« L’éducation est le passeport pour l’avenir, car demain appartient à ceux qui s’y préparent aujourd’hui. » De nombreux lecteurs identifieront facilement cette citation de Malcom X, éminent défenseur des droits de la personne des années 1960. Je crois sincèrement que l’un des plus grands cadeaux qu’une société puisse offrir à ses jeunes est une bonne éducation qui les préparera à tout ...

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”  Many readers will readily identify this quotation as originating with Malcom X, the prominent human rights activist from the 1960s. I truly believe that one of the greatest gifts that a society can provide to its youth is a good education that will ...

NFTP 191122 People in Algoma-Manitoulin know that when they experience difficulty navigating the tangles of various provincial ministries and agencies, that my office is here to help. Just call or email my constituency office and my team is happy to assist. One of the most frequent topics of concern and request for assistance is in regard to the Northern Ontario ...

You know, you don’t need to have your PhD in psychology or Master of Education to know the best way to bring about the behaviours in others that you want. I’ll prove it to you right here. Let’s say you want your child to develop the habit of making his bed before school or hanging up her coat when she ...

Appelez-moi un rêveur ou un idéaliste, si vous voulez. J’ai certainement été appelé bien pire. Je suis fier de porter un tel surnom, car je vis ici au Canada. Je sais que je ne suis pas seul. En fait, je pense que l’un de nos plus grands atouts, en tant que Canadiens, est de croire qu’il faut faire ce qui ...

Call me a dreamer or idealist, if you will. I’ve certainly been called much worse. I am proud to wear such a moniker because living here in Canada, I’m happy to say I am certainly not alone. In fact, I think one of our greatest traits as Canadians is to believe in doing what is right and that brighter days ...

Eh bien, après un congé de 144 jours à l’Assemblée législative de l’Ontario, le cirque est de retour en ville. C’est la plus longue récréation en un quart de siècle. En toute honnêteté, je suis ravi d’être de retour afin de pouvoir continuer le travail pour lequel nous avons été élus. Nous travaillons à faire de l’Ontario un endroit plus ...

Well, the news is that after a 144 day recess from the Ontario Legislature, the circus is back in town. That’s the longest recess in a quarter century. In all honesty, it’s great to be back so that we can get on with the work we were elected to do; make Ontario a stronger and better place to live for ...

Algoma-Manitoulin NDP MPP Michael Mantha told Doug Ford Thursday that his government must stop blocking two new doctors from practicing in Blind River, after the Conservative government said they will not be able to practice for most of the winter.   “These two doctors are already practicing in Ontario, have their CPSO number and billing number, but they have to ...

A while ago I was bemoaning to my former teacher friend how exhausting my schedule has been this summer. But I also realized that travelling and attending meetings and events six days a week is really just a part of the job. My friend said immediately that he understood what I was saying because back when he was a teacher ...

For the life of me, I wasn’t able at first why I was hearing people singing or humming and even two or three bopping to the tune of the Happy Days show theme. You know the one with starring Richie Cunningham, the Fonz and all the others from Milwaukee. I mean, it’s not exactly on the TV show ratings radar anymore. ...

A friend of mine is a retired school teacher. He once told me about a former principal that he worked under that would wish the staff and students a Happy New Year on the first day of school. This week, Andrea Horwath convened our summer caucus retreat in Thunder Bay where we meet to discuss issues and make plans as we ...

This week I was successful in arranging for some actual time to be in my constituency office to tend to a wide variety of matters that I am unable to attend to while on the road. As such, finding time to actually be in my constituency office is no small task. Sometimes I need my staff to actually block off ...

NFTP 190809 I would hazard a guess that, next to access to clean air, the need for water is the most important need people around the world have. It is of the most basic of all human needs – even above food. The average person, depending on their geographic, economic and other circumstances, requires between 20 to 50 litres of ...

Ask any member of my office team what is the best part of their job and I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that they’ll say they love the feeling they get from helping people. The same can be said of other jobs, especially first responders and healthcare workers. There is nothing quite like that feeling you get when you are ...