Columns
This year, my cohort turns 40. Born in 1982, the people I went to school with and many of those I grew up with are entering their mid-life.
This column started, as many of them do, with research for our weekly editorial board meeting, the fruits of which you can read on the opposite page (page 4 of the print edition of The Citizen, for those of you reading online).
With everything else grabbing attention last week, such as the most recent events in Ukraine, it was easy to miss the news that marked the 40th anniversary of the passing of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
An act of reconciliation, Flies on the wall, The freedom of choice
One of the highlights of my week is Thursday afternoon when I take off work a bit early (and make it up later that night) to pick up my daughter Mary Jane from the school bus.
The film Sideways, a 2004 tale about two middle-aged men on a bachelor's week in California's Santa Ynez Valley (deep wine country), is a comfort movie for me.
Such is the human mind that we generally focus on one threat at a time. So when the United Nations issued a warning that we needed to act fast to prevent catastrophic effects from climate change...
With great power..., Freedom of information, Back at it
Whenever I've had a free moment in the past few weeks, I've been working my way through a re-watch of The Wire, the fabulous HBO show that is often called the greatest drama ever.
The internet is a wonderful thing that, at its best, allows us to view the world through perceptions we might never consider. At its worst, however, it becomes an echo chamber where prejudices are confirmed and differing opinions are treated...
The photos of the home on the edge of Brussels of Darwin Ducharme and Beverly Stevenson are so ordinary it's hard to imagine the desperate drama that played out there recently when the couple was murdered.
A historic day... for some, It's a start, Canada's 'Whac-A-Budget'
For more than mere glimpses of the past, one should consider the Blyth Repository of History (BRH). This amazing collection was the brainchild of Brock and the late Janis Vodden. Around 1994, Janis started a simple list of the names of families...
Some wild weather last week led to not one, but two inclement weather days at local schools, leaving me working from home on Monday and Wednesday encouraging my daughter to take part in at-home assignments and log into her online classes when necessary.
Since much of the world and now, finally, Ontario seems ready to fly George W. Bush's "Mission Accomplished" banner on their own, personal version of the USS Abraham Lincoln, it seems like as good a time as any to take a bit of a look back.
It was only two years ago this coming summer that the whole concept of "defunding" police arose during protests that followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. How out of touch that whole idea seems in 2022.
Here we go again, Arrested development, A missed opportunity
Everyone comes from somewhere. We all have our very own origin story that dates back to our parents and our childhood. Most of them are likely pretty boring - at least to the majority of the world...
I've never been a great public speaker. It's not stagefright or anything like that. I've done stuff in public that, I'm told, many people would have a problem tackling.
Last week, the federal Liberal government announced it had reached an agreement with the NDP that would, among other things, give free dental care to lower income people in Canada. Hmm, only 70-plus years after my home community.
The divide deepens, Together... Forever, Ch-ch-changes
It's that time of year again when playing a trick on someone is perfectly acceptable. There is no agreement about the true origins of "April Fool's Day".
Early last month, the news broke that the cost of many Canadians' traditional winter wear had increased to more than four times its traditional cost as Lululemon unveiled its Team Canada Olympic gear with rather high price points.
Last week was St. Patrick's Day, as you all know. Being half-Irish and not minding a drink here and there, I've always embraced the holiday as my own.