Editorials, Letters & Political Commentary

Eh bien, le soleil se couchera bientôt sur l’année 2021. De nombreux lecteurs conviendront que cette année s’apparentait à un tour en montagnes russes pour les Ontariens avec de nombreuses ascensions palpitantes, des chutes vertigineuses et des rebondissements à gogo! Certains jours, les manèges pénétraient dans des tunnels sombres de désespoir ; d’autres jours, de brillants rayons de lumière nous ...

Well, the sun will soon be setting on 2021.  Many readers would agree that this year was akin to a rollercoaster ride for Ontarians with plenty of thrilling climbs, breakneck falls and twists and turns galore. Some days the roller coaster penetrated dark tunnels of hopelessness; other days, bright rays of light shone down upon us.  And sometimes, time just ...

I believe Council has taken a step backwards by cancelling the Economic Development Council and laying off/firing it’s five employees. Oh yes, a “Seamless transition” was promised. How does that come about? Have any council members, or the CAO, Maury O’Neill,  gone into that office to start a conversation about the grants and direction that the EDC has taken so that ...

NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa (Kiiwetinoong), critic for Indigenous and Treaty Relations, released the following statement on the deaths of Brent Sky and Heather Winterstein. Sky, 32, of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, was sent home from a hospital in Kenora while experiencing head pain, and died the next day from a brain bleed. Winterstein, a 24-year-old Anishnawbe woman, was reportedly ...

Alors que le coût des biens essentiels comme le logement, la nourriture et le carburant devrait continuer d’augmenter au cours des prochains mois, les familles canadiennes qui cherchaient de l’aide dans la mise à jour financière d’aujourd’hui seront déçues, selon la députée d’Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, Carol Hughes. Mme Hughes note qu’il n’y a pas eu grand-chose pour remédier aux pressions exercées sur ...

With the cost of essentials like housing, food, and fuel expected to continue to increase in the coming months, Canadian families looking for help in today’s fiscal update will find themselves disappointed, according to Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP, Carol Hughes. Hughes notes that there was little to address the stresses to household budgets, and nothing to ask those who have profited the ...

NDP critic for Colleges and Universities Laura Mae Lindo (Kitchener Centre) is calling on the Ford government to invest in making campuses safer and provide guidance for all post-secondary institutions, as universities implement their own, new COVID-19 safety measures in response to rising cases and outbreaks. “Students, faculty and staff at Ontario’s colleges and universities are anxious, and some have ...

As inflation drives up the cost of living for people in Northern Ontario, NDP MP, Carol Hughes is calling on the government to offer some relief in this week’s Fiscal Update. Hughes points to affordable housing, cell phone and internet bills, and even assistance with energy efficient retrofits to reduce heating costs as ways that the government could deliver assistance ...

Alors que l’inflation fait augmenter le coût de la vie pour les gens du Nord de l’Ontario, la députée néo-démocrate Carol Hughes demande au gouvernement d’offrir un certain soulagement dans la Mise à jour économique de cette semaine. Mme Hughes mentionne des logements abordables, des factures de téléphone cellulaire et d’Internet, et même de l’aide pour des rénovations écoénergétiques afin ...

You know, sometimes people say things to themselves or to others over and over again as much to convince themselves as others.  Other times, however, they say it because they really believe what they are saying with all of their heart. They simply want to share this belief.  And naturally, some are inclined to do both.  This is not a ...

There was a lot of hype and publicity surrounding Ontario Northland’s most recent test train to measure transit times between North Bay and Toronto.   For the first time in nine years, a passenger train operated on this route with the purpose of collecting data to support the ONR’s latest business case for reintroducing passenger rail service to the region. ...

Dans la chronique de la semaine dernière, les lecteurs se souviendront peut-être que j’ai soulevé des préoccupations concernant la disparité entre les niveaux d’entretien hivernal des routes du sud et du nord de l’Ontario. Malheureusement, sous les gouvernements libéraux et conservateurs successifs, il s’agit d’un problème permanent auquel aucun des deux gouvernements n’a voulu se pencher, même brièvement. J’ai soulevé ...

In last week’s column, readers may recall that I raised concerns about the disparity between winter maintenance levels on highways in Southern Ontario and Northern Ontario. Unfortunately, under successive Liberal and Conservative governments, this has been an ongoing issue to which neither government would give even brief consideration.  I raised this issue recently in the Legislature and in last week’s ...

NDP MPP Michael Mantha (Algoma-Manitoulin) called out Doug Ford for failing to clear northern highways, putting the safety of northern drivers at risk and leaving people stranded, after snowfalls forced the closure of sections of Highways 17 and 11. For the residents of Dubreuilville, lack of road closure notices meant they drove in dangerous conditions only to be forced back. ...

Following Tuesday’s Throne Speech, local NDP MP Carol Hughes (Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing) is urging the Liberal government to move past empty promises and to make immediate changes to help Canadians. Hughes says Justin Trudeau has failed to get Canadians the help they need to recover from the pandemic, take urgent action on the climate crisis or take meaningful steps to help families afford ...