Editorials - June 26, 2026
Top shelf
A recent CBC News article reported that more than 15,000 fundraisers for basic needs were launched by Canadians on the GoFundMe platform between January and May of this year. This represents an eight per cent increase over last year for the same type of fundraising.
The report shows that the increase represents a much deeper problem. Canadians are struggling with the affordability of basics. GoFundMe increases tracks with what frontline organizations like food banks are seeing. Rural communities are not immune to the crises, with Huron Perth Public Health reporting that reliance on food banks and other supports is shifting from an occasional or temporary measure to a “structural reality” for many households. With housing costs rising disproportionately recently, “rent eats food” is a common problem.
The fundraising and food bank reliance are also shifting from the poorest echelon of society to the working poor, whose wages simply cannot keep pace with the increase of basic necessities.
It’s a sobering thought to see our friends, family or community members turn to internet panhandling to survive. – DS
Power play
The shooting in Montreal, which has left two dead and others injured, is a tragedy for so many reasons. Beyond the loss of life is the increasing dread among Canadians realize that mass shooting events are no longer a strictly American problem and seeing law enforcement targeted more frequently in such events. The most troubling, however, is the rising tide of femicide in this country.
The shooter, who is alleged to be a 25-year-old from Alberta, wrote a manifesto that is being interpreted by media as incel (involuntarily celibate) language, which often includes the glorification of violence against women. This week alone marks the one-year anniversary of the attempted murder of an eight-year-old girl by a 17-year-old boy in Quadeville. It’s also when Canada made femicide First Degree Murder nationwide. It also wasn’t long ago that The Citizen carried a story about the horrific killing of a young girl in Holmesville.
As the political and ideological pendulum swings rightward in many spots around the world, the harassment and violence towards women, minorities and members of the LGBTQ communities is becoming more common and, in some ways, more accepted. Social media language is normalizing hate speech towards these members of our communities.
Increasingly, (very often) white young men are feeling that their world is being taken from them and that they’re being marginalized in favour of women, new Canadians, diverse Canadians... the list goes on.
Too often, this perceived frustration is being taken out on scapegoats who have nothing to do the price of tea in China, frequently at the behest (or loose guidance) of social media figures who are increasingly irreverent, wildly popular and sharpening their ability to mobilize the young men of the world to indirectly do their bidding.
Our country’s women deserve to feel safe and not be targeted for being women. We all have a part to play in making this so. – SL
Empty net
The loss of Hockey Night in Canada from CBC is about far more than where Canadians watch hockey. For generations, Saturday night hockey on the public broadcaster was one of the few experiences shared by Canadians across the country. Rich or poor, urban or rural, anyone with a television and an antenna could gather around the same game. It was a cultural ritual that connected communities from coast to coast to coast and helped create a common Canadian experience.
The games themselves will continue elsewhere, but something important is being lost. CBC is Canada’s public broadcaster. Its role is not merely to entertain, but to provide shared cultural experiences that belong to everyone. When hockey leaves that space, it becomes less accessible and less universal. As more of our cultural experiences move behind subscriptions and into fragmented media ecosystems, opportunities for shared national moments become increasingly rare. Canadians are consuming different media, watching different platforms and living in increasingly separate cultural worlds. Hockey Night in Canada on CBC was one of the few traditions that still brought millions together at the same time. That sense of collective participation is difficult to replace. In an age when audiences are increasingly divided by technology and choice, institutions that unite Canadians across regions, generations and backgrounds become more valuable, not less.
A country is held together not only by laws and borders, but by traditions. For decades, Hockey Night in Canada on CBC was one of Canada’s most enduring. Its departure leaves a gap in the national conversation and a hole in the country’s cultural identity. It also weakens a cherished gathering place where Canadians are reflected in a shared story, celebrating triumphs, enduring disappointments and participating in a tradition that helped define the nation for generations. – SBS