Editorials, Letters & Political Commentary

I really enjoy watching sports.  I love taking in Leaf or Blue Jays games as often as I can.  Spending so much time in Toronto, people often assume that I take in a good number.  Well, I wish that were true.  Quite simply, it is just hard to plan ahead so far because invariably something always comes up so I ...

NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath released the following statement: “COVID-19 cases have been on the rise, and the first day of school is three weeks from today. We urgently and desperately need to put the safety of children first, protect vulnerable people, and stop the spread. No unvaccinated person should be in a classroom or health care setting. ...

An open letter to the management and customer relations department of VIA Rail Canada I wanted to provide some feedback regarding the negative impacts I have felt as a result of VIA’s decision to reduce passenger train service in Northern Ontario and the need to restore it immediately.   Over the last year and half, travellers like myself have become ...

Hat’s Off To “Mr. Darwin Larrett” of Catfish Lake for sharing his valuable time with the senior citizens Of Catfish Lake this past year and taking time to share with them his empathy, understanding and teaching skills.   In the past year, Darwin always made himself available to lend a hand to those in need to our tiny neighbourhood members. ...

Lundi, le chef du NPD, Jagmeet Singh, et le député néo-démocrate Charlie Angus (Timmins–Baie James) ont visité la Première Nation de Neskantaga pour discuter de la crise de l’eau qui perdure dans la communauté. En 2015, Justin Trudeau a promis la fin des avis d’ébullition de l’eau dans les réserves et a fait de Neskantaga le symbole de la promesse ...

On Monday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and NDP MP Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay) visited Neskantaga First Nation to talk with the community about their longstanding water crisis. In 2015, Justin Trudeau promised an end to boiled water advisories on reserve and made Neskantaga the symbol of the Liberal promise to deliver on clean water. And yet the community is now ...

A couple of years ago, clearly, before the pandemic hit, I was on one of my regular constituency clinic tours and found myself looking for something better to do than sit and watch television after a rather long drive and jam-packed day of meeting constituents.  One of the constituents I met invited me to her church that evening for a ...

En fin de semaine, alors que des millions de Canadiens sont toujours sans emplois, les libéraux ont choisi de réduire de 800 $ le montant de la Prestation canadienne de la relance économique (PCRE) que les gens reçoivent. “Les Canadiens ont besoin d’un gouvernement qui est prêt et disposé à les soutenir lorsqu’ils ont besoin d’aide. Au lieu, les libéraux ...

Over the weekend, while millions of Canadians are still without work, the Liberals chose to cut the amount of CRB people receive by $800. “Canadians need a government that is ready and willing to support them when they need help. Instead, the Liberals made a huge cut to the vital CRB supports, leaving Canadians struggling to pay their bills,” said ...

Age, maturity and experience eventually bring the realization that some things in this life simply aren’t just or fair.  But that doesn’t mean surrendering to injustice without speaking out and pushing back.  Such is the case with the destruction of Northern Ontario’s rail passenger service.   For more than half-a-century, successive federal governments have committed transportation vandalism across Northern Ontario.  ...

I am a retired dentist who practiced in Wawa for a number of years.  I am not an expert in microbiology but 50 years ago, in dental school, a large portion of the course work was the study of bacteria and viruses and how to protect our patients from them. A quick check shows what was taught then is still true ...

The Ministry of Transportation and Ontario Northland have finally unveiled an Initial Business Case for passenger rail in Northeastern Ontario … and it’s about time the public was provided with an update.   It only took a mere three years into the current government’s term (and a freedom of information request), but Northerners now have a slightly better understanding of ...

It is so difficult to hear these stories and the horrors that are now becoming common knowledgea. When I came to Canada at the age of 10 my education changed from an American perspective (which isn’t any better) to a Canadian, and Canadian history. But Residential Schools were not mentioned in my elementary schooling (St. Joeseph’s) and at MHS – ...

Secretive … Aloof … Lacking Transparency …   These are just some of the terms one might use to describe the provincial government’s handling of restoring passenger rail services in north-eastern Ontario.   Over the span of a thousand days, various politicians, ministries, and agencies of the Crown have provided the public with a series of Coles Notes updates related ...

Premier Doug Ford was always opposed any program that offers any help to workers to stay home when they are sick. One of Doug Ford’s first actions as premier was to take away Ontario’s two measly paid sick days. When a limited federal program was introduced to provide small supports to some workers who do not have paid sick days, ...