Politics, Editorials & Letters

By, Rob Keen, Registered Professional Forester and CEO of Forests Ontario and Forest Recovery Canada Good news is rare, though it seems like nearly every day for the past few weeks there have been new commitments by global leaders to fight climate change by planting huge numbers of trees. In my 38 years as a forester, I’ve never experienced enthusiasm ...

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 ...

Dear Brenda, For the third time in 10 days, I’ve heard this story There a rooster on the loose at SPG, There’s a rooster half-starved and on the loose out by the greenhouses I caught a starving rooster out by the dump can you take it. So what gives Wawa? You all get on the “organic is better” bandwagon. Order ...

It may not be obvious to most since very few attend council meetings, but some very good projects seemed to have been very quietly set aside.  Two of these were very important; the Municipal Organization & Compensation Study/Review and the development of a Community Hub. In 2017, Council budgeted for and approved funds to conduct an Organizational & Compensation Study/Review. ...

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 ...

Doug Ford ripped up the Health and Physical Education curriculum, threatened teachers with a sex-ed snitch-line and spent $1 million on an online survey, only to release a new curriculum Wednesday that is largely unchanged from the 2015 sex-ed curriculum. The new curriculum is a victory for student safety, and for the families, teachers, education workers and experts who led ...

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 ...

The good people of Northern Ontario, we are at a turning point in our history and this next election will decide whether we will finally come out of our decline or if our young will be forced to continue to look for work elsewhere. Over the last year, the Liberals have dealt a serious blow to Northerners by creating a ...

Most anyone who knows me or reads this column can be certain that I truly appreciate the honour the people of Algoma-Manitoulin have shown in me by re-electing me as the MPP for this riding. As well I freely admit that this is without question the best job I’ve had in my lifetime. There are two main reasons for the ...

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 ...

A short while ago I allowed myself to be influenced by marketing and persuasion and purchased a kitchen appliance that guaranteed the best home cooked meals, requiring only a fraction of the time and effort to prepare, cook and clean up. I knew better than to believe everything they said, but I admit my taste buds and stomach juices got ...

As I write this column there are just over 100 days until Canada’s next federal election. In terms of experiencing such a countdown – been there – done that. All signs show this one, as with our own last provincial election, in the words of the late Danny Gallivan (former Hockey Night in Canada play by play commentator), this is ...

Recently I found myself in a local diner for lunch. I try hard to make sure that I avoid fast-food venues. Experience has shown me that while being a patron of such places from time to time is perfectly fine, when you travel as extensively as I do, such behaviour catches up to you quickly. Your overall health deteriorates and ...