Tag Archives: Michael Mantha

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 ...

La pandémie nous a tous obligés à apporter des changements majeurs à une grande partie de ce que nous faisons dans nos vies et nos activités quotidiennes. Certains des changements sont assez petits et à peine perceptibles tandis que d’autres semblent de nature gargantuesque. Récemment, j’ai lu et entendu des propriétaires de petites entreprises exprimer leur dévouement et leur engagement ...

The pandemic has forced all of us to make some major changes to so much of what we do in our lives and daily routines. Some of the changes are pretty small and hardly noticeable while others seem gargantuan in nature. Of late I’ve read and/or heard from small business owners expressing devotion and commitment to their business, employees and ...

TOn dit que les sens olfactifs peuvent provoquer certaines des émotions et des souvenirs les plus forts chez les gens. Comme lorsque vous entrez dans une pièce et qu’un parfum particulier tel que la cuisson des biscuits ou un certain pot-pourri vous rappelle de puissants souvenirs de votre grand-mère. Pour moi cette semaine, un simple calendrier évoquait des souvenirs forts. ...

They say the olfactory senses can bring about some of the strongest emotions and memories in people.  Like when you walk into a room and a particular scent such as baking cookies or a certain potpourri brings back powerful memories of your grandma.  For me this week, a simple calendar evoked strong memories.  I just couldn’t believe my eyes when ...

I have an uncle that I love dearly who has always been extremely supportive, especially since I joined the world of politics.  He stays abreast of what’s happening in Algoma-Manitoulin in the news and comments on this weekly column from time to time.  He’s a wonderful fellow with a great sense of humour but he does have some pet peeves.  ...

J’ai un oncle que j’aime beaucoup et qui m’a toujours soutenu, surtout depuis que j’ai rejoint le monde de la politique. Il se tient au courant de ce qui se passe à Algoma-Manitoulin dans les nouvelles et commente de temps en temps cette chronique hebdomadaire. C’est un type formidable avec un grand sens de l’humour, mais il a quelques bêtes ...

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 ...

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. ...

Northerners tend to be very fond of the early days of spring. You know, the days just before the leaves come out. I say this because Northerners also know what comes along immediately after the opening of the leaves – Blackflies! So I decided to make the most of these fleeting blackfly-free–daysand get some work done around my camp. While doing ...

Recently some of my Northern region colleagues and I were discussing concerns regarding Doug Ford’s deep cuts to public health. Later as I was driving down the road after the meeting, a particular former politician’s image came to my mind followed by the name – Walkerton. Even those too young to remember the horrific circumstances involving the contamination with the ...

How many times has Canada been chosen as the best place to live or placed at least in the top ten best nations to live in the entire world? There have been many surveys based upon responses to a large variety of criteria. Admittedly I didn’t come up with a final answer in my research, but suffice to say we ...

In my view, Ontarians, in general, are pretty resilient people. I take great pride in saying this is particularly true of Northern Ontarians. Ontarians can work with just about any situation that comes our way. Here in the North, sometimes we just don’t have easy access to every product or service we need. Be that as it may, if Northerners ...

Most of us have by now taken down our Christmas trees, packed away the decorations and polished off any remaining Christmas baking left in the cookie tins. Hopefully, too, you have stored away a host of wonderful memories of time spent with family and friends. And now, it is up to all of us to fan the embers of warmth ...