Canada is widely regarded as one of the richest countries in the world.
But be that as it may, a record number of Canadians — close to 900,000 — are going to food banks in hopes of getting something to eat. Their hopes are not always realized. The need is so great that food banks are running out of food; and so the hungry, including a high proportion of children, stay hungry. Continue reading
I have just read Kirk Smith’s letter to the editor of this newspaper about his brother Brian’s “incessant” walking journey up and down the Bruce Peninsula along the shoulders of Highway 6. I don’t believe I have ever read anything more touching, heartfelt, and beautifully written. With family members like Kirk and his mother Marion, whose love for her homeless son shines so clearly through Kirk’s letter, Brian is truly blessed. Continue reading
The death of a loved one is a terrible thing to get over, if that’s even possible. The prevailing wisdom of these modern times tells us there are stages of grief, from the initial shock and denial, through pain, anger, loneliness, and the “upward turning” point that leads finally to acceptance and even hope. Continue reading
Paul Eichhorn was right when he said in a column in this newspaper earlier this week the time has come to consider municipal amalgamations that would make a lot more sense on several levels than existing boundaries. Continue reading
The Meeting Place in Wiarton was packed this past Wednesday evening for the first all-candidates’ meeting for the South Bruce Peninsula municipal election in a month. There must have been at least 200 people in what used to be better known as The Propeller Club, a name that hearkened back to the days when Wiarton was the home port of many a Great Lakes steamer, and many a mariner, including some who never made it home again but fell victim to turbulent winds and waters. Continue reading
This is the latest in my “It boggles the mind” series. I’d like to give the federal Conservatives a break, I really would. There are other things to write about, and I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’ve got some insatiable bone to pick with these guys, from our Own Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MP Larry Miller to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa. Continue reading
It boggles the mind. Where to begin? There are so many things wrong with the-affair-of-the-commercial-nets-in-Colpoy’s-Bay-last-weekend-that-weren’t-there-after-all that I’m tempted to say it sounds like the proverbial “comedy of errors,” starting with a couple of members of the Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association jumping to the conclusion that a First Nation fishing tug going slow on its way to the Colpoy’s Bay government dock must have been setting nets. Continue reading
So, the battle lines are being drawn finally for a federal election, either this fall or next spring. In a speech in Whitehorse this week, and recently in Ajax, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Conservative party faithful Canadian voters face a “stark choice” between a stable Conservative majority government, and a coalition government of the Liberals, NDP and the separatist Bloc Quebecois. Continue reading
The long voyage of the M.V. Sun Sea with its 490 refugee claimants from Sri Lanka reminds me of another, similar voyage almost 70 years ago. But the big difference is the people who spent what surely must have been three terrible months on board their small ship were allowed to set foot on Canadian soil, whereas the ill-fated souls aboard the S.S. St. Louis were not. Continue reading
As of mid-week the latest poll suggested the Conservatives under Prime Minister Stephen Harper had already bounced back from two earlier polls that had them in a “statistical” tie with the Liberals under Michael Ignatief. Continue reading
Finding Hope Ness 