitoulin), NDP Critic for Northern Development and Mines, demanded that this government stop exacerbating the already underfunded school systems in rural and northern areas across Ontario. Mantha emphasized the years of neglect by the Liberal government with respect to education and that the added strain of Conservative funding cuts has worsened the situation for thousands of Ontarian’s. ...

I am constantly amazed at how much humans know and can do in this modern era. Not being satisfied with just normal intelligence, we felt a need to improve on it by creating artificial intelligence. I remember watching the old reruns of Star Trek when Mr. Spock could just ask the computer absolutely anything and he’d receive an instant reply. ...

Open letter to Hon. Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation February 3, 2020 Hon. Caroline Mulroney Ministry of Transportation 5th Floor, 777 Bay St. Toronto, ON  M7A 1Z8 Dear Minister Mulroney, I cannot begin to describe how disappointed I am with both of your responses to my letters concerning the insufficient access that Northerners have to DriveTest Centres within their region. ...

Those who read this weekly column have little doubt on how much pride I take in being from Northern Ontario. Some may wonder the reason that I love to share such sentiments and emotions. Quite simply, as is frequently the case, we often take for granted some of the things we treasure most until we don’t have them. Being first ...

Jan 27, 2020 at 08:06 – Nous avons tous entendu le dicton: « lorsque vous êtes en bonne santé, vous avez à peu près tout».  Cependant, l’auteur américain Augusten Burroughs n’a ajouté qu’un court addendum à cette déclaration qui, je pense, y apporte une toute autre tournure. Il a écrit: « Quand vous êtes en bonne santé, vous avez à peu ...

We’ve all heard the saying, “when you have your health, you have just about everything.” Many would successfully argue with the validity of this statement.  However, American author Augusten Burroughs added just a short addendum to that statement that I think puts a whole different twist on it.  He wrote, “When you have your health, you have everything. When you ...

Maintenant que l’agitation de la saison des fêtes est terminée, je suis heureux de dire que je me sens rafraîchi et impatient de faire face aux nombreux problèmes qui nous touchent tous en tant que résidents du Nord de l’Ontario. Je sais que nous sommes déjà deux semaines dans la nouvelle année, mais je vous souhaite à tous et à ...

Now that the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season is over, I’m happy to say I feel refreshed and eager to tackle the many issues that affect all of us as Northern Ontarians. I know we are already two weeks into the New Year, but I want to wish everyone all the best in 2020. Over the holidays I ...

Readers of a particular age may recognize the lyrics, “Time keeps on slippin’, slippin, slippin’, into the future,” from the late 70’s song Fly Like an Eagleby the Steve Miller Band. As soon as the Legislature rose for the Christmas Break, upon stepping outside I felt kind of out of step with time –suddenly realizing that the Holiday Season is ...

I am always honoured to be invited to visit schools across Algoma-Manitoulin. Frequently I am invited to meet with secondary students taking civics and careers classes, but in truth I visit all grades from primary to college. One question I can almost always count on being asked is what I think is the most important thing that an MPP does. ...